Childhood hearing loss: An uncertain context for parenting

ABSTRACT

Parents of children with hearing loss (HL) often navigate an unfamiliar and uncertain path. This qualitative study investigated the nature of parental uncertainty: (1) immediately after a child’s HL was identified; (2) prior to primary school entry; and (3) during primary school. Open-ended questions in online surveys were completed by participants (N = 61) with: (a) personal experience as a parent of a child with HL (n = 35); (b) professional experience with children who have HL (n = 19); or (c) a combination of both parental and professional experience (n = 7). Six major themes were abstracted using thematic analysis, including uncertainty about: (1) the Pervasive Impact of HL, (2) the Nature and Causes of HL, (3) Developmental Impacts, (4) Family Life, (5) Family Decision-Making, and (6) Education and Support Services. The salience of these depended on the stage in time following identification.

KEYWORDS:

• Children
• hearing loss
• parent
• stress
• uncertainty
• family-centred
• education
• decision-making

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the people who participated in this survey and those organisations who assisted with recruitment.

Disclosure statement

The data in this article was collected for Kate Greenhalgh’s PhD research dissertation and a fund of $4500 is allocated to this project. She received the Australian Postgraduate Award in 2013 through the Commonwealth Government. No conflict of interest exists.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Australian Government's Research Training Program Stipend Scholarship.