Action on Hearing Loss is to revert back to its former name of the Royal National Institute for Deaf people (RNID), the charity has announced.
The news confirms a report by The Limping Chicken on Friday, in which we revealed that rumours were spreading throughout the deaf world after the organisation changed one of its Twitter accounts from @HearingLossPR to @RNID_PR.
The charity has cited research with 6,000 people as the reason behind the new brand, as well as an update to its strategy.
In a statement, Chief Executive Mark Atkinson said: “Returning to RNID and redefining our purpose is a critically important step in our journey to make life more inclusive for deaf people and those with hearing loss and tinnitus.
“RNID continues to be a well-known and much-loved charity and I am proud that we have the confidence to make bold and radical changes which are crucial to our ambition to grow our audience reach and impact.”
The study also found that RNID remains “more popular and more trusted” as a name, years after it was changed back in 2011.
The charity added that those surveyed felt that the Action on Hearing Loss identity “did not reflect the charity’s history” or communicate its “amazing work”.
The organisation has faced criticism over the years, with the perception from some deaf people that the charity often focuses on a medical view of deafness, rather than a cultural one.
The RNID name itself was mocked as standing for ‘Really Not Interested in the Deaf’ – which former chief executive Doug Alker used as a title for a book about his time at the charity.
When making the initial change in 2011, the charity said research had shown the former name was confused with fellow charities the RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People) and RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution).
It said in a statement at the time that its branding “[underlines] the positive and [strikes] out the negative to emphasise the negative effects of hearing loss.”
Some deaf people on social media have expressed concern about the cost of the latest rebrand, on top of the cost of the previous one.
The charity said in 2010 that additional costs from rebranding to Action on Hearing Loss would be £260,000.
Speaking to The Limping Chicken, a spokesperson for the charity said the costs of its reversal to RNID will be £69,000.
The organisation cited their in-house team doing work on social media, IT and their website as a reason for the low figure, due to them using their own employees as opposed to agencies.
They said: “We don’t have big blockbuster budgets for the brand launch which is why we are utilising our Christmas Campaign budget to promote our new brand, investing in a campaign we had already pre-planned for existing yearly budgets.
“The Christmas Campaign is specifically about our new purpose and fundraising.
“We are also working with two agencies that are delivering pro-bono work to drive awareness and impact over November, December and January.”
The spokesperson continued to say that the branding project will not affect spending on charitable objectives and hope it will lead to more supporters.
Regarding today’s news, Mark Atkinson added that the charity will be “a stronger voice for deaf awareness” and will “invest in campaigning for change”.
He continued: “We will connect people to the information and advice they need. And we will continue to fund new treatments for hearing loss and tinnitus.
“Our new purpose, name and identity is about making it clearer who we are for and why we exist.
“Because now, more than ever, it’s vital that people across society understand the challenges deaf people and those with hearing loss and tinnitus face.”
The charity is rarely far from the news, often with stories about breakthrough medical treatments for deafness.
Concerns were raised earlier this year when the charity decided to sell its care homes. Meanwhile, it has faced criticism recently for some of its social media activity.
Last month, a series of tweets faced backlash by the deaf community, including one about a child’s “super bionic ear” and another, since deleted, which was described by one user as “[portraying] being deaf or hard of hearing during COVID as though we’re living in a horror movie”.
Just in case: pic.twitter.com/QEtDhtiMt9
— deafmemes.exe (@DeafmemesExe) September 16, 2020
One deaf individual, responding to the tweet about a child’s cochlear implant, wrote: “The language used is problematic and misleading. @ActionOnHearing is catered towards hearing people and not Deaf/hoh folks.”
The new brand will launch on 2 November.
Update – 12.10.20: This article was updated at 10:30am (BST), after a statement was issued to The Limping Chicken about the cost of their latest rebrand.
By Liam O’Dell. Liam is a mildly deaf freelance journalist and campaigner from Bedfordshire. He wears bilateral hearing aids and can be found talking about disability, theatre, politics and more on Twitter and on his website.
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bozothewondernerd
October 12, 2020
“RNID continues to be a well-known and much-loved charity and I am proud that we have the confidence to make bold and radical changes which are crucial to our ambition to grow our audience reach and impact.”
By gum – if you put that stuff on your roses you’d get a fine bunch of blooms!
Fred Trull
October 12, 2020
Bit short on factual information here.
The reason why Jackie Ballard made a name change was to make the point that this was no longer the old, patronising RNID. Ballard tried to make it more of a social organisation by increasing the number of volunteers at grass roots level. Unfortunately the old fashioned attitudes towards deaf people still remain and will probably do so until there is a major change of policy. The RNID are not very good people managers.
Ballard is in fact an accomplished manager and has achieved many successes in reforming organisations. RINID is not one of them. Having instigated major change she then left without seeing it through and so the Old Guard have crept back in again. Far from having an “obsession” with hearing, the RNID has established through its many polls and other interaction with members that what deaf people really, really want is better hearing. There are close to 40,000 members of the RNID which is about twice as many people as signed the petition for a BSL Act.
