Functional ability: Auditory

59 guidance statements support this functional ability:

• Adjustable volume - For systems that present auditory content, people may need to adjust the volume of the system to a suitable level.
• Alternative to auditory alerts - For systems that provide auditory alerts regarding critically important information, people may need to receive visual or tactile alerts instead.
• Appropriate safety level - People may need the system to provide an appropriate level of safety (including physical safety, and safety of my data, finances, legally, etc.).
• Assistive technology-compatible - For systems with user interfaces, people may need content and operable elements to be accessed and presented through assistive technology.
• Audio characteristics - For systems that present auditory content, people may need to adjust specific characteristics of audio content, cues, and feedback.
• Auditory equivalents - For systems with auditory content, people may need that content presented programmatically or need equivalent visual and tactile versions.
• Avoid overwhelming audio - For systems with audio content, people may need to avoid audio events that may overload their perception.
• Control timeout - For systems that time out, people may need to be able to adjust, extend or turn off any time out.
• Distinguish auditory components - For systems with multiple auditory components or channels (potentially including assistive technology or accessibility features), people may need to clearly perceive and distinguish the various auditory components and not have them interfere with each other.
• Distinguish auditory components - People may need to use assistive technology or accessibility features without interference from other devices.
• Distinguish if actionable - For systems that include static and interactive components, people may need interactive components to be clearly distinguishable visually and programmatically from static content.
• Encouragement on task progress - For systems used to complete tasks, people may need to receive encouragement that the I am progressing with a task.
• Equivalent privacy control - For systems that collect private information, people with disabilities may need the system to maintain my privacy and provide them the same amount of control of their personal information/privacy as other users.
• Error identification - For systems with possible errors, people may need errors to be identified sensorily and programmatically.
• Error prevention - For systems with possible errors, people may need submissions to be checked, confirmable or reversible
• Error suggestion - For systems with detectable errors, people may need error messages to suggest corrections or state that the system is at fault and the user is unable to fix the error.
• Findable - People may need to easily locate interactive components and important content.
• Identify speaker - For systems with auditory content, people may need to easily identify the relationship between caption text and speaker.
• Input modality choice - For systems that accept input, people may need to be able to choose modalities to be used for inputs to the system.
• Manage individualization functions - For systems with assistive technology built into the platform, people may need a way to perform, undo, and redo individualization actions.
• Meaningful organization - For systems that present content, people may need the content organized into logical, cohesive sections both sensorily and programmatically.
• Monoaural information - For systems that present multi-channel audio information, including directional information, people may need the same information available in a monoaural form.
• Multi-frequency events - For systems that present audio alerts and other events, people may need them presented in multiple frequencies, including frequencies where their hearing may be better.
• Multiple Paths - People may need multiple paths through content with unnecessary distractions and interactions.
• Mute all audio - For systems with audio output, people may need the ability to silence or mute all audio output.
• No accessibility feature override - For systems with built-in accessibility features to access systems, people may need applications that do not override or defeat those built-in platform features.
• No audio seizure triggers - For systems with audio output, people may need to to avoid auditory patterns that cause seizures.
• No disruption when activating access feature - People may need to be able to activate their desired modality without a serious disruption such as restarting the computer, closing and restarting an app, or leaving an active task in progress.
• No navigation traps - For systems with interactive components, people may need to move to and away from any interactive element using any user agent or input modality.
• No reliance on specific sense to avoid injury - For system the presents content and other stimuli, people may need alternative versions of content that do not rely on a specific sense to avoid injury.
• No tone differentiation - For systems that present audio alerts, notifications, and other events, people may need characteristics other than tone differentiation to distinguish between different audio events or obtain information from such audio events.
• Nonauditory instruction references - For systems that provide instructions, people may need instructions that reference auditory information to include an additional programmatic reference or provide equivalent visual or tactile references.
• Noticeable non-auditory alert - For systems that present auditory, time-sensitive alerts, people may need the alerts to be in a format that they will notice immediately, such as flashing lights or insistent vibration.
• Notifications in auditory alternatives - For systems that present auditory notifications, people may need visual or tactile equivalents.
• Obvious, avoidable hazards - For systems that include hazards, people may need the hazards to be obvious, easy to avoid, and difficult to trigger.
• Output modality choice - As a user with limited or no vision or with limited or no hearing, I need to be able to choose modalities to be used for outputs from the system.
• Personalized Interface - People may need to be able to customize their interface.
• Privacy protection - For systems that collect private information, people with disabilities may need the system to protect their privacy, even when they are not doing things that other users might be expected to do to guard their own privacy.
• Recognizable signals - For systems that provide alerts, people may need recognizable signals (including feedback and cues) for different alerts or other messages that use signals.
• Reset accessibility functions - For systems with assistive technology built into the platform or that work with assistive technology, people may need a way to reset accessibility functions to their initial states.
• Select audio stream - For a system with multiple audio streams, people may need to select and deselect different audio streams.
• Separate identification & activation - For system with interactive components, people may need to have separate means of identifying and then activating controls.
• Separate output control - For systems with assistive technology built into the platform or that work with assistive technology, people may need to be able to control output of assistive technology separate from output of content.
• Separate selection & activation - For system with interactive components, people may need to have separate means of selecting and then activating controls.
• Sign language characteristics - For systems that present auditory content, people may need sign language content in a sign language that they understand.
• Sign language characteristics - For systems with sign language, people may need sign language presented with sufficient size, resolution, magnification, speed, and contrast.
• Signposts - People may need clear signposts to indicate specific locations where functionalities can be found.
• Speaker location - For a 3D interface like XR with auditory content, people may need to identify where in space the speaker being captioned is located.
• Speech with visual highlighting - For systems that provide captions, people may need individual words highlighted synchronously with the text that is being spoken.
• Status indicators - For systems with toggle controls that have states, people may need the state of the system available to them.
• Supplement auditory location cues - For systems that present auditory cues to location in space, people may need the location represented in other forms, such as visual, textual, or haptic cues.
• Synchronized captions - For system with auditory content, people may need captions synchronized with the main content.
• Timeout warning - For systems that time out, people may need to be notified when a timeout is about to occur and has occurred.
• Timing - People may need no time limit on systems OR for systems that time out, people may need to continue their task without data loss when they log back in after time out occurs.
• Unexpected change of context - For systems with interactive components, people may need to be able to input content without unexpected changes in context.
• Unexpected change of focus - For systems with interactive components, people may need to focus on an element without unexpected changes in context.
• Updating content - For systems with automatically updating content, people may need to be able to control it.
• User feedback - People may need an accessible way to provide user feedback.
• Without fear of consequences - People may need to be able to use products without the fear of negative consequences if they make mistakes.