Reducing Stigma and Peer Victimization for Students with Hearing Loss

Reducing the impact of stigma and peer victimization matters because students with hearing loss may feel pressure to hide devices, avoid attention, or pull away from peers. With the right support, adults can help students build confidence, connection, and a stronger sense of belonging.

What is Stigma and Peer Victimization?

Stigma is a negative judgment about a difference or identity.
Peer victimization is repeated harm, teasing, or exclusion from classmates.

Understanding Stigma and Peer Victimization

Peer Victimization and Hearing Loss

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More than ¼ of school-aged children experience bullying or peer victimization. The risk of this negative treatment increases for children who have lower social competence, have special needs, or overall seem “different” from their peer group.

In general, adolescents who do not “fit in” experience twice the rate of peer victimization as the general population. Adolescents with special needs are most frequently teased, gossiped about, and socially excluded.

Children with hearing loss have a higher risk of peer victimization due to the visibility of their hearing devices, poorer speech perception, articulation/pronunciation differences, delays in language skills, social difficulties, and difficulty making and maintaining peer relationships. A 2012 study reported the incidence of peer victimization for children with hearing loss ranging from 17 to 67%, dependent upon the degree of difference perceived by typical peers.

A recent study¹ was conducted on peer victimization of children with hearing loss who wore hearing devices, communicated orally, and were educated in the mainstream classroom. The study included 56 children aged 12-18 years. Their mean age for hearing device fitting was 3.3 years, and they averaged 10.8 years of experience using their hearing devices. These participants completed a series of questionnaires exploring their communication competence, social competence, temperament, and level and type of peer victimization.

The results of this study found that adolescents who used hearing devices reported significantly higher rates of victimization than those in the general population (50% versus 28%). Compared to the general adolescent population, adolescents with hearing loss reported the following prevalence: teasing (25.8% versus 18.8%), rumors (21.1% versus 16.5%), social exclusion (26.3% versus 4.7%), and coercion (17.5% versus 3.6%). Males and females experienced victimization at similar rates, but the type of victimization varied, with males having higher rates of coercion and females having higher rates of social exclusion.

The bullied and non-bullied groups of students with hearing loss did not differ on measures of communication competence, social competence, temperament, or behavior. Children from families with lower socioeconomic status and parenting styles characterized by abuse or overprotection have higher victimization rates, whereas those who have supportive family relationships are more protected against the impact of bullying.

Peer victimization demands attention from both parents and professionals.

Stigma and Hearing Loss

Among adults not pursuing hearing care, 21% described hearing aids as “too embarrassing”, 15% described them as “unattractive,” and 14% claimed hearing aids were “too noticeable.” These all represent the perceived stigma of having a hearing loss.

External and Internal Stigma

Stigma can be divided into two types:

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What is External or Environmental Stigma?

Messages that people with hearing loss receive from other people, such as impatience, embarrassment, discomfort, or anger related to increased communication difficulty with the person who has the hearing loss. Examples of environmental stigma for children could include a teacher looking annoyed when a child drops the HAT microphone, being ignored by classmates during group work, or any type of teasing or other peer victimization. Home examples could include being excluded from family conversations, being discouraged from using hearing devices in public “so people don’t know,” or being yelled at for not following a parent’s instructions because the direction was not heard.

What is Internal Stigma?

Negative messages that people with hearing loss tell themselves are triggered by the embarrassment, vulnerability, shame, and/or fear they feel as they anticipate or experience increased communication challenges. Examples of internal stigma for children could include eating lunch alone because it is too hard to understand what peers are saying in the noisy environment, not wanting to participate in class discussions because of experiences providing an answer to a question different than the one asked, or not requesting clarification or repetition of information missed auditorily because they don’t want to “stick out.” A home example includes the child isolating himself from family activities or acting out behaviorally because he cannot readily understand what is being said and has received impatient or angry responses when asking for clarification.

