Affiliations: National Centre for Audiology, School of Communication
Sciences and Disorders, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON,
Canada | School of Occupational Therapy, The University of
Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
Note: [] Corresponding author: Margaret F. Cheesman, National Centre for
Audiology and School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, The University of
Western Ontario, Elborn College, 1201 Western Road, London, Ontario, N6G 1H1,
Canada. Tel.: +1 519 661 2111 ext. 80032; Fax: +1 519 661 3805; E-mail:
[email protected]
Abstract: Measures of accessibility typically focus on the physical
environment and aspects relating to getting into and out of spaces. The
transient sound environment is less well characterized in typical accessibility
measures. Hearing accessibility measures can be based upon physical indices or
functional assessment. The physical measures are indices that use
signal-to-noise ratios to evaluate audibility while the functional assessment
tool adopts universal design for hearing (UDH) principles derived from
principles of universal design. The UDH principles include (1) Optimization of
the hearing environment for all; (2) Optimization of interactions between
persons and objects to promote better hearing in an environment; (3)
Optimization of opportunities for people to have multiple choices of
interactions with one another; (4) Optimization of opportunities for people to
perform different activities in and across environments; (5) Optimization of
opportunities for people to have safe, private, and secure use of the
environment while minimizing distraction, interference, or cognitive loading;
and (6) Optimization of opportunities for people to use the environment without
extra steps for hearing access during preparatory, use and/or after use phases.
This paper compares the two approaches using case examples from post-secondary
classrooms in order to describe the potential advantages and limitations of
each.
Keywords: Hearing loss, communication access, universal design, university classrooms
