Lived Experience of People with Hearing Disabilities During Health Care

Introduction: Communication represents a fundamental pillar when providing health care, which makes it possible to identify and treat the needs of the people who request it. When presenting some degree of hearing disability, barriers are placed in the care relationship. The objective of this paper is to explore the lived experience of people with hearing disabilities during health care. Materials and methods: Hermeneutic phenomenological qualitative study. Sampling by reference chain method until information saturation is reached. Authorization was requested from the participants, to report through a phenomenological interview, the experiences regarding the health care they have received. Ethical and methodological rigor was considered based on validity, credibility, transferability, consistency, use of informed consent, confidentiality, and risk management. Results: 6 people with hearing disabilities participated, three female and three male, whose age ranges between 26 and 46 years. Eighteen themes were obtained that were grouped into five meaning units: Interpretation as a basic need; The health care system as a generator of discrimination; Reforming Health Care; State of mind in the face of discrimination and Sorge in the face of discrimination. Conclusion: The lived experience of people with hearing disabilities indicates the deprivation of the right to quality health care. The need to remove barriers that contribute to the creation of fair and equitable conditions for all is stressed.