22SP_PS101A-CI: Blog Post 3

Alexandra Sprague

Blog Post 3

Thursday, 14 April 2022, 4:52 PM

Alex Sprague

Dr. Jenkins

PS 101

14 April 2022

Blog Post 3

An issue that affects the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community is hearing loss. It may seem obvious, but losing one’s ability to hear or being born deaf can lead to several problems. In a study conducted by Jamie Enoch, a survey was conducted, and participants ranked hearing as the second most important sense, inferior to sight (1). “Hearing is essential for maintaining relationships and connections with friends and family, fully participating in team and community activities, and experiencing life events” (Wallace 2). As mentioned by Dr. Wallace, hearing connects people. It allows someone to truly experience essential moments in one’s life, such as the laugh of their significant other, the heartbeat of their unborn child, or the melody of their favorite song. These moments may seem insignificant to most, but once someone is placed where they cannot experience them, they would do anything to hear that moment.

Hearing loss is associated with effects on the mental health of individuals. Especially with people born Deaf have struggled more with mental health disorders than those who are hearing. An article titled “Deaf People Have More Mental Health Problems, Less Access to Care” states: “Deaf people are about twice as likely to have mental health problems as people in the general population” (Preidt 3). Not having the ability to hear increases the odds of having mental health issues because people cannot effectively communicate with others which can lead to frustration and isolation. This can lead to individuals not building meaningful relationships with people because they find it too difficult. Isolating oneself can potentially lead to a higher risk of depression or anxiety. An article written by Tulane University’s school of medicine states: “Socially isolated people may lack friends or close coworkers, and they often feel lonely or depressed. They can suffer from low self-esteem or anxiety” (5). The pandemic has led to more people socially isolating themselves, including the Deaf community, which could have been why the percentage of mental health issues among those with hearing loss has been higher.

The multiple perspectives that will be discussed involve people who lost their hearing at different stages of their life and how their mental health was affected by it. Starting with hearing loss in children, including individuals born Deaf, an article titled “The Psychology of Hearing Loss” discusses how hearing loss affects both children and adults. The author states: “Behavioral problems are often cited in the literature on children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing… such as hyperactivity or aggression can be the outward expression of internal difficulties—such as depression, anxiety, and learning disorders” (Kaland 7). Not being able to communicate at a young age efficiently is shown to lead to behavioral problems which develop because children are encountering issues with their mental health and are unable to express their feelings. For adults it can be a very similar reaction, Kaland states: “Late-deafened adults often report that their hearing loss robs them of an understanding of their identity and often initiates an identity crisis. They may manifest a “reactive” depression and/or anxiety in response to a typically external situation” (7). When someone is growing up they try to plan their whole life out, but many individuals do not know who they are until late adulthood. This is why individuals who lose hearing later on in life have an identity crisis because people learn a lot from listening to others. People take the ability to hear for granted until it is taken away from them. Lastly, in the elderly population there was a study conducted to measure their mental health after losing their hearing at an older age. This study stated: “People with hearing loss are less satisfied with their “life as a whole” than people without hearing loss” (Ciorba 6). Even individuals who have been able to hear their whole life still struggle with depression and as mentioned not as satisfied with life. It is a very sad reality, but hearing loss can cause serious issues at any age.

A possible solution would be to encourage individuals to take American Sign Language as a foreign language in school so if later down the road they lose their hearing or encounter a Deaf individual they know how to communicate. The communication barriers between the hearing community and the Deaf and hard of hearing community has led to many to isolate themselves, which as mentioned above leads to an increase in mental health issues. Introducing ASL into school can benefit many hearing individuals such as, “ASL leads to higher reading levels in kids, Native ASL signers have incredible spatial reasoning, and ASL brings long-term cognitive benefits” (GoReact 8). There are many more positives when it comes to learning ASL as a hearing individual and it also will help break down communication barriers with the Deaf community so they do not feel as isolated. Another possible solution is to encourage people with hearing loss to invest in cochlear implants. This solution can be costly since they can range between $30,000 to $50,000 (CareCredit 9). However, this is a great investment for children who suffer from severe hearing loss of deafness because “a cochlear implant bypasses damaged portions of the ear to deliver sound signals to the hearing (auditory) nerve” (Mayo Clinic Staff 10). For individuals that choose not to learn ASL and want to be able to communicate normally through speech and listening then a cochlear implant is the route to go. It can be very beneficial because it allows the Deaf individual and their family to not have to make as many accommodations and they will be able to go to mainstream school without the need for an interpreter.

Sources

Introduction to American Government and Politics

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