News
Updated：2011-08-08
75% of the hearing impaired think that all or most hearing impaired are embarrassed about their hearing loss.
Two out of three hearing impaired say, that they are open in relation to their spouse and children. 12% say “I try not to talk about it” and 6% say that they keep it to themselves. These are the findings of an online-survey carried out by Hear-it.
When it comes to family and friends, 49% are open about their hearing loss. 14% say that they try not to talk about it, and a little more than 10% say “I keep it to myself.”
When it comes to colleagues and acquaintances only 39% are open about their hearing loss. 20% say that they try to keep it to themselves and more than 16% say “I keep it to myself”.
43% say that they are a little embarrassed about their hearing loss. 28% say that they are very embarrassed, only 28% are not embarrassed about their hearing loss.
More than 56% of those who participated in the survey said, that they think most of those who have a hearing loss are embarrassed by it. As many as 19% think that all hearing impaired are embarrassed. Only 2% think that nobody with a hearing loss is embarrassed.
Nothing to hide
“This survey shows that we still have a long way to go,” said Kim Ruberg, secretary general of Hear-it AISBL.
“I’m happy that most of all hearing impaired are open towards their spouse and children. But when it comes to family, friends and colleagues, less than half of all hearing impaired are open about their hearing loss. I can only encourage all hearing impaired to be open about their hearing loss. They have nothing to hide and be ashamed of. You will get a much better life if you are open about your reduced hearing. When people know you have a hearing loss, they normally show respect towards you and you don’t have to keep it as a secret anymore”, said Kim Ruberg.
The Study
More than 300 hearing aid users from around the world took part in the survey during March and April 2011 by responding to a questionnaire posted on www.hear-it.org.
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