Open Ears as a member of Churchear, a pan-European Christian organisation for hard of hearing people, also known as the International Federation for Pastoral Care to Hearing Impaired Persons. Barbara Adamus is on the Board of Churchear. She lives in Poland and her article, below, is translated from Polish.
The Erasmus Plus Project – by Barbara Adamus
Aims of the Project
- To hear better
In my over 40 years of voluntary work with deaf people, I often faced the problem of misunderstanding towards hard of hearing. It is usually associated with deaf people, with whom, as a deacon, I am primarily engaged. Hard of hearing people do not belong to the world of the deaf. However, to a greater or lesser extent, they do belong to the world of silence.
In March 3-6 2023 I attended a conference in Strasbourg, France, organised within the framework of EU educational project Erasmus+. Its aim is to draw attention to the problem of hearing loss in the society. It is not about deaf people, as they have their own language and culture, their own world of silence. Thanks to Erasmus+, partner organisations in Europe can more smoothly exchange methods and ideas, especially in working with people with disabilities.
- To remove barriers
The project is planned for two years and it aims to learn about hearing loss and related problems. It includes four conferences, the first of which has just taken place. The following ones will be devoted to: room acoustics (Sweden, September 2023), induction, i.e. technical support for hard of hearing (Norway, March 2023), creativity in work with hard of hearing children and youth (Poland, June 2024). The purpose of the project is to develop constructive solutions, leading to the removal of barriers in the life of hard of hearing people. The Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland, as a member of International Federation for Pastoral Care to Hearing Impaired Persons (IVSS), is engaged in this project. The Evangelical Pastoral Care for Hard of Hearing in Germany(ESiD) is its coordinator.
- The right to communication
“How do we encounter those who need facilitated communication? How do we encounter the new generation of hearing impaired people, a generation not asking for charity, but demanding their God-given right to communicate on equal terms with everybody else? The answer to these questions can only be given in a close communication with those being hard of hearing themselves. And the answers have to be given, or else they will turn their backs to the churches” – as written on the IVSS website.
International Federation for Pastoral Care to Hearing Impaired Persons, in which I have been active for many years, takes care of people that do not belong to the deaf world, but to a greater or lesser extent, do belong to the world of silence. In this group, there are the elderly, who gradually lose their hearing with age, but also people, whose hearing became impaired as a result of an accident or disease. They still communicate in a phonic language, as they do not know any sign language. The number of young people in the group of hard of hearing, increases over the years. Very often they are unaware of the dangers posed by technology, especially media communication and the music industry. Henryk Skarżyński M.D. Ph.D dr. h.c. warns that in the near future, hearing aids may be used as often as glasses. Professor Skarżyński is an authority in audiology, an author of pioneer diagnostic tools and partial deafness treatment. He was the first surgeon in Central and Eastern Europe to perform cochlear implantation (1992) and restore hearing to a deaf person.
- Incomprehension
Hard of hearing people are unnoticed and often ashamed. They tend to hide their shortcomings, even though nowadays the possibilities of medical and technical help are increasingly better. In France only 15% from about 6 million hard of hearing people, use hearing aids. The problem of incomprehension from the side of hearing persons, is often observed in families. The elder hard of hearing people are often treated with charitableness. Family members talk with them very loudly, without keeping eye contact. It is not helpful for hard of hearing people, as they need their interlocutors to speak slowly and clearly, with eye contact. A hearing aid does not resolve all the problems, because a person needs to relearn first, how to recognise sounds. It is even more difficult after the cochlear implantation, as the procedure is followed by a longer period of rehabilitation. However, it does not stop there.
From this point, the role of city authorities, institutions, but also Church and parishes begins. You cannot imagine modern architecture without ramps and toilets for people with disabilities anymore. However, there are still many church buildings and rooms without hearing loops – supporting systems that enable hard of hearing persons to receive a clear sound, through a telecom in their hearing aid. Also a good room acoustics plays a great and primary role in this process, which is often hard to accomplish in modern buildings.
- One sheep
In 2014, I organised an international IVSS conference in Benedictine abbey in Tyniec, near Kraków. The topic of our meeting was a question: Just One Sheep?We talked about the issue that some hard of hearing people feel deficient, less and less noticed and socially important. Do we have such people in our churches? Does the pastor know about them? Do hearing church members try to integrate and include them into the community life, so that they can feel useful? The Good Shepherd will do anything for such one sheep, anything to find her and bring her back to the flock. After all, the body of Christ is incomplete without people with disabilities, without the elderly, the sick. It is incomplete, so it is disabled itself.
In April 2022, during the World Congress of Audiology, a documentary My Moonlight Sonatawas showed. The film presents the life of Grzegorz Płonka, a talented award winner of International Music Festival for Children, Youths, and Adults with Hearing Disorders „Beats of Cochlea“. He was misdiagnosed as a child with autism and severe mental impairment. At the age of 13, he was diagnosed again, this time as a person with severe sensorineural hearing loss. After the cochlear implantation, performed by professor Henryk Skarżyński, he became a music genius. His story inspired the director of another film, Sonatathat was screened in Polish cinemas in March 2022.
- Everyone is important for Jesus
The life of hard of hearing people is not easy. The modern audiology development enables them to enter the hearing world and to be active in it. However, they have to overcome the lack of knowledge, often also ignorance and arrogance from the side of other people.
Jesus Christ, our Lord, could spot one person in need in the crowd, showing us, how important and unique each person is. Only one with hearing impairment? Even for the one, it is worthy to create such conditions in our churches, our communities, so that they will not feel worse or excluded. So they can properly participate in the hearing world!
If you are interested in the topic of hearing impairment, you have your own experience or you are willing to cooperateOOplease contact me via e-mail: barbara.adamus@luteranie.pl