Liam O’Dell: Do invisible hearing aid adverts encourage stigma?

Provocative question, I know, but I ask it within the context of a recent decision by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) around a leaflet by Specsavers Hearcare, where they said their deals on invisible hearing aids was “something to smile about”.

Two complainants challenged whether the above phrasing was offensive and irresponsible, because they felt that  in the context of the advert, the sentence reinforced stigma around hearing aids.

We don’t know who the two complainants are, but we do know that the ASA dismissed the complaints.

It goes on to add: “Specsavers said the ad made no attempt to make light of hearing aid wearers or to be humorous, and made no comment regarding other types of hearing aid.

“The ASA considered that the ad did not compare invisible hearing aids favourably against visible hearing aids, or suggest that wearing an invisible hearing aid was preferable. 

“We also considered that the ad did not suggest or imply that hearing difficulties were something to be ashamed of, or that wearing an invisible hearing aid would improve the wearer’s self-esteem.”

The watchdog also sought the views of the Royal National Institute for Deaf people (RNID), who advised the regulator that “they could not be certain that the phrase ‘that’s something to smile about’ would cause serious or widespread offence”.

“However, they highlighted that the perceived stigma of hearing loss and deafness was a real concern for their communities. 

“They stated that there were 12 million people with hearing loss in the UK, and therefore that there would be differing opinions on different types of hearing devices amongst the population. 

“However, they considered that people had the right to choose whether the hearing aids they wore were visible or ‘invisible’,” the ruling continues.

And I’d agree with that statement, not least as someone who made the switch from visible to invisible hearing aids quite recently – though not completely by choice, as my current hearing aids (the Signia Active Pros) were given to me in exchange for a review of the devices.

The hearing aids themselves can certainly pass as your typical Bluetooth earphones in that they look like small black buds inside the ear. Granted, it’s not quite the same as those which hide themselves inside the canal, but compared to the ones with plastic tubing, they are certainly less visible.

I didn’t choose to go for invisible hearing aids because I was uncomfortable with my Deaf identity, though I certainly felt like that as a teenager (and sported curly hair to cover up my hearing aids!).

For some, the choice to get invisible hearing aids can be because they are insecure about their deafness – and that is valid. As much as some people may want every deaf person to be proud of their deafness, it would be ridiculous if we didn’t acknowledge that we’ve all had negative attitudes towards our own deafness at some point.

I also think invisible hearing aids can ‘blend in’ to an individual’s overall appearance, like it’s part of their whole identity, rather than singling it out and making it more noticeable on its own. It’s like the debate over person and identity first language, almost (‘person with hearing loss’ versus ‘Deaf person’).

There is a freedom of choice that comes with how we express our Deaf identity, though, and we can choose to represent our deafness in other ways beyond what we put in our ears – if we put anything in there at all.

Heck, we even have clothing brands available which are around showcasing our ‘Deaf Identity’ in a different way!

The final point is around how we control conversations about our deafness. Some may want to wear bright, colourful ear moulds to encourage people to have a discussion about their hearing aids and what they do, but for others (like other autistic deafies, I imagine), they might want to start the conversation themselves.

In other words, they may want to start the discussion on their terms, and there is a considerable power in that.

I certainly don’t think it’s offensive to want and wear invisible hearing aids, as personal choice must be respected. However, the complaints about the Specsavers advert do tap into an important issue: how companies promote these invisible hearing aids.

The right approach is one which respects the idea of free choice, and informed choice, as mentioned above.

Any companies or adverts which suggest invisible hearing aids are better than the more visible kind not only ignore those who don’t wear hearing aids at all, but they seek to divide our community through another ‘us’ versus ‘them’.

If someone was to take offence at anything in respect to invisible hearing aids, then it should be any attempts to do just that.

Photo: Ollie Cole.

By Liam O’Dell. Liam is an award-winning Deaf freelance journalist and campaigner from Bedfordshire. He can be found talking about disability, theatre, politics and more on Twitter and on his website.