South Africa: 15 Years With Hearing Loss - How Communication Barriers Lock Deaf Patients Out of Healthcare
[Health-e] Orange Farm mother has spent years trying to reconnect with hearing care. Deaf patients continue to face communication barriers to healthcare. Experts highlight the need for language-independent health pathways.
Maria Sikhosana, a 43-year-old woman from Orange Farm, has been living with hearing loss for 15 years after being assaulted by her boyfriend in 2010. Since then, accessing healthcare has been a challenge due to communication barriers and dependence on family members for help. After losing her hearing, Maria was referred to the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, but her sister's phone failure caused her to miss her follow-up appointment.
Her hearing loss has made her dependent on family members for communication, affecting her independence and social interactions. The Deaf-Care Healthcare Initiative South Africa (DCHI) acknowledges communication as a significant barrier to healthcare access for deaf individuals. DCHI's Seneliso Nkoyeni points out that an adult who loses hearing post-violence and lacks sign language proficiency is particularly vulnerable.
Nkoyeni argues that the healthcare system must adopt a language-independent approach for patients like Maria, involving qualified audiologists, visual communication boards, and trained female Deaf Relay interpreters. DCHI has offered to help Maria access care and accompany her to an audiology clinic for an assessment.
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