Do you enjoy playing video games to unwind by yourself or to have fun with friends? If you do, but you’re among the one in eight people in the United States age 12 or older who has hearing loss in both ears, you know that your gaming experience is affected. In this post, we review how you can make the most of video games with hearing loss.
Look for Accessibility Features
Next time you’re shopping for video games at Mega Replay in Evansville, ask the sales representative what video games offer the most in terms of accessibility features. Some helpful features to look for are outlined below.
Haptic Feedback
Haptic feedback, sometimes called touch feedback, is the use of vibrations in video game controllers that simulate what an action or event might feel like in real life. Tiny vibrations may indicate raindrops or oncoming footsteps, and intense vibrations may indicate gunfire or an explosion.
Visual Cues
For many video games, visuals are more important than audio. So as long as you can see what’s going on, the audio doesn’t matter as much. In addition, many video games offer awareness indicators, which are visual cues that something is going on.
Text-Centered Games
In the same vein as visual cues are text-centered games. These games rely even more heavily on visual cues, specifically text that flashes on the screen to provide information on what is happening. Text-centered games are essentially like interactive reading exercises.
Subtitles & Captions
Among the most popular accessibility features for people with hearing loss that many video games offer is subtitles of NPC dialogue and live-captioning of other players’ speech. This website provides accessibility reviews, specifically on how well games are subtitled and captioned.
Dynamic Sound Control
Dynamic sound control refers to when you can turn up the volume on dialogue and turn down the volume on music and sound effects. This way, you can hear the important sounds more easily without distracting background noise.
To learn more about hearing loss accessibility features or to schedule an appointment with a hearing expert, call Hearing Healthcare Center, Inc. today.