“Hearing” the “Voices” of Patients who are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing Rachel Kolb March 18, 2016

Starting with a story…

Prevalence of Hearing Loss About 50 million Americans (20% of the population) have some degree of hearing loss 2 to 3 out of every 1,000 children in the U.S. are born with hearing loss; more than 90 percent of these are born to hearing parents At age 65 and above, 1 out of every 3 people has a hearing loss

Sign Language and the Deaf Community In the U.S., an estimated 100,000 to 1 million people use ASL as their primary language Most sign language users have been deaf since birth or early childhood Deaf (with a capital “D”) individuals consider themselves part of a cultural and linguistic minority Sign language: not global or based on spoken language

Deafness and Health Literacy/Access Many d/Deaf adults have low health literacy – Language barriers – Lack of incidental information/overhearing – Misconceptions in the medical setting Lack of health research on deaf populations Lack of deaf health care practitioners

Other Healthcare Access Issues Patients with hearing loss may rely on other modes of communication Some patients with hearing loss (especially older patients) might not have been diagnosed Access to hearing aids/other services Doctors’ time and patience

“Hearing” Deaf Patients’ Voices 1.Access to communication is key. 2.Diversity. 3.Interpreters, and interpreting ethics. 4.Use of technology. 5.Other institutional factors. 6.Issues affecting “hearing loss” more generally.

References k-statistics-hearing k-statistics-hearing th/features/key-findings-community- prevalence.html th/features/key-findings-community- prevalence.html MC / MC /