Together towards tomorrow

In April 2013, the idea for the Deaf Nest project was born. Reflecting on my professional experience from overseas, I realised that deafness and pregnancy are rarely considered together.

A report from Action on Hearing Loss (2011) estimated that more than 10 million people in the UK are affected by hearing loss. It is an under-researched, unrecognised and neglected public health issue, and people with hearing loss have significant unmet clinical and social needs. What evidence is available indicates poorer physical health among deaf people (Sign Health, 2008). Kochkin and Rogin (2000) found a strong correlation between hearing loss and physical, emotional, mental and social wellbeing. Oliver (2009) argues that issues such as anxiety, depression, isolation and reduced self-esteem constitute a form of social oppression or ‘social death’.