Should Deafness/HOH Be Mentioned on Resumes?

No. I will tell you why. Employers will chuck it into the garbage if they see it on the résumé, and you can't prove to human rights administration if it is discrimination or not. At least during a job interview, you can get a gauge of the employer's bias, and thus act upon it if necessary.

I know one of my bosses was grateful that I didn't list my deafness or blindness on my résumé. He hired me because he figured I could handle the job when I explained to him DURING the interview how I could overcome the roadblocks that I may face in the workplace. Hope that help.

here's is my experience as someone with LD - including also possible a auditory processing disorder - and new hoh - I personally do not disclose anything til after I get the job. Then I think it is my responsibility to disclose because if my employer and co-workers are going to have a chance of being non-judgemental and willing to work with me <NOT saying that that is automatic, regardless> then they need to know that these things about me as opposed to purely thinking I am not interested in the job, not doing my best etc. Also for safety factor, I am working with other people and in this case now, many dogs, so we all need to <attempt> to work as team and that can't happen if one individual is purposely hiding something that affects interaction and/or standard job performance. Under ADA one is not required to disclose anything unless accommodations are needed for the job interview. This all said, my current supervisor thinks I need to "listen better" and often gets frustrated or angry cuz I miss something for whatever reason <sigh>

I never put it in my resume, because that's just odd. However, I do mention it in a cover letter. I don't elaborate on it, just a simple statement that I am deaf and can't talk on the phone, so I prefer email.

For a while, I debated on whether I should mention it or not. I just figured it was easier doing an interview with them having a low expectation of me (but giving me a chance) than them being shocked that I am deaf and making the interview awkward.

A resume isn't supposed to be a personal biography, at least not here where I am.

They're supposed to be short, concise, one page explanation of your merits and employment experiences and education.


A resume is to be used as a standard for all jobs entry level up to around professional/business, then once you are going past that point to a step up for stuff in the graduate field you use a curriculum vitae. In a CV I can see it being worthy of mentioning of your deafness and things associated with it in the interest section or something.

But on a resume, around here, no.

The followup is in the interview where they communicate with you personally and then you can reveal more about yourself. If you do it on the resume, like someone else mentioned, it's likely going to get overlooked or tossed into the trash along with a condolence letter sent to you. Has to deal with an unproved fact that the majority of planet earth does not understand deafness.

If you're sending it to an employer that knows or works with deafness in general, like say Deaf Advocates or a VRS company, then by all means there's no reason to hide it to them since they work in that field and understand it already.

I thought about it for a second to why someone would want to mention their deafness on a resume, and saw there are some good reasons as it can promote your ability to stand out and being honest. However where I am from, honesty is overlooked or believed to be nonexistent.

Having fully thought it out, it has to really depend on the job you are going for, along with your location in demographics.

If it's a job where your deafness will be a huge hindrance or unfeasible to perform the job as capable of as your hearing peers, common sense should tell you not to even apply for the job.

Like attempting to be a police officer, FBI agent as deaf/past normal HOH. Or being a lumberjack. Or a specific branch of construction work. Employments like this are where if you don't hear, and your life is in danger, they must know about your deafness yes, but you shouldn't even be applying for it unless you risk the factors involved. I'm not saying "no, you can't do this", if you understand what I'm conveying. More like, "do it at your discretion".

Office jobs in the pink/white form (which the majority of us who have replied seem feasible with) are where deafness is not an extremity to be mentioned first up the bat.

souggy said:

No. I will tell you why. Employers will chuck it into the garbage if they see it on the résumé, and you can't prove to human rights administration if it is discrimination or not. At least during a job interview, you can get a gauge of the employer's bias, and thus act upon it if necessary.

I know one of my bosses was grateful that I didn't list my deafness or blindness on my résumé. He hired me because he figured I could handle the job when I explained to him DURING the interview how I could overcome the roadblocks that I may face in the workplace. Hope that help.

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That was exactly how I thought about it. I guess it really depends on the employer, like Naisho said, and whether or not they understand what it means to be deaf or hard of hearing. However, I still do not think that it would be a wise choice for me to list it on my resume because, like I mentioned earlier and like you mentioned in your post Souggy, they will see it and chuck it into the garbage because some people are ignorant.

