How to produce
information for people
with hearing loss
How to produce information for people with
hearing loss
This factsheet is part of our Deaf awareness range. It is written for anyone who wants to
know more about producing information for people with hearing loss. We use the term
‘people with hearing loss’ to cover all levels of hearing loss, including people who are
profoundly deaf.
Read this factsheet to find out:

How many people in the UK have hearing loss?

Why do I need to make my information accessible?

How can I produce more accessible film and video information?

Where can I get more information?
If you would like this factsheet on audio tape, in Braille or in large print, please contact our
helpline – see front page for contact details.
How many people in the UK have hearing loss?
There are around 10 million people in the UK with some form of hearing loss. Most will
have become deaf or hard of hearing as a result of getting older and will speak English
rather than use sign language. They are likely to use subtitles on television.
There are approximately 800,000 people in the UK who are severely or profoundly deaf.
Many people who are born deaf, or become deaf in early life, use sign language to
communicate. The government recognises British Sign Language (BSL) as a language in
its own right. There are no accurate current estimates about the number of people who
use BSL in the UK, or Irish Sign Language (ISL) in Northern Ireland. However, there was a
question about sign language included in the 2011 census, so a clearer picture should be
available when the results are released.
For more information, see our factsheet Facts and figures on hearing loss and tinnitus.
For more detailed information, including references to academic research papers, go to
our website to read our centenary report Hearing Matters:
www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk/hearingmatters
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Why do I need to make my information accessible?
Under the Equality Act 2010 (which replaced the Disability Discrimination Act, or DDA),
organisations must make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to how they provide information to the
public to make it easy to use for everyone.
Accessing information in English can be difficult for many BSL users. Sign language
cannot be written down, so information in sign language has to be filmed. Producing a
video with both BSL narration and subtitles is an excellent way to reach people who could
not otherwise benefit from your information and services.
Writing for people with hearing loss
Writing for people with hearing loss is the same as writing for anyone else – you need to
make sure that the information you produce is easy to understand. The best way to do this
is to write in plain English. The Plain English Campaign (see page 6) defines plain English
as ‘something the intended audience can read, understand and act upon the first time they
read it.’
Here are some basic guidelines to get you started.
 Keep sentences and paragraphs short.
 Always substitute short words for long words where possible. For example, say ‘use’ not
‘utilise’ and ‘buy’ not ‘purchase’.
 Avoid jargon.
 Break up the writing with headings and bullet points.
 Think about using clear diagrams to replace long written descriptions.
 Use photographs to illustrate your points. These can be especially effective if they are
real people and not models.
Writing about people with hearing loss
 Don’t say ‘the deaf’ and try to avoid ‘deaf people’. Say ‘people who are deaf’ or ‘people
with hearing loss’ to avoid defining people solely by their deafness.
 Don’t use the phrases ‘deaf and dumb’ or ‘deaf mute’ – they are considered offensive
and outdated. People who use sign language rather than speech to communicate are
(usually) profoundly deaf.
 Many people whose first or preferred language is BSL consider themselves to be part of
the Deaf community. Some may describe themselves as ‘Deaf’ with a capital D, to
emphasise their deaf identity.
 Don’t use negative terms such as ‘victim’ or ‘sufferer’ and some people don’t like the
terms ‘hearing impaired’ or ‘partially deaf’.
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 Use accurate terms, such as ‘hearing aid’ rather than ‘deaf aid’, and ‘cochlear implant’
not ‘bionic ear’.
We know people are more comfortable with some words than others when describing their
own deafness or hearing loss. For more information, you can see our online glossary
where we explain how we use important words and phrases in our website and printed
materials: www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk/glossary
How can I produce more accessible film and video information?
