(De)stigmatizing the Silent Epidemic: Representations of Hearing Loss in Entertainment Television

Abstract

The number of adolescents, young adults, and senior citizens experiencing hearing loss has significantly increased over the last 30 years. Despite this prevalence, hearing loss receives little attention in popular and political discourse, except in its connection to aging. Thus, hearing loss and the use of hearing aids have been stigmatized, discouraging adults from seeking hearing evaluation and screening, and justifying the lack of insurance coverage for hearing devices. This research explored how and why hearing loss continues to be stigmatized through a study of media messages about hearing loss. A textual analysis was conducted on 276 television episodes that involved d/Deaf characters and/or storylines about hearing loss and deafness from 1987 through 2013 (see Table 1). Only 11 fictional programs addressed the experience of hearing loss through 47 episodes, including Criminal Minds, Switched at Birth, House, M.D., and New Girl. Contrary to the assumption that hearing loss exclusively impacts older people, characters were typically young, attractive, working professionals who held prominent roles in the programs. For most characters, hearing loss developed suddenly and was restored by the end of the episode, with only four characters using hearing aids. Hearing loss was depicted as comical, embarrassing, lonely, and threatening to one's work. The scarcity of hearing loss portrayals, combined with the negative representations of hearing loss, could help explain why hearing loss continues to be stigmatized and overlooked, even though almost half of all Americans will eventually experience difficulty hearing.

Stigma regarding hearing loss and hearing aids: A scoping review.

“…All of them reported that concealing the hearing difficulties (e.g., pretending to hear what was being said, refraining from making explicit demands that might help facilitate communication, choosing not to wear hearing aids) was the most common stigmatic behavior endorsed by elderly persons with hearing problems. Other common stigmatic behaviors found included denial and distancing oneself from communicative interactions (Foss, 2014;Southall et al, 2010). Consequences of stigma.…”

Hearing loss and stigma

“…Görünmez', 'İşitme cihazı kullanıcıları için cihazın fark edilmemesi çok önemli olduğu için, .... 'ın yeni dome'ları soluk renkli tasarlanmıştır. Bu sayede kulak kanalının içinde neredeyse gözden kaybolurlar ve ancak çok dikkatle bakıldığında dışarıdan görülürler', '..... hep güçlü, hep gizli' Foss, [34] işitme engelli veya işitme kaybıyla ilişkili karakterlerin olduğu veya bu konunun geçtiği televizyon dizilerini incelemiştir. İşitme kaybının konu olduğu televizyon dizilerine fazla rastlanmamaktadır.…”

Constructing Hearing Loss or “Deaf Gain?” Voice, Agency, and Identity in Television's Representations of d/Deafness

“…In 2009, Foss noted that competing discourses about deafness can exist in a single media program, as exemplified with CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CSI), with Gil Grissom's hearing loss, juxtaposed with positive representations of Deaf culture. More recently, Foss (2014) found that entertainment television rarely portrays the hearing loss experience, although d/Deaf characters frequently appear. The current study builds on this existing research to explore how fictional television depicts deafness and Deaf culture since 1987.…”