As someone who is visually impaired in addition to having hyperacusis, having accessibility features on my device is very important. Things like invert colors, large text, bold text, voice control, speak screen, etc are very important for me and other visually impaired people. There are accessibility features for people who are deaf or have hearing loss, mobility disabilities and learning disabilities. Quite a lot of settings that help those who are hearing impaired such as flash to indicate a phone call or notification, vibrating alarms, closed captions and other things are also useful for people with hyperacusis. However there are a lot of things that need to be improved in order to make devices fully accessible to those who suffer severe sound sensitivity. Phone calls and video calls can only be turned down to a certain volume, which for some people is still too loud, or you have to completely mute the audio entirely. Things like computers, tablets, and cellphones need to have the capability of being able to lower the volume in 1db intervals to enable people to be able to turn it down as much as needed, to their specific tolerance level.
The internet itself also needs to be made into a safer place for those with hyperacusis. Even though most of the time those of us with severe hyperacusis keep our volume turned off some of us are able to handle certain things turned down very low. I watch documentaries and other shows mostly on volume one, unfortunately oftentimes videos will have unexpected loud noises: music, voices increasing, shouting, gun shots, sound effects, etc Being tolerate a video where a person/people are talking is completely different then being able to handle blasts noises like these. Some people would say that we should just mute everything on mute, and yes for those that can’t handle any sounds at all have to do that. However if a someone can tolerate listening to people’s voices, set a quiet level, and wants to be able to watch videos with the sound turned down low, they should be able to do so safety knowing that they won’t get injured. Just like close captioning is a required accessibility feature, online media such as: shows, documentaries, music, videos, etc should also be obligated to write descriptive noise warnings below their content. For example if a documentary has gun fire and people yelling in it, the producers should include that information in the summary/about as well as the exact minutes and seconds at which these noises will happen.
Even though there are definitely still many auditory dangers and things that need to be fixed and improved to make technology and the internet fully asseccible to those with hyperacusis, they still open up a whole world of opportunists for socialization and independence that some of us otherwise wouldn’t be able to have. Smart devices that can be controlled from other parts of the house such as: microwaves, washing & dryers, tubs, etc enable those of us who can’t tolerate the noise to still be able to perform these essential daily life tasks. Remote work or telework allows people to be able to either create online self employment or keep there job without having to go into a loud environment. Facebook, Instagram and other social media sites allow those with hyperacusis to form support groups and communities of other people that we can talk to and relate with. When events are held over zoom or google meet, despite the challenges that we still face as I discussed earlier, it’s still easier for some of us to participate in these events, even if it means just reading captions, then it is for many of us to attend things in person where there is no way to control the noise. What do you think? Has the virtual world made it possible for you to partipate in more activities or more easility access the school or work environment? What ways do you think the internet could be made more accessible to people with hyperacusis? Please share you thoughts in the comments below.
Hyperacusis Awareness: Sound Sensitivity Treatment 