Deaf & Hard of Hearing
Validated through direct community research. Our Berlin screening with 65+ participants demonstrated that expressive subtitles fundamentally transform the viewing experience.
Community Voices
"Describe the sound with subtitles. That way I feel like I can hear."
On experiencing expressive subtitles for the first time
"Standard captions tell me what is said. PHONT tells me how it's said."
Comparing emotional vs traditional subtitles
"The emotion styling helped me understand the character's feelings without hearing their voice."
On emotional context in subtitles
Key Insights
Beyond Words
Traditional captions only convey dialogue. Deaf and HoH audiences miss emotional context, background sounds, and tonal nuances that hearing viewers take for granted.
Environmental Context
74% of Deaf/HoH viewers express a strong need for environmental sound descriptions—footsteps, door slams, background music mood—which standard AI captions often omit.
Emotional Accessibility
Expressive subtitles bridge the gap between text and full audiovisual experience, allowing Deaf viewers to perceive the emotional arc of scenes.
Community Validated
Our approach was developed with direct input from the Deaf community, including screenings with the Berlin Deaf Association and Sinneswandel.
Full Research Results
View the complete study with 346 participants plus the Berlin Deaf Community screening data, participant quotes, and all findings.
View full research results →Sources: PHONT Berlin Screening November 2025, Berlin Deaf Association, Sinneswandel, PHONT Controlled Study 2026