On 26 May 2026, EFHOH hosted the webinar “Launch of EFHOH’s Hearing Loss Inclusive Employment Toolkit: Creating Inclusive Workplaces for Hard of Hearing People.”
The session marked the official launch of EFHOH’s Inclusive Employment Toolkit, aimed at supporting more hearing loss-inclusive workplaces across Europe and strengthening understanding of the realities hard of hearing people continue to face in employment. Bringing together representatives from the European Commission, disability advocates, hearing care professionals, assistive technology experts, employers, and hard of hearing people, the discussion highlighted that barriers in employment are created by inaccessible communication environments, lack of accommodations, listening fatigue, and limited awareness of hearing loss.
Speakers stressed the importance of moving beyond the misconception that hearing aids alone remove barriers and explored practical solutions including captioning, assistive listening technologies, inclusive communication practices, workplace assessments, and reasonable accommodation. Throughout the discussion, speakers emphasised that accessibility should not become the responsibility of the individual alone. Instead, inclusive workplaces require shared responsibility, structural awareness, and practical implementation of accessibility measures.
EFHOH’s new toolkit was presented as a practical resource designed to help employers, HR professionals, managers, service provides and hard of hearing employees better understand hearing accessibility and implement concrete solutions to improve communication, inclusion, and participation at work.
EFHOH would like to sincerely thank the speakers — Monika Chaba, Nicole Sophie Marinos, Andrew Sciberras, Michael Buckfield, and Susan Scott-Parker — as well as all participants who joined the discussion and contributed to the successful launch of the toolkit.
