17 Misconceptions about People with Hearing Loss - Part Two

By Janice Schacter

January 2010

Editor: Here's Janice Schacter with some thoughts on misconceptions about people with hearing loss. Janice is a retired attorney whose daughter is hard of hearing, and she is the pro-bono Chair of the Hearing Access Program. This article is reprinted with the author's kind permission.

This is part two of two parts.

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Here's Part One

7 HAVING HEARING LOSS IS SHAMEFUL.
This assumption at least partly explains why many people with hearing loss will not purchase or use hearing aids. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, Only one out of five people who could benefit from a hearing aid actually wears one.

8 WHEN PEOPLE WITH HEARING LOSS MISS SOMETHING, IT'S OK TO TELL THEM, IT'S NOT IMPORTANT, OR, I'LL TELL YOU LATER.
It's frustrating to people with hearing loss not to have something repeated when they miss part of the conversation. Saying, It wasn't important compounds the frustration because now not only did they miss part of the conversation but the conversation is also being edited. The person with hearing loss wants to decide for himself or herself what is important.

9 PEOPLE WITH HEARING LOSS ARE RUDE AND PUSHY.
If a person with hearing loss interrupts a conversation, it is probably because they didn't hear the speaker, not because they are rude. People with hearing loss may position themselves toward the front of a group or in a room so that they are closer to the speaker, making it easier for them to hear and lip read. This behavior is sometimes incorrectly interpreted as pushiness.

10 PEOPLE WITH HEARING LOSS MOSTLY HANG OUT WITH OTHER PEOPLE WITH HEARING LOSS.
Hearing loss can affect anyone and does not discriminate. People with hearing loss spend time with family or friends who may or may not have hearing loss. They do not want to be relegated to special seats away from the rest of the people they are with.

11 EVERYONE WHO NEEDS AN ASSISTIVE LISTENING SYSTEM CAN USE EAR BUDS OR HEADPHONES.
Ear buds and ear bud-style headsets require people with hearing aids to remove their hearing aids. Headsets typically do not work for people who wear behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids nor for many people who have more than mild hearing loss because the sound output is insufficient.

People who have cochlear implants or T-coils in their hearing aid can receive signals directly through their hearing aid or cochlear implant when an induction loop is used. They can also access FM or infrared signals directly to their hearing aid or sound processor by using a neck loop receiver or an attachment (boot) to their aid or sound processor. The neck loop can be plugged into headphones but most one-piece headphones lack jacks.

12 THE WHEELCHAIR SYMBOL REPRESENTS UNIVERSAL ACCESS.
The wheelchair symbol does not represent people who are deaf, hard of hearing, visually impaired or who have cognitive disabilities. Using the wheelchair as a symbol of universal access makes it more difficult for appropriate access to be obtained for other disabilities, since mobility is the only disability portrayed by this symbol.

It is also important to use the appropriate hearing loss symbols to specify the kinds of access being provided. There are different symbols for interpreting, assistive listening devices and systems, and open and closed captioning (see Symbology).

Many companies provide access information under the heading of Access or Accessibility, which is preferred to terms such as Disabled Services or Handicapped Services, since the latter imply a deficiency in the person rather than removal of barriers. However, as access is not limited to mobility impairments, business Web sites, brochures and promotional materials should provide information for people with hearing loss, visual impairments and cognitive disabilities as well.

13 HEARING ACCESS ISN'T NEEDED BECAUSE IT'S SO RARELY REQUESTED.
Many people with hearing loss are so accustomed to there being no accessibility accommodations that they don't inquire about it unless it is publicized. Access, when made available and publicized, is usually used.

14 PEOPLE WITH HEARING LOSS READ BRAILLE.
People who are blind read Braille.

15 PROVIDING ACCESS FOR PEOPLE WITH HEARING LOSS IS VERY EXPENSIVE.
Hearing access is less expensive than most people think. Many solutions exist for just a few hundred dollars. Obtaining price estimates is advisable.

16 DEAF, HEARING IMPAIRED, HANDICAPPED OR DISABLED ONE IS AS GOOD AS THE OTHER.
The umbrella term for the category is people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Deaf denotes a profound loss of hearing and can also be used to refer to the community of people who are deaf and share a language, such as American Sign Language, and a culture. Hearing impaired is not a preferred term.

17 COMPANIES OR ACCESSIBILITY EXPERTS WITH NO BACKGROUND WITH HEARING LOSS CAN KNOW WHAT BEST MEETS THE NEEDS OF PEOPLE WITH HEARING LOSS.
When hiring an access coordinator, it is critical to investigate the person's experience. A person can be an expert in one area of access, such as mobility impairments, but may not understand access issues for people with hearing loss, visual impairments or cognitive disabilities. Also, hiring a person with hearing loss does not guarantee that the person has knowledge of effective access for people with hearing loss or for the full range of hearing loss.

Janice Schacter is an accomplished advocate across the hearing advocacy and related political spectrum. She founded the Hearing Access Program in 2002. It is the only organization dedicated to helping the world's corporations, cultural and entertainment institutions, government agencies and mass transit organizations improve their accessibility for people with hearing loss. Contact Janice at Jschacter@nyc.rr.com.

This article was developed in consultation with people and organizations representing people with hearing loss.