Introduction and Background information

One in seven of the population suffers from some form of deafness, most of whom become deaf in adulthood (Source RNID 2002). This study involves those who lose the sense of hearing either partially or profound. People so challenged are usually called the “Deafened” to distinguish them from those either born deaf or become deaf in early childhood (The Deaf).

What is impaired hearing?

There are two main types of hearing loss with different degrees of hearing loss associated with these two types: conductive and sensorineural.

Conductive affects the loudness/intensity with which a person hears speech and sounds. It is caused by the interference with the transmission of sound from the outer ear to the inner ear. Many people who suffer this type of hearing loss can generally benefit from the use of a hearing aid.

The sensorineural loss affects the frequency, intelligibility, or clarity of the sounds the person hears. It is often associated with damage to the sensory end-organ or even a dysfunction of the auditory nerve. A hearing aid in these circumstances will not correct or be of benefit, however much the sound is amplified. The reason for this is that nerve damage prevents the sound from reaching the hearing area of the brain.

Areas of research included:

• Semiotics and the Silent Film genre
• Media Semiotics
• The role of incidential and soundtracks Peirce, Saussure, Barthe and Malinowski and the semiotics of film
• Description of mood and feeling from a semiotic point of view
• User interface on Sky, Cable and Freeview Platforms

Tinnitus

The term Tinnitus is used for the noises that some people hear "in the ears" or "in the head". These noises can be buzzing, ringing, hissing or other sounds. Many people experience tinnitus at some time in their life, but for most it only lasts for a short time. For other people it is permanent. Permanent tinnitus can be either mild or severe.

During recent research I have found that many radio stations add background noise to news and travel reports. For Tinnitus sufferers this is hell on earth as they cannot listen to such bulletins because it brings much discomfort, while at the same time they may get caught in traffic jams as they are unable to listen to the traffic reports.

The pilot study 

The study identified both the existing problems of the deafened and how technology could provide the means by which they could be permitted the same quality of viewing as that of the hearing population.  In this context, “viewing” means more than just watching moving images. It also means listening, and the sounds emanating from a television receiver include: speech, music, sound effects, and silent pauses (the deafened person cannot distinguish between their inabilities to hear sound and when there is no sound at all)

AimsThe aims were to focus upon and critically evaluate the evolution and impact of communications between moving audio-visual media such as interactive television and the adult deafened person.They were also to investigate technological means by which the viewing experience can be enriched such that the deafened are less disadvantaged. 

 

Objectives

The interpretation of atmosphere (including mood and feelings) was undertaken by the identifying and critically evaluating the use of semiotics how this could provide research for the development of the audiological experience enjoyed by deafened people. The objectives of the research were:

Understand the needs of the deafened viewerLearn how the deafened participate in the viewing experience

Fully understand the semiotic content of the viewing experience.

Understand the technology of interactive television and the possibilities its enhancement could have for the benefit of the deafened

A special site was set up to collate data and be used for the questionaire and survey stage of the research. You can find it on: www.deaf-research.org.uk  (updated 2nd November 2006)

The Powerpoint summary of the recent research Seminar that I gave at the University of Brighton will be added shortly.

Recent papers and articles by Desmond Boksan-Cullen :

News and Views West Sussex Association for the Deaf: coming soon

Powerpoint presentation made at the 2006 Cambridge Workshop on Accessiblew and Assistive Technology, University of Cambridge:

http://rehab-www.eng.cam.ac.uk/cwuaat/06/desmondboksancullen.pdf

Inscit , October 2006, Merida, Spain:Sharing the feeling, deafened people and silent television by D. P. Bokšan-Cullen

http://www.instac.es/inscit2006/papers/pdf/13.pdf

Sharing the feeling, deafened people and silent television by
D. P. Bokšan-Cullen

meanwhile why not visit the sites below:

for details regarding the proceedings of this conference held in Athens, earlier this year, please click here   

The British Computer Society is the main professional organisation for I.T in the UK  click here for details

The Institution of Electrical Engineers www.iee.org is well worth a visit

Usability Professionals’ Association (UPA) although US based is a worldwide organisation in the Human Computer Inrteraction http://www.usabilityprofessionals.org

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