Hearing loss is a social experience too
Reviewed by Yovina Khiroya-Morjaria

Stigma is something audiologists see every day, and this narrative review draws the evidence together. The authors searched PubMed for papers from 2018 to 2025, screened 77 and analysed 25. They describe stigma in public life, schools, workplaces and healthcare. This includes stereotypes of reduced capability, the link between hearing aids and ageing, and self-stigma that leads to denial, hidden devices and delayed help-seeking. They then look at how identity forms, particularly in adults whose hearing declines, and how it shapes engagement with hearing aids and cochlear implants. Proposed interventions are grouped by level: stress management and counselling for individuals, peer groups and family involvement in rehabilitation for communities, deaf-awareness training for clinicians and awareness campaigns and screening programmes at policy level. The review uses a single database and no formal quality appraisal, and several recommendations rest on small qualitative studies, so the conclusions are suggestive rather than definitive. It is still a useful reminder that fitting a device is not the end of the job. In communities where hearing loss carries real stigma, patients often wait years before seeking help. Involving families early and presenting hearing aids as everyday technology seems the most practical lesson for clinicians.

Public health interventions to aid in identity formation among patients diagnosed with hearing disability: A narrative review.
Shrivastava SR, Bobhate PS, Jha S.
HEAR BALANCE COMMUN
2026;24(2):51–5.