“Technological progress does not keep pace with social progress”

Araceli Luque To wake up, you need to set four alarms on your mobile phone and two analog alarms. He doesn’t hear them. He began having hearing problems when he was 30 years old. He had surgery twice otosclerosis, a bone change that affects the temporal bone and can lead to hearing loss. The bone deposits it creates alter the transmission of sound, preventing the ear bones from vibrating.

But, at about 50 years old, seeing that one of these operations did not give the correct result, they did an MRI. Then medical workers saw that he had a benign tumor, which led to hearing loss. “It left me with deafness serious, which adds according to her age,” she explains. She is 79 years old and uses a hearing aid. Therefore, she knows to what extent technology has developed in recent years to make her life easier.

On the phone we spoke in the same tone. None of those listening to us at that moment could say which of the two was hard of hearing. “My hearing aids have Bluetooth“, he explains. That’s the reason. You can connect them to both your mobile phone and your TV.

Train and show improvement

As a traveler, you will also appreciate the changes made to the train. In 2022, at the Sol Cercanías station (Madrid), Renfe installed an information system aimed at people with hearing impairments. This was achieved through the use of a lighting system and a mobile application that allows them to detect any warning or announcement using the system. Visualization

. After the success of the pilot program, they decided to expand it to another 25 stations.

He also talks about movie theaters that use a magnetic loop to enable hearing aid use for people with disabilities who use hearing aids, whether hearing aids or cochlear implants. This way they can hear the work more clearly. Other theaters use subtitle screens. In addition, since September 30 last year, RTVE launched a new innovative radio service for the deaf: RNE para todos. Users who wish can configure it to DTT. It is also available via RTVE Play. The idea is that coverage will reach over 99% in the medium term.

Belen Borroy He is much younger than Araceli. She was born with profound bilateral deafness. “My parents realized that children my age were already talking, but I was not. There were times when he called me, but I didn’t turn around. They thought there was something wrong with me,” he explains. At two and a half years old, he had a cochlear implant inserted into one ear. At five, in another. Thanks to speech therapy sessions provided by the Aspansor Association in Zaragoza, his disability has improved.

He began preschool education by combining a regular school with a special education school. I only went to elementary school in elementary school. He used FM (frequency modulated) equipment with his teachers to hear them well. He then started using it only for the subjects he needed, such as English. Now there is another similar device called Mini Mic that can only be used by the teacher. Now, as a graduate of the Faculty of Education, she knows how important it is for teachers to be aware that some students may have hearing problems. When they talk facing the board or say a note in the middle of an exam, they don’t notice it.

More than 1.2 million people

In recent years, technological advances have offered resources and support products that either did not exist or have been enhanced in functionality, adapting to the environment and improving the auditory accessibility of information and communication.

“In the fields of hearing, information and communication, technology has advanced greatly in recent decades. It has been a progressive process from the late 80s, early 80s until now. What’s happening? That this technological progress does not always keep up with the times. with social progress. They’re a little more on par now, but we still have a long way to go to match them,” he explains. Carmen JaudinDirector of the Spanish Confederation of Deaf Families (FIAPAS).

Jaudenes believes that deafness is invisible to the eyes of people who do not have this disability, and this still remains a paradox when Today there are more than 1,200 deaf people and people with some form of hearing loss living in Spain.. If more seniors joined, Araceli said, there would be many more.

In fact, according to Survey of situations of disability, personal autonomy and dependence according to the INE, second only to difficulties with household chores (63.1%), problems with mobility (62.7%) and personal care (61.9%).

“We know that every year almost 2,000 children are born with varying degrees of hearing loss. These morbidity figures are important. Means of eliminating the auditory and communication barrier exist; you just need to be aware of their relevance. what impact does the fact of not hearing have on the daily lives of these people,” adds the FIAPAS director.

We have a long way to go

Lack of awareness is reflected, for example, in the price of good hearing. “A good hearing aid is very expensive. It costs about 4000 euros. This is the first obstacle. Also, for older people, everything has to be very specific. As a rule, it is more difficult for them to learn and adapt to it,” explains Araceli. She has it, but it’s not the general norm.

For their part, everyone a cochlear implant costs about 9,000 euros.. “Social Security usually covers about 7,000 of each. But seven years must have passed since you put it on. I haven’t even worn two of the ones I have now, and if tomorrow they break or I lose them, I’ll have to pay for them intact,” adds Belen.

She believes that society as a whole should be more patient with people with hearing problems: the fact that there are people who, due to misunderstanding, have to repeat something several times, is not a whim, it is a necessity.

Araceli also believes that more effort should be made to create spaces and objects suitable for everyone. They need more noise suppression, more spaces adapted to their disabilities, and more insulated buildings and facilities or systems, such as magnetic loops, for them to enjoy. In addition to taking them into account at any time of alarm or emergency, as happened with DANA. Only then will adaptation be completely real.