1.4.7 Low or No Background Audio

When speech is accompanied by background music or ambient sound, people with hearing difficulties may struggle to separate the speech from the background noise. This includes people who use hearing aids, those with auditory processing differences, and people listening in noisy environments.

The requirement is that background sounds in speech audio are either: not present, at least 20 decibels quieter than the speech (roughly four times quieter), or can be turned off by the user.

For podcasts, interviews, and narrated videos, keep background music very low or absent during speech. A 20dB difference is a significant gap.

If you do use background music, provide an audio-only version with the music removed, or a control to mute the background while keeping the speech.

Avoid using music with heavy bass or rhythm during speech, as these frequencies are particularly disruptive for hearing aid users.

• Podcast where background music plays at a similar volume to the spoken content
• Narrated tutorial video with ambient sound effects that compete with the voiceover