Hearing loss and deafness can range from mild to profound with the two main types of deafness being conductive deafness and nerve deafness. Deafness at birth is known as congenital deafness, while deafness occurring anytime following this is called adventitious deafness. Deafness can be caused by injury, disease or genetics. Exposure to noise is the most common cause of adventitious deafness.
Symptoms and characteristics
Symptoms may vary depending on the type of hearing loss and may include:
- sounds being more quiet and distant than before
- people's own voices sounding loud to themselves
- sounds being quieter than before, distorted and less clear
- high pitched tones being harder to hear than low ones
- words being difficult to distinguish, and sounds being muffled
- the sounds 's', 'f' and 'z' may not be heard, but consonants such as 'c' may come through more clearly
- ringing in the ear, known as tinnitus
- balance disturbances, known as vertigo
- nausea, vomiting, and a rhythmic jerking of the eyes, known as nystagmus.
Auslan and the Deaf community
People who have always been deaf or become deaf at an early age tend to experience deafness as a normal part of life and identify with the Deaf community. The Australian Deaf community is a network of people who share a language, culture and a history of common experiences. Auslan or Australian Sign Language is the language of the Australian Deaf community. The use of Auslan, or the acceptance of Auslan as a language in its own right, is an important and key factor of the Deaf community. However a person who is deaf or hard of hearing does not automatically identify with the Deaf community as not all people who are deaf use Auslan.
People who become deaf or hard of hearing in adult life are more likely to see themselves as a hearing person who now has difficulty hearing.
For more information about specific types of Deafness and hearing loss, see the links below:
Workplace solutions and adjustments
For a person who has a hearing difficulty, a hearing aid may assist them to communicate more effectively in the workplace. More advice on hearing aids can be found at the following link:
Hearing aid banks provide an alternative limited source of hearing aids for people who are unable to fund the full cost of their own hearing aids and do not meet the eligibility of other hearing services. Hearing aid banks receive donated hearing aids, recondition them and then fit them for little or no cost. The services offered differ slightly from state to state and are funded by not for profit organisations with some funding from territory and state government:
There are various other options that can assist someone with a hearing difficulty in the workplace including:
Case studies and success stories
For employers and managers:
For job seekers:
References
Better Health Channel 2011, Deafness—a range of causes, State Government of Victoria, Melbourne, viewed 21 September 2011, http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Deafness_-_a_range_of_causes.
Better Health Channel 2011, Hearing loss—communicating at work, State Government of Victoria, Melbourne, viewed 21 September 2011, http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Hearing_loss_communicating_at_work?open.
Better Health Channel 2011, Hearing loss—how it affects people, State Government of Victoria, Melbourne, viewed 21 September 2011, http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Hearing_loss_how_it_affects_people?OpenDocument.
Deaf Australia Inc 2010, The Australian Deaf Community, Deaf Australia Inc, Brisbane, viewed 21 September 2011, http://www.deafau.org.au/contact/index.p1hp.
Department of Health and Ageing, Information for Clients: Hearing Aid Banks, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, viewed 3 September 2011, http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/health-hear-client11.htm.
Links to specific types of deafness and hearing loss
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