More than 90% of people with hearing disabilities use smartphones every day in developed countries. There are plenty of apps available today that eliminate most of the communication barriers. These are the obstacles that make the daily lives of the hearing impaired quite difficult.

The smartphone apps for the deaf in recent times help people with hearing disabilities get in touch with others. They can also communicate with ease using these apps. Here, we’ve listed the most popular apps that the hearing impaired must have in 2022:

1. Ava

This is an instant transcription app. It transcribes the words from a group of people in the live mode. All the participants need to install the app on their smartphones. Then, the transcription of conversations takes place while using a microphone. Ava allows the deaf and individuals hard of hearing to follow a conversation that takes place within a group.

They don’t have to lip-read for this purpose. The Ava app is extremely useful for users of iPhone who don’t have access to instant transcription. It is available for both iOS and Android platforms.

2. RogerVoice

In 2013, Oliver Jeannel created a globally-renowned French app called RogerVoice. The app provides its users with two options. In the first option of live transcription, the app supports telephone conversations in over 100 languages. Answering by voice synthesis is also possible with this app. People who are deaf or those who have hearing loss can use the phone to have conversations.

They can converse with the other person and receive a text of what he or she is saying. RogerVoice also offers the facility to make calls. The free version of this app provides one hour of video calls. The deaf or people hard of hearing can also use this app to request information from a distance.

3. Sound Amplifier

This app for Android phones is equivalent to the Live Listen feature in the settings of iPhones. However, there are more advanced functions that you can find in this app. These functions are great when it comes to the removal of background noise and sound volume adjustments.

While using headphones with this app, there’s an enhancement in the audio quality of devices that use Android. Thus, Sound Amplifier offers a more natural and comfortable listening experience. It amplifies and improves sounds from the real world, which helps the hearing impaired.

4. TapSOS

An app from the United Kingdom, TapSOS helps the hearing impaired to connect with emergency services non-verbally. Emergency responders can provide the best care in case of emergencies to the ones who connect using this app. For this purpose, the user needs to create a profile, which includes personal medical history.

TapSOS pinpoints the exact location and sends data in the user’s profile within seconds. The app does this when the user connects with the emergency services. Such is the effectiveness of this app that it had won the 2018 Digital Health Award.

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It helps them communicate with their friends, close relatives, or members of the family. People with normal or limited hearing can also learn this expressive language. Here are some of the effective ways to learn the sign language:

1. Enroll for a sign language class

This is one of the best ways to learn sign language. Many of the community colleges or other educational centers offer classes for learning this language. So, if you’ve been considering learning the sign language, you can enroll for these classes. Having a qualified sign language tutor to guide you is the greatest benefit of taking sign language classes.

Such classes would also give you the opportunity to meet new people and practice learning this language with them. You can also take online classes. If you’ve enrolled for classes that lead to a certification and a job, it would be a great investment.

2. Watch a DVD of sign language learning

You can consider buying one of the sign language learning DVDs. It would contain several pre-recorded videos that helps one learn this language with ease. There are some organizations for the hearing impaired that provide such videos or DVDs. If you need help in choosing the right DVDs, contact your nearest organization for the deaf. Your can also explore the local library for this purpose.

3. Learn online

With all the technological advancements of recent times, you can do many things online today. Using several free resources, such as YouTube, you can now learn sign language easily. Such online platforms have a series of videos that teach sign language.

You can watch these videos as many times as you like. You can also replay any part of the video if you feel you’ve missed something. The best part is that you can do all of this from the comfort of your home.

4. Join a sign language group

There are several clubs or groups of hearing impaired that you can join for learning sign language. Members of such groups often meet regularly and use only sign language to communicate with each other. You’ll have a wonderful experience meeting new people who are hearing impaired.

This would also give you the chance to improve your sign language skills. You can contact an organization for the deaf in your neighborhood or find a group on social media sites.

5. Learn through an app

Apps like Sign BSL can be great for learning sign language. You can search how to use a sign for a particular word on such apps. This is what makes such apps a fabulous resource for the learners. Another great learning platform for sign language is Drops. The app called ‘Scripts’ includes the American Sign Language (ASL).

This release coincided with the United Nations’ International Day of Sign Languages. It teaches learners of the language how to read and write alphabets. The app is also making constant improvements and leveraging its large global user base.

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They were of the opinion that the technology’s ‘speech only’ approach was hurting deaf children. The researchers believed that it was preventing deaf children from learning the language. Since this was happening in the first critical years of these children, it was impairing their brain development. As a result, it had lasting harm to their psycho-social and cognitive functioning.

The researchers contended that there was a much better approach for parents of such children. It was to begin teaching them to sign language as early as possible.

Hearing aids and cochlear implants

The children with hearing loss use either hearing aids or cochlear implants. In some cases, they receive both. The function of hearing aids is to amplify residual hearing. On the other hand, cochlear implants bypass the ear and take the electronic impulses straight to the brain.

The authors of the article published in Social Service Review have criticized the promoters and makers of these implants. According to the authors, these individuals discourage the parents of deaf children from teaching their kids sign language. Many of these parents have little or no experience with deafness.

About 96% of deaf children are born to hearing parents. So, these children rely greatly on their parents’ guidance. One of the biggest problems with hearing technology is that it often doesn’t work that well. It is quite a task to learn how to use cochlear implants.

Researchers have pointed out a study that involved over 20,000 deaf children. They had received implants in 2000. The study found that 47% of them had stopped using the devices. It gave researchers a reason to believe that using devices for teaching deaf children spoken language is a gamble.

Most of the deaf children raised using only spoken language have inadequate access to auditory information for developing language. The authors of the article published in Social Service Review have termed this ‘linguistic neglect’.

Why sign language is a much better option

Of course, it isn’t easy to teach deaf children sign language. Parents have to learn the language as well. According to the authors of the article, this method is more reliable for introducing such children to the language. It ensures that these children receive cognitive and other benefits associated with language acquisition.

According to research, deaf children do better across a range of functions upon learning sign language early. This is also true with their academic achievement. The children who start learning sign language at birth would successfully learn to use cochlear implants for accessing speech. According to the authors, social workers can play an important role in addressing ‘linguistic neglect’.

This is not just because of their involvement in promoting child welfare. The social workers can truly see the consequences that linguistic neglect can have on such children.

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