Hard of Hearing Adults’ Interpersonal Interactions and Relationships in Daily Life

Sylvia Olsson, Munir Dag and Christian Kullberg
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Sylvia Olsson: Division of Social Work, School of Health, Care and Social Welfare, Mälardalen University, 63105 Eskilstuna, Sweden
Munir Dag: Division of Social Work, School of Health, Care and Social Welfare, Mälardalen University, 63105 Eskilstuna, Sweden
Christian Kullberg: Division of Social Work, School of Health, Care and Social Welfare, Mälardalen University, 63105 Eskilstuna, Sweden

Disabilities, 2021, vol. 1, issue 2, 1-18

Abstract: Globally, there is limited research on how deaf and hard of hearing adults experience higher education and work. The purpose of the present study is to examine hard of hearing (HH) adults’ experiences of social interactions and social relationships in higher education, the workplace and leisure time. Data were obtained from semistructured interviews with 16 individuals (aged 24–31 years) from diverse cultural backgrounds (10 males and 6 females) with severe-to-profound hearing loss. Participants were selected based on previous expressed interest in participating in further studies after having been involved in an earlier study. The interviews were subjected to a qualitative thematic data analysis. According to the results, people with a hearing loss experience communication barrier in higher education, at work and in leisure time. These communication barriers lead to difficulties achieving social inclusion, and in some circumstances to social exclusion. Assistive technology (AT) and information and communication technologies (ICT) were important facilitators of moving from social exclusion towards social inclusion.

Keywords: hard of hearing; communication; social interactions; social relationships; higher education; labor market (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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