When will a prospective juror's hearing impairment preclude him from serving as a juror?

When confronted with such a situation involving a prospective juror's hearing impairment, a court must determine whether the individual has the ability to understand all of the evidence presented, evaluate that evidence in a rational manner, communicate effectively with the other jurors during deliberations, and comprehend the applicable legal principles, as instructed by the court ( People v. Guzman, 76 N.Y.2d at 5, 556 N.Y.S.2d 7, 555 N.E.2d 259). If a judge is made aware of a reasonable accommodation that would allow a hearing-impaired prospective juror to fulfill these duties without interfering with the defendant's trial rights, such measures should be taken ( see id.). In furtherance of the need to accommodate such prospective jurors, we recognized in Guzman that a hearing impairment does not per se preclude an individual from serving as a juror ( see id.).