Centre
for Students with Disabilities
0
Hard of Hearing Issues
in & out of Class:
Exploring how hearing loss can
impact the experience of students
Concurrent Session 5.13
Presented by Kirston Arbour - Durham College & UOIT
kirston.arbour@dc-uoit.ca
AHEAD/PEPNET Conference – July 2012
Centre for Students with Disabilities
AGENDA
• Literature – Where is it?
• Statistical and theoretical overview
• Reviewing the issues/Student video clips
• Questions/Small group discussions
Centre for Students with Disabilities
Literature – The Gap
• Overview:
– Literature that explores issues specific to hard of
hearing who are:
• 15-30 years of age is limited
• post-secondary and/or are also members of other
marginalized groups is significantly more limited.
– This presentation will draw on articles from:
- Hearing Loss Association of America
- Academic texts/journals in the area of social
sciences
Centre for Students with Disabilities
Statistics – Rates of Hearing Loss
• Canadian association of the Deaf (CAD) reports:
– 1 in 10 Canadians have a hearing loss (2007)
– Breakdown of this number = 310,000 culturally
Deaf & 2.8 million hard of hearing in Canada
• STATS Can Reports:
– 87% of Canadians who have a hearing loss
reported that they had a co-morbid condition
(2006)
Centre for Students with Disabilities
Statistics - Education
• STATS Canada 2006 Survey reports educational
attainment for individuals with a hearing disability as
follows:
– 50.2% - highest level – high school or below
– 20.1% - highest level – college diploma or below
– 17.5% - highest level – trade/apprenticeship
certificate
– 7.5% - highest level – bachelor’s degree
*No stats reported for graduate students.
Centre for Students with Disabilities
Statistics
• Some American stats:
– About 17% of adults in the US (36 million) report
some degree of hearing loss.
– 60% of people with a hearing loss are either in the
workforce or educational setting.
– About 2-3 of every 1,000 children is hard of
hearing or deaf.
Centre for Students with Disabilities
Sociological Terms Related to
Hearing Loss
• Audism:
– Defined as an attitude based on pathological thinking
which results in a negative stigma toward anyone who
does not hear;
– Like racism or sexism, audism judges, labels, and
limits individuals on the basis of whether a person
hears and speaks. (Humphrey and Alcorn, 1995: 85)
Centre for Students with Disabilities
Sociological Terms Related
to Hearing Loss
• Passing:
– The ability of a person to be regarded as a member of
social groups other than his or her own, such as a
different race, ethnicity, social class, gender and/or
disability status, generally with the purpose of gaining
social acceptance. (Renfrow ,2001).
Centre for Students with Disabilities
Sociological Terms Related to
Hearing Loss
• Bluffing:
– The ‘invisibility’ of the condition magnifies the effect
the hearing loss has on two-way communication.
– The situation can become so uncomfortable that the
person with hearing loss “bluffs” – communication
becomes even more difficult.
Battat Article
Centre for Students with Disabilities
Invisibility of Hearing Loss
• It has been termed "an invisible condition" (Stone, 1993).
• This is not because the damage to the auditory system is
hidden from our view (which of course it is), but primarily
because the effects can be so misunderstood.
• Hearing loss can even be misunderstood by the persons
who are themselves afflicted with the condition.
Ross Article
Centre for Students with Disabilities
Invisibility of Hearing Loss
• The vast majority of people with hearing loss do not
identify with other hard of hearing people.
• Many do not even admit that they have a hearing
loss.
Centre for Students with Disabilities
You Can Speak…So You Can Hear
• People who are hard of hearing usually have
understandable speech and communicate through
spoken language.
• This leads to an assumption that they can hear and
a biased attitude to their communication
competence.
Battat Article
Centre for Students with Disabilities
Impact of Hearing Loss in Day to
Day Life
• Any amount of hearing loss interferes with
communication and therefore understanding and
information exchange will impact all areas of an
individual’s life.
• Areas include but are not limited to: relationships,
employment, education, civic responsibility, and
most importantly the individual’s own self respect
and confidence.
Battat Article
Centre for Students with Disabilities
Hearing Loss – No Simple Fix
• Hearing aids and cochlear implants are prosthetic
devices designed to help compensate for damage to
the inner ear.
• These man-made prosthetic devices are no
substitute for a normally functioning ear.
• Most such devices are discreetly worn and may not
readily be seen.
• When people do see hearing aids they may not
recognize the presence of a disability…or impact.
HLAA
Centre for Students with Disabilities
Social Interactions – Missing Out
• In social situations, I would have a tendency to melt
into the background, letting everyone else do the
talking. I had learned by many embarrassing
moments to keep my mouth shut.
(Pepperday Article)
• People with hearing loss may not be able to pick
up on rapid conversational exchanges and
sometimes miss the jokes and idioms of their
normally hearing peers.
• Because of this, they may be and feel isolated from
the larger group.
(Ross Article)
Centre for Students with Disabilities
Hearing Loss and Behaviours
• Behaviors related to hearing loss may not be
obvious or may be attributed to other perceived
shortcomings.
• Because the hearing loss is not visible, it may not
generate sympathy or patience from others.
