I felt depressed and frustrated because I didn’t know what was going on (before I knew she had a hearing loss). I was blaming myself. I thought it was my fault and I was a bad mother. I felt like I was letting her down.

I was trying to figure out what to do.

The behaviour problem came at school. They never suggested anything and it was depressing not knowing what to do…but it was getting me down and it was the stress levels.

I was growling at her and yelling. I was pushing her away because I didn’t know how to deal with it. It made us grow apart. I did not want to be around her. I didn’t want to deal with it, I didn’t know how to deal with it. It really stresses me. Other people (people in the family) scatter because I am going off my head yelling at her.

(Mother of child with hearing problems)

Video Resources

The video clips in this section are taken from interviews conducted by Dr Damien Howard from the Northern Territory Australia.

I have been involved in working in the area of Aboriginal hearing loss that is a consequence of childhood ear disease for over twenty years. Initially this involved considering the educational needs of the many Aboriginal children with hearing loss. Later I became involved in addressing the occupational effects of hearing loss among Aboriginal adults.

Elaine was interviewed after she attended a training workshop I conducted on the social outcomes of hearing loss. Her comments during the workshop showed she had great insight into the issues and a desire to help others understand them.

Steven also had a great desire to have his experiences with hearing loss help others better understand the issues. Steven’s mother, whom I have known for 15 years, first told me about her son's challenges because of hearing loss and his accomplishments despite it.

Dr Damien Howard

Video resources

Click on the video icon below to watch the videos. They will open in a new page of the website. You will need to have Quicktime or Windows Media Player installed on your computer to watch the videos.

Elaine Cox is an Aboriginal teacher from Broome.

Elaine spoke with Dr Damien Howard about her own experiences with hearing loss as a child and her work as a teacher with Aboriginal children.

Sport. In this video, Elaine talks about the effect of hearing loss and her ability to play sport as a child.

Duration: 0.43 minutes
File size: 3.2MB

Childhood effects of hearing loss. Elaine talks about her experience of Conductive Hearing Loss growing up and the effect this had on her family relationships.

Duration: 2.50 minutes
File size: 3MB

Elaine talks about her experience of Conductive Hearing Loss growing up and her observations from working with students with hearing loss as a teacher. Elaine gives advice to parents of children with ear problems, how to recognise the symptons and how to seek help.

Duration:3.45 minutes
File size: 4.1MB

Steven Torres-Carnes works in an agency providing mediation and legal services for Aboriginal people. Steven spoke about his experience in the workplace with hearing loss.

Socialising. Steven talks about the stress and anxiety a person with hearing loss experiences when socialising. He also discusses how to take steps to manage stress and anxiety.

Duration: 5.55 minutes
File size: 6.5MB

Mumbling. A person with hearing loss may think they are speaking loud enough to be heard. The listener may think they are mumbling. Steven describes his experiences of this situation while growing up with hearing loss.

Duration: 3.10 minutes
File size: 3.5MB

Acoustics. In this video clip Steven talks about the effect the acoustics of a room or workshop will have on an employee.

Duration: 0.57 minutes
File size: 1MB

Anxiety and depression. In this video clip Steven relates how not being able to hear properly is very stressful and can cause you to withdraw from other people.

Duration: 3.17 minutes
File size: 3.68MB

Missing the train of thought. Missing keywords and ideas in a meeting or conversation means you may give an answer or opinion that is not correct. Being prepared before a meeting can help to understand and reduce anxiety.

Duration: 1.00 minutes
File size: 1.1MB