Questions and Answers about Deafness and Hearing Impairments in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT HEARING IMPAIRMENTS

In 2011, a study led by researchers from Johns Hopkins reported that nearly 20% of Americans 12 and older have hearing loss so severe that it may make communication difficult.[4] The study also found that 30 million Americans (12.7% of the population) had hearing loss in both ears while 48 million Americans (20.3% of the population) had hearing loss in one ear.[5] According to 2010 data from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), approximately 17% of American adults (36 million people) report some degree of hearing loss.[6] Of this group, 18% of American adults between the ages of 45 and 64 have experienced some degree of hearing loss.[7] NIDCD estimates that approximately 15% of Americans between the ages of 20 and 69 (26 million people) have high frequency hearing loss due to exposure to loud sounds or noise at work or in leisure activities.[8]

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) refer to hearing impairments as conditions that affect the frequency and/or intensity of one's hearing.[9] Although the term "deaf" is often mistakenly used to refer to all individuals with hearing difficulties, it actually describes a more limited group. According to the CDC, "deaf" individuals do not hear well enough to rely on their hearing to process speech and language. Individuals with mild to moderate hearing impairments may be "hard of hearing," but are not "deaf." These individuals differ from deaf individuals in that they use their hearing to assist in communication with others.[10] As discussed below, people who are deaf and those who are hard of hearing can be individuals with disabilities within the meaning of the ADA.

A hearing impairment can be caused by many physical conditions (for example, childhood illnesses, pregnancy-related illnesses, injury, heredity, age, excessive or prolonged exposure to noise), and result in varying degrees of hearing loss.[11] Generally, hearing impairments are categorized as mild, moderate, severe, or profound.[12] An individual with a moderate hearing impairment may be able to hear sound, but have difficulty distinguishing specific speech patterns in a conversation. Individuals with a profound hearing impairment may not be able to hear sounds at all. Hearing impairments that occur in both ears are described as "bilateral," and those that occur in one ear are referred to as "unilateral."[13]

The many different circumstances under which individuals develop hearing impairments can affect the way they experience sound, communicate with others, and view their hearing impairments.[14] For example, some individuals who develop hearing losses later in life find it difficult both to adjust to a world with limited sound, and to adopt new behaviors that compensate for their hearing loss. As a result, they may not use American Sign Language (ASL) or other communication methods at all, or as proficiently as individuals who experienced hearing loss at birth or at a very young age.

Individuals with hearing impairments can perform successfully on the job and should not be denied opportunities because of stereotypical assumptions about hearing loss. Some employers assume incorrectly that workers with hearing impairments will cause safety hazards, increase employment costs, or have difficulty communicating in fast-paced environments. In reality, with or without reasonable accommodation, individuals with hearing impairments can be effective and safe workers. (For information on Reasonable Accommodation, see Questions 9 - 14, below.)

[4] See www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/one_in_five_americans_has_hearing_loss.

1. When does someone with a hearing impairment have a disability within the meaning of the ADA?      

As a result of changes made by the ADAAA, people who are deaf should easily be found to have a disability within the meaning of the first part of the ADA's definition of disability because they are substantially limited in the major life activity of hearing.[15] Individuals with a hearing impairment other than deafness will meet the first part of the ADA's definition of disability if they can show that they are substantially limited in hearing or another major life activity (e.g., the major bodily function of special sense organs).[16] A determination of disability must ignore the positive effects of any mitigating measure that is used. For example, a mitigating measure may include the use of a hearing aid or cochlear implant.[17]

Individuals with a history of a hearing impairment will be covered under the second part of the definition of disability if they have a record of an impairment that substantially limited a major life activity in the past.[18] Although this definition of disability does not apply frequently to individuals with hearing impairments, examples of when it might apply would include situations in which someone's hearing has been corrected surgically (not including surgery to put in a cochlear implant, a mitigating measure). Finally, an individual is covered under the third ("regarded as") prong of the definition of disability if an employer takes a prohibited action (for example, refuses to hire or terminates the individual) because of a hearing impairment or because the employer believes the individual has a hearing impairment, other than an impairment that lasts fewer than six months and is minor.

[14] National Association of the Deaf, The Difference between Deaf and Hard of Hearing, http://www.nad.org/site.