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Phone and Video Calls With Hearing Loss: Practical Workplace Adjustments

/ Hearing loss, Professionals / By

A colleague who copes well in a face-to-face meeting can struggle badly on a call. Nothing about their hearing has changed. The conditions have. The voice is thinner, the face is smaller or missing, three people speak at once, and the only way to ask for a repeat is to interrupt a flow that has already moved on. Many people with hearing loss tell their employer that calls are the hardest part of the job, and many more say nothing and quietly absorb the cost.

For occupational health, HR and case managers, this is one of the most common and most fixable barriers. Most of the effective adjustments cost little, and the biggest gains usually come from how calls are run rather than from equipment. This article sets out why calls are harder, what tends to help, how the picture differs in call-centre and customer-facing roles, and where support such as Access to Work fits in. It describes features and approaches rather than products, because what suits one person will not suit another.

A person wearing headphones working on a laptop by a window

Why calls are harder with hearing loss

Most people with hearing loss use more than their ears to follow speech. They watch the speaker’s face and expression and use the room’s acoustics. On a voice-only call, almost all of that disappears. What remains is sound delivered through a small speaker or a compressed connection, with no visual back-up.

Video calls restore some visual information, but not reliably. RNID’s guidance on video calls and meetings notes that lipreading becomes harder when the speaker’s face is not visible, the room is poorly lit, the camera is off, the speaker covers their mouth, or the speaker is eating or chewing. A US source, AARP, adds two further problems: sound that drops out when the connection is weak, and video that does not quite line up with the audio, which undermines the lip movements people rely on. No UK source was found that quantifies these effects. AARP quotes a figure from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association suggesting visual cues can improve speech understanding by up to 20 percent, but that is a general estimate from the US and should be treated as indicative only.

Overlapping speakers are a separate problem. In a room, people signal that they are about to speak. On a call those cues are weaker, so people talk over one another, and a second voice can make the whole exchange unintelligible. Camera angles add to it: a speaker looking down at a second screen, sitting side-on or sitting far from the lens gives a lipreader very little to work with.

How this affects work

Listening effort is the part that tends to be missed. A person who is working hard to decode every sentence has less capacity left to think about what is being said. By the end of a day of back-to-back calls they may be exhausted, which is not the same as being disengaged or underperforming. Employers sometimes read the signs the wrong way: a delayed reply, a request to repeat, a camera left off. The usual cause is a communication barrier, not a capability issue.

People may avoid joining calls, miss actions or withdraw from client work, and absence records rarely identify call difficulty as the cause, which is one reason it is worth asking about directly.

Call-centre and customer-facing roles

Roles built around live conversation need particular thought, and the starting point should never be an assumption that they are unsuitable. Many people with hearing loss work successfully on the phone with the right set-up.

In practice the discussion usually covers the headset, the telephone system and the working environment. A headset that covers both ears, reduces background noise on the caller’s side or links to hearing aids can make a significant difference, as can volume and tone controls on the handset or software. Noise from neighbouring desks is often the larger barrier, so seating position, acoustic screens or a quieter work area may matter more than the device itself. For customer-facing roles, employers can consider whether written channels such as chat or email can carry part of the workload, and whether performance measures such as average call length allow for the extra time some people need. These are questions to explore in an assessment, not blanket answers.

No-cost and low-cost workplace adjustments

Area Suggested adjustment Why it helps
Live captions Switch on the live captions built into the calling software for every call, not just on request. Gives a written back-up to speech. Automated captions are imperfect, so others can flag errors.
Agendas and papers Send an agenda and any shared material before the call. Familiar topics and names are far easier to follow.
Speaking turns Agree one speaker at a time, with names said before speaking and a raised-hand or chat signal to take a turn. Reduces overlap and helps the listener work out who is talking.
Chat function Encourage the use of the chat panel for key points, links, figures and actions. Provides a written record and an easy route to ask a question.
Camera and lighting Cameras on, face lit from the front, close to the lens, mouth uncovered. Gives lipreading and expression cues.
Audio set-up Use a headset or device with a good microphone and suitable volume or tone controls. Check hearing aid connection options. Cleaner sound, with fewer dropouts and less background noise.
Phone handsets Provide an amplified handset or one compatible with hearing aids, with adjustable volume and tone. Raises usable volume and clarity at the ear.
Relay and text options Make sure the person knows about text relay and similar services, and that colleagues and customers will accept relay calls. Provides an alternative route where voice calls are not workable.
Follow-up Share notes, actions or a transcript after the call. Allows missed points to be checked afterwards.

What this means for occupational health, HR and case managers

Start by asking about calls specifically. A general question about workplace difficulty will often produce “I manage”, whereas a question about telephone calls, group video calls and noisy open-plan settings will tend to produce specifics. It helps to separate three situations: one-to-one calls, group calls where the person is a participant, and calls where they are the host or presenter. The adjustments differ.

Hosts carry responsibilities that are easy to overlook. The person running the call controls the pace, the turn-taking, whether captions are on and whether the agenda goes out. A good report will say so plainly and set out what the host and the colleagues should do, rather than placing the whole burden on the person with hearing loss. Where meetings are run by someone outside the organisation, the report should say what the employee can reasonably ask for in advance.

