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Eloise Garland explains how and why radio documentary Listening Without Ears has been subtitled.

Full transcript of interview:

ELOISE GARLAND: This particular subtitled radio it鈥檚 basically just a black screen. It鈥檚 an MP4 file I think, just a video file and just words popping up on the screen 鈥� so everything that I鈥檓 saying, everything that everybody else is saying, obviously it just has Eloise, colon, and then my words. And then for some background noises 鈥� so obviously when I was getting the sound massage at the beginning 鈥� has descriptive words like 鈥渟awing鈥�, which sounds absolutely terrifying if you鈥檙e reading it you鈥檙e thinking what on earth is going on? And are her legs being chopped off or something? [Rhianna and Eloise laugh]

So yeah, it鈥檚 just a simple video like that but it makes it a lot easier for people who can listen to a lot of it but, as I say, can鈥檛 understand the speech.

RHIANNA DHILLON: Can you get more out of it than just reading the words as if it鈥檚 just a transcript?

ELOISE: Oh yes, you can get a lot more out of it. Because it鈥檚 the rhythm, it matches up with the rhythm of the words. It matches up with where the sounds are. You know, as I say, if one of my friends, who is hard of hearing listens along to it and reads the subtitles as well they鈥檙e really getting that full experience: 鈥淥h, Eloise is saying that at this point. Tarek鈥檚 saying that at this point.鈥� And it really comes together a lot more.

It鈥檚 both the sight and the sound that is really important I think.

RHIANNA DHILLON: So do you think there is an assumption that radio just isn鈥檛 made for the deaf community?

ELOISE: There is an assumption, yes. It isn鈥檛 made for the deaf community 鈥� it鈥檚 never been accessible to the deaf community before. And I think it鈥檚 really important that that changes in some way. This is definitely, you know, the first step in changing that. Especially, as I say, for the hard of hearing community.

Older people who might鈥檝e listened to radio for many, many years, and have gradually lost their hearing to a point where they can鈥檛 understand it very much now, this could really help them to get back into things like Radio 4, which is mainly dialogue.

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