Why captions are suddenly appearing everywhere and how they got there
The COVID pandemic disrupted daily life for people everywhere, but many of those with hearing loss took the resulting isolation especially hard. “When everyone wears a mask they are completely unintelligible to me,” said Pat Olken of Sharon, Massachusetts, whose hearing aids were insufficient.
But today's hearing aids can cost upward of $5,000, often aren't covered by insurance and don't work for everyone. The devices also don't snap audible sound into focus the way glasses immediately correct vision. Instead, hearing aids and cochlear implants require the brain to interpret sound in a new way.
Captions, by contrast, are usually a lot easier to access. They've long been available on modern television sets and are cropping up more frequently in videoconferencing apps like Zoom, streaming services like Netflix, social media video on TikTok and YouTube, movie theaters and live arts venues. Jargon and slang can also be a stumbling block. But users and experts say that ASR has improved a lot.
Otter said in a statement that it welcomes feedback from the deaf and hard of hearing community and noted that it now provides a paid software assistant that can join virtual meetings and transcribe them automatically. Movie theaters provide devices that amplify sound, as well as glasses and individual screens that show captions to go with the movie. But those aren't always comfortable and sometimes aren't well-maintained or just don't work. Many people with hearing loss want more films to run captions on the big screen, just like you'd have in the comfort of your own home.
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