Subtitles make all the difference

Ever since I can remember, I’ve always watched TV with subtitles. I’m a hearing aid user with a severe to profound hearing loss, and quite frankly, I’m at the point in life where if it doesn’t have subtitles, it ain’t worth watching!

Screen time is my downtime after a busy day. I’ve got two small children usually hanging off my back pocket (I’m not one for apron strings), and a typical day is peppered with continuous demands of “watch this!” or “muuuum!” By 8pm, I’m ready to be sat on the sofa (preferably with chocolate) and to zone out for a few hours. If I have to concentrate on lip reading (if that’s even possible depending on the camera shot, and let’s not even talk about animation) then that’s extra effort that I don’t have in me by then. So I’m incredibly grateful for subtitles.

Captions have come such a long way in my lifetime. Back in the 90s, my parents invested in a video caption reader. This was a box that connected to our TV. Certain VHS films (spot my age there) had a captions symbol, meaning they were compatible with the technology and could access the captions for that video. I also used teletext 888 to get captions on TV programs if they were available, which was hit and miss.

For me, the vast access to subtitles today is nothing short of brilliant. My husband is so used to having them on now he finds it odd to watch without them. I’d say his spelling has improved!

Our daughter, Isabelle, is six and also has hearing loss. She picked up reading exceptionally fast, and I’ve no doubt this was helped by our family already using subtitles. She now uses them exclusively when watching TV and finds it frustrating if they’re ever not automatically on (sorry boss). She even watches her tablet without putting on her cochlear implants, quite content to just read along to whatever mermaid or Barbie-based series she’s into at the time.

Now she can read quickly enough, I’ve requested her mainstream school use subtitles where possible when watching clips as part of their learning. They’ve also put them on when having a movie night at school. The benefits of subtitles for children’s literacy development has been a hot topic in recent years, and I can see why.

Growing up, I often went to the cinema and the theatre and just accepted that I would miss parts of the movie or show – I got by with enough knowledge to follow along and still enjoyed myself. In the past year, however, I’ve been lucky enough to experience subtitles in both types of venue for the first time.

We noticed a new Disney film had a captioned screening at our local cinema, so I took Isabelle along. We ended up having the cinema to ourselves, and it was so refreshing to experience a film with 100% comprehension. As an added bonus, the empty screen meant Isabelle could dance down the aisle! Mental note to do a little more research into more subtitled screenings as our local ones are only about once a week.

This summer, Isabelle and I had two special days out just us – both to the theatre. Our first show was The Sound of Music up in Birmingham. In a complete first for me, the entire performance had live captioning with screens either side of the stage. My husband had thoughtfully booked it for us, choosing seats where we’d easily be able to see and read along. Unfortunately, there were signs on the way in saying, 'Leave the singing to the professionals!'

Our second trip was to London to see Frozen before it finished its run. Upon investigation, I discovered another source of captioning: an app called GalaPro [GalaPro website], which provides the service on your own device. We took our iPad and shared it between us. The app connects to the theatre wifi, uses low brightness so not to disturb others around you, and does a decent (not perfect) job of following the performance. It only links to a few shows at present, but fingers crossed it expands in the future to make live theatre more accessible and enjoyable for a wider audience.

I’d love to hear any recommendations for other ways we can access subtitles. My tech-driven husband has already shared his knowledge on Google live captions via the accessibility options on Chrome, as well as the ever-increasing options with smartphone accessibility.

In 2024, I’m continually appreciative of all technology helping to bridge the gap that a disability can create. It’s more than I could have imagined when younger. I can thankfully watch Gogglebox and Bake Off effortlessly with my feet up, under the blanket with all the Ben and Jerry's! Happy Autumn!