Amazon India Creates Silent Delivery Station, Managed by Deaf Employees
MUMBAI, INDIA — The world’s largest online retailer, Amazon, has announced the launch of a so-called ‘Silent Delivery Station’ in Mumbai, India, managed almost entirely by Deaf employees. In collaboration with Mirakle Couriers, Amazon says the move is designed to empower and support diverse communities in the country by creating job opportunities. According to the…
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NC Governor Signs Bill Allowing Deaf & HoH to Designate Hearing Status On Driver’s License
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA — Late last week, North Carolina governor Roy Cooper signed a bill into law that allows people that are deaf and hard of hearing to have a symbol placed on their driver’s license that designates their hearing challenges. The bill, which unanimously passed both the state House and Senate, would allow for…
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Ohio Bill, Already Passed in State Senate, Seeks Recognition of Deaf History Month
COLUMBUS, OHIO – Deaf History Month, which is celebrated nationally from March 13 through April 15, could soon get formal recognition in the state of Ohio. Senate Bill 27, introduced by Senator Bill Beagle, has already received approval by the Ohio Senate and now moves to the House floor for a vote. Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing…
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Gorilla at Florida Zoo, Kumbuka, Has Hearing Tested by Pediatric Audiologist
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA — Shortly after arriving at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens in 2014, zookeepers began to have suspicions that their new gorilla, Kumbuka, was having trouble hearing. Those suspicions were ultimately confirmed late last week, thanks to a group of veterinarians and experts at Nemours Children’s Hospital, who diagnosed Kumbuka with profound hearing loss.…
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Cochlear Implant Researcher and Developer, Blake Wilson, Elected to the National Academy of Engineering
WASHINGTON, DC — Duke University professor, Blake S. Wilson, PhD, who helped invent many of the sound-processing strategies used in modern cochlear implants, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). Election to the NAE is among the highest professional distinctions afforded to an engineer. NAE membership honors individuals that have made outstanding…
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New Malaysian Starbucks to be Staffed by Deaf Baristas
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Global coffee giant, Starbucks, has announced that it will be opening a café in Malaysia that is dedicated to employing baristas who are Deaf or hard of hearing.The new café will be open to all customers, not just the Deaf and hard of hearing community. In what is likely a first…
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Medical Center Settles With US Justice Dept; Will Improve Access for Deaf & Hard of Hearing
WASHINGTON, DC – the US Justice Department announced that it has entered into an agreement with Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC) of Colton, California. The voluntary compliance agreement was reached to help resolve allegations that the hospital was in violation of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by not providing qualified interpreters and other services to…
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Wells Fargo ad with two “mommies” adopting a deaf child creates lots of buzz
By David H. Kirkwood SAN FRANCISCO—For decades, advertising, especially television and print campaigns aimed at a broad national audience, has been an accurate barometer of public attitudes in America toward various minority groups. In casting models and actors—or selecting “real people” to appear as themselves—for ads, agencies try to present people that the…
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VEST is designed to allow deaf people to feel what speakers are saying
By David H. Kirkwood HOUSTON—David Eagleman, PhD, and his graduate student Scott Novich at Baylor College of Medicine are working alongside a team of engineering undergraduates at Rice University to develop a high-tech garment known as the VEST (Versatile Extra-Sensory Transducer) that would enable people who are deaf in both ears to understand speech…
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EEOC charges FedEx Ground discriminated against hearing-impaired workers
BALTIMORE—Are you a deaf or hard-of-hearing person who has worked as a package handler for FedEx Ground since 2006 or applied for such a position? Probably not, but if you are and you feel that the company, discriminated against you, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) wants to hear about it. On October 10,…
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