On equipment, an assessment should say what has been tried, what is available and what was found to work in the person’s actual setting. Hearing aids differ in how they connect to phones and computers, so recommendations should not rest on assumptions. Fit between a person’s hearing aids, the workplace set-up and the phone system is best judged in the real working environment. Visualise assessments are specialist and practical, and sit alongside occupational health, audiology and rehabilitation input rather than replacing it.

Finally, check that adjustments are being used. A captions setting the person does not know about, or a headset that has not been connected properly, is a common finding.

Hints and tips for the individual

  • Tell the host before the call if you would like captions on, an agenda, or one speaker at a time. Most people are glad to be asked.

  • Use a headset or audio set-up you have tried beforehand, and test it with a colleague before an important call.

  • Sit facing a window or light source, keep your face in view and keep your camera on if you want others to do the same.

  • Use the chat panel to check names, figures and actions, and to confirm what was agreed at the end.

  • Ask for repeats early rather than waiting until you have lost the thread.

  • Take short breaks between calls where you can. Sustained listening effort is tiring.

Building awareness and communication

Most of what helps deaf and hard of hearing colleagues is simply good call practice. Cameras on, face visible, one voice at a time, plain language and a short check at the end that everyone has understood the actions. These habits help everyone, including people joining from noisy locations, and they are easiest to establish when the team agrees them together. Awareness training should also address attitudes. Colleagues who sigh when asked to repeat themselves, or who treat captions as a hassle, undo the good that a well-chosen adjustment does. A manager who sets the tone by running calls well tends to make it easier for staff to ask for what they need.

Relay services and communication support

Text relay is a service in which a relay assistant types what the hearing caller says and reads out what the deaf or hard of hearing caller types, so that a telephone conversation can take place in text. RNID describes it as free to use apart from normal call charges, available through an app, a computer or a textphone, and usable by people who are deaf, have hearing loss or have a speech impairment. Ofcom requires telephone providers to offer access to an approved text relay service, and its list of services for disabled people sets out the other required services.

Names and access routes for relay services have changed over the years. RNID states that the current service has replaced the older text relay and next-generation text services, and Ofcom’s 2014 guidance still uses the earlier name. The description is therefore kept general, and anyone setting this up should check current details with RNID and Ofcom. A Communications Consumer Panel note from March 2020 recorded Ofcom’s response to reports of longer waits for a relay assistant, so it is worth being realistic about call times.

Ofcom’s current page on video relay covers the emergency service for British Sign Language users, which lets deaf sign language users contact the emergency services through an interpreter over video. Ofcom and RNID do not make clear that a general, non-emergency video relay service is regulated in the same way, so it is not described here.

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 provides that the effect of measures taken to treat or correct an impairment, which includes the use of an aid such as a hearing aid, is disregarded when deciding whether the effect is substantial. Schedule 1, paragraph 8 treats someone with a progressive condition as meeting the test before the effect becomes substantial if it is likely to do so. Where the definition is met, the employer must make reasonable adjustments. Whether the definition is met for a particular person depends on their circumstances, and this article is general information rather than legal advice.

Access to Work is a government grant, currently described on GOV.UK as covering equipment, support workers, travel and workplace changes, and communication support. RNID’s Access to Work page lists communication support for deaf people such as sign language interpreters, speech-to-text reporters and notetakers, particularly for meetings, and equipment such as amplified phones and listening devices. It does not specifically mention support for phone or video calls at work, so it should not be promised, and applicants should discuss their call needs directly with Access to Work. GOV.UK states that Access to Work does not pay for reasonable adjustments that the employer is legally required to make. To be eligible, a person must live and work in England, Scotland or Wales, and GOV.UK says Northern Ireland has a different system.

Summary

Calls become manageable when the call itself is designed with the listener in mind. Captions, an agenda, one speaker at a time, a visible and well-lit face and a written follow-up cost almost nothing. Equipment and relay options then fill the gaps that those habits cannot. The most reliable approach is to ask the person which kinds of calls cause difficulty, try changes in their real working environment, and review whether the adjustments are being used.

Watch the short film

This short film follows one person with hearing loss who works in a call centre. Asking callers to repeat themselves, and guessing what was said, left them exhausted and worried about their job. After their team leader asked what would help, a workplace assessment looked at their calls, headset, desk and room. A headset that works with their hearing aids, a quieter spot and captions in team meetings followed. The film lasts just under a minute.

Frequently Asked Questions

No. Automated captions are useful but imperfect, and RNID points out that they are not fully accurate. They work best alongside an agenda, one speaker at a time and a visible face.

That would be an assumption about capability rather than a considered adjustment. Many people with hearing loss manage calls well with the right set-up. Where calls are a core part of a role, employers should explore adjustments first. Legal questions about individual cases need specific advice.

It may fund equipment and communication support for eligible people, and RNID lists amplified phones among the examples. Support is based on individual needs, and Access to Work does not pay for adjustments the employer is legally required to make. The person should discuss their specific needs with Access to Work.

It is a service in which a relay assistant converts between text and speech so that a deaf or hard of hearing person can make or receive a phone call. RNID describes it as free apart from normal call charges. Check RNID and Ofcom for current details.

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, you can arrange a hearing loss workplace assessment with us.

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