Exploring the Identities of Hearing Parents who Chose Cochlear Implantation for their Children with Hearing Loss.

We aimed to determine the types of identities hearing parents construct when telling online stories about their children with hearing loss (HL) who use cochlear implants (CIs). To do so, we employed a qualitative design and sampled 20 different blogs United States origins and written by parents of children who use CIs. We then used thematic narrative analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006; Riessman, C. K. (2008). Narrative methods for the human sciences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.) to uncover recurring themes from these parents' blogs. The themes then allowed us to assign identities to the parents. Four identities emerged in the parents' stories: (1) advocates, (2) resilient parents, (3) obedient worriers, and (4) matter-of-fact narrators. Identifying and understanding these parent identities is a first step toward improving theoretical and clinical insights into parents' perspectives and experiences following their children's diagnosis of HL. Such insights could ultimately improve audiologists' abilities to help families seek out, implement, and follow-through with family-centered hearing healthcare.