Psychological and Social Aspects of the Evaluation of Acquired Hearing Impairment¹

Abstract

From the literature, it is clear that handicap secondary to acquired hearing impairment has received limited research attention, and that the available studies are limited both in their choice of subjects, and in the adequacy of their audiological information. However, despite obvious deviations of these samples from what is known of the incidence and distribution of acquired hearing impairment, the generalisations of the investigators have in most instances been continued without comment or reservation by those citing their results. The implications of this limited viewpoint are discussed.

Nous procédons à une revue critique des recherches effectuées par divers auteurs sur la psychologie des sourds et nous notons qu'il n'existe pas de psychologie unique de la surdité séparant le sourd adulte de la population normale. Après avoir comparé les différents indices d'handicaps auditifs proposés et observé ce qui est rapporté concernant l'attitude des sujets ou des tiers vis-à-vis de la surdité, il nous apparaiˇt que de nouvelles recherches cliniques sont nécessaires.

Key Words:

• Acquired hearing impairment
• Psychology
• Handicap scales
• Rehabilitation