Identity vs. Role Confusion ~
Posted by LaRonda on April 9th, 2007“Identity” essentially means how a person sees themselves in relation to their world. It means knowing who you are and how you fit into the rest of society. Forming your personal identity requires that you take all you’ve learned about life and yourself and mold it into a unified self-image, one that you and your community finds meaningful.
But what happens when a “hearing” person suddenly or gradually loses their hearing? Their identity, their sense of self and everything they thought they were — turns upside down! There is not just a loss of hearing, but a loss of identity and individuality in the context of life and what they believed would lie ahead.
Like social-psychologist, Erik Erikson’s description of Adolescents, a late-deafened person, whether they are 8, 17, 38 or 60, goes through a period of Identity vs. Role Confusion.…
