A pilot study: Considering spirituality in an inclusive model of practice in clinical audiology.
Dhanashree Pillay, Sharon Moonsamy
PMID 29943585WHAT IT FOUND
A man with profound hearing loss described a supernatural healing in one ear as answer to family prayers.
His deaf identity, sign and oral language use, and purpose bridging deaf and hearing worlds shaped his hearing journey.
Key findings
01A 27-year-old man with profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss from birth reported that his left ear was healed and he attributed it to prayer.
02He said he had been fitted with bilateral hearing aids but did not use one after the reported healing.
03The narrative generated themes of prayer and faith, deaf culture, identity and purpose, and the participant described bilingual sign and oral language use.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study reported one participant only, so it cannot show what happens for other people. The authors did not obtain a new audiogram to confirm the reported hearing recovery. The paper is a pilot for a planned study of 8 to 10 participants, so the full sample was not analysed. The participant had profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss from birth, so the account may not apply to other types or degrees of hearing loss. Much of the discussion is an argument for a broader audiology model rather than a tested treatment outcome.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat this as evidence that prayer or spiritual healing restores hearing. It describes one person’s experience and did not include a new audiogram to confirm hearing recovery.