Audiology and hearing aid clinic website accessibility: contact without a phone, captions, booking and online hearing tests

Almost everyone who visits a hearing care website has some hearing loss, or is helping someone who does. Many are older and also zoom the page or use a screen reader. The most common barrier isn't in the code at all: a site whose only way to book is "Call us today." Here's what to check on the pages patients use most.

1. Offer a way to reach you that doesn't need a phone call

Put a text option next to every phone number: a booking form, an email address, a text-message number if you have one, and a note that you take relay calls (711 in the US). Keep the same help options in the same place on every page. (WCAG 3.2.6)

<h2>Book a hearing test</h2>
<ul>
  <li><a href="/book">Book online</a></li>
  <li>Text us: <a href="sms:+15555550123">555-555-0123</a></li>
  <li>Email: <a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a></li>
  <li>Call or use relay (711): <a href="tel:+15555550123">555-555-0123</a></li>
</ul>
<!-- example values -->

2. Captions and transcripts on every video and audio clip

Hearing care sites are full of video: "what to expect at your first visit", product demos, patient stories and audiologist explainers. Every one needs accurate captions, reviewed by a person (auto-captions miss names, product names and numbers). Audio clips, such as "what hearing loss sounds like" samples, need a text description, and nothing should auto-play with sound. Live webinars or Q&A sessions need live captions. (WCAG 1.2.2, WCAG 1.2.1, WCAG 1.2.4, WCAG 1.4.2) See video captions for small business websites.

3. Online booking that works with a keyboard

Booking is often a third-party widget. Check that a date and time can be picked with the keyboard, that taken times say so in text (not just greyed out), and that the confirmation is announced and also sent by email or text, not only by a phone call. (WCAG 2.1.1, WCAG 1.4.1, WCAG 4.1.3) See online booking widget accessibility.

<fieldset>
  <legend>How should we confirm your appointment?</legend>
  <label><input type="radio" name="confirm" value="text" checked> Text message</label>
  <label><input type="radio" name="confirm" value="email"> Email</label>
  <label><input type="radio" name="confirm" value="call"> Phone call</label>
</fieldset>
<p role="status">Booked: Thursday, Nov 12 at 10:30 AM. We've sent a text confirmation.</p>
<!-- example values -->

4. Online hearing screeners

Many clinics embed an online hearing test. Because it plays sounds, give every step written instructions, make the start, volume and answer buttons work with the keyboard and have real names, and show the result as text. Say plainly that it's a screener, not a diagnosis, and offer a way to book a full test without a phone call. If the screener is a vendor product, ask the vendor for its accessibility conformance report (often called a VPAT). (WCAG 4.1.2, WCAG 1.1.1) See VPATs for small businesses.

<button type="button" aria-pressed="false">I heard the tone</button>
<button type="button">Play the tone again</button>
<p role="status">Tone 3 of 8, left ear.</p>

5. Hearing aid styles and prices as text

Hearing aid styles, technology levels and package prices are often shown as an image or brochure PDF. Put them in a real table with headers, describe product photos ("Behind-the-ear hearing aid in beige, shown on an ear") and keep prices, warranties and trial periods as selectable text. (WCAG 1.3.1, WCAG 1.4.5) See accessible pricing tables.

<table>
  <caption>Hearing aid packages (pair)</caption>
  <tr><th scope="col">Level</th><th scope="col">Price</th><th scope="col">Includes</th></tr>
  <tr><th scope="row">Essential</th><td>$2,400</td><td>Fitting, 1 year of follow-ups</td></tr>
  <tr><th scope="row">Advanced</th><td>$4,200</td><td>Fitting, 3 years of follow-ups</td></tr>
</table>
<!-- example values -->

6. Intake, insurance and financing forms

New-patient, insurance and financing forms need visible labels (not placeholder text), autocomplete on name, email, phone and address, and errors that say which field and how to fix it in text. Keep what people already typed, don't ask twice for details they gave earlier, and warn before any time limit. (WCAG 3.3.2, WCAG 1.3.5, WCAG 3.3.1, WCAG 3.3.7, WCAG 2.2.1)

<label for="dob">Date of birth (MM/DD/YYYY)</label>
<input id="dob" name="dob" autocomplete="bday" inputmode="numeric" aria-describedby="dob-err">
<p id="dob-err" class="error">Enter your date of birth like 04/18/1952.</p>
<!-- example values -->

See accessible contact forms and form error messages.

7. Patient portals, remote adjustments and logins

Portals and remote-care apps shouldn't depend on remembering a code or solving a picture or audio puzzle with no alternative. Let password managers fill in and paste, and never make a phone call the only way to verify an account. (WCAG 3.3.8) See accessible logins and CAPTCHAs.

8. Readable text, contrast and zoom

Many patients are older and also have low vision. Body text needs at least 4.5:1 contrast, the page must work at 200% zoom and on a narrow phone, and pop-ups (such as "free hearing test" offers) must close with Escape and not trap keyboard focus. (WCAG 1.4.3, WCAG 1.4.4, WCAG 1.4.10, WCAG 2.4.3) See readable font size and spacing.

9. Access details, stated factually

Say what you actually have: a hearing loop in the waiting room, staff who can write notes, how to request a sign language interpreter, step-free entrance and parking. Avoid "fully accessible" with no detail. Example: "Our waiting room and test booth have a hearing loop. To request an ASL interpreter, email or text us at least 3 days before your visit." (example wording; only say what is true for your clinic)

Common mistakes

• "Call us today" as the only way to book.
• Patient-story and product videos with no captions or auto-captions nobody checked.
• A "what hearing loss sounds like" clip with no text description.
• An online hearing test whose buttons have no names and whose result isn't text.
• Hearing aid prices only in a brochure image.
• Account verification only by phone call.
• An overlay widget instead of real fixes; see overlays vs real fixes.

A 15-minute check you can do today

1. Turn your sound off. Can you book an appointment and get a confirmation without making or taking a call?
2. Play every video on the homepage and services pages with the sound off. Are there accurate captions?
3. Using only Tab, Shift+Tab, Space and Enter, start the online hearing screener and the booking widget.
4. Find the price of a hearing aid package. Is it text you can select?
5. Zoom to 200% and check the booking button and contact options are still visible.
6. Run the free homepage scan for code-level problems.

What a scan can and can't check here

Our scan is automated, so it finds only part of the barriers on the pages it visits: missing alt text, unlabelled fields and buttons, low contrast and similar code problems. It can't check whether captions are accurate, run a vendor's hearing screener, log in to a patient portal, or judge whether your contact options and access details are right, which is why the 15-minute check above matters. For HHS-funded practices, see the HHS Section 504 web rule dates and first steps; we don't say whether it covers you.

Platform steps: WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, GoDaddy. Related: medical clinic websites, optometrist and eye care websites, senior living and home care websites, accessibility statement template.

This is general technical guidance, not legal advice, and it doesn't certify compliance with the ADA or any law.

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This is general technical guidance, not legal advice, and it does not certify compliance with the ADA or any law.

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This guide is general technical information, not legal advice. Following it does not certify ADA or any legal compliance. Automated checks find only part of accessibility barriers.