captions and text fill gaps in hearing

By Andrea Kaneb

two girls on a museum bench watching a captioned movie as an example of how captions and text fill gaps

Photo by Maria Teneva, unsplash.com

When I struggle to follow a discussion, captions and text fill gaps in my hearing. (I wouldn’t hear nearly as well without my reading glasses.) Today, captions are available in a rapidly increasing and wide variety of situations. Above all, everyone with significant hearing loss should know about a service called Communication Access Real-Time translation (CART). CART provides a complete translation of all spoken words and environmental sounds in real-time. It’s an important accessibility tool for your most important discussions. On the other hand, there is Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR). ASR is speech-to-text translation done by a computer. It is widely available on mobile devices as speech-to-text apps. Some are impressively fast and accurate. You will be blown away by Google’s Live Transcribe app. Fortunately, captions are on the rise in mobile devices and video content. Written materials are another important tool to enhance hearing.

Take advantage of the opportunities:

Automatic speech-to-text apps or CART for live conversations
Google’s Live Captions on your computer, phone or tablet
Closed captions for TV
Captions for landline phone calls, often for free or reduced costs
Mobile phone apps and built in features to caption calls, messages and other content
Movie theaters’ special captioning devices, available at the service desk
Some live theaters’ captions via an app like GalaPro
YouTube captions for almost all their online video content
TikTok captions

Written materials are also beneficial:

use texts and emails as an alternative to voice calls
at meetings, ask for an agenda and any written materials ahead of time
use a prayer book/missal to follow the readings and songs at a worship service
use a pen and paper or small whiteboard as a low tech tool
ask the person giving a speech or eulogy if you can read a written copy
use an app like Buzz Cards to convey helpful info for others to read

Read on to learn how to get CART services and use speech-to-text apps. Above all, experience how captions and text fill gaps in hearing to keep you in the loop.

speech-to-text apps for live captions

Speech-to-Text apps use Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) computer software to convert spoken words into text. When high quality audio is provided, the best speech-to-text apps provide fast, highly accurate and free captioning when CART is not available. In a less formal gathering or a last minute meeting, a speech-to-text app is a great option, but it should never be used to replace CART in order to save money. It’s a great tool for live, face-to-face conversation (especially to overcome facemasks), captioning for meetings in person and via video conference, and telephone conversations.

The most popular speech-to-text apps are Live Transcribe (android only) and Otter. Click to find speech-to-text apps that work for you.

CART for live captions

CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation) is a word-for-word speech-to-text service for people who need to read what they cannot hear. CART provides a complete translation of all spoken words and environmental sounds in real-time. A CART captioner is a person specially trained to use a steno machine and computer software to listen to what is being said and instantly translate it into captions shown on a large projection screen, computer monitor or handheld device depending on the need. Unlike automatic speech recognition that’s done by a computer, a CART captioner includes speakers’ names along with their individual remarks, are usually more adept at foreign accents and able to capture much of the secondary comments, often further away, that would otherwise be inaudible. Quality CART captioners prepare ahead of time with names, special terminology, acronyms, etc. All this preparation improves caption accuracy. A CART captioner can be on site during the event or work remotely. CART is used for work meetings, classrooms, civic events, important medical appointments, weddings, funerals, conferences, courtrooms, museums, theater, webinars and video conferences and anywhere communication access is needed. CART is best practices and should be provided upon request to those who need it under the ADA.

Sometimes a meeting flyer says “CART will be provided” and I can almost feel a weight lifted off my shoulders. It is wonderful to know I won’t have to work at hearing every word. The support is incredibly comforting. I am so thankful for good CART captioners.

How do I find a CART reporter?
- Look for a local agency or group that focuses on helping people with hearing loss. This could be an HLAA or ALDA chapter or another non-profit in your state.
- Try doing a Google search of “(name of your state) hard of hearing interpreter services”.
- Contact a local university Disability Office for a direct CART captioner recommendation.
- Contact your state’s Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Commission.
- There are also online databases, although these are not always up to date and word-of-mouth has proven to be a much better way to find a quality CART captioner.
How much does CART cost?

Rates and policies vary by state. In New England, CART costs approximately $105 per hour with a minimum of 1.5 – 2 hours. Some additional fees include: prep time, equipment transport and setup, transcript fee, travel time, and miles. There is likely to be a 48-72-hour cancellation policy as well, depending on the case.
How do I prepare for a CART reporter?
1. Send the CART captioner your presentation slides or materials, including the names of those speaking and any technical terminology, as far ahead of your event as possible. This allows for more caption accuracy.
2. Discuss the room layout and plans for displaying the captions on a large screen or devices.
3. Arrange free and early admission of the CART captioner to the event and parking close by for easy equipment transport, setup, and breakdown.
4. Set up a table, chair, extension cord and power strip ahead of time for the CART captioner off to the side and near the presenter. The CART captioner will need a small table, comfortable chair, access to power. Additionally, depending on the event, a projector and large screen may be needed. Many CART captioners, not all, can supply some/all of this equipment, which can be discussed beforehand.
5. Under the CART captioner’s direction, offer to help carry things, set up a screen or tape down cords as needed to keep the environment safe.
6. Don’t forget to thank them publicly at the end!
Where can I learn more?

