September is Deaf Awareness Month.
It is a time to listen to the experiences of Deaf and DeafBlind people and to look beyond what we think we know about hearing, communication and access.
Sometimes, one person’s words can make us look again.
For one of our valued members, those words came when he was asked what he thought after learning how much a hearing aid would cost.
His answer was simple:
“My dream of getting a pair became shattered.”
What is a dream?
A dream is more than something we imagine while we sleep.
It can be a picture of how we hope our lives might be. It can be the possibility of doing something more easily, participating more fully, or experiencing something we have been missing.
For our member, the dream was hearing better.
He wanted to communicate better with the people around him. He wanted to hear discussions in meetings, music and the radio. He believed that better hearing could give him more information and allow him to communicate more freely. It could also give him greater independence.
So the hearing aid was never really the whole dream.
It was what stood between him and the possibility of experiencing more of life.
And then he discovered what that possibility might cost.
His dream was shattered.
What happens when a dream is shattered?
When something we have hoped for becomes unaffordable, the loss can be difficult to see.
There is no empty space where a hearing aid should have been. Instead, there is a possibility that never becomes reality.
Our member described what happens when someone needs something but cannot afford it:
“Forget about it, or try other means of obtaining it.”
Those words are striking because they are so ordinary.
Sometimes that is what people do. They find another way. They make do. They adjust their expectations.
But making do can have its own cost.
For someone who cannot hear clearly, communication already requires more effort. Our member explained that people may think he is ignoring them. Communication with family can be negatively affected and can even cause conflict. With friends and colleagues, misunderstandings can leave him feeling that he is boring them or being perceived as ignoring them.
And he says there are many situations where he feels left out because he cannot hear what is happening.
The dream of hearing better therefore reaches far beyond hearing.
It reaches into relationships, information, participation and independence.
The invisible cost
This brings us back to the price tag.
The cost of a hearing aid is easy to see.
The cost of not having the right hearing aid is much harder to measure.
There is the practical cost of finding a device that is appropriate for the person’s level of hearing. There is the importance of quality. There are adjustments, maintenance, repairs and the everyday practicalities of using the device, including keeping it charged.
And there is choice.
Our member believes that the person who will use the hearing aid should have a say in which one they receive:
“Yes, because they will be the once using it.”
That may sound obvious.
Yet it is an important part of access.
A device can be expensive and technically impressive, but if it does not meet the needs of the person using it, the price has not bought meaningful access.
For our member, the right hearing aid means “improved hearing and living life independently.” He also believes that being able to make that choice affects dignity and independence in a very big way.
Then there is the cost that cannot be placed on a receipt.
The effort of trying to follow a conversation.
The information that is missed.
The misunderstanding when someone thinks you are ignoring them.
The frustration when you cannot hear someone clearly and cannot see them either.
The feeling of being left out.
The extra effort required to participate.
These things accumulate quietly.
And that is why a hearing aid can be much more than a device that helps someone hear.
Beyond the price tag
Perhaps this is what we should really be asking when we talk about assistive technology.
Not simply:
How much does it cost?
But:
What does it make possible?
For our member, the answer is clear.
Better hearing means better communication.
It means more information.
It means being able to take part in discussions.
It means connection with family, friends and colleagues.
It means greater independence.
And it means having a say in something that directly affects his life.
His dream was never really about owning a pair of hearing aids.
It was about being able to live more freely because he could hear and communicate better.
That is the invisible cost of access.
And perhaps that is the question we should carry with us beyond Deaf Awareness Month:
When we put a price on an assistive device, what else are we putting a price on?
A conversation?
A place at the table?
A relationship?
A choice?
A little more independence?
A dream?
Because access is not measured only by what is provided.
It is measured by what becomes possible.
That is what it means to go Beyond the Price Tag.