Ross Article
Centre for Students with Disabilities
Social Interaction Assumptions
• Even when a person’s hearing loss is severe enough to
preclude reactions to loud noise, it may be difficult for
others to accept that the person does not look different.
(HLAA)
• Unless people see my hearing aids, they don’t
understand that I don’t hear everything they say, and
often accuse me of not listening.
If I explain that I have a hearing loss, they usually yell for
a minute or two then forget, and get mad again if I ask
them to repeat themselves. (Hawes)
Centre for Students with Disabilities
Stigma and Hearing Loss
• There is a reticence, almost a shame, about having
a hearing loss that often discourages a hard of
hearing person from seeking help and taking
productive steps.
• Some people describe this as the "stigma" of
hearing loss.
HLAA
Centre for Students with Disabilities
The Fatigue Factor
• All people with hearing loss experience some
degree of fatigue from the increased effort needed
to understand spoken communication.
• This added fatigue (compared to people who do not
have hearing loss) can lessen one’s internal
resources for dealing with other life stressors.
Centre for Students with Disabilities
Intersecting with Mental Health
• No empirical evidence that people with hearing loss
have a higher rate of depression, anxiety or other
mental health disorders.
• There is much incidental information suggesting that
the communication difficulties which stem from
hearing loss can negatively impact a person’s selfimage, self-confidence and cause emotional
distress.
HLAA
Centre for Students with Disabilities
The Isolation Factor
• Self-isolation is a natural response for people with
hearing loss who have difficulty communicating with
others and feel embarrassed by the need for frequent
repeats and the possibility of responding “incorrectly.”
• Isolation itself may lead to increased anxiety, depression,
or other complicating factors. In addition, people may
also feel grief, frustration, or anger about losing their
hearing.
HLAA
Centre for Students with Disabilities
Mental Health…Not Always
Linked to Hearing Loss
• The difficulties in communication which stem from
hearing loss do not necessarily cause mental health
problems.
• People must also consider that there are times when
a mental health issue may be completely unrelated
to hearing loss. This means the mental health issues
would still be present if the person did not have a
hearing loss.
•
HLAA
Centre for Students with Disabilities
Mental Health Professionals
• Make appropriate referrals. Research the options.
• A mental health professional who does not have
training in hearing loss may inadvertently
underestimate or misattribute the level of frustration
a person with hearing loss may experience.
HLAA
Centre for Students with Disabilities
Managing Reactions of Others
• Sources to find accurate information and social
support may not be self-evident, and so the people
who have the hearing loss don't have the tools or
peer support to combat stereotypes.
• Self-perception may depend on a large degree on
the reactions of other people and how those
reactions are interpreted.
HLAA
Centre for Students with Disabilities
Discussion Questions
1. As Disability Service providers and Student Service
areas, consider whether we are meeting all of the
accommodation needs of our students with hearing
loss. Are they supported inside and outside the
classroom?
2. Identify possible ways that various service areas
may present barriers for students who are hard of
hearing. How can we decrease the barriers for this
population?
Centre for Students with Disabilities
Discussion Questions
3. Think about ways that being unable to hear and follow
discussions with peers and/or faculty due to an invisible
disability may present challenges to academic success.
How can we support students experiencing these
challenges/avoid the challenges?
4. Identify barriers to participating in social activities that
students who are hard of hearing may encounter. What
environments within post-secondary may be most
challenging for students with a hearing loss? Are there
steps we can take to support students?
Centre for Students with Disabilities
Discussion Questions
5. Consider whether students with an invisible
disability may experience greater angst selfidentifying depending on their cultural and/or ethnic
background.
Centre for Students with Disabilities
Final Thoughts
Final thoughts/questions/comments.
Centre for Students with Disabilities
References
•
Battat, Brenda. “Demographics of Hearing Loss.” American Academy of
Hearing Loss Support Specialists. Bethesda, MD: SHHH Publications,
2005.
•
Hawes, Kathleen – Defining Moments in Hearing Loss
•
Hearing Loss Association of America – Academy course material http://www.hearingloss.org/academy/index.asp.
•
Hearing Loss Association of America – Basic Facts About Hearing Loss –
http://www.hearingloss.org/content/basic-facts-about-hearing-loss
•
Sorkin, Donna L. "Developing an Identity for People with Hearing Loss."
Hearing Loss 18.1 (1997): 14-18.
•
Renfrow, Daniel. "A Cartography of Passing in Everyday Life," Symbolic
Interaction, Vol. 27, Issue 4, pp. 485-506; Maria C. Sanchez, Passing:
Identity and Interpretation in Sexuality, Race, and Religion, NYU Press,
2001.
Centre for Students with Disabilities
Suggested Reading/Viewing List
• Dugan, Marcia B. Living with Hearing Loss. 2003.
• Harvey, Michael A. Odyssey of Hearing Loss: Tales of Triumph.
1998.
• Harvey, Michael A. Listen with the Heart: Relationships and Hearing
Loss. 2001.
• Music Within. Film. 2007. Twentieth Century Fox.
• Swiller, J. The Unheard: A memoir of deafness and africa. 2007.
• Watson, D et al. (Ed.). Hard of Hearing Students in Post-Secondary
Settings: A Guide for Service Providers. 2007.