The Hearing Aid Effect in African American and Caucasian Males as Perceived by Female Judges of the Same Race

Abstract

Prior studies have proven the existence of the "hearing aid effect" when photographs of Caucasian males and females wearing a body aid, a post-auricular aid (behind-the-ear), or no hearing aid were judged by lay persons and professionals. This study was performed to determine if African American and Caucasian males, judged by female members of their own race, were likely to be judged in a similar manner on the basis of appearance, personality, assertiveness, and achievement. Sixty female undergraduate education majors (30 African American; 30 Caucasian) used a semantic differential scale to rate slides of preteen African American and Caucasian males, with and without hearing aids. The results of this study showed that female African American and Caucasian judges rated males of their respective races differently. The hearing aid effect was predominant among the Caucasian judges across the dimensions of appearance, personality, assertiveness, and achievement. In contrast, the African American judges only exhibited a hearing aid effect on the appearance dimension.

The Hearing Aid Effect in Northern Territory Indigenous Australian Children as Perceived by Their Peers

“…The study extended previous research on the HAE (Blood et al, 1977;Blood et al, 1978;Brimacombe et al, 1983;Danhauer et al, 1980;Davis et al, 1999;Dengerink & Porter, 1984;Johnson et al, 2005;Silverman & Largin, 1993). The purpose of the present study was to investigate the attitudes of Indigenous Australian children, aged 5-12 years, towards their peers wearing hearing aids.…”

“…However, after fitting hearing aids on the students, 25% preferred not to wear them due to stigma and cosmetic factors. As Davis, Jackson, Smith, and Cooper (1999) reported cultural differences in the HAE, there is evidence to suggest that there may be differences in the attitudes of Indigenous Australians compared to non-Indigenous Australians. Davis, Jackson, Smith, and Cooper's (1999) study was the first cross-cultural study on the HAE.…”

“…Over 80% of the participants reported that, under adverse listening conditions, they would consider wearing hearing aids. Davis, Jackson, Smith, and Cooper's (1999) study was the first cross-cultural study on the HAE. Following 25 years of research, the most recent HAE study, where young adults observed peers wearing hearing aids, reported that the stigma attached to wearing a hearing aid is still the major reason why people with hearing loss do not pursue amplification (Johnson et al, 2005).…”

Respect for a young male with and without a hearing aid: A reversal of the “hearing-aid effect” in medical and non-medical students?

“…Findings might also not generalize to populations other than white males, and to people wearing other types of hearing aids, although past studies have supported the presence of a " hearing-aid effect " in both males (Danhauer et al, 1980;Davis et al, 1999) and females (Cox et al, 1989;Doggett et al, 1998) in terms of achievement or intelligence ratings. Evidence that the size of the hearing aid affects ratings in terms of achievement is also not strong, at least for post-teen observers (Cox et al, 1989;Davis et al, 1999).…”

“…It comprised a 4 ϫ 3 inch (on the questionnaire), black and white head shot photograph, with a neutral background, taken with a digital camera at a 45 degree angle in order to make the face and ear of the person depicted clearly visible. The person was a white, 35 year old male because there has been strongest support for the presence of a " hearing-aid effect " in white as opposed to African-American, and younger as opposed to older hearing-aid wearers (see Davis et al, 1999;Iler et al, 1982 respectively). He was male because women with hearing aids tend to cover them with their hair and he wore a neutral facial expression.…”