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Alois Vinga Correspondent
Theirs is a silent world – well, mistakenly so to many of us, including policy makers. For that reason, issues relating to the welfare of those with hearing impairments have not been subject to much discussion at policy and social levels. In fact, there is a general misnomer that ascribes the tag of “deaf” to everyone with hearing impairment condition, which is morally and scientifically wrong.
The World Deaf Federation estimates that 80 000 people in Zimbabwe suffer from hearing impairments.
The challenges that hard-of-hearing people face are manifold.

Tinashe Nhokwara, a Harare- based audiologist, says these range from limited services to lack of awareness.
Said Nhokwara: “The challenges that exist in curbing the condition in Zimbabwe are the limited accessibility of services to deal with their impairment and what comes with it, for example audiological evaluations, hearing assistive devices as well as educational systems that cater for their needs.

“Hearing impairments in general affect one’s quality of life as they tend to miss out on the general social activities and they may not reach their full vocational ability nor have many opportunities so that if changes in their hearing starts to occur, it can be picked up at an early stage and change the dosage or give an alternative drug where possible.

“New-born hearing screening is very crucial in identifying individuals with congenital hearing impairments as this allows for early intervention by fitting hearing assistive devices. This would give the children an opportunity to develop their speech as would their normal hearing peers. Age of identification determines how well the child will do with the hearing aids or cochlear implants, the earlier the better results expected.”

He said that raising awareness on hearing impairments and the causes as well as providing primary ear care knowledge may help prevent some forms of hearing impairment such as ear infections and ototoxicity caused by recreational drugs as well as noise induced hearing impairment. Yet the matter goes beyond science.

Barbara Nyangairi, an official of the Deaf Zimbabwe Trust, advocates for a broader approach to hearing impairment issues and people living with the condition.

“Dealing with this condition should go beyond the scientific aspects by drafting and implementing programmes of action which will manage the effects to those already living with hearing impairments,” said Nyangairi.

“Focus must be directed towards improving the education standards of the deaf. This will be necessitated by intensive investment in special education in order to produce effective tutors from primary to tertiary education levels, this will be beneficial as it prevents the relegation of the disabled people to vocational and vending professions.”

Not “deaf”
Calling a person “deaf” is not only construed as insulting but also scientifically wrong.
An audiologist, Mr Mkhonzeni Duduza Sibanda, explains: “Hearing impairment varies from a mild hearing impairment to a profound hearing impairment. Most people when referring to hearing impairments generally call them deafness.

“Those who may be scientifically referred to as deaf would be those that have a profound hearing impairment. In addition, there is a distinction between deaf versus deaf where capital “d” deaf refers to individuals who identify themselves as being part of the deaf culture and use sign language and small “d”’ deaf refers to someone with a hearing impairment but does not identify themselves as being part of the deaf culture.”

He said this was not an exhaustive list of the causes of hearing loss.
Some causes include heredity causes, age, noise, medication; middle ear infections, diseases such as meningitis, jaundice, etc, and children born prematurely are at a high risk for developing hearing loss.

There are three types of hearing loss i.e. conductive (affects the outer and middle ear), sensory-neural (affects the hair cells in the inner ear) and mixed hearing loss (a combination of both).
He explained that the condition can either be treated and/or managed.

Conductive hearing loss mostly can be resolved medically, for example antibiotics or surgery such as tympanoplasty, whereas sensorineural hearing loss is mainly through rehabilitation using amplification devices such as hearing aids or cochlear implants.

The World Health Organisation 2014 Factsheet notes that 5 percent of the world’s population – 360 million people – has disabling hearing loss (328 million adults and 32 million children).

Disabling hearing loss refers to hearing loss greater than 40dB in the better hearing ear in adults and a hearing loss greater than 30dB in the better hearing ear in children. The majority of these people live in low- and middle-income countries.

Approximately one-third of people over 65 years of age are affected by disabling hearing loss. The prevalence in this age group is greatest in South Asia, Asia Pacific and sub-Saharan Africa.

As outlined by the World Deaf Federation Report of 2008 for Southern and Eastern Africa, an estimated 280 000 people in Zimbabwe suffer hearing impairments.

There is an opportunity for countries, Zimbabwe included, to tap into the talents of audio-impared people.
Former Miss Deaf Zimbawe Kudakwashe Mapeture stresses says: “Socially, there is need for acceptance across the communities to tap the potential in the disabled and also partner with us for national development. For instance, when I contested for the Miss Deaf Title locally and internationally, there was both limited coverage and sponsorship as compared to other functions of this kind.’’