Disclosing Your Hearing Loss
While it is difficult to live with hearing loss, it is recommended that you inform others of your disability. Researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear surveyed 337 patients with hearing loss to better understand the language they use with communication partners to disclose their disability. They found people with hearing loss respond in three specific ways when discussing about their disability:
Disclosing the disability. These are people who are open about their hearing loss and are willing to discuss and describe their condition in detail.
Example: I was involved in a car accident 10 years ago and now I’m deaf in my right ear.Not mentioning the disability. These are people with hearing loss who do not disclose their disability and who would likely ask people to either repeat what they said or speak up.
Example: I can’t hear you. Please speak up.Being honest about the disability. These are people with hearing loss who are willing to disclose their disability and would also consider proposing a communication strategy before engaging in a conversation.
Example: I can barely hear you with all this noise. Please come closer and speak a bit louder.
Even though there are different ways for individuals to cope with their hearing loss, the suggested method is to tell others how best to talk to you, otherwise known as the multi-disclosure approach. By letting others know you have hearing loss, they will be willing to speak clearly and slowly. Not only is this method empowering, it also shows that your disability doesn’t define who you are.
Sources: Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Phonak's Hearing Like Me website.