Young Children's Attitudes Toward Peers Who Wear Hearing Aids

Purpose This study examined whether young children with normal hearing demonstrated negative attitudes toward peers wearing hearing aids, often described as the "hearing aid effect." The effect of age on these attitudes was also examined. Method Forty-five typically developing children with normal hearing, aged 6-11 years, were recruited to answer questions about and rate photos of children with and without hearing aids in areas of peer acceptance as well as physical and cognitive competence. Participants completed a forced-choice task, a perceived competence rating task, and a sociometric rating task. Results Children in this study perceived their peers who wore hearing aids as having less physical competence and less peer acceptance than peers without hearing aids, thus confirming a hearing aid effect in children as young as 6 years of age. Both younger and older children were more likely to choose pictures of children wearing hearing aids as having less peer acceptance than pictures of children who were not wearing hearing aids. Older children were also more likely to choose a picture of a child with hearing aids as having less physical competence than a picture of a child without hearing aids. Conclusion These findings should serve to alert professionals who work with children who have hearing loss that additional support and education might be warranted for these children and their peers with normal hearing.