Hearing impairment, emotions and audiological rehabilitation: a sociological perspective

Encounters are one of the basic dynamics of society, although this does not imply that macro-phenomena do not have ontological status. Encounters involve interaction and hence communication, and interaction and communication generate emotions. Emotions are of great significance to our well-being. Disturbed communication is by far the most commonly reported effect of hearing loss and many handicaps resulting from hearing impairment are of an emotional character. Following Goffman and Scheff I argue that fear of losing face is crucial in interaction, and that shame is an important emotion. Shame is often hidden, misnamed or avoided. But if shame is acknowledged, it is discharged. In traditional audiological rehabilitation, the focus is aural perception, visual perception and speech. I contend that emotional problems, like shame and embarrassment, have to be brought to the fore, the focus less on the compensatory side of rehabilitation and more on the acceptance and coping sides.