Hearing aids. They’re not the trendiest of things are they? They’re not depicted as cool, people don’t aspire to wear them in order to look “clever” so they don’t have the appeal that spectacles have… They’re just functional.
And I admit my attitude to them has changed massively over the years.
Growing up, I detested them. I would only pop them in whenever the teacher of the deaf visited me once a week at my mainstream school. The rest of the time they were safely in a Minnie Mouse box… Somewhere. I didn’t care. I didn’t like them. They were uncomfortable and loud!
Moving onto secondary mainstream with a deaf unit, I was “forced” to wear my aids and so very rarely would I wear my hair up if I had them in because they just looked ugly to me…
The mould always seemed to be yellowing and the aid was big and bulky and made my ears stick out. Hardly what a fashion conscious teen would like to be seen in!
But then, if I’m honest, there were other reasons for not wanting to wear the aids… Basically I didn’t want to look different. I would admire the pop stars in my magazines – none of them wore hearing aids.
Even at the deaf club, the coolest deaf kids who signed fluently didn’t wear hearing aids either. Neither did the signing people on the telly. Or at least, I couldn’t see them.
Moving onto a deaf school I still resisted the hearing aids and would pretend I had them in even when my English teacher could hear them whistling in my hand bag…
It was only when I had my first purple hearing aids with pink glittery moulds (aged 18!) for a television programme I was working in that I started to embrace them.
I noticed that if people saw my aids they were more aware and wouldn’t assume I was being rude me if misheard them. Train conductors would notice them so would tap me on the shoulder instead of shouting “tickets please!”
People were generally more helpful and eager to help if – when I was asking for something – they could see my hearing aids too.
I also discovered that I could connect my hearing aids to an iPod and enjoy my cheesy music discreetly.
And as my hearing has deteriorated further I’ve become more dependent on my aids and more grateful for the amplification they provide. They don’t make me hearing (by a long shot!) but their greatest benefit to me is acting as a visual sign of my deafness.
I’m not embarrassed to be deaf but growing up in a hearing environment I have to admit that I was.
But the danger of hiding my hearing aids and in effect – my deafness too – meant that people did form assumptions when I was quiet or withdrawn. I encountered misunderstandings daily and as a result often felt excluded.
Rather than embracing my deafness and letting the world know what I needed, I tried to hide it. Cue lots of teenage insecurity and identity confusion!
So when I saw this notice on a shop window this week, I couldn’t help becoming contemplative…
It said free hearing tests – great. But invisible hearing aids? There we go again with the stigma that hearing aids and deafness on a whole isn’t something to be “proud of.” That its something to hide…
I can understand about comfort and how it’s a generalisation to think of beige hearing aids on elderly people. But why can’t we change this? Funk the hearing aids up a bit, and make the coloured moulds and different designs for adults as well as children.
Can we somehow increase the visibility of hearing aids in the media that we share with deaf children? So that they’re not just seen as functional but also as attractive, cool, everything that specs can be nowadays!
Based on personal experience I feel that making my hearing aids invisible makes my deafness invisible. And just like the visual benefits of having a hearing dog so people are alerted that you might need assistance in an emergency, my hearing aids make me look different because I am.
Sure, looking and being different can make you a target for bullying or abuse and I understand that. But as someone who’s been on both sides, I’ve discovered that there’s no point trying to change or hide something that’s ingrained in me.
It reminds me of a deaf girl I knew who refused to sign in public because she was brought up to believe it was embarassing. So despite knowing sign she would only speak in public so as not to attract attention or to highlight she was deaf.
It’s down to us to challenge society’s stereotypes of our differences being shameful. Having a unique hearing aid is always a good talking point when meeting new people too.
I’ve made friends with my hearing aids and I try – with the help of creative friends – to “pimp” them up so that they represent me. A friend of mine designs attachments for hearing aids, another one uses nail decals to embellish them and I’m always looking for more inspiration that doesn’t cost the earth.
So invisible hearing aids – not for me, thank you.
And if you have a unique hearing aid/implant – I want to see it!
Read more of Rebecca’s articles for us here.
Rebecca Anne Withey is a freelance writer with a background in Performing Arts & Holistic health.
She is also profoundly deaf, a sign language user and pretty great lipreader.
Her holistic practices and qualifications include Mindfulness, Professional Relaxation Therapy, Crystal Therapy and Reiki.
She writes on varied topics close to her heart in the hope that they may serve to inspire others.
Brendan Lawlor
November 25, 2016
What an interesting well written artical ! I’m a freelance social worker. I have acquired hearing loss over recent years and am interested in networking to develops projects and fund raise (not an experienced fundraiser though!) . I want to get more familiar with sign language so hanging out with people who sign is on my ‘to do’ list. I’m a trustee at a local hearing charity in Hertfordshire.
Marie Bland
November 25, 2016
I couldn’t agree more. Unfortunately deafness does carry a stigma, from personal experience and from a deaf clubs experience. Does it stem from the old ‘description’ of a deaf and dumb person instead of mute, then dumb is interpreted as thick not speechless? Also when not hearing all of a sentence/instruction a deaf person comes across as not alert, stupid, not with it so people bypass you making your struggle and isolation even worse. I speak from experience unfortunately and I do not think hearing peoples attitudes will change, never mind how much they are told or educated about it. It’s too much hard work for them.
