{"id":11161,"date":"2025-01-03T10:56:05","date_gmt":"2025-01-03T18:56:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/househearing.com\/?p=11161"},"modified":"2025-01-03T10:58:08","modified_gmt":"2025-01-03T18:58:08","slug":"heres-how-you-can-make-the-most-of-video-games-with-hearing-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/househearing.com\/heres-how-you-can-make-the-most-of-video-games-with-hearing-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"Here’s How You Can Make the Most of Video Games with Hearing Loss"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders<\/a>, \u201cOne in eight people in the United States (13 percent, or 30 million) aged 12 years or older has hearing loss in both ears, based on standard hearing examinations.\u201d If you\u2019re among this population, you know that hearing loss can affect many aspects of your life, including your experience with video games. In this post, we review how you can make the most of video games with hearing loss.<\/p>\n\n\n Below are some of the accessibility features many video games offer:<\/p>\n\n\n Many video games offer dynamic sound controls, meaning if you have trouble hearing dialogue in the midst of a lot of background noise, you can turn the dialogue all the way up and background noise all the way down, so you can better follow along with what is said.<\/p>\n\n\n In many video games, visuals are just as important, if not more, than audio. As long as you can see well, you don\u2019t necessarily need sound to tell you whether driving a vehicle or firing a weapon. A lot of video games also provide awareness indicators\u2014visual cues indicating if there are obstacles or opponents in your vicinity.<\/p>\n\n\n Another popular accessibility feature offered by most video games is pre-written subtitles for NPCs and live captioning for other players. There is even a website<\/a> that provides accessibility reviews, in particular how well they are subtitled.<\/p>\n\n\n Certain video games are text-centered, requiring little or no audio or subtitles. These games are more like interactive reading exercises. You\u2019ll often find them on your mobile application store and the experience can be similar to an old choose-your-own adventure book.<\/p>\n\n\n Touch feedback, AKA haptic feedback, gives you real-time physical responses as you play your game. Vibrations of various intensities simulate how an action in your game may feel in real life, such as approaching footsteps or a crash. With touch feedback, you can react quickly to what\u2019s happening without needing to hear what\u2019s going on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n
Available Accessibility Features<\/h2>\n\n\n
Control of Different Sounds & Volumes<\/h3>\n\n\n
Visual Cues<\/h3>\n\n\n
Subtitles & Captions<\/h3>\n\n\n
Text-Centered Games<\/h3>\n\n\n
Touch Feedback<\/h3>\n\n\n