Mayor Bloomberg's hearing aid help increase awareness

There seems to be a bit of a disdain by a few Deaf people over the media reporting of Mayor Bloomberg seen wearing an in the ear hearing aid. In Deafness About.com there is short but somewhat snarky comment about the whole thing.

Sometimes I don't understand the media. They think it is a big deal for the mayor of New York City to wear hearing aids. Then the media reported that the mayor's hearing aids "were gone." Was he discouraged from using his hearing aids by the burst of media attention? It even got the attention of the Huffington Post.

Another Deaf blogger posted this.

I just don't understand why the media would be so fascinated by what should be something as normal as wearing eyeglasses.

The problem is that wearing a hearing aid carries a greater stigma than do glasses. Glasses have been around for hundreds of years. But hearing aids have only been around for the last 4 or 5 decades. In-the-ear hearing aids have been around for about a decade. So, the stigma is there for hearing aids, not so much with eye glasses.

Research shows that women, and especially younger women, attach a greater stigma to wearing hearing aids than men. A study on indigenous Australian children revealed they had more negative view of a peer with a hearing aid. However, things are changing, it’s cool to have something on your ear – Bluetooth.

Here are some of the reasons why people attach a stigma to wearing hearing aids.
• Very few people are truly satisfied with their hearing aids.
• They feel wearing an aid is something to be ashamed of because they are seen as different. Being the only one with hearing aids.
• Hearing loss means many people lose confidence. When you don’t hear properly you often make mistakes in conversation and so deaf/wearing hearing aids is equated with being stupid. People who cannot hear experience, anger, defeat, depression, isolation, anxiety, frustration.
• Most people lose hearing gradually and are in denial that they have a loss (people mumble, walk away, don’t look at me)
• They make me look older or handicapped. It’s all in the perception. Grandma wore a hearing aid, grandma was old, I’m not old so I can’t wear a hearing aid.
• Getting a hearing aid signifies age and therefore makes us seem less attractive or smart.
• A hearing aid used to prompt uneasiness to anyone who saw it. So it’s as much the hearing person’s issue as the deaf person’s. The hearing person is afraid and doesn’t know how to communicate.

The only shame is missing out on sounds in life. Hearing aids have improved. They give better sound quality and can be tailored to meet a specific hearing loss type.

Indeed. What we need is more media exposure of well known people who do wear hearing aids and help lessen the stigma of wearing a hearing aid. And those who do wear them ought to be proud of wearing one rather than be embarrassed.