It’s important to make your website accessible to everyone. Go to the Web Accessibility
Initiative for more information on general tips on how to make sure everyone can easily
use your website (see page 6).
If you are producing a film, you can make it more accessible for people who are deaf by
including BSL narration and/ or subtitles. Producing a transcript as well is another low cost
and effective way to improve accessibility.
BSL narration
When producing a video with BSL narration, you should use sign language users who are
deaf. Organisations that can help with BSL narration are listed at the end of this factsheet.
For more information, see the guidelines for online BSL content we developed in
collaboration with the Deaf community: A buyer’s guide to British Sign Language
translation for the internet: www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk/bslonlineguide
Subtitles and voiceover
Subtitles are essential for people with hearing loss, especially where there is background
noise or music. Even skilled lipreaders will not be able to follow speech all the time. A
voiceover will help people with sight loss.
A specialist production company will be able to arrange all the BSL narration, subtitles and
voiceover as well as filming and editing the film. It is best that you allow them to control the
project instead of attempting it yourself. Specialist production companies who have
experience of making films accessible to people with hearing loss are listed at the end of
this factsheet.
Forward planning
Before you contact a production company about making your film, you need to ask
yourself some questions:
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 Who is the target audience?
 What are our key messages?
 What do we want to achieve from this film?
 How long does the film need to be?
 What’s the best format for our film? (Think about what is most appropriate for your
target audience).
 What’s the timeframe and deadline for distribution? Always allow for extra time in your
schedule for unexpected delays.
 What’s our budget? (Always include extra money in your budget to allow for unexpected
expenditure. Even a short film can be expensive. You may want to explore funding or
sponsorship to cover the costs.)
It’s a good idea to involve a person with hearing loss from the beginning so that the script
can be written in plain English and can be translated into BSL more easily.
Where can I get more information?
AC2.com Productions
Produces fully accessible video content.
Mayfair House, 14-18 Heddon Street, London W1B 4DA
Tel/ textphone 020 7060 3315
london@ac2.com
Fax 0871 433 1600
www.ac2.com
Scotland
100 Brand Street, Glasgow G51 1DG
Tel/textphone 0141 534 7912
Fax 0871 433 1600
glasgow@ac2.com
Remark!
Produces fully accessible videos, DVDs and CD-ROMs.
18 Leather Lane, London EC1N 7SU
Telephone 020 7269 2620
info@remark.uk.com
www.remark.uk.com
SignPost BSL
Supplies BSL services for television, video, CD-ROM, DVD, film and the internet.
ITV SignPost, Television House, The Watermark, Gateshead NE11 9SZ
Telephone 084488 15200 Textphone 0191 460 5645
info@signpostbsl.com
Fax 084488 15270
www.signpostbsl.com
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Plain English Campaign
For information about producing information in plain English.
PO Box 3, New Mills, High Peak SK22 4QP
Telephone 01663 744409
Fax 01663 747038
info@plainenglish.co.uk
www.plainenglish.co.uk
Royal National Institute for Blind people (RNIB)
For advice about producing information for people with sight problems, including people
who are deafblind.
105 Judd Street, London WC1H 9NE
Telephone 020 7388 1266
helpline@rnib.org.uk
Fax 020 7388 2034
www.rnib.org.uk
Sense
For advice about producing information for people who are deafblind.
101 Pentonville Road, London N1 9LG
Telephone 0845 127 0060
info@sense.org.uk
Textphone 0845 127 0062
Fax 020 7272 6012
www.sense.org.uk
Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
Resources for checking the accessibility of your website for people with disabilities.
www.w3c.org/wai
Further information from Action on Hearing Loss
Our helpline offers a wide range of information on many aspects of hearing loss. You can
contact us for further copies of this factsheet and our full range of factsheets and leaflets –
see the cover page for contact details.
Action on Hearing Loss Information, November 2011
The Royal National Institute for Deaf People. Registered Office: 19-23 Featherstone Street, London EC1Y 8SL.
A company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales No. 454169, Registered Charity Numbers 207720 (England and
Wales) and SC038926 (Scotland).
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