The scenario in this article is illustrative. It is a composite drawn from themes that come up often in workplace assessments, and it describes no real person, employer or report.
A customer service adviser in a busy contact centre has worn hearing aids for some years. She handles around the same call volume as her colleagues and her quality scores have always been good. Recently, though, she has been asking customers to repeat themselves more often. She now writes notes in capital letters because she is afraid she has misheard names. Her team leader has noticed that she looks drained after the afternoon shift, and she has stopped joining the team’s informal chats in the break room.
She has not asked for help. She is worried that any change will single her out, and that someone might question whether she can stay on the phones.
Why telephone work is demanding
On the telephone there is no face to read. Lip patterns, expression and gesture all disappear, and what remains is sound that has been compressed and carried through a headset. Many people with hearing loss find that this removes much of what they rely on. In a contact centre the problem is compounded by the sound of colleagues on other calls, which competes with the voice the adviser needs to hear.
A headset worn over hearing aids is often not an effective solution on its own, because the aids can whistle, the earpiece may not sit well and the signal does not reach the aids in a way that suits them. Listening in these conditions takes continuous concentration, and fatigue is common. That tiredness is easy to miss because, from the outside, the person simply looks quiet.
How the referral happens
In this scenario, the adviser tells her team leader about the strain during a one-to-one. With her agreement, the team leader asks HR to arrange a hearing loss workplace assessment. The referral describes the role, the call type and the floor layout, and says that the employer would like to understand what could be done. It does not ask for a view on fitness for the role. A workplace assessment does not give one.
What the assessment involves
The assessment can be carried out by video call or in person. The assessor begins with the job: how many calls per shift, what kinds of call, which systems she uses, what is written down and what is said, how team briefings are held, what happens during training sessions and team meetings, and where she sits.
The assessor then asks about her hearing at work in practical terms. What can she follow, on which calls, in which conditions? What happens when a customer speaks quietly, has an accent she finds hard, or phones from a noisy place? What does she do already? What has she tried, and what difference did it make?
In this scenario she explains that she follows most calls but often misses names and numbers, that background noise from the floor makes it harder, that her current headset does not work well with her hearing aids, that she finds team briefings and training sessions in the open area very tiring, and that she re-asks customers more than she would like. She describes how she copes: capital-letter notes, repeating details back and avoiding certain call types.
The assessment makes no diagnosis, and it does not comment on how her hearing may change. It records what she describes and what would reasonably help.
What the report recommends
The report is a workplace adjustments report. It is non-clinical, describes the work in functional terms and sets out recommendations that each stand alone, with a reason tied to something she described. Items that need an employer decision are put to the line manager. In this scenario the recommendations might include the following.
| Barrier reported | Possible adjustment | Why it may help |
|---|---|---|
| Headset not working well with her hearing aids | A telephony solution that sends the caller’s voice to the aids through the connection the aids support, with the option confirmed against her exact aids before ordering | May deliver clearer sound directly and reduce the effort of listening |
| Misheard names and numbers | A screen-based way to confirm details, such as typed confirmation fields or on-screen spelling support within existing systems | May give a second route to the same information |
| Background noise from the floor | A seat position away from the busiest part of the floor, with acoustic screening or a quieter pod where available | May reduce competing sound |
| Open-area briefings and training | Written summaries and slides in advance, and live captions or a quieter room for sessions | May allow her to follow detail without the strain of filtering noise |
| End-of-day fatigue | A discussion about the shift pattern, and short, quieter breaks between call blocks where the rota allows | May ease listening fatigue |
| Reluctance to speak up | Deaf and hearing loss awareness training for her team and managers, and a short conversation about what she wants colleagues to know | May help colleagues understand what she needs and why |
| Uncertainty about how well the changes work | A trial period for the new arrangements, with a date to discuss how they are going | Gives her and her manager a chance to adjust the package in light of experience |
Where equipment needs set-up, the report recommends training from its supplier. Because hearing aid compatibility depends on the exact aids, the report notes that the telephony recommendation should be checked against them before purchase, and that it may need revisiting if her aids change.
What this might change
No adjustment restores hearing, and results vary. What a package like this can do is reduce the effort of following calls, give her more than one route to the same information, and make it easier to say when something has not been understood. In this scenario, the realistic aims are fewer repeated requests, less end-of-day fatigue and an adviser who is no longer guessing at names.
For the team leader, the change is mainly one of understanding. The quiet colleague who stopped joining the chat was not disengaged. She was conserving energy.
What this means for occupational health, HR and case managers
Referrers can improve the outcome in a few ways. Describe the call type and the floor layout, because the report is only as specific as the brief. Ask for functional detail, such as what she can follow, rather than an audiogram. Note that a hearing loss workplace assessment complements audiology and occupational health advice and does not replace them. And bear in mind that equipment recommendations rest on the person’s hearing aids, so the assessor will need to know what they are.
Legal rights and support
Under the Equality Act 2010, a person is disabled where they have an impairment with a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. Schedule 1, paragraph 5 means the effect of hearing aids is ignored when deciding whether the definition is met. Where it is met, the employer must make reasonable adjustments. Access to Work, run by the Department for Work and Pensions, can help eligible people in England, Scotland and Wales with things like specialist equipment and communication support, but GOV.UK states that it does not cover reasonable adjustments an employer must legally make. Whether the definition is met for a particular person depends on their circumstances, and this article is general information rather than legal advice.
Summary
The adviser in this scenario was good at the job. The telephone set-up, the noise around her and the lack of written back-up were the problem. A hearing loss workplace assessment gave her and her employer a shared description of what was getting in the way, and a list of changes that could be made in a sensible order. Many were simple. None needed her to leave the phones.
Watch the short film
A short film that follows one contact centre adviser with hearing loss, before and after the right adjustments.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. It is an illustrative composite, written to show how the assessment process works. It does not describe a real person, employer or report.
Many do. The point of an assessment is to find out what is getting in the way and what could reasonably help. It does not decide whether someone can or cannot do a role.
A louder headset can help some people, but it can also cause feedback with hearing aids, and volume alone does not always make speech clearer. The report looks at what suits her aids and her calls.
Not necessarily. Automatic captions help but are not fully accurate, and some people need them alongside clear audio, agendas in advance and good meeting practice.
If you or someone in your team is deaf or has hearing loss and would like expert, tailored support to stay productive and comfortable at work, visit https://visualisetrainingandconsultancy.com/workplace-assessments/hearing-loss-workplace-assessment/ to arrange a hearing loss workplace assessment.
Sources
GOV.UK, Access to Work: get support if you have a disability or health condition: https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work
GOV.UK, Access to Work, Eligibility: https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work/eligibility
GOV.UK, Definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010: https://www.gov.uk/definition-of-disability-under-equality-act-2010
legislation.gov.uk, Equality Act 2010, section 20: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/section/20
Acas, Reasonable adjustments at work: https://www.acas.org.uk/reasonable-adjustments
RNID, Make your meetings deaf aware: https://rnid.org.uk/employers-and-professionals/accessible-meetings/
legislation.gov.uk, Equality Act 2010, Schedule 1, Part 1: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/schedule/1/part/1