1. Psychological effects of acquired hearing loss

2. City Lit Relates to Assignment 2a Deadline 30 th March 2015

3. City Lit Activity In your pairs/groups.. Think of all the things you use your hearing for in everyday life and make a list

4. City Lit Ramsdell’s three psychological levels of hearing Symbolic/Speech Level Thoughts Communication Information Education Entertainment Aesthetic

5. City Lit Ramsdell’s three psychological levels of hearing Signal/Warning Level Sounds which alert to an action Sounds which alert to danger

6. City Lit Ramsdell’s three psychological levels of hearing Background/Primitive Level Sounds which make you feel connected to the world around you Sounds you are not aware of

7. City Lit Acquired hearing loss - feelings Scenario: A person has lost their hearing - they have a profound hearing loss. In your groups: Discuss how it might make them feel?

8. City Lit Psychological, social and emotional effects of acquired hearing loss Personality becomes withdrawn Withdrawal from social activities Lack of confidence Feelings of inadequacy Insecurity Anger/bitterness/ resentment Loss of identity Depression Fear of future People treating you differently Connection with ageing Stigma Bewildered

9. City Lit Parallel to bereavement Elizabeth Kubler-Ross (1969) How do these five stages apply to hearing loss? Denial. Refusal to believe we have a hearing loss. 'The problem really is that everyone else mutters.' Anger towards anyone related to loss e.g. ENT doctor, audiologist. 'What I need is a cure not a hearing aid.' Bargaining. 'If my hearing comes back I’ll be nicer to people.' Depression. 'I might as well give up going out with my friends if I can’t hear a word they say.' Acceptance. 'We had a wonderful holiday after all. There is life after deafness.‘

10. City Lit Emotional effects of acquired hearing loss Issues of identity and loss “I used to refer to myself as a hearing person trapped in the body of a deaf person.” (Music teacher) “ I was prepared for what happened, but it didn’t lessen the impact. The loss of music, which now makes no sense at all, is the greatest single trauma. Part of me has died and I am both mourner and mourned. Sometimes, it hurts more than others, but the plain unwashed truth is that it is a catastrophic loss: nothing could replace music for me. My job was also effectively at an end.” “ I used to be the life and soul of the party- but not now.” “I definitely feel as if I have lost my independence.”

11. City Lit Relationships Becoming deafened leads to family breakdown in over 1 in 10 cases Source: LINK 2005 “When my husband lost his hearing - I felt as though I’d lost my voice” “I felt as if I’d lost the person I knew” “ It is very stressful. A part of our relationship, in a way, has died” “Some families react like ostriches about deafness. I mean by that they try to deny that the person they love has a hearing loss”

12. City Lit Mental health The rate of depression for deafened people is 5 times the national average. The rate of depression for partners of deafened people is 4 times the national average. Source: LINK 2005

13. City Lit Employment Taking a sample of 24 deafened adults who were working before they lost their hearing, 9 out of the 24 had to give up work altogether as a result of their deafness. Source: LINK 2005

14. City Lit Acquired profound hearing loss Total deafness can be: sudden gradual What are some causes of sudden profound hearing loss?

15. City Lit Sudden acquired profound hearing loss Causes: Trauma (car accident, head injury) Tumour (brain, auditory nerve) Virus (meningitis, viral infection) Ototoxic drugs Often the cause is unknown Over 150,000 adults with APHL in the UK (source: LINK) Have you come across these with your clients?

16. City Lit What should be done to help? Immediate rehabilitation support for newly deafened people and close family Communication strategy training for the family and close colleagues National support organisations - and any local ones Specialist counselling support Possible CI referral Lipreading class Alerting equipment for the home Ensure employers aware of equipment and communication support

17. City Lit National support available for APHL Hearing LINK NADP (National Association of Deafened People) Hearing Dogs for the Deaf

18. City Lit References Ramsdell, D.A, The Psychology of the Hard-of-Hearing and the Deafened Adult, chapter 19 in Hearing and Deafness Davis H, Silverman S. R., (1978, 4 th ed) U.S.A: Holt, Rinehart and Winston Kubler Ross E, (1969), On Death and Dying, Tavistock Publications