People fear effect on their hearing loss at the workplace

According to a survey made by the charity Action on Hearing Loss in the UK 54% of the respondents in a British survey said that they chose not to disclose their deafness or hearing loss to their employer. Nearlynine out of ten (87%) of those who have not talked about their hearing problem in the workplace said they had avoided telling colleagues,while six out of ten (62%) had delayed telling their managers. A third of those who felt they could not be open about their hearing losssaid it was due to the fear that they would be treated unfairly at work. 60% said that they felt that others would assume they weren’tcompetent. 42% saw no point in mentioning it, because their workplace wouldn’t be able to help them anyway.

79% of respondents in the survey said that they have felt stressed and two-thirds said they had experienced isolation in the workplace.65% of the participants felt isolated at work because of their deafness or hearing loss.

Almost a fifth of respondents (18%) hid their hearing loss, as they thought they might lose their job. 18% of respondents said they’dbeen told by an employer that they would be better off not continuing to work, and 12% felt pressured into reducing their working hours.44% of respondents have applied for a job and not disclosed their hearing loss. When asked about the reason for this, over half (51%) ofrespondents said that they have been concerned that their employer would think they wouldn’t be competent at the job. 17% thoughtthey would be treated unfairly at work.

Of those who have told employers about their hearing loss at recruitment stage, 43% felt they had never or hardly ever receivedreasonable adjustments.

Hearing loss was a factor in the decision to retire early for over half (56%) of the respondents. Of those respondents who retired earlybecause of hearing loss, nearly three-quarters (72%) did so because they found hearing loss made work stressful. A fifth (20%) didnot feel that their employer made reasonable adjustments for their hearing. “This research shows that despite there being 11 million– that’s one in six – people in the UK living with some form of deafness and hearing loss, many of those in employment are strugglingunnecessarily. It’s shocking that despite a lot of work by governments and employers to encourage more inclusivity and accessibility,people with deafness and hearing loss feel they can’t be open about it, said Paul Breckell, Chief Executive at Action on Hearing Loss.

Source: maturitas.org and hear-it.org