Hampton Thomas, Loureiro Manuel, Mortimer Kevin, Nyirenda Deborah
Department of Clinical Sciences, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
Front Rehabil Sci. 2024 Dec 11;5:1491473. doi: 10.3389/fresc.2024.1491473. eCollection 2024.
Hearing loss and Deafness/deafness affects as much as 5% of the world's population and has a considerable health and economic burden. We explored the relationship with hearing and hearing aids as well as other assistive technology for health in general with a cohort of UK adults who have conductive hearing loss. We anticipated that insights could lead to greater understanding for the delivery of assistive technology (AT) for conductive hearing loss and the participant's lived experience related to technology and society.
This study presents the qualitative findings from a mixed methods study exploring the story of each participant's hearing, the impact on their lives and their experience and use of AT. A purposive sample of 33 adults with conductive hearing loss took part in semi-structured interviews. Participants were aged ≥18 years and had previously attended outpatient ENT or audiology clinic at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust. Transcripts underwent thematic analysis.
The overarching theme was "A changing relationship over time with deafness, themselves and society". The three principle sub-themes of the interviews were "a technological world" describing the necessity of interaction with people & technology' both as children and adults, then the concept of "Normalised Marginalisation"-the struggle of childhood and school in the face of social norms' and typicality. Finally, there were issues raised about visibility and "the visible display of D/deafness", tied to aesthetics, vanity and traditional ideas about masculinity. Many participants described their adoption of new technology or devices as "" and their quality of life without assistive technology as significantly impaired.
Insights from this study described the experiences of adults with conductive hearing loss and the ways in which they have a difficult relationship with their deafness, including how they felt and viewed themselves and how they interacted with society, particularly as children and young adults. The potential for benefit of assistive technology for hearing health was deemed by many participants to be a necessary bridge integrating them in relationships with other people in society. Early notions of disability, typicality and social norms frequently persisted into adulthood and these insights should be considered by all those professional seeking to provided hearing health assistance to individuals with conductive hearing loss.
听力损失及失聪影响着全球多达5%的人口，带来了相当大的健康和经济负担。我们对一群患有传导性听力损失的英国成年人进行了研究，探讨了听力与助听器以及其他辅助技术对整体健康的关系。我们预计，这些见解能增进对传导性听力损失辅助技术（AT）的提供以及参与者与技术和社会相关生活经历的理解。
本研究展示了一项混合方法研究的定性结果，该研究探索了每位参与者的听力情况、听力对其生活的影响以及他们对辅助技术的体验和使用。33名患有传导性听力损失的成年人组成的目的样本参与了半结构化访谈。参与者年龄≥18岁，且此前曾在苏塞克斯大学医院国民保健服务信托基金的耳鼻喉科或听力学门诊就诊。访谈记录进行了主题分析。
总体主题是“随着时间推移，与失聪、自身及社会的关系不断变化”。访谈的三个主要子主题分别是“技术世界”，描述了儿童和成年人与人和技术互动的必要性；“常态化边缘化”概念，即儿童和学校在面对社会规范和典型性时的挣扎；最后是关于可见性以及“失聪的可见表现”的问题，这与美学、虚荣心和关于男子气概的传统观念相关。许多参与者将他们采用新技术或设备描述为“……”，并表示没有辅助技术时他们的生活质量会显著受损。
本研究的见解描述了患有传导性听力损失的成年人的经历，以及他们与失聪存在艰难关系的方式，包括他们的感受和自我认知，以及他们与社会的互动方式，尤其是在儿童和青年时期。许多参与者认为辅助技术对听力健康有益，是将他们融入与社会中其他人关系的必要桥梁。早期的残疾、典型性和社会规范观念常常持续到成年，所有寻求为传导性听力损失患者提供听力健康援助的专业人员都应考虑这些见解。
