No Taxation Without Representation: Addressing the "Deaf Tax" in Academic Medicine

Minority faculty and trainees experience unique factors that can hinder their success in academic medicine-collectively referred to as "minority tax." The authors argue that a similar "deaf tax" of unique barriers, experiences, and responsibilities disproportionately burdens deaf trainees and faculty. The cumulative effects of these deaf tax experiences represent a significant disadvantage for deaf professionals in academic medicine. Through a combination of relevant literature and the authors' personal experiences as deaf professionals, several causative domains of deaf tax are outlined, including the fight for reasonable accommodations, prejudice and discrimination, training and diversity barriers, and a lack of deaf mentorship. In addition, a number of practical steps are offered for institutional leaders to consider implementing to improve equity and inclusion in academic medicine, including facilitating language equity and communication access, implementing deaf awareness training, fostering effective deaf mentorship, and promoting deaf professionals into leadership positions. Addressing these issues would help remove the obstacles that create the high deaf tax burden and lower the near-insurmountable barrier of entry, advancement, and retention in academic medicine for deaf professionals.