Journal of Communication Disorders, Deaf Studies & Hearing Aids
Open Access
ISSN: 2375-4427
ISSN: 2375-4427
Curtis J Alcock
Posters-Accepted Abstracts: Commun Disord Deaf Stud Hearing Aids
Hearing technology has evolved beyond recognition since its introduction over a century ago, yet many of the attitudes society
has towards it, and to the people who use it, have failed to keep apace. The ‘hearing aid’ is perceived by many as the separator
between having ‘normal’ hearing, and being deaf or hearing impaired—and therefore actively avoided or perceived as irrelevant by
those ‘not ready’ to see themselves that way. This is despite the fact that the effect of their using hearing technology would put them
far closer to what others expect from their hearing than if they were not to use it. The traditional response of both the industry and
the profession has been to market hearing technology as something to be hidden, but in doing so have unintentionally reinforced the
idea that ‘nobody wants’ hearing technology, that it is something to be embarrassed about, and that having a hearing loss is ‘shameful’.
Is it possible to break these vicious cycles? Is it possible to market hearing technology in a way that modernises society’s attitudes
towards it? The answer lie not in clever marketing campaigns or new products launches, but in understanding how society forms their
collective attitude towards hearing healthcare. We also look at how other health products and habits once regarded negatively or as
irrelevant by the majority have transformed themselves into something we all take for granted today. We then introduce a practical
framework for bringing society’s attitudes towards hearing technology into the 21st century.