How Audiology Alienates Transgender Audiologists

Abstract

There are more transgender and gender-diverse clinical audiologists working today than might at first be apparent. The field of audiology, however, has unique interpersonal and structural factors that cause transgender audiologists to experience significant prejudice and discrimination from their patients and colleagues. Transgender audiologists who experience discrimination are at higher risk of stress, burnout, and leaving the field of audiology altogether. Improved education for healthcare professionals on LGBTQIA+ topics in graduate and continuing education may resolve many of the unequitable experiences that transgender audiologists experience and lead to improved patient care for our gender diverse patients.

Affirming Practices With LGBTQIA+ Patients Seeking Speech and Hearing Care

“…Increasing employee safety and wellbeing will require different steps depending on the setting and existing concerns, but may include providing LGBTQIA+ inclusivity training to all staff members, ensuring employee access to single-stall gender-neutral restrooms, and creating protocols to address potential harassment from patients. Investing both time and capital toward supporting LGBTQIA+ employees is not only good management, but it also helps ensure staff retention in a practice and potentially in the career as a whole (Kirjava 2022).…”

“…Furthermore, it is not only patients who risk discrimination in their health-facility interactions. Healthcare workers, including audiologists, who are members of the LGBTQIA+ community often confront both subtle and overt discriminatory statements and actions in their day-to-day work interactions (Kirjava 2022). This may include employment discrimination such as not being hired, being fired, or having promotional opportunities withheld due to reasons related to an employee’s sexual orientation or gender identity (Sears et al 2021).…”

“…This may include employment discrimination such as not being hired, being fired, or having promotional opportunities withheld due to reasons related to an employee’s sexual orientation or gender identity (Sears et al 2021). Even when employment rights are upheld, LGBTQIA+ workers report experiencing verbal harassment including patients and coworkers intentionally using incorrect pronouns to address them, being the targets of homophobic and discriminatory verbal slurs, and being secondarily exposed to discriminatory attitudes and derogatory comments regarding LGBTQIA+ people (Sears et al 2021; Holmberg et al 2022; Kirjava 2022).…”