HearView glasses, released in the United States (US) in August 2024, have become the topic of controversy in the Deaf community recently. The glasses have been marketed as a transformation of the accessibility experiences of the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community, thanks to their unique ability to provide real-time captioning to the wearer’s direct eyesight. The company says the glasses guarantee increased independence, adaptability in different environments, and improved quality of life. The glasses work by using the microphone on the smartphone that it’s paired with to capture spoken language and generate real-time captions on its lenses. It has a battery life of 7 hours, which covers the standard day of employment. It currently retails for $2,000 USD on HearView’s website. 

The Deaf community in Italy has made a powerful appeal to the government for equal rights, accessibility, and inclusion in all areas of daily life. Led by the National Association of the Deaf (ENS), thousands of Deaf individuals gathered in Rome's Piazza Santi Apostoli to protest and demand change. The President of the association, Angelo Raffaele Cagnazzo, expressed frustration and said, “We want to be visible, but we remain invisible to institutions.” The protesters demanded solutions to barriers to the job market, transportation, and full participation in society. Key demands included eliminating limitations that prevent Deaf people from getting certain driving licenses, addressing the high unemployment rate among the Deaf community due to communication barriers and health and safety excuses, and improving the accessibility of health services and citizenship exams.

A special sign language Santa visited England last December to meet Deaf children ahead of Christmas. The event happened on 14 December at the Wesley Centre for All in Spring Head near Birmingham. The idea came after a member of the local Rotary Club, Glenn Edwards, saw two children communicating with Santa using sign language during a Christmas event in the previous year. The event featured a Christmas grotto where children could interact with Santa in British Sign Language (BSL), rather than just writing lists. A local school had already booked a visit, and the Rotary Club of Wednesbury had informed schools in the area about the event, which offered gifts, toys, and lollipops.