We all have a responsibility to make our world as comfortable as possible for everybody, including individuals with disabilities such as hearing impairment. The Disability Discrimination Act enshrines this principle in UK law. Introduced in 1995, this Act of Parliament aims to prevent discrimination against those with disabilities. It is stated in the act- "reasonable changes must be made to accommodate the needs of the disabled".

This imposes an obligation on employers and service providers to ensure that disabled access to their premises is adequate, including making appropriate alterations to the building itself.

If a public place does not have the correct provisions for deaf people within the building, or the hearing system is faulty or not working correctly, a company and/or organisation could be seen as not complying with this legal obligation.

A company installing a hearing system for a service provider should also comply with defined industry standards.  The standards that should be met when installing a hearing system are BS EN 60118-4:2006 (Hearing Aids) and BS 7594: 1993 (Code of Practice for Audio-Frequency Induction Loop Systems or AFILS). If these standards are not met by installers then compliance will not be achieved by service providers.If you would like to find out more on these standards, please go to:

BS EN 60118-4:2006 (Hearing Aids):

http://www.bsigroup.com/en/Shop/Publication-Detail/?pid=000000000030065293

BS 7594: 1993 (Code of Practice for Audio-Frequency Induction Loop Systems or AFILS):

http://www.bsigroup.com/en/Shop/Publication-Detail/?pid=000000000000309427

If you would like more information on any of these issues, email us at online@gordonmorris.co.uk