There is a TV advert where the oldish lady (as deafness relates to old people…….) puts in her hearing aid on leaving the house (so she wasn’t deaf indoors) and says in the mirror something like, That’s between us 2 or No-one will know. WHY??? Oh yes, of course, hearing aids shouldn’t be seen. they are embarrassing. a source of shame and ridicule, yes we must have the smallest, ‘invisible’ aids so no-one can tell we are a bit slow, stupid, not normal. Imagine how many people watch the TV and that portrayal is depicted to them, no wonder they have the attitudes they do. These adverts do discriminate, so yes Rebecca I definitely do think we should stand up for ourselves and not have our disability discriminated by anything or anyone.
Marie Bland
samthornesite
November 25, 2016
great article and I love how you’ve pimped your aid 😀 I couldn’t agree with you more about the need to have the aids more visible, not less.
People are far more patient with me when they’re on show as the reason for me perhaps not keeping up that well are clear and present.
On the other hand, there seems to be this assumption that if you’ve got aids, you can now hear. That can be rather frustrating. My left aid protects me from getting run over (I can’t hear conversation with it), and I have pitch deafness in my right as well as extreme volume loss. One frustration I have is that even when people see the aids, their attitude appears to be “well, you should’ve heard that, then.” Sigh.
I think funkier hearing aids would definitely be something I’d go for if they were more widely available. My local hospital trust only does Siemens in ‘skin tones’ (black, dark brown or beige). I’d like blue ones, actually! with silver stars on 🙂
Su
November 27, 2016
Hi Sam! How arty are you? See my comment below. Not that hard if you’re a bit arty and cost pennies a set in the long run. …
Blue with silver stars I like the thought of that and may rustle up a pair:-)
Su
November 25, 2016
I have hearing loss over the past ten years and I have hearing aids on both sides I use mine to not have to explain to people constantly and to get people to think why I’m ignoring them! ! I pimp mine!!
I’m very crafty and actually make my own moulds using silicone, resin and many different glitters etc! I have orange ones with black pumpkin faces in them for Halloween:-)
I work with (hearing) children and the different colours open a door for them to ask about them which I feel is important as I’m probably the only exposure they have to deafness or signing.
I wear my hair up on purpose to show them off and get many good comments.
I’ve just made a sparkly purple pair to match my bridesmaid dress for brothers wedding. 🙂 despite being asked by a parent to not wear them at all. ..I suspect so as not to spoil the photos. ..But that’s another subject all together!
Incidently both patents won’t wear their aids despite them having those tiny inner canal buds not moulds. Sigh.
Horray for blingy aids! !
Rosie
November 26, 2016
Su – Would love to know more- how do you do it? Any pictures?
Su
November 27, 2016
Yes I can take pictures and stuff but no idea how to add them! 🙂
K. Willsen
November 26, 2016
I’m a (hearing) wheelchair user, who often has to ask people to make room for me to get past. If I say “excuse me” and nothing happens, the first thing I do is look for hearing aids. This helps me decide what to do next, from simply raising my voice, to waving for attention, or even tapping the person on the arm. Many hearing people I’ve met don’t like to be tapped, so visible hearing aids are an important cue for me.
Thanks for an interesting article. I really like how you’ve decorated your aids. Sunflowers to go with your sunny smile! ☺
saralouisewheeler
November 30, 2016
I love this article, thank you so much for putting this out there.
In the summer I gave a conference presentation entitled “Pink hearing aids and purple shampoo: biographical implications and positive presentations of Waardenburg syndrome type 1”, which I am currently writing up as an article for the conference yearbook.
It includes a disgruntled deconstruction of the advert Marie Bland mentions above – the hearing aid is navy blue, her dress is navy blue, so you think they are advertising the fact that you can accessorise your hearing aids, which is a lovely idea – but no, she then says “this is just between me and you okay” and pops it in her ear, where it may as well be any colour because it is now “invisible”. The advert manages to be insulting, inappropriate and contradictory – all in one hit. Deary me.
Anyway, this advert seems to be ‘on trend’ because when I went back to the hospital to get some different ones (finding hearing aids that help low-frequency loss is difficult) it turned out that they have stopped doing fun colours and now only offer black, brown, ‘blonde’ (looks beige) and a few other hideous colours. Apparently people want them to blend in with their hair so as to be better concealed – which is somewhat ironic for me, since they do not do them in white or silver!
In the end I was saved by my unusually small ears, which meant it was hard to get a wire small enough and they kept popping out (very uncomfortable), so I ended up getting some children’s ones which fitted better and are white and a soft pink, yey! Not quite as jewellery-like as the stunning bright pink ones I had at first…but they are more effective at boosting sound, so…
Bea
November 30, 2016
Thank you for sharing your opinion and experiences. I am hearing and currently studying BSL. I am trying to educate myself on the deaf community as I’d love to get involved in whatever way I can. Articles like yours are very enlightening! You look beautiful and you are absolutely right to wear those pretty hearing aids with pride! 🙂 Bea x
samthornesite
December 1, 2016
Sorry Su, my inbox was a mess and I’ve only just seen your response! Alas, artistry is fairly low on my list of areas in which I’m a genius 😉 I’m about as artistic as an armadillo with arthritis. But if you were ever to do an article describing how to pimp one’s aids, I know I’d be part of an attentive audience!