[ti:Captioning Tool Expansion Helps People with Hearing Loss] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]The number of tools used to caption words [00:04.92]has been expanding in recent years. [00:08.84]The tools are especially helpful for people with hearing loss [00:15.20]who may not be able to use traditional hearing aids. [00:20.60]Captioning services used to be limited [00:24.44]mostly to television shows. [00:27.16]But in recent years, developers have created apps [00:32.52]for phones and other electronic devices. [00:36.88]These apps are making it possible for many people [00:41.88]to use captioning technology wherever they go. [00:47.64]In the United States, hearing loss issues [00:51.88]affect an estimated 40 million adults. [00:56.68]Many people use hearing aids to fight the problem. [01:01.76]But high-quality hearing aids can cost up to $5,000. [01:08.00]The devices are often not covered by insurance [01:12.64]and do not work for everyone. [01:15.92]Frank Lin is the director of the Cochlear Center [01:21.24]for Hearing and Public Health [01:24.08]at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. [01:28.56]He told The Associated Press that many people [01:33.48]are not dealing with their hearing problems [01:36.72]because of a lack of effective options. [01:40.64]"The solutions out there are clearly not a one-size-fits-all model [01:47.80]and do not meet the needs of a lot of people [01:52.08]based on cost, access, a lot of different things," Lin said. [01:58.60]Industry experts say lower-cost quality hearing devices [02:05.28]are currently being developed. [02:07.72]But for now, only about 20 percent of people [02:12.60]who could be helped by hearing aids use them. [02:17.12]Captions are usually a lot easier to access than hearing devices. [02:24.24]They have started appearing in many more forms of media. [02:29.36]These include videoconferencing apps like Zoom, [02:34.40]television show providers like Netflix [02:37.92]and social media services YouTube and TikTok. [02:42.56]Captions can also be found in some movie theaters [02:47.52]and at live event centers. [02:51.00]There are also several phone apps that provide captioning, [02:55.68]such as Otter, Google's Live Transcribe, Ava and InnoCaption. [03:03.80]Some of these apps are aimed at people with hearing loss [03:08.56]and use humans to improve the quality of the captions. [03:13.88]Otter and the Live Transcribe apps depend on a technology [03:19.76]called automatic speech recognition (ASR). [03:25.44]This system uses artificial intelligence to learn and capture speech. [03:32.88]ASR can produce mistakes or experience delays [03:38.36]when transcribing spoken words. [03:41.56]But many users and experts say the technology [03:46.80]has greatly improved over the years. [03:50.60]While there are more offerings to help improve hearing, [03:55.56]none of the solutions are perfect. [03:58.92]Toni Iacolucci of New York says she sometimes [04:04.40]had difficulties when using Otter to transcribe [04:08.72]during book club meetings. [04:11.84]The captions were often not correct [04:14.96]and did not identify individual speakers. [04:19.12]This could make it hard to keep up, she said. [04:23.44]"It worked a little bit," said Iacolucci, [04:27.40]who lost her hearing nearly 20 years ago. [04:31.56]After coming home, she would be so tired from trying to [04:36.00]follow the meeting's discussion that she had to lie down. [04:40.48]"It just takes so much energy," she said. [04:45.40]Otter said in a statement that it welcomes comments [04:50.24]about its products from people who are completely deaf [04:54.80]or have hearing issues. [04:57.32]The company noted that it now provides a paid software assistant [05:03.44]that can transcribe virtual meetings. [05:07.60]A new law that took effect in New York City on May 15 [05:12.68]requires movie theaters to offer captioning [05:17.24]on the screen for up to four show times per movie each week. [05:22.84]Captions are also becoming increasingly available [05:27.88]for live performances, as well. [05:31.28]I'm Bryan Lynn. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM