FAQs regarding AT and Employment will be audio recorded for you. The content applies to all AT Category

Common Questions about the Workplace: 
1.	I am about to lose my job because of my hearing loss, what do I do?   Consider Vocational Rehabilitation - Check out Vocational Rehabilitation for help with keeping or getting a job. You can find contact information in the funding section of this page.

2.	Are there any laws that help me get accommodation or prevent discrimination in the workplace based on disability? Yes. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other federal laws that have provisions covering the workplace. The ADA, Title 1, requires employers to make reasonable accommodations to the known disability of a qualified applicant or employee, unless such accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the employer. Reasonable accommodations include a wide variety of actions – making worksites accessible, modifying existing equipment providing new devices, modifying work schedules, restructuring jobs, reassigning an employee to a vacant position, and providing readers or interpreters.

3.	Excerpt from HLAA Employment Toolkit: “Looking for a job, landing a job, and keeping a job can be difficult under the best of circumstances. 

Whether you are a graduating student seeking employment for the first time, looking to change jobs, returning to the workplace after an absence, or you are concerned about keeping a job, you might find employment issues more challenging if you have a hearing loss. There are ways to be successful in the workplace with a hearing loss. Landing a good job, fitting into the workplace, and successfully advocating for the kind of accommodations that will make you a productive and valued employee can all be accomplished. But you need the right tools, do your homework, find out what’s right for you and for your employer, and find ways to successfully advocate for yourself.”

4.	As a person with a hearing loss in the workplace, it’s your responsibility to know what works best for you and communicate that to your employer. Your employer is required to provide adjustments or modifications to enable you to perform successfully. 
• Pay attention to the situations where you do best and what causes the most difficulty – and why.
• Maximize your residual hearing, using an Assistive Listening System (ALS) or Assistive Listening Devices (ALDs) whenever possible. 
• Anticipate problems and seek to minimize them. Do you spend more time on the phone or in meetings? Webinars? Conference calls? What can you do to make each of these situations less stressful?

5.	What is a Hearing Loop?

A hearing loop is a wire that circles a room and is connected to a sound system. The loop transmits the sound electromagnetically. The electromagnetic signal is then picked up by the telecoil in the hearing aid or cochlear implant.

To use a hearing loop, you flip on the t-switch on the hearing aid or cochlear implant to activate the telecoil. Usually, no additional receiver or equipment is needed. Using a telecoil and hearing loop together is seamless, cost-effective, unobtrusive, and you don't have to seek additional equipment. Hearing loops are also called audio-induction loops, audio loops, or loops. If your hearing aid doesn't have a telecoil, you will need a headset plugged into a loop receiver to achieve the same effect.