Social and material ecologies for hearing impairment

In this chapter, work from various quarters is considered in order to pick out features of the meaning of the concept 'hearing impairment'. At first, it is straightforward to see what that term means. It may commonly be understood, for instance, to describe the consequence for perceptual experience of a material disorder (injury/disease) affecting the auditory pathway. That way of characterising hearing impairment is from the perspective of the doctor's surgery or the audiological clinic, and is quite intelligible in the world of psychology and related professional domains. What I aim to do is a colouring-in exercise to bring about a more broad-range understanding of the concept of hearing impairment, and how it functions in the hands of different people. In the course of this exercise, my intention is to introduce readers to the variety of perspectives that may be taken in relation to the issues and experiences associated with impairment of hearing. A particular concern is to get across features of hearing impairment from the perspective of the person who sustains it and that of their close family.