# Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Hearing Perspectives on using Automatic Speech Recognition in Conversation

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1909.01176 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1909.01176/

## Key facts

- Cited by 6 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 3 Sep 2019.

## Built on by (most cited first, 6 of 6)

- [Hey ASR System! Why Aren't You More Inclusive? Automatic Speech Recognition Systems' Bias and Proposed Bias Mitigation Techniques. A Literature Review](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.09511/) (2022)
- [Sonos Voice Control Bias Assessment Dataset: A Methodology for Demographic Bias Assessment in Voice Assistants](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.19342/) (2024)
- [Generating Signed Language Instructions in Large-Scale Dialogue Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.14026/) (2024)
- [EvolveCaptions: Empowering DHH Users Through Real-Time Collaborative Captioning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.02181/) (2025)
- [Deaf and Hard of Hearing Access to Intelligent Personal Assistants: Comparison of Voice-Based Options with an LLM-Powered Touch Interface](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.15209/) (2026)
- [Unheard in the Digital Age: Rethinking AI Bias and Speech Diversity](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.18641/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Many personal devices have transitioned from visual-controlled interfaces to speech-controlled interfaces to reduce costs and interactive friction, supported by the rapid growth in capabilities of speech-controlled interfaces, e.g., Amazon Echo or Apple's Siri. A consequence is that people who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) may be unable to use these speech-controlled devices. We show that deaf speech has a high error rate compared to hearing speech, in commercial speech-controlled interfaces. Deaf speech had approximately a 78% word error rate (WER) compared to a hearing speech 18% WER. Our findings show that current speech-controlled interfaces are not usable by DHH people. Based on our findings, significant advances in speech recognition software or alternative approaches will be needed for deaf use of speech-controlled interfaces. We show that current speech-controlled interfaces are not usable by DHH people.