LWB Newsletter 2nd May 2024

Next week is deaf awareness week.

It’s when various people and organisations raise awareness and try and lift the stigma of being deaf or having hearing loss.

But what about when our own feelings about our hearing loss are at odds with ‘deaf pride’ and the idea that people with hearing loss can do anything.

Many people who lose their hearing in later life feel the opposite.

A study published in the journal of the American Auditory Society, Ear and Hearing, looked into the relationship between how people feel about their hearing loss and social stigmas.

It found that social stigma can be internalised and can change how someone sees themselves.

They found that the stigma of hearing loss is strongly related to the stigma of aging, such as becoming incompetent and useless as we grow older.

Overall, they found that social stigma can make people with hearing loss feel negatively about themselves. This results in feelings of becoming incompetent, worthless or not good enough, leading to isolation and depression.

Hopefully with increasing awareness, the social stigma around hearing loss will begin to fade.

And by showing kindness and compassion to ourselves, the internalised negativity will be replaced by something positive, non-judgemental and forgiving.

This can take time.

So, if deaf awareness week makes you want to hide under the duvet, that’s ok too.

 Latest posts from the blog

What’s hearing loss really like?

There are many different types and levels of hearing loss, but experiences are the same.

How To Be Mindful When You Don’t Have The Time.

“You should sit in meditation for twenty minutes every day — unless you’re too busy. Then you should sit for an hour.” -Zen proverb

This article discusses how to bring mindfulness into the everyday.

Talk soon,

Sue.
Founder of Live Work Breathe