A framework for disclosing your hearing loss in the classroom

When it comes to my hearing loss, I’m an open book. I wasn’t always as forthcoming about my disability and my personal attitudes have shifted and changed over the years. My hearing loss is congenital, and I have worn hearing aids since age four. I experienced the usual bout of not wanting to wear my hearing aids in middle school, but I quickly realized that I was missing too much without them. As I came more into my own sense of self and my identity as a cis-gender female with hearing loss, my disability became simply a part of who I am. Now, as an occupational therapist, I strive to help the next generation of occupational therapy practitioners to see disability as an intersectional part of their clients’ identities. For me, this starts in the classroom in students’ interactions with me; however, the hardest part is getting the conversation started and disclosing your deafness

A few years ago, one of my fellow faculty members who teaches the neuroscience course in our curriculum approached me about coming to talk in her class. We decided to have no specific structure for the class time and just allowed students to ask me questions about my experience as a person with hearing loss. The only requirement was that their questions focus on how I participate in my various occupations (definition: things that occupy my time). I reviewed my audiogram with the students and talked through how my loss in the higher frequencies means that I have a harder time hearing whispers, soft voices, and –th, -s, and –sh speech sounds. I also discussed specific strategies that work for me in the classroom, such as reading non-verbal cues and how hearing and understanding speech are two different concepts. The last activity we did in the class was a “hearing test”. I played a video that goes from low frequency to high frequency sounds. I asked students to raise their hand when they start hearing the sound and then put it down when they stopped hearing it. I did it twice: with and then without my hearing aids. The students very quickly realized the full extent of my hearing loss.

This class is always a delight for me for two reasons. First, I love hearing the range of questions people ask. It shows that my students can think creatively and consider many facets of life and participation with regards to my hearing loss. They ask about driving, parenting, hobbies, and my experience growing up wearing hearing aids. Second, this activity helps set the tone in my classroom for the remainder of the semester. They have a significantly better understanding of my classroom requirements for discussion and asking questions. My standing rule is that students must raise their hand before speaking. This allows me to visually locate them in the classroom and then direct my attention to them. Students also have to speak a little louder than they normally would in a classroom. I also walk around in the space to get closer to the student that is speaking, and this helps with my comprehension. In larger auditorium spaces, we use a microphone that can be tossed around from student to student. Students generally abide by our classroom norms; however, many still require prompting when they participate in discussion or ask a question. However, after the open discussion about my deafness, there is no sense of awkwardness as they all have a good understanding of the rationale for our classroom norms.

Although this is one very small part of their training to become occupational therapy practitioners, I hope that their interactions with me and my willingness to share about my experience as a disabled individual influences their approach to care with future clients. This is also true in a variety of professions outside of healthcare as well! Occupational therapy practitioners can often get stuck in a mindset of “treating” and “fixing” clients, seeing disability as a problem to be overcome. This is all too common in health professions that are heavily based on a medical model of disability. I frame my disability experience as simply a part of my every day. There are strategies and technologies that can remove barriers to access and enhance my ability to participate; however, societal attitudes and systemic barriers will always be present. My framing is more aligned with the social model of disability rather than the medical model. The questions students ask during the neuroscience class provide opportunities for me to talk about those barriers and attitudes. I hope that my students can translate their experience in my classroom into their clinical experiences and eventual practice as an occupational therapy practitioner. Not all their clients will be as open as I am. If my students can remain curious and compassionate in their career, they will be one step ahead in their practice with disabled clients.