Attitudes towards co-workers affected by occupational hearing loss. II: Focus groups interviews

This study was undertaken as a complement to a questionnaire inquiry on attitudes towards co-workers affected by occupational hearing loss (OHL). Four groups of 7 to 11 volunteer participants were recruited among respondents to the questionnaire inquiry. They were interviewed using a focus group technique. Scenarios were prepared to serve as a basis for asking questions aimed at three major objectives: (a) to characterize workers' perception of a co-worker who has an impairment involving no visible signs; (b) to identify the conditions that trigger social withdrawal and isolation behaviour among people affected by OHL, and the conditions that might make the latter decide to seek help; and (c) to define the type and methods of help that might minimize social withdrawal and isolation among hearing impaired workers. The interviews were taped and transcribed verbatim for content analysis using a phenomenological-interpretative framework. The findings can be summarized by the following description of the perception of the problem of OHL among industrial workers. The strong fear of being stigmatized leads those affected by OHL to conceal its manifestations and consequences in their everyday life. As a result, significant others, co-workers, employers and the general population are not aware of such manifestations. Within the workplace, the problem of OHL is generally seen as being inconsequential. In daily interactions among co-workers, its effects are ignored. Within the family, hearing difficulties are often not interpreted as such but they nevertheless affect the workers' significant others. People do not know how to facilitate communication with a person affected by OHL. A large scale multi-target awareness programme is proposed to demarginalize workers affected by OHL. Implications of the findings are drawn in such areas as characterization of attitudes toward workers with hearing impairment, rehabilitation for those affected by OHL, and prevention of OHL.