Hard of Hearing

A question about : Hard of Hearing

HR / law expertise required

I am hard of hearing but work in an office as a manager.

My hearing is gradually deteriorating and as a result I am now not able to use the telephone effectively as I struggle with clarity.

I still feel I can do my job but 'the old-fashioned' way of face to face communications which can be problematic in this day and age with teleconferencing and video conferencing

I shall be speaking to my employer about this (HR) and the fact my disability is now preventing me to use the telephone.

Anyone know what my rights are. I do still enjoy my job be it stressful with my disability. What stance can the employer take e.g. they may think if i cannot use the phone then I cannot do the job and as a result release/sack me? Are they able to do this?

I would like to go forewarned into a meeting with them.

Thanks

Best answers:

• I presume hearing aids do not help?
• No unfortunately hearing aids don't help. I wear them in both ears but they are limited use when the problem is clarity.
  Thanks, I was planning on getting further advice but thought I would see if there might be some answers on the forum before I do so.
• An employer has to make reasonable adjustments towards disabilities but the definition of reasonable depends on each individual case and ultimately if the employer feels something isn't reasonable then they only way you can possibly get redress is via an employment tribunal.
  If you aren't capable of doing the job then the employer could go through the capability procedure which requires time.
  Being realistic though, if your job does require a large amount of time on the phone and this is becoming an issue you might also need to accept that you might need to change job within the company if offered to one that might not need such activities.
• Thanks for all responses.
  I appreciate the job does require a fair amount of phone work. An alternative is face to face communications however I deal with people at other locations around England so travel is not always feasible and could be seen as costly to the organisation.
  Do you know if the Organisation would be required to find me an alternative job (with no phone work) rather than release me? It's difficult to see what other roles could be available without using the phone.
  It's all less than positive really as I still have a brain and capable of the job mentally but my disability makes things very tough.
• If a role is available that you are capable of doing then it may be a reasonable adjustment to consider you for it but no, they do not have to make a new job up for you.
• Is there absolutely no equipment that your employer could install that would enable you to be more effective on the phone ?
• No unfortunately not. You can get phones that may help but a hearing disability that lacks clarity there is little that can be done.
• There was an awful lot of sound advice given to you on the same subject five months ago. Can you tell us which you have followed up so that people aren't wasting time repeating things you have already been told about?
• You'll have a lot more on your side if you have an audiogram in front of you and an opinion from an ENT specialist as to the severity of your hearing loss and it's prognosis
• I'm in a similar situation to the OP. The job has changed dramatically in the past few months. Previously we wrote out for any information we required but now we have to phone for it. I simply can't do it as I have tinnitus which becomes far worse if I have to use the phones much. My employer is talking about audiogram but aren't happy about the cost. I'm certainly not going to foot the bill to obtain information about a problem brought about by their change of working practice.
• Is a headset and microphone rather than a traditional telephone an option?
  google 'call centre (center) headsets'
• Hi I have hearing issues so may be able to help.
  Have your employers looked into acsess to work to get a telephone with a loop system on. The loop will cut out background noise and only connect the call to your hearing aid, I use one for my mobile phone but use a neckloop. It helps but I don't use it phonecals a lot as I still struggle.
  When I was looking for work I did put on disability and ask what could be put in place when I attend interviews. I have tried an amplifier on telephone but doesn't help. Different equipment will be better for different people due to different level of loss. Now I'm lucky as I got a job not predominately telephone based. So could your employers make reasonable adjustments in your job by getting others to use phones or changing your job role slightly so you don't need to use phones. I know this may be hard due to managerial level may require more work on phones.
  There is not much support out there for deaf as its a unseen disability plus a lot of asumptions are made due to people thinking hearing aids will give them normal hearing when it just amplifies what you can actually hear.
• Yes I agree that there are assumptions made that someone who wears hearing aids has normal hearing. As you say hearing aids just amplify a voice however if the hearing disability is more clarity then whether the voice is quiet or loud, understanding is still not possible.
  Yes, I have tried the phone amplifier too but with no joy (as above).
  Thanks for all the helpful responses.
• This one? https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...192&highlight=
  If you click on your username at the top, then statistics, then find all threads started by dosh1 it'll appear.