The Unheard, the Unspoken, A Phenomenological View of Deafness

Pakistani society is predominantly Hearing. Almost all facilities are provided to the hearing community. Current study is an Endeavour to understand the world-view of Deaf. Participants are school-aged adolescents, Deafness has been studied from a phenomenological perspective, and for data triangulation the teachers of the eight participants were also interviewed. Students and the teachers reported low communication with society as well as with parents, sign language is seldom learnt by significant others and the children feel isolated in a world of their own. Dislike of the hearing community was widespread, limited resources have led to alienation from the hearing society around them. Within the deaf community a feeling of oneness and similarity prevails which in some cases was advantageous and helped build a strong self-esteem whereas in other cases a source of anger for children who felt helpless. Areas used to build on in the research range from social functioning to coping in the hearing world. The aim of this study is to provide insight into deafness while at the same time build insight among the hearing community, in order to level the playing field for both communities and advocate equality. The study offers understanding of what it means to be different, with the findings further elaborated in respects of what could be the case along with what is.