Today's blog post looks at some facts and figures about deafness. Some of these you may find surprising!
Some definitions
There are a myriad of terms used to describe deafness and hearing loss. Many of these you will no doubt already be familiar with. We will look at the most commonly used ones here.
deaf - this is the general term used to describe people with all degrees of hearing loss.
Deaf - When you see the word "Deaf" used with a capital D, this refers to people who use British Sign Language as their first or preferred language. The capital D denotes membership of the Deaf community, which regards itself as a cultural and linguistic minority rather than as disabled.
deafened - People who have been born hearing. They became severely to profoundly deaf after learning to speak, usually as a result of sudden illness or accident.
hard of hearing - This terms describes people with a mild to severe hearing loss. Usually this happens gradually and may be associated with ageing.
Deafblind - People with dual sensory loss. Relatively few people are completely deaf and completely blind - they may have some vision/hearing.
Statistics
- An estimated 9 million people in the UK are deaf or hard of hearing. This equates to roughly 1 in 7 of the population. In Scotland, the figure is even higher - around 1 in 5.
- Between 50,000 and 70,000 deaf and hard of hearing people use British Sign Language as their first or preferred language.
- 688,000 people are severely to profoundly deaf.
- 123,000 people over the age of 16 are deafened (acquired profound hearing loss).
- There are an estimated 2 million hearing aid users in the UK. It is thought a further 2 million could benefit from them.
- 2,474,000 deaf and hard of hearing people are of working age (ie, 16 to 60)
- 840 babies are born every year in the UK with significant hearing loss.
- 41.7% of people over the age of 50 have some form of hearing loss.
- 23,000 people in the UK have a dual sensory loss (vision and hearing).
(stats from RNID and SCoD)
Some more definitions!
mild hearing loss - The quietest sounds someone with mild hearing loss can hear are in the 25 - 39 decibel range. Someone in this category may struggle to follow what conversation, particularly in noisy environments.
moderate hearing loss - The quietest sounds someone in this category will hear are in the 40 - 69 decibel range. A person with moderate hearing loss may struggle to follow conversation without using hearing aids.
severe hearing loss - A person with severe hearing loss will not hear sounds below 70 - 94 decibels. Even with hearing aids, they are likely to rely on lipreading for communication. They may use British Sign Language.
profound hearing loss - A profoundly deaf person will not hear sounds below 95 decibels. They may or may not wear hearing aids, and are likely to rely mostly on lipreading or British Sign Language to communicate.
NoteText is often contacted by people interested in training to become Electronic Notetakers working with D/deaf or disabled people. They ask for information and advice on where they can go to train and what skills are required in order to gain acceptance on a training course.
In January 2011, Signature, the UK's leading awarding body of professional qualifications in the field of deafness, withdrew their level 3 awards in Speech to Text Reporting and Electronic/Manual Notetaking. Signature's statements on this can be found here and here .
What this means is that currently there is no route available to train as a Speech to Text Reporter or Electronic Notetaker which will lead to registration with The National Registers of Communication Professionals Working with Deaf and Deafblind People (NRCPD). It is hoped however that this is only a temporary situation pending the introduction of new Electronic Notetaking and Speech to Text Reporting awards.
But what can people who want to train as Electronic Notetakers do in the meantime?
City Lit College in London have a specialist Deaf Education department which delivers Electronic and Manual Notetaking courses throughout the year. The awards are accredited by The Open College Network London Region (OCNLR) at level 3. Although this award is not currently recognised by NRCPD, holders of the award can register with The Association of Notetaking Professionals, the UK's professional body representing Manual and Electronic Notetakers.
In order to become an Electronic Notetaker, you should have the following:
- a minimum typing speed of 60 wpm* (this will be tested at interview)
- a strong command of English
- good summarising skills
- IT skills
City Lit also run two day taster courses in Manual and Electronic Notetaking, enabling interested parties to get a feel for whether a career is notetaking is for them. The next intake for the introductory notetaking course is the 14th to 15th May 2011. More information on all City Lit's notetaking awards can be found here .
If you would like further information on any of the issues raised here, or are a service user who would like advice on working with an Electronic Notetaker, please contact The Association of Notetaking Professionals at mail@anpnotetakers.co.uk
Hello and welcome to our blog. Over the next few weeks NoteText will be posting articles relating to communication support and the services we provide. Please feel free to contact us with any enquiries or if there is a topic you would like to see covered.
