By Pat Dobbs
Wouldn't it be cool if manufacturers of hearing aids partnered with designers like Gucci and Prada to make beautiful hearing aids, much like designer eyeglass frames?
Why make hearing devices small and inconspicuous? Photo by the writer’s nephew. Credit: David Veit Photography
Manufacturers these days advertise that their hearing aids are small and inconspicuous.
Why small and inconspicuous? What's the problem with people seeing our hearing aids or cochlear implants? As people with hearing loss, are we buying into the stigma of using them—that we might appear old, out of it, not very intelligent, and spacey if people saw our devices? And so hearing aid manufacturers deliver tiny unseen hearing aids for us to use.
But wait! We know those stereotypes are not true. Sure, many of us are over 60, but 60 percent of the 48 million Americans with hearing loss are still in the workforce, according to a 2010 MarkeTrak report. So, the majority of us are not "old.”
As for appearing out of it, not very intelligent, and space—that’s simply not true. We just missed what was said.
It is not easy to let go of these negative stereotypes. I believed them for years. Rather than telling people I couldn't hear them, I bluffed and pretended that I had. I also wore my hair so that my aids were covered. I finally realized that my hearing loss is just that—hearing loss and has nothing to do with my intelligence. I now want people to notice my devices so if I miss something that was said, I can easily explain why and teach them how to speak to me in order for me to understand them better.
Small and discreet should no longer be a selling point. All that we should care about is that the aids help us hear better and that they are affordable. Hopefully, then, designers will see a potential market in partnering with hearing aid manufacturers and make beautiful and exciting designs for our aids and cochlear implants.
I realize there are already various colors and designs to put on the devices which are fun. But, can you imagine an advertisement in the Sunday paper showing Gucci designs for hearing aids? Can you imagine showing off your hearing devices not only because you want people to know you have a hearing loss, but also because they're so exciting and lovely?
Impossible, you say.
Credit: David Veit Photography
But wait! If you wore eyeglasses 50 years ago, you may have been called "four eyes" and people assumed that you were weird. My oldest sister wore glasses as a child, but there are no pictures of her wearing them because my mother would remove them. She apparently was embarrassed that her daughter wore glasses. Today that's totally changed. Frames have now become fashion statements.
It's entirely possible for hearing aids and cochlear implants to also become fashion statements. I love the idea of my implants displaying a pearl surrounded by dangling stones that could be used in place of earrings.
The most important point, however, is that we let go of the feeling of being somehow less because of our hearing loss. When that happens, all good things will fall into place.
I know it sounds impossible, but I quote Nelson Mandela: It always seems impossible until it's done.
Pat Dobbs started to lose her hearing when she was 20 and today is the happy recipient of cochlear implants. Through most of her life she bought into the stigma of hearing loss until finally she came to terms with it. She launched the Hearing Loss Association of America Morris County Chapter in New Jersey, serving as president. She also attended Gallaudet University’s two-year peer mentoring program. Inspired by this program, she designed and facilitated a series of workshops on managing hearing loss, and began a coaching practice focusing on the unique personal, career, and relationship challenges unique to people with hearing loss. Dobbs is the president of SayWhatClub, a global online hearing loss support group and lives in Deer Isle, Maine. For more, see hearinglossevolution.com.
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We have been heartened by the increased mainstream media coverage of healthy hearing lately.