As with any situation, there are two sides with opinions that can cause some controversy. On one hand, there is the medical side with the technical advancements in hearing assistance. Things like hearing aids, cochlear implants, hearing assistive devices and more are all available to those who are deaf or hard of hearing. Hearing loss affects about 20% of the American population - that’s about 48 million people (http://www.hearingloss.org/content/basic-facts-about-hearing-loss). Deaf culture and Medical culture view this statistic differently. In Deaf Culture eyes, it isn’t a bad thing, they embrace it and encourage people with hearing loss to feel comfortable in their own skin, to learn the language and to surround themselves with people who are also in Deaf culture. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this lifestyle. Even though the hearing medical devices are out there and available, it isn’t a necessity.
On the other hand, the Medical Culture sometimes views that previous statistic as something that they can “fix”. Now, I don’t like that term, as a future audiologist, but that is the extreme view. It does kind of correlate with the views on other medical devices though, doesn’t it? Prosthetic limbs, medicines, plastic surgeries. The difference though, someone could claim is that those other medical devices can be life saving. Hearing devices don’t necessarily save a life.
Like a lot of other Audiologists, I stand in the middle of these two sides. I believe that it is amazing and innovative that the medical field has devices that can improve an individual’s hearing and even put hearing in place where it wasn’t before. But all of that is only amazing if the person wants the device and assistance. They don’t need it, but they can want it to change their lifestyle, if they so choose. There is a reason these devices were created, and there is a reason that so many people with hearing loss choose to use them in. I have experienced patient’s in the clinic who love their hearing aids and they get frustrated without it. But the majority of these people had good hearing and lost it, they know what life was like with perfect hearing. The biggest controversy is with those who are born Deaf and society thinks it is the best thing to “fix” them and fit them with cochlear implants or something related. That is the wrong mentality to have, and as a future Audiologist, I will make sure to look at every situation critically and listen to each patient for what they really want. But I fully believe that there is no reason to change the way someone is, just to benefit society. People who are Deaf are not an inconvenience, they do not make life harder for others, and they are people just like everyone else. This is just a reminder for all people, especially medical professionals, the remember that patients are people, not objects, and you can’t just make them the way you want them to be. Hearing assistive devices are one of the greatest things I’ve learned about, but they are not something you push on someone who has a whole other culture they can be supported by.
