Living in Silence

According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders1 approximately 37.5 million American adults aged eighteen and over report some trouble hearing. Despite the number of people affected by hearing impairment, the hard of hearing and deaf population are underrepresented. The hearing-impaired community faces a myriad of challenges in their daily lives communicating and relating to others. Unfortunately, there is a lack of resources for the hard of hearing and deaf population in schools, and a lack of affordability for hearing aids in the healthcare field. In this critical autoethnography, the author focuses on her experiences of coping with and navigating her world as a hearing-impaired individual. The autoethnographic account explores the author’s face-to-face encounters with her peers, audiologist, medical practitioners, and personal relationships centering her research on the communication barriers that often come with hearing loss including adjustments to sound, relating to others, and overcoming obstacles due to the lack of resources. The stories shared aim to illustrate how those with hearing impairments are disempowered in a world that is geared toward the hearing abled.

Hazy Glimpse Crook Virtual Assistant for Blind and Visual Impaired Community Healthcare

Innovations in the technologies are common and helpful for the visually impaired community. Visually impaired and blind individuals discover challenges in distinguishing barriers and obstacles. They hobble on the road that makes it hazardous. The reason for our responsibility is to offer solace to the visually vitiated individual by giving Hazy Glimpse Crook (HGC). It is a proposed answer for empowering the blind to recognize the world around them. With the assistance of a webcam, the picture of an obstacle is taken. After the digital image processed, a message will be created. From headphone's help, a visually impaired individual can discover the thing present in front of him. Inside the 70 cm scope, one ultrasonic sensor is utilized to recognize some other impediments around the client. While inside the scope of 80 cm, another sensor is set at the base of the stick. With the help of cautioning messages, it tells about puddles and all other obstacles. Additionally, from GPS blind's location can be tracked down. As they feel safe by using a stick, their average speed increases to twice. HGV (Hazy Glimpse Vision) application is our second part. In application talkback, any object recognizing and location of visually impaired can find out. The overall accuracy of Our HGC and HGV is approx. 96.87% in terms of the time required for an image to process.

Identification of hijaiyah letters using wirelessly controlled arabic braille module

<span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;">Among the major issues faced by the visually impaired people is the inability to read, and this is could be addressed by learning braille. However the scarcity of skilled instructors to teach the braille codes to the visually impaired people limits the learning process. This paper presents a psychophysical study on the ability of people with visual challenges to identify hijaiyah letters from a specially developed Arabic braille module. This module consists of six miniature solenoids that are wirelessly controlled via a Bluetooth and an Arduino Uno microcontroller. Five different hijaiyah letters were provided to the participants and were randomly repeated for three times. The participants were required to touch the Arabic braille module and state the hijaiyah letters that were displayed. With priori knowledge and initial familiarization of the braille patterns, 72.9% of the trials showed accuracy between the braille display and the stated hijaiyah letters. 20% of the participants have the highest repeatability responses of 80%. The outcome of this work showed the optimistic capability of the wirelessly controlled Arabic braille display to assist visually impaired individual to read hijaiyah braille letters and ultimately promotes independence in learning. </span>

Game design for visually-impaired individuals: Creativity and innovation theories and sensory substitution devices influence on virtual and physical navigation skills

This action research study examined the design elements of three VR games that used an HTC VIVE VR helmet, two HTC game controllers, and a VR horse simulator for functionality and transferability to orientation and mobility (O&M) education for visually impaired individuals. The functionality of the VR games was tested with a visually-impaired individual based upon five characteristics that are important to O&M education: perimeter scanning then grid scanning, hearing, touch, smell, and perceptions of body positions. The horse simulator has potential benefits for proprioception and kinesthesia development. The inconsistent haptic feedback requires redesign consideration for inclusion within VR games and systems for O&M education.

The incidence, management and consequence of tinnitus in older adults

Impaired hearing is prevalent amongst older people, adversely affecting physical and psychosocial function and, hence, quality of life. It may also cause depression. Yet evidence suggests that hearing problems are all too often regarded as a ‘normal’ part of ageing and more likely to be ignored than diagnosed and/or treated; many believe that little can be done to improve hearing. Furthermore,‘many of the behaviours of a hearing-impaired individual (e.g. irritability, inattention or inappropriate responses) may be interpreted as evidence of dementia’though they may simply reflect communication difficulties that can, in turn, damage personal relationships.