Church Accessibility: Live Captioning for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
How Breeze Translate is partnering with Open Ears Charity to provide live captioning and accessibility for church services using smartphones.
Try free this SundayAt Breeze Translate, our name tells only half the story. While we started with a mission to help congregations speak across language barriers, we have discovered that one of our most powerful uses isn't about translating foreign languages at all—it's about making sure the message is clear in English. We recently sat down with the team at Open Ears Charity, a fantastic organization with over 50 years of experience supporting people with hearing loss in Christian fellowships. That conversation highlighted a vital truth: for many people, the barrier to engaging with church isn't a different language, but hearing loss.
Addressing Hearing Loss and Deafness in the Church
Many people who are hard of hearing find themselves in a difficult "middle ground" regarding accessibility. They may not use sign language or identify as part of the fully Deaf community, yet they struggle to follow spoken sermons—especially in echoey church buildings or when background noise interferes. This creates a significant barrier to worship, often leading to feelings of isolation in a place designed for community.
Live Captioning on Smartphones: Accessible Tech for Hard of Hearing Congregations
We are excited to share that Breeze Translate is fully equipped to serve as a live captioning tool for the hard of hearing. Because our English-to-English transcription is currently our second biggest use case, we are officially supporting this as a primary feature. It allows anyone in your congregation to view live, accurate captions of the service directly on their own smartphone or tablet.
Partnering with Open Ears to Remove Barriers to Worship
Our friends at Open Ears remind us that accessibility is about belonging. As we discussed with their team, our goal is the same: to ensure that no one is prevented from hearing the Good News or participating in Kingdom work due to physical barriers. We are honored to have their support as we refine our tools to better serve the hard-of-hearing community.
Try Captioning in Your Church
If you have members of your congregation who are deaf or hard of hearing and would benefit from clearer audio text support, we invite you to try Breeze Translate as your captioning solution.
Ready to Make Your Church More Accessible?
Start your free trial today and provide live captioning for your congregation.
Try free this Sunday