’I keep track of what my lecturers are saying thanks to subtitles on my tablet.’

In the latest episode of the "Student Stories" series, Jan Blum talks about his everyday life as a hard-of-hearing Bachelor's student, the difficulties he faced when he started studying computer science and what helped him combat the feeling of being the odd one out. Jan Blum has been severely hearing impaired since birth; he was given his first hearing aid when he was four years old. People like him often find it difficult to keep track of what lecturers are saying. Crowded lecture halls and typical background noise - people whispering, clearing their throats and coughing - only make the situation worse. Jan Blum therefore relies on the aid of online speech-to-text reporting. Blum has submitted an application for this assistance with the disability insurance (DI); it is financed by them. This involves Jan Blum being connected live via his tablet to two persons who can process sound from the lecture hall in the same way as the other students present.