Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing face significant obstacles in their daily life. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the majority of deaf people reside in low- and middle-income nations where they frequently lack access to quality ear and hearing care services.
“Lack of accurate information and stigmatizing attitudes to ear diseases and hearing loss often limit people from accessing care for these conditions. Even among health-care providers, there’s often a shortage of knowledge about prevention, early identification and management of hearing loss and ear diseases, hampering their ability to provide the care required,” notes WHO.
The health agency also states that without appropriate interventions, hearing loss presents a serious challenge in the lives of those impacted. The statistics are quite stark. Data shows that people who are deaf and hard of hearing are almost 5 times more likely to report difficulty accessing Covid-19 information than adults who are hearing. ‘Hard of hearing’ means people with hearing loss ranging from mild to severe. People who are hard of hearing usually communicate through spoken language and can benefit from hearing aids and other assistive devices. ‘Deaf’ people usually have profound hearing loss, which implies very little or no hearing. They often use sign language for communication.
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