When you think about an “all-access pass,” you likely imagine stepping through the backstage door at a concert of your favourite band. At The Canadian Hearing Society (CHS), we imagine an all-access pass as a society where everyone is able to participate without barriers.

But for 1 in 4 Canadians who are deaf or have hearing loss, that pass doesn’t exist. Whether it’s a lack of visual smoke detectors in public buildings or the isolation that can come to a hard of hearing senior, the barriers are real and can even be life-threatening.