Hearing Impairment and Hearing Disability

The purpose of this book is to challenge people (service providers, people with a hearing disability and those who advocate for them) to reconsider the way western society thinks about hearing disability and the way it seeks to 'include them’. It highlights the concern that the design of hearing services is so historically marinated in ableist culture that service users often do not realise they may be participating in their own oppression within a phono-centric society. With stigma and marginalisation being the two most critical issues impacting on people with hearing disability, Hogan and Phillips document both the collective and personal impacts of such marginality. In so doing, the book brings forward an argument for a paradigm shift in hearing services. Drawing upon the latest research and policy work, the book opens up a conceptual framework for a new approach to hearing services and looks at the kinds of personal and systemic changes a paradigm shift would entail.

’Hogan and colleagues have written an intriguing book, grounded in sociological understandings of the body, impairment and disability. The arguments, drawn upon the Australian experience, will be of particular interest to researchers and scholars exploring the fringes of disability identity scholarship, that is the space of being in-between governing categories of the body.’ Karen Soldatic, University of New South Wales, Australia ’Hearing loss affects more than just communication; research indicates that people with hearing loss are three times more likely to use public health resources. Unaddressed hearing loss continues to have a huge impact on the lives of so many Australians. Hogan and Phillips have been able to use research and global success opportunities in real applications. This invaluable resource is a must have for anyone interested in making evidenced-based decisions and future planning.’ Michele Barry, Chief Executive Officer, Better Hearing Australia ’Except in rare instances, chronic hearing health conditions are almost always considered primarily from a medical, curative perspective. In their book, Hogan and Phillips challenge their readers to go beyond this traditional approach. Hearing disability is considered from a substantially broader perspective that encompasses social psychology, sociology and public health. The goal of their treatise is to bring the key stakeholders to recognize the important social manifestations and consequences of hearing loss and to adopt and provide intervention services that cater directly to these needs.’ Jean-Pierre Gagné, Université de Montréal, Canada

Professor Anthony Hogan is Professor of Governance and Deputy Director at the Institute of Governance at the University of Canberra, Australia. He is also adjunct Professor in Sociology at The Australian National University. He is a qualified welfare worker and rehabilitation counsellor with over 25 years’ experience working with people with disability. He has published several textbooks and many research articles on social aspects of living with hearing difference including Hearing Rehabilitation for Deafened Adults (Whurr/Wiley, 2001), and Adult Cochlear Implant Rehabilitation (Whurr/Wiley, 2005). Dr Rebecca Phillips is a Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis at the University of Canberra, Australia. She is a qualified occupational therapist with specific interests in the needs of children with disability and their wellbeing.