You mention Douglas Alker. Douglas is in fact the father of Deaf Culture. He comes from a Deaf family and he has always lectured people on the basis that he regards himself as the “real deaf”. He used to bang on about it at Mary Hare Grammar School unti the school asked him to kindly stop bothering deaf people.
Alker then went to work for the RNID eventually rising through the ranks to become the CEO. All this time he was preaching his philosophy of Deaf Culture but when he got the top job he tried to re-orient the prevailing ordinary culture of deaf people into what we now call Deaf Culture. The RNID not surprisingly disapproved of Alker’s policies and fired him. They have always embraced all deaf people, not just the Deaf ones.
Alker then went on to found the Federation of Deaf People which was supposed to be a campaigning group on behalf of deaf people. Except that it wasn’t. It was a campaigning group on behalf of Deaf people and that is where the distinction arose. Most ordinary deaf people did not support it and a grand demonstration and march was planned in London. A pathetically small crowd turned up. Out of 10 million deaf people only a couple of thousand went on the march. It must have been the smallest London demonstration ever.
Undeterred the FDP campaigners joined the BDA and pretty soon they took it over. Alker was able to thoroughly expound his theories about Deaf Culture and by a series of very clever PR moves brought the BDA into prominence as supporters. Alker then moved on to start the East Lancashire Deaf Society which grew into the Lancashire Deaf Association, recently closed under accusations of financial irregularities.
How many of you so called Deaf experts actually knew any of this? Nothing about it has ever appeared in print because powerful Deaf figures have suppressed it. Don’t believe me? Check it out you lazy b@stards.
Ernesto Bueno Del Carpio
October 12, 2020
Just to clarify regarding BSL march by FDP in fact had nearly 10,000 Deaf people which is a fantastic achievement considering the Deaf who use BSL as their main language number around 100,000 not 10 million considering most Deaf are apathetic and not politically motivated and aware to fight for change. On average less than 3 per cent tend to March or demonstrate on any issue that includes huge democratic marches by black Americans simply because they are a huge population so in actual fact the majority of them stayed home not being involved. The tragedy is the fact we are small number will never be able to impress tge public or government until the so called ten million with hearing loss agree and show up their support. That will never happen ! WHY due to the fact others don’t use or understand BSL and why we need it they prefer to campaign on medical solutions! The irony is if they did support BSL the knock on effect would benefit all through better awareness and understanding
Fred Trull
October 13, 2020
I can only suggest that the gentleman brushes up a bit on his Deaf history. The official version can be found here :
https://bda.org.uk/campaigning-for-a-better-life/
Note that as the BDA tend to think of a number and double it, I treat their guesstimates very conservatively.
MW
October 12, 2020
Clap clap and clap with a cynic view – never have I seen deaf awareness makes a change for the benefit grassroot with RNID!
Society has a long way to go in accepting deafness and access via the Social Model disability/deafness and yes that include lobbying for BSL as a language to be recognised. They are just thinking for the we “Royal” to capture more funding to “cure” us. Mud sticks. They will never change when it is very able-led.
Tim
October 12, 2020
I’m glad to see a social model approach being taken once again, ahead of the oppressive medical model (or tragedy model) approach.
Making ‘life more inclusive for deaf people’ is better than seeing deafness itself as the problem. The onus is where it should be – on society to become inclusive for deaf people.
MW
October 12, 2020
hear! hear! Tim spot on and for Fred very enlightening too – smiling along with Bozo – let the world roll on to somewhere over the rainbow…..
Tim
October 13, 2020
Well, MW, although I try to encourage positive attitudes wherever I find them, unfortunately, I don’t really think that AOHL are now reverting back to RNID because they’ve suddenly stumbled upon the enlightened social model. No, I think they’re doing it in a desperate attempt to bum themselves some more cash.
No organisation I know of has caused so much anger and arguments in Deaf spaces. They seem to think they own Deaf people and that they can swagger into our world and lord it over us, confiscating our autonomy, voice and jobs. They don’t empower us, they leech off us.
Howard B
October 14, 2020
Great to return to its roots, they did good work in the past despite what people have said not really interested in deaf people. Let hope they do more for deaf and hard of hearing people. Not just hearing people loosing their hearing. Employment service, translation service and interpreting development. Im sure there be plenty more developments IF you recruit more deaf in the management. Their input will be valid and good for the long term gain. Best of luck. I cant see a head office in London anymore. Am I wrong? Hope see more of you around and wont hide from you cos of your new organisation name. Well done.
mjfahey
October 15, 2020
RNID changed their name? Eh? When I needed info on deafness online I never stopped googling RNID in search box… Yes I got redirected to AoHL but in my head it’s always been RNID. They really did waste a few bob messing with the name didn’t they?