Ed’s Story: World Hearing Day 2025

How would your life differ if you couldn’t hear?

Today is World Hearing Day, and as a recruitment consultancy, we want to lead the way in educating employers on how they can adapt their workplaces and hiring practices to be more inclusive of the deaf community. Too much talent is being overlooked simply due to a lack of understanding, yet small changes can make a big difference.

To gain a deeper understanding, I sat down with my colleague Edward, who is profoundly deaf, to get his perspective.

Ed and I have worked together at De Lacy for nearly two years. Before meeting him, I had never had a proper conversation with a deaf person. My previous understanding of deafness was based on assumptions—I overlooked some of the challenges he faces daily while also overestimating certain limitations that, in reality, don’t hold him back from living a full and independent life.

Ed generously agreed to share his story in the hope of raising awareness about the struggles deaf people can face in the world of work and how those with hearing can be more inclusive and supportive.

However, Ed was keen to emphasise that this is his personal story, based entirely on his own experience. Deafness is different for everyone, and it’s important to avoid generalisations, and consider each person on a case-by-case basis.

Were you born deaf?

Edward: Yes, I was born deaf but nobody realised until I was about six months old, back then they didn’t do routine tests at the hospital that they do nowadays. My parents knew something wasn’t right and found out that I was deaf.

I got my first hearing aid at 2 years old. At around age 5 I started learning sign language. During primary school I had speech therapy, to further improve my speech. Towards the end of primary school, I phased away from signing towards speech.

How much can you hear?

Without my hearing aids, I actually can’t hear anything at all. But with them on I can hear all sorts of sounds, doorbells, music or a telephone ringing. I can also hear speech and conversations, but it’s not clear enough for me to make out what a person is saying unless I lip-read.

How do you communicate?

When communicating with hearing people, say, a one on one conversation, I can lip-read and speak. In a group setting, like a larger meeting, it can be more tricky and I prefer to read from a transcription app on my phone because it’s difficult to look at several people at once, especially in fast paced conversation where multiple people are jumping into conversation.

Would all deaf people communicate in a similar way to you?

Not at all, everyone is different. I am not a typical example of how a deaf person can communicate, because the deaf community is diverse.

For example, there are groups of deaf people who prefer to sign exclusively, and others who sign and speak. Then there are people who can lip-read but prefer to reply in sign. I have a friend who is deaf and is able to hear on the phone. Whether someone was born deaf or lost their hearing later in life could also impact how they prefer to communicate.

Again, everyone is different.

What challenges do you face in day to day life?

Fortunately, here at De Lacy, I have no obligation to talk on the phone but, in general, not being able to speak or communicate over the phone can be challenging as many organisations and services like banks and utility companies will only communicate over the phone, or will be much less responsive via email. (Try cancelling your broadband account over email and see what happens!)

Many people wouldn’t think of this, but the pandemic was a huge challenge for me as face masks – while essential at the time - removed my ability to understand most people when they spoke to me.

Conversing with a group of hearing people can also be difficult, I can manage up to around 4 people, but when it gets to 5, 6 or more people I can get a little lost and it can be a lot of work to keep up.

What did you want to do when you left University?

When I graduated I wanted to work as an analyst, I applied for so many jobs back then to no avail and it was a bit disheartening. Recruiters were unwilling to offer an alternative method of communication, and employers were insistent that phone communication was essential to the job.

I ended up becoming a chef at a local pub, communication wasn’t a problem there because I could read the orders and handle the cooking side. I did that for around 7 years, I enjoyed it but I reached a ceiling where progression was difficult because if I wanted to work in a bigger kitchen, communication would be a significant barrier.

That’s when I moved into baking. I ran a commercial bakery and managed a team there. I did that for 3 years until Covid came and an opportunity arose to run my own bakery where I was responsible for everything. In addition to the operational side, I was responsible for finances and business management. It was tough going, with early starts, long days and 6 day weeks, but I learned a lot.

How did you end up at De Lacy?

I injured my back quite badly when I was working at the bakery, which made things difficult for a physical role. It made me reconsider if I could do this for the rest of my life. What will I do if my back completely goes?

I started looking at what else I could do. I’d already got experience managing a small business, and I came to De Lacy to gain some experience working in an office, initially for 8 hours a week. I was doing this at the same time as the bakery which was intense.

When I first started I was doing admin work, working on the database and troubleshooting some updates. I also assisted with the invoicing system and other bits. I must have been doing something right, because I was asked to do more hours and was eventually offered a full-time role.

What do you do at De Lacy?

My role here at De Lacy is Data and Accounts Manager. I have multiple responsibilities covering lot of functions such as admin, finance, policies and managing the database – both day-to-day and continuous improvement.

I’m currently studying towards an accounting qualification to help me progress further.

How was your experience finding a job?

The communication side was difficult, a lot of recruiters ghosted me when I wasn’t able to speak on the phone. I did speak to a local recruitment agency who invited me in to meet them in person which was a good way around speaking on the phone. However it is much more time, effort and expense having to get dressed up, drive there, pay for parking, etc whereas a hearing person probably takes for granted that they can have a 15 minute intro call over the phone. It makes job hunting difficult, especially if you’re already employed and short of time.

How can businesses accommodate deaf people?

There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to making accommodations, or reasonable adjustments. Every individual needs to be consulted on what works best for them, in combination with what it is possible for the business to offer – but employers shouldn’t discount different ways of working simply because it is different from how they’ve operated in the past.

Offering people the option to communicate via email is particularly valuable for deaf people who cannot communicate over the phone. If you call someone and they don’t answer, always follow up with an email. Even if they are not deaf, you’re giving them another line of communication. This can improve accessibility for other groups, such as neurodivergent people, as well as deaf people.

All employers should ask candidates if they require any adjustments to attend an interview and make every effort to support their needs. It’s essential to implement these measures properly, not just treat them as a tick-box exercise.

Finally, really examine the requirements of the role; in our experience, there are almost always work arounds for phone communication and large meeting settings – close-minded employers are likely to miss out on exceptional talent.

Grace’s comments (Managing Director of De Lacy Executive Recruitment)

Managing Ed has been a massive eye-opener for me, and what I’d say to other employers is: don’t be scared. Don’t be afraid to address the elephant in the room—Ed and I always have open and ongoing conversations. This isn’t just about having a discussion at the start and then forgetting about it; we continuously check in to ensure we’re doing what we need to do, assessing whether anything can be improved, whether communication is working, and adapting together.

Technology has played a key role in this. As Ed has already identified, he uses a transcription app and enables captions on Teams, which has made a real difference. For me, the most important thing has been making sure Ed feels fully involved and part of the team—that has been my standout mission throughout. Apart from making phone calls, there’s nothing Ed can’t do, he has excelled in every aspect of his role, always finding a way to adapt and succeed since joining De Lacy.

In team situations, it’s important to be mindful of Ed’s needs as a deaf employee. Simple things, like letting him know via Teams when I’m about to make an announcement in the office, ensuring I’m facing him directly so he can lip-read, and making sure he has a clear view of speakers in meetings, all make a big difference.

Having Ed in the business has not been a burden in any way—far from it. We are not doing him a favour; if anything, he is doing De Lacy a favour. He has been an outstanding employee and an invaluable member of the team, and we would struggle without him. It has been an incredibly rewarding and eye-opening experience for both the business and me personally.