Marina Berts, student at UNIL, hard of hearing and "solutions" oriented

Marina Berts graduated from Helsinki with a Master's degree in English, French and Scandinavian languages and literature, and obtained a second Master's degree in digital humanities at UNIL in July 2022. Society is changing, and this new Master's degree has given her the opportunity to study humanities in a different way, in a rapidly expanding field.She will be working on a research project in the English department for 6 months before starting a doctorate on the theme of 'pauper letters' in the spring semester of 2023. The title of her dissertation is « Late Modern English language use across gender and class : a historical sociolinguistic investigation ».

Marina is hard of hearing and has been wearing a hearing aid for several years. She is currently developing cutting-edge strategies as part of her studies. For her, it makes sense to go and see the classrooms in advance to assess the acoustics. It’s always a bit of an unknown, it’s always a bit of an improvisation, because the acoustics change a lot depending on what you do in a room, the number of people in it or whether you do exercises in small groups. Rooms that are equipped with microphones are ideal for Marina.

Before the end of her studies, Marina went to see the person in charge of disability at her Faculty. She was advised to go to class and discuss the situation with her teachers. The advice proved useful - almost all the teachers were very welcoming and helpful;The teachers were very welcoming and helpful, and the start of the course went very smoothly. When a problem arises, Marina goes to see the teacher to discuss it. There's a solution for every difficult situation!

Hard of hearing is a very discreet disability, so it's difficult to tell spontaneously and also to keep in mind. In a very small room, if the students are working in small groups, there is a considerable hubbub and, for a person with a hearing impairment, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish what a particular person is saying. The result can be a feeling of exclusion or a lack of participation. If the room is larger and the sound more diffused, this can be an advantage. But in such a room, there may also be occasions when the sound simply gets lost. It's important to know that hearing aids worn by people with hearing loss amplify all sounds, whether it's a voice, the creaking of a chair or the roar of cars on the motorway. Consequently, hearing aids do not guarantee perfect speech understanding in certain situations.

Sometimes, even if the teachers have been warned, they forget to speak clearly or in the direction of the students. It's also important to know that hearing aids pick up sound from the front, not the back. If Marina is sitting in the front row - which is useful for understanding the teacher - she doesn't necessarily hear the opinions of the students sitting behind her. What's more, women's voices are more difficult to capture because they are less confident, less strong and less supported. Even when she turns up the volume on her equipment, Marina sometimes can't hear female voices. Gentlemen tend to touch their beards (even if they don't have any!), a very common gesture, which prevents the sound from being well distributed in the space.

It is embarrassing for Marina to have to return to the subject of hearing loss. It's embarrassing to tell someone to speak louder, not to put their hand in front of their mouth or not to stroke their beard. We all have our tics and habits when we speak, and Marina sometimes feels that she is touching something very personal when she makes her requests. It is therefore essential for her to be able to adapt, as it is not possible to always be in optimal situations. As Marina has been hard of hearing for a relatively long time, she has got into the habit of reconstructing the context from a few words or phrases when necessary. She can also use lip-reading, even if she is not a specialist in it.

• contact teachers·e·s before the start of lessons to tell them about the situation and explain the difficulties encountered
• ask for extra help if necessary
• don't hesitate to talk about your difficulties after the first lesson
• don't hesitate to sit in the front row
• test different seats in the audience if understanding is difficult, as sometimes the sound is better from the very top or the very back, especially when the teacher·e uses a microphone
• participate in disability meetings organised by UNIL where it is possible to meet staff in charge of étudiants·e·s with disabilities as well as other étudiants·e·s concernedé·e·s. This makes it clear that there are tools available: micro-cravatte, magnetic loops in auditoriums, portable case system for rooms that are not equipped with magnetic loops.

• there’s no reason to be afraid when a hearing-impaired person contacts you – they usually have a habit of falling out
• don't get defensive because you don't know about the disability or don't know what to do – together, with the hard-of-hearing person, it's always possible to find solutions
• dialogue and agree with the student·e, without prejudging
• in class, speak clearly and with support while facing étudiant·e·s
• évoid turning right and left or walking up and down
• when students speak in low voices, ask them to speak louder
• don't overarticulate because it becomes caricatural and makes you feel uncomfortable
• when the student·e with a hearing impairment·e has not understood, do not repeat exactly the same thing in the same words, but rephrase, particularly when there is noise that may cover up speech (working in groups, nearby motorway etc.)

Marina is grateful for everything that is set up by the University. There are people who are there to support the person with the disability, to reflect and find solutions together, and ça, it’s really fantastic!

Interview conducted by Nathalie Janz, Deputy Director for Student Affairs and Head of Services for Students with Disabilities