A RECENT street party held by the east London-based Empowering Deaf Society (EDS) offered a glimpse of a whole new world.

Attending, I was struck by how everyone was communicating via sign language. If you did not have sign language you were an outsider.

Founder of EDS, Mangai Sutharsan, made the point that this was how deaf people often felt in day-to-day society when they can so often be excluded.

This struck a real nerve, as I have had worsening hearing over recent years.

It was only a couple of years ago though that I actually went to the doctor to have it checked out. He forwarded me onto the audio department, who did a test that took about 10 minutes. The outcome? I was borderline for hearing aids. So I accepted the offer.

That was it. Over the ensuing couple of years I have come to use the hearing aids more but do not find them comfortable or that effective.

It has been interesting though to observe society around me. I’ve done quite a lot of work over the years, as a journalist, on equality issues. 

Disabilities has been one strand of that work. However, despite all the articles and conferences you never quite appreciate disability until you actually have one.

The stage that my hearing loss is at means that if people speak clearly and directly to me, I can hear fine. But softly spoken people are difficult to hear. Also people speaking off to the side or in an aside are difficult to fathom. Subtitles on TV are helpful.

It can be embarrassing to keep asking people to repeat what they are saying. This can mean pretending that you have heard, when you haven’t.

You also notice this in others who may have a hearing problem but do not wish to acknowledge the condition. The tell-tale trying to look as though they have heard and understood, when they clearly haven’t.

It has been possible, with declining hearing capacity, to really appreciate what Mangai meant when she referred to how many deaf people feel excluded in everyday society. The condition can be socially isolating but doesn’t need to be.

So much could be done to remedy these problems, if our society really took disabilities seriously. Sound systems at meetings, subtitling facilities, people speaking directly towards who they are addressing rather than the backs of heads, and the provision of signing.

The number of meetings I attend where the shout comes up from the back “can’t hear.” In the past, I have often regarded these utterances, often made with more than a hint of irritation, as a bit rude. Now, I really understand where the people are coming from.

On a lighter note there can be some hilarious moments when you mishear things. Also, sometimes what is being said is just not worth hearing anyway. However, all in all, loss of hearing is a very frustrating and excluding business.

There are services in our society to make life better for the nine million-plus in our country who have hearing problems.

The work of charities like EDS is so vital in advancing the cause of those with hearing difficulties.

However, much more could be done in our communities to really help those with hearing difficulties and other disabilities. If we really seek to be an inclusive society then the needs of the disabled need to be factored into all elements of life. 

Failure to do so means we are practising tokenism, gesturing towards inclusivity, but in reality failing at so many levels.

For more of Paul Donovan’s writing visit paulfdonovan.blogspot.com.