The Hearing Loss Association of America has a lot of info about CART on their captioning page.

Google's Live Caption feature

Google worked directly with people with hearing loss and the Deaf community at Gallaudet University to develop their amazingly fast and accurate automatic captioning features “Live Transcribe” and “Live Caption”. Google’s “Live Caption” feature is available through the Google Chrome browser and on Google Pixel phones it does not require Wi-Fi or cellular service.

Learn how to set up captions for your computer here or see this feature in action here.

On the Pixel phone, it automatically captions videos, podcasts, phone calls, video calls, and audio messages (some features only work on Android 10 and up). Learn more here. Even when some apps don’t work without Wi-Fi or cell data, I use the built-in “recorder” app to get live captions. This works really well in stores without good Wi-Fi or cell service, when I need to hear people wearing facemasks. Live Caption feature is available on the Pixel 2, 3, 3A, 4, 4A or higher.

See below for other ways to get captions on your phone….

captioned phone calls

landline phone with captions on screen mobile phone with captions on screen phone call captions displayed on a mobile device

Phone calls can be captioned for free for people with hearing loss on both landline phones and through captioning apps on “smart” mobile devices. This service is provided through a federally-funded program that is regulated by the FCC.

See the CapTel website or this very helpful ALDA page for more information on captioned phone options for both landline and mobile use.

The smartphone app InnoCaption captions phone calls on mobile devices. The smartphone app Google Voice captions voice messages.

You may also qualify for a free or low-cost phone and other equipment and services. Learn more here.

captions on your tv

Closed captioning on TV is well-known and fills in the gaps in our hearing, especially when the TV is far away or the room is noisy. To turn this feature on, go to menu and look for the language/subtitle/audio settings for your TV, streaming service settings, cable box or laptop. Closed captions are most accurate for prerecorded shows and can be maddeningly slow and inaccurate in live broadcasts. FCC rules state that captions must be reasonably fast, accurate, complete and well-placed on the screen. If your closed captions are unacceptable, you can file a complaint within 60 days to the FCC or video programming distributors – cable operators, broadcasters, satellite distributors, etc.

captions for video conferencing

Zoom offers automatic Live Transcription free for people with hearing loss and anyone with a paid account. Unfortunately, if you are not the Zoom host you will not get the captions unless they are enabled prior to the meeting. Zoom limits accessibility with their default setting for captions as “off”. All Zoom hosts must enable Live Transcription captions in their settings and at the start of each meeting. Here is an instruction sheet you can send to your Zoom hosts.

Alternatively

Zoom also provides a great experience when used with CART.
It partners with the app Otter.ai so meeting hosts who pay more can provide Otter Live Notes for all.
Use Zoom via the Google Chrome browser and enable Google’s Live Caption feature.

Google Meet has automatic, built-in captions. It works really well for a casual group. I belong to a book group of 9 people with hearing loss and we prefer automatic captions for free for our monthly meetings. Google Meet works really well for us. Click to see my Google Meet quick user guide

Webcaptioner.com is a reliable, fast and accurate captioning app that can run in a separate window on computers and web-enabled mobile devices. It can also be set up to run directly within Zoom. Learn more here.

Other video conferencing platforms have free built-in captions, including Microsoft Teams and Skype.

Video conferencing with Cisco Webex offers real-time meeting transcription.

captions for presentations

Both PowerPoint and Google Slides can transcribe your words as you present and display them on screen in English. PowerPoint can even display them in another language. Although some people find subtitles distracting, you will make your presentation more accessible to more people in your audience than you may realize if you use them.

In PowerPoint (Office 365) click on the “Slide Show” tab, then the “Subtitle Settings” tab. Learn more about subtitles for PowerPoint.

In Google Slides, click on “Present”, then the “CC” button in the feature ribbon along the bottom. Learn more about subtitles for Google Slides.

If it doesn’t work, you may need to update your software.

Please note that presentations with captions on a video conference will only caption the presenter’s voice.

captions at the movies

captions at live theater

Gala Pro provides subtitles and amplification on your smartphone for live performances at participating theaters.

captions on airplane seat-back entertainment

Airplane rides often leave me feeling frustrated and marginalized, because captions on the seat-back entertainment are so hit or miss. While everyone else seems to enjoy any movie they like, I often have to give up. It’s hard to hear well on a plane when I cannot stream the audio, so I rely heavily on captions. Airlines are only required to provide captions on seat-back entertainment systems from 2009 or newer and often the movie content does not come with captions, so it’s hard to know if a plane will have the right hardware and if the third-party movie people included caption data. There’s a great article that you can read here.