User Experiences When Testing a Messaging App for Communication Between Individuals who are Hearing and Deaf or Hard of Hearing

This study investigated user experiences of participants testing a prototype messaging app with automatic speech recognition (ASR). Twelve pairs of participants, where one individual was deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH), and the other one was hearing used the app, with the hearing individual using speech and ASR and the DHH one using typing. Participants completed a standardized decision making task to test the app. Regardless of hearing status of the participants or the type of device used, participants were generally satisfied with the app. These findings indicate that ASR has potential to facilitate communication between DHH and hearing individuals in small groups and that the technology merits further investigation.