Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD): Driving Inclusion in a Connected World

May 15, 2025 – Innsbruck, Austria: What if the digital world truly included everyone? On Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), MED-EL joins the worldwide movement to spotlight digital access and inclusion for people with disabilities. As technology unlocks new ways to connect and communicate, GAAD challenges us all to think, talk and act – so that the digital world works for over one billion people living with disabilities across the globe.

• Global Accessibility Awareness Day promotes digital inclusion for people with disabilities.
• Hearing in the Digital Age: Assistive technologies enhance accessibility for people with hearing implants and hearing aids.
• Breaking Communication Barriers: Cochlear implants were a milestone in helping people with hearing loss reconnect and communicate more easily – and continue to evolve with features that enhance digital accessibility.

Digital accessibility lies at the heart of GAAD: enabling individuals with disabilities to independently access and engage with digital platforms such as websites, mobile applications, and multimedia content. Hearing loss is among the most common disabilities worldwide. Advancing digital accessibility can significantly improve how people with hearing impairments engage with the world around them. MED-EL, a global leader in hearing implant technology, highlights the critical role of assistive technologies that empower individuals to live independently and participate fully in society. 

Everyday solutions such as hearing loops in theatres, neck loops for business meetings, FM systems in classrooms and innovative technologies like Auracast™ – a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) audio technology that streams sound to multiple devices simultaneously – enhance the listening experience and facilitate communication for people with hearing aids and hearing implants. These technologies help users stay connected, autonomous, and engaged in daily life, making inclusion a reality.

Breaking Barriers to Communication

In a world where communication barriers – especially for people with hearing loss – can lead to isolation, it is inspiring to see examples of how inclusivity is becoming common practice across many sectors:

• Cinemas and theatres offer captioning devices and audio description services for a richer experience. The Royal National Theatre in London, for example, developed smart subtitle glasses that recognize spoken dialogue and adapt to stage cues in real time, offering seamless access to live performances.
• Public events are increasingly prioritizing accessibility by offering real-time captioning and assistive listening devices to ensure everyone can participate.
• Government institutions incorporate captioned videos and sign language interpreters to support accessibility.
• Cities like Barcelona and Tokyo utilize acoustic sensors and app-based navigation to assist people with hearing loss in navigating noisy urban environments. 
• Artists like Coldplay, Lady Gaga, and Billie Eilish are making concerts more inclusive by incorporating sign language interpreters and haptic (vibrating) vests, allowing Deaf and hard-of-hearing fans to experience music in an immersive, multisensory way. 
• Major global sports events, like the FIFA World Cup and the Super Bowl, offer sign language interpreters for national anthems, real-time captioning for key announcements, and assistive listening devices in stadiums.
  

These examples illustrate how accessibility benefits everybody, not just those with disabilities. Accessibility is not just about technology; it is about creating inclusive experiences for all. Simple environmental adjustments, such as good lighting, improved room acoustics, and clear visibility of faces (important for lipreading), further support communication and inclusion.

A Global Commitment to Accessibility

Recent developments demonstrate the growing digital confidence of cochlear implant users: many now use digital hearing training programs within six months of their treatment, improve their sound quality by using apps on their smartphones, stream music and phone calls directly to their external audio processors, and use Auracast™ and other assistive listening technologies for an enhanced communication experience. 

“Cochlear implants were a milestone in removing communication barriers, and innovation continues to drive us forward,” says Dr. Patrick D’Haese, MED-EL’s Corporate Director of Awareness and Public Affairs. “At MED-EL, we put the needs of our users at the center of everything we do. Our goal is to ensure that digital accessibility is not just a feature, but a right that enables people with hearing loss to connect, communicate, and fully engage with the world around them.” 

Join the Movement

Global Accessibility Awareness Day encourages designers, developers, educators, businesses, and communities to think beyond limitations and create digital tools, experiences, and environments where everyone can thrive. The goal is simple: a more inclusive, accessible world for all. MED-EL invites everyone to be part of this change: “Explore our accessible hearing solutions, advocate for inclusive design, and help us create a digital future where no one is left behind,” says Dr. D’Haese. “Inclusion must be thought of by everyone – from architects to event organizers – as part of the design process. Accessibility is everyone’s responsibility. Join the movement and help build a world where everyone can connect, communicate, and belong.”

About MED-EL 

MED-EL Medical Electronics, a leader in implantable hearing solutions, is driven by a mission to overcome hearing loss as a barrier to communication and quality of life. The Austrian-based, privately owned business was co-founded by industry pioneers Ingeborg and Erwin Hochmair, whose ground-breaking research led to the development of the world’s first micro-electronic multi-channel cochlear implant (CI), which was successfully implanted in 1977 and was the basis for what is known as the modern CI today. This laid the foundation for the successful growth of the company in 1990, when they hired their first employees. To date, MED-EL has more than 2,900 employees from around 90 nations and 30 locations worldwide.
The company offers the widest range of implantable and non-implantable solutions to treat all types of hearing loss, enabling people in 137 countries enjoy the gift of hearing with the help of a MED-EL device. MED-EL’s hearing solutions include cochlear and middle ear implant systems, a combined electric acoustic stimulation hearing implant system, auditory brainstem implants as well as surgical and non-surgical bone conduction devices. www.medel.com   

CEO

Doz. DI Dr DDr med. h.c. Ingeborg Hochmair

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