Update 1/31/2015: I realized just after writing this that video relay is possible with the same phone number … whoops, that shows how long it’s been since I’ve made a single phone call! But in any case, I think the ideas in this article are still valid, and not every deaf person knows sign language.

Original article: In my search for deaf-friendly tactics that are straightforward to implement, I initially observed that it’s so much easier for me to understand someone when he or she speaks clearly (not necessarily loudly). I also pointed out that in a group situation, two people (me and one other person) is optimal (not three, not four…). Two recent events led me to think of another super simple deaf-friendly tactic. In retrospect, I’m surprised it took me a few years to write about it.

I recently had to schedule an appointment with Toyota of Berkeley to get my car serviced. I also received a jury duty summons for late February, and I figured that it would be best if I requested a sign language interpreter to be with me for my summons. Unfortunately, for both of these cases, calling Toyota and the California courts, respectively, seemed to be the only way that I could achieve my goals.

In fact, my jury summons form said the following:

Persons with disabilities and those requiring hearing assistance may request accommodations by contacting the court at [phone number redacted].

There was nothing else. I checked the summons form multiple times. There was no email address, no TTY number, no video relay service number, nothing. Yes, I am not joking. Someone who is hearing impaired — and logically will have difficulty communicating over the phone — will have to obtain jury duty accommodations by … calling the court! I actually tried to call with my iPhone 6. After multiple attempts, I realized that there was a pre-recorded message which said something like: “for doing X, press 1, for doing X, press 2…”, so I had to press a number to talk to a human. Actually, I think it’s probably best that there was no human on the other end, because otherwise I probably would have frustrated him or her by my constant requests for clarification.

I will fully admit that the iPhone 6 is not perfect for hearing aid users because its Hearing Aid Compatible rating is M3, T4 rather than the optimal M4, T4 rating, but still, even after about five or six attempts at calling, I did not understand what numbers corresponded to what activities. Sure, I’m rusty since I make around two phone calls a year to people outside of my immediate family, but I don’t see experience being much of a factor here.

This motives the following simple deaf-friendly tactic:

Provide an email address (perhaps in addition to a telephone number) that people can use to contact for support, scheduling services, and other activities.

I am aware that deaf people can easily use alternative services, such as TTY or video relay. Such services, however, are far inferior to email in many ways. Email nowadays is so prevalent in our lives and is incredibly easy to use. It’s rare when I don’t have some form of Internet access, so I can effectively check email whenever I want. The fact that I’m also writing instead of talking means that I can do things like revise my ideas more clearly and paste relevant web links. The process of forming an email can sometimes result in me resolving my own situation! I’ve often been in the process of writing an email, but then I realized I needed to add more information to show the person on the other end that I had done my research, but then that extra research I do can lead to an answer.

Furthermore, the set of people who regularly use email form effectively a proper superset over those people who use TTY and video relay services. In other words, the vast majority of TTY and video relay users also use email, but the converse is not true. In my case, I have not used TTY and video relay in years; email forms the foundation of almost all my communication nowadays. As long as it doesn’t become an obsession (as in checking it 50 times a day), I don’t see how it interferes that much in my daily life, and I would argue that a telephone call can drag on and on.

Conclusion: if you’re going to provide a phone number for contact, I would strongly urge you to also provide an email address.