No, I never put it on my resume or job application ... I never actually thought about it ... because they are supposed to list your positive marks (you want to "sell yourself"; as I was always told) .. unless a question asks you otherwise; which I have yet to come across one that requires me to list HoH.

... I used to work on the phones at a call center and I did just fine on the phones ... and I say I had an advantage because I didn't have to plug up my other ear to hear customers (we were in open call center setting, no wall barriers to help sound, got very noisy). I think having SSD (single-sided-deafness) actually helped me in the workplace

No, it's out of question. I prefer to not disclose anything until the interview.

In my 20 plus experience of applying for jobs and working at least 7 different jobs in my lifetime, I have never once put down my deafness on my resume. It has never crossed my mind. It is not a part of my skill nor experience.

shel90 said:

In my 20 plus experience of applying for jobs and working at least 7 different jobs in my lifetime, I have never once put down my deafness on my resume. It has never crossed my mind. It is not a part of my skill nor experience.

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I feel it depends on the job you are applying for as many have mentioned. I agree with Shel90. A resume is quoting your skills and experience in the line of work. Perhaps stating that you know ASL would be appropriate, just as you would list foreign languages on your resume.

BecLak said:

I feel it depends on the job you are applying for as many have mentioned. I agree with Shel90. A resume is quoting your skills and experience in the line of work. Perhaps stating that you know ASL would be appropriate, just as you would list foreign languages on your resume.

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I agree with putting down ASL down to identify oneself as bilingual or knowing more than one language. Up to each applicant if they are comfortable with it.

I work as a support worker and so often being Deaf can HELP me get a job. I work with a lot of Deaf clients so it is often important that I am Deaf. I always state that I know ASL and English as well as Signed Exact English and Cued Speech depending on the job.

I do agree that ASL specifically as a skill, like any other skill, is good to put on a resume and can be especially useful for certain positions, as can the cultural connection of "Deaf" be useful for certain positions. I therefore think these are more significant for resume than the ideas of utilizing "deaf" or "hearing loss" only in themselves if those does not relate to specific skill or advantage in the resume.

I voted, Not Sure

It would depend on a great many things, one of the biggest being "Does the business have a history of discrimiatory behavior toward D/deaf or HOH?" . Is that why they want to know?


~added:
I guess I misunderstood. I thought it was to put that you are D/deaf/HOH on your resume but I see that it is should you put ASL as a second language.
I agree that ASL should be placed on the resume as an added special skill.

I put down the vote for not sure and on the fence. Funny thing is I don`t remember if I had put the Deaf or ASL in the resume. I guess I had put my experience on what job I know how to work with. It depend on how the interviewer want to hire me or not. It is hard to find a job and get discriminate because of some kind of disability like deafness, blind or wheelchair bound. The only way is to feel what you want to put the information down for the job only and worry about that later, I think.

No. Employers may ask on job applications if you require any accommodations.

I vote no. The purpose of a resume is to sell yourself to get an interview, thus a resume should only contain positive things.

Yeah, I know people here will say that there is nothing negative about being deafness. But, we should assume that an employer is likely a hearing person whom may not know anything about deafness. You also have to assume that an employer will also receive other resumes, too. So, how will your resume compete against others?

Once you reach the interview stage, you will have the opportunity to prove that you are suitable candidate for the job, etc. So, the employer would be able to judge you as a person rather than something written on a piece of paper.

omegaman said:

I vote no. The purpose of a resume is to sell yourself to get an interview, thus a resume should only contain positive things.

Yeah, I know people here will say that there is nothing negative about being deafness. But, we should assume that an employer is likely a hearing person whom may not know anything about deafness. You also have to assume that an employer will also receive other resumes, too. So, how will your resume compete against others?

Once you reach the interview stage, you will have the opportunity to prove that you are suitable candidate for the job, etc. So, the employer would be able to judge you as a person rather than something written on a piece of paper.

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I cant disagree with that. I would rather show the prospect employer what I am capable of doing and maybe blow away any myths about deafness. I had an employer for a construction company who admitted to me that she used to think all deaf people were supervised by a caretaker or family members until she met me at an interview. I got hired for the job.

It happened to me, too. The employer thought deaf people couldn't speak English. I got the job.