I'd be fine with it, as long as they mention that they are deaf and couldn't review that aspect of it. It would be helpful if they asked someone else with them how loud it was.

Of course it's okay! A deaf person could experience the sex toy just like anyone else. It would probably be a good idea to explain in the review that the bees rating might not be accurate though.

Honestly, I think the bee rating is one of the less useful aspects of an individual review, so that really doesn't bother me at all.

I think the overall/combined bee rating is useful, but as far as individual reviewers go, I think it's a little like the vrooms where some people have different standards for what loud or quiet/weak strong is. If you've mostly had super loud vibes and then get a moderately noisy one, you might think it's the quietest thing ever just because it's quieter than what you're used to.

Much more into individual reviews for the details about materials use and feel, overall experience etc.

I think it's totally okay for someone to "outsource" aspects of their review, whether they're deaf or not. If I used a p-spot toy on my guy, I would still be able to review the toy and summarize what he conveyed of his experience with the toy in my review even though I wasn't the toy was being used on.

I also think it's fair game to reference other people's reviews. If you've read a ton of a particular comment about a toy over and over in different people's reviews but aren't able to speak to it yourself it's appropriate to reference what other users said about it. For example, I think of the many people who never experienced a "glitch" with the form 2. Many of those reviews have some part that reasons something like "Some users report experiencing a glitch with the form 2 where the vibrations move into the base. Many think it's a flaw inherent to the design of the toy. I personally have not experienced any such problem with the toy, so take that as you like."

I can't really fathom a scenario during which it would be "inappropriate" for someone, deaf or not, to ask a partner or friend, "hey, how loud do you consider this?" or going ahead and scoring it whatever the average has been and saying that's what most users have rated the noise level to be. There's no reason their opinions and experiences aren't valid and deserving of being published on EF.

No problem whatsoever- you listed three possible solutions in your poll, I'm sure there are even more! (like including a video clip so the people can hear for themselves, etc)

I wouldn't vote them any less if they weren't able to explain that portion to us. Yes it would be best if someone could tell them that aspect of the product for them, but if that was the case then it shouldn't matter.

I think it's totally fine if a deaf person does a review for a vibe, just like I think it's fine for a blind person to do it too. They'd bring different aspects to the table, which is pretty cool.

I am 80% deaf,(I wear hearing aids though) but I can still tell if a vibrator is loud or not. I give it a bit of a higher curve if I'm not sure how loud it is or I'll ask my boyfriend, lover or friends to tell me if they can hear it through the door/sheet/whatever.

I have no problem with it at all, as long as they explain that

completely acceptable and welcome.

i wouldnt find a reason that a deaf persons review would be unacceptable. as long as they say they couldnt review that part of the toy or include that piece of information from others reviews of that particular toy.

They shouldn't be discriminated against and should just leave that part out. The review can still be useful without one tiny bit of info!

I think it's completely fine!

I think it's totally fine. I'd like to know that they couldn't hear it, but I'd just look to another review for that information.

Sometimes the 'bees' isn't the most important aspect or may not be a factor whether or not somebody is interested in the product. I think if they have a reliable way to gauge it and explain it, then it's fine, and if not, then just say so.

I think it's fine if they just say they couldn't review that aspect, but it would be great if they were able to have someone else rate that aspect. The disability shouldn't prevent them from reviewing.

They can just click N/A for this portion of the review and explain why in writing. I'm sure if they're using the extended review option they are asked to explain the noise and can just add it there.

I wouldn't mind at all. I mean, they don't have to talk about what it sounds like, but they can describe how the vibrations feel and that would be totally valid and the rest of the review would still be useful.

"Can someone who doesn't have orgasms from penetration review dildos?"
"Can a smoker who has a dulled sense of smell review toys, since they can't necessarily smell them?"
"Can someone with a terminal illness comment on the longevity of a toy, since they understand longevity differently?"

C'mon, folks. Let's try to be a little more sensitive.

Totally fine. They could just put N/A and state in their review that they're deaf and cannot review that aspect of the toy.

As someone who comes from a Deaf family and someone with mild hearing impairment (a type that doesn't affect my reviews; believe me, I can tell my Hitachi is loud), I was somewhat unnerved by this question. I am even more unnerved that some find it unacceptable.

It also should never be the case where a disabled person (or someone with sensory differences) has to reveal their disability if they don't want to, that's private information. They should be able to word it however they feel comfortable doing so to explain that they couldn't tell how loud it was, or a method such as Noira described.

A Deaf/deaf/hard-of-hear ing person should be at complete liberty to write reviews.

ANYONE, regardless of their disability status or sensory status should be HONEST and FORTHCOMING in reviews. That has nothing to do with their disability status, but simply reflects ethical reviewing practices.

I would leave if people with sensory differences or PWD were excluded from any aspect of participating in EF.

Honestly, different perspectives are helpful and welcome to me when I'm reading reviews.

I don't see how it would be fair to say a deaf person shouldn't be allowed to review something. I think as long as they stated that they couldn't review that aspect of a toy that there should never be an issue with it!

I wouldn't mind it, to be honest. There are usually tons of other people that could provide that kind of information.

i agree, they should be able to review it

I never really thought about it, but you are right... I would hope we would be a cool enough community to respect that the person cannot hear to know what it sounds like and we would over look it and rate the review for what IS there... but many of use wouldn't know the person is deaf, so as we read their review, we would be thinking... "Why don't the even discuss how loud or quiet this toy is?". So said person who can't hear might have to repeat in each and every review that they are deaf.

I don't know, it just sounds really hard for the deaf person.

the strength of the vibration would translate to a perfectly valid rough approximation of the vibrations.

I think it's perfectly acceptable. When selecting a toy, there are a lot of other aspects that go into my decision that are more important than the noise level. I don't think it would detract from their review at all, especially if they were able to explain in their review why they could not accurately rate the noise level.

I think anything other than a quick note about why the sound level wasn't rated is pretty ridiculous.