My mom is deaf, and my dad nearly so. Something that staggers me is that businesses -- even those that are 100% in the digital age -- can't communicate with a deaf person. I'm talking about health insurance, utilities, etc., where the person on the other end of the phone line is sitting in front of a computer, but has no facility for text chat or e-mail.

It's the smaller businesses, typically low-tech, that seem to accommodate her just fine: "Oh, you're deaf. Here's my e-mail address."