Removing telemental health barriers for those with impaired hearing

Many of us have experienced feelings of isolation at some point during the Covid-19 pandemic, but for those with severely impaired hearing it has probably been more profound.

According to the British Medical Journal, around one in seven Britons have hearing loss, rising to one in two of those aged over 70. Nearly two out of three feel socially isolated, and this has been exacerbated by continued and prolonged lockdowns.

To give an idea of the global scale, the World Health Organisation announced in 2018 that 466 million people (6.1 percent of the world’s population) had hearing loss, a figure expected to rise to 630 million by 2030.

The UK charity SignHealth says that mental health illnesses such as anxiety and depression are twice as likely to affect deaf people in comparison to those with normal hearing. Hearing impairment can also create feelings of vulnerability, which can cause anxiety.

What the research shows

According to an article published by The Hearing Journal: “Numerous studies show a significant connection between hearing loss, loneliness and social isolation. Even anecdotal assumptions about a link make sense because hearing loss affects our communication patterns, which therefore can impact our relationships with others.”

A Danish study mentioned in the Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education found more mental health problems among hard of hearing and deaf adults than in the general population, and further demonstrated that the greater the degree of hearing loss, the more the mental health problems experienced.

In addition, a Norwegian sample of about 50,000 subjects found that hearing loss was associated with substantially reduced mental health ratings (greater degree of depression and self-esteem) among young and middle-aged people.

d/Deaf or hard of hearing?

In any discussion about hearing impairment and mental health, it’s important to understand the different levels of hearing loss, as defined by the National Association of the Deaf:

• Deaf: Those who identify as Deaf (with a capital D) communicate with sign language — often those who have been deaf for most of their lives.
• deaf: The lowercase d is for those who do not identify as part of Deaf culture. These can include those who became deaf later in life.
• Hard of hearing (HoH): This describes those who have some hearing loss, but not complete hearing loss.

There is now a range of assistive technology available for people with all levels of hearing loss — from visual/physical alerting devices and amplified/captioned telephones to Apple’s brand-new SignTime service, which enables customers to communicate from their browsers using American or British Sign Language (ASL and BSL).

The SMS revolution

But can technology do more to improve access to mental health support for those with impaired hearing? Telemental health (the use of telecommunications or videoconferencing technology to provide mental health services) has been a big step forward in this respect. However, there is one technology in particular that has hugely benefited the hearing-impaired community — Short Message Service (SMS), otherwise known as text messaging.

Texting has given d/Deaf and HoH people independence and access to businesses, family, friends and colleagues, both hearing and hearing-impaired, putting them on an equal footing to every other mobile phone user.

There is something of an irony here in that Alexander Graham Bell originally designed his invention — the telephone — as a communication aid for hearing-impaired people. But in the end they were left behind by the communications revolution that followed.

But now that the mobile phone is ubiquitous, it provides a simple, portable and non-assistive way for d/Deaf and HoH people to communicate with each other as well as the hearing community.

There have also been developments when it comes to accessing mental health services via SMS. For example, SignHealth offers a free crisis text service to the d/Deaf and HoH community in the UK, available 24/7. Trained crisis volunteers are on hand to help with urgent issues such as suicidal thoughts, abuse or assault, self-harm, bullying and relationship issues. The charity also offers psychological therapy and other forms of advocacy.

However, there is always more that can be done to support the hearing impaired, especially when it comes to self-help techniques such as ASL/BSL for low mood and self-referral to services via email and SMS.

How Zgmund can support the hearing impaired

What if you are hearing impaired and struggling with your mental health, but don’t feel you’re in crisis mode? What support is there out there for you? How can you fight isolation and stay connected?

One option is Zgmund App, which offers anonymous online support groups facilitated by super-empathic psychological AI. In a Zgmund session you can share your thoughts and feelings by text in a totally safe and secure environment and connect with a group of people who share your interests.

Sign up to the waitlist for an online support group session to find out why Zgmund’s users report significant emotional relief after a 30-minute text conversation.

First published on Zgmund.com on June 11, 2021.(https://www.zgmund.com/blog/removing-telemental-health-barriers-for-those-with-impaired-hearing/)