Listening to the radio is a popular pastime of blind and partially sighted people and, like the rest of the population, many are switching to digital radio.
Watch our video
Watch our video about how digital radios can be made more usable for people with sight loss.
Video transcript: Making digital radios more usable for people with sight loss (Word 165KB)
What does DAB offer?
Digital radio (DAB) offers a wider choice of programming with more radio stations: national, local and regional catering for all kinds of interests and groups of people. It also gives hiss-free sound and many DAB radios also have features including information about the channel or the ability to pause and rewind live radio.
DAB Coverage
To check that you can receive DAB stations, visit the BBC DAB postcode checker website.
How easy are DAB radios to use?
RNIB commissioned research from i2 Media research and Ricability which looked at how easy digital radios are to use for blind and partially sighted people, people with dexterity problems or dyslexia.
Results have shown that simple changes could make a big difference but, amongst many poor designs, there are some good products already available.
i2 Media research
The initial research, undertaken by i2 Media research, looked at how accessible the functional and design features of digital radios are.
Results show
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90 per cent of blind and partially sighted people using a digital radio without voice output need help the first time they use their radios
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70 per cent continue to need support for subsequent use
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many people feel significant improvements could be made to DAB radios with simple design changes that include voice output feedback.
Voice output is particularly important on digital radios, where switching channels is far less obvious than on analogue.
The executive summary of the report is available to download in PDF or word version.
Ricability research
The checklist of the most important features to look for, developed from the i2 research study, was used in further research undertaken by Ricability.
Ricability tested 15 DAB radios available on the high street, assessing how easy to use they were for blind and partially sighted people and people with limited dexterity.
Full results are available from Ricability: DAB Radios or call 020 7427 2460 for a copy of the 'Choosing a DAB radio' consumer report.
A copy of the checklist of what features to look for when purchasing a digital radio is available to download in PDF or word.
More information
For further information on DAB radio or the research project, email broadcasting@rnib.org.uk or contact 0303 123 9999.