The Impact of Stigma and Peer Victimization on Students with Hearing Loss

• Lower confidence and emotional well-being
• Reduce participation and academic success
• Hiding of hearing loss or devices
• Decreased self-advocacy

Strategies for Reducing Stigma and Peer Victimization

Dealing with stigma and teasing or bullying can have far-reaching effects on school performance and self-concept. Students who expect that negative consequences will occur when they self-advocate or use their hearing devices are much more likely to reject the use of their devices and not fully participate in the general education curriculum. There are some strategies in common and some differences when helping children develop resilience in dealing with these issues.

Using the IEP or 504 Plan to Address Stigma and Peer Victimization

Issues related to stigma and peer victimization can be included on IEPs or 504 plans, for example:

• Specify the need to inform teachers and classmates about hearing loss to reduce negative responses to the student and/or hearing devices.
• Provide a safe environment statement designing a “home base” where a student can go when feeling unsafe or a “safe person” with whom a student can discuss difficult situations.
• IEPs can include strategies to reduce vulnerability and improve response to bullying by targeting response to bullying and social pragmatic skills via 1:1 instruction, role-playing, or social stories.
• IEPs can target self-advocacy and communication repair skill development, including addressing assertiveness. Work on changing “I can’t” statements to “I can” to improve resilience when negative situations occur.
• IEPs can target the student’s knowledge of their hearing loss and hearing devices, including understanding their most challenging listening situations and what they or others can do to improve their communication effectiveness. Students should learn and practice how to describe their hearing loss, including how to respond to questions about their hearing loss and hearing devices.

Identify if the student is one of the approximately 50% of students with hearing loss who are victimized. Ask the child directly if they have experienced bullying and, if so, what kind (coercion, social exclusion, physical harm, gossip, teasing).

• When is the victimization happening? In the classroom? Hall? Bus stop?
• How pervasive is this treatment?

Help them understand that many, if not most, students experience some type of peer victimization at some point during their school years. They are not alone.

Education about WHY students become bullies, what they get out of bullying someone, and what keeps a bully coming back for further bad treatment will help the student understand that they are not the only victims. This also goes for groups who exclude or coerce students, not only in teasing situations. In the IEP, include a goal to teach the specifics of what NOT to do in each of these situations, along with appropriate responses.

Use the Kool Kidz Vidz available to members on Teacher Tools Takeout to expose ‘one and only’ students who use hearing devices in their schools to other students with hearing loss who have had the same experiences with stigma from hearing loss. The discussion points provided with each Kool Kidz Vid make these easy ‘go-to’ materials with a potential for high impact.

Connecting students who use hearing devices with one another may have the most powerful effect on reducing the impact of stigma and bullying by strengthening self-concept and self-confidence to self-advocate while reducing feelings of isolation. IEP goals for self-advocacy can be met via group work (face-to-face or virtually) with DHH peers using devices. Students who come into contact with DHH peers are less likely to reject the use of their hearing devices. As a group:

• Discuss all types of peer victimization with a pair of DHH peers or a larger group of DHH peers. Encourage discussion of which types of negative treatment have been experienced.
• Discuss both external and internal stigma, along with individuals having the power to overcome negative messages as part of their journey of figuring out who they are and who they want to become (goals for after high school).
• Talk about the perception of “different” and how this increases the risk of victimization. Help students work through the concept that it is the hearing loss that makes them different, and this cannot be changed. Hearing devices help them behave more normally (less “different”) because they can hear, comprehend, and respond in social situations better than if they were not using hearing devices.

Helping Students Build Resilience After Peer Victimization

Resilience is written on an orange puzzle on a white background. Image Credit: tashatuvango / Alamy Stock Photo

• Postive self-talk
• Trusted adults
• Peer support
• Role-playing responses
• Celebrating strengths

Frequently Asked Questions: Navigating Stigma and Peer Victimization

What is the psychological connection between stigma and peer victimization for DHH youth?
Social stigma occurs when a student perceives that their hearing aids, cochlear implants, or communication differences mark them as “defective” or “less than” their mainstream classmates. Stigma and peer victimization are directly linked: the negative stereotypes and biases (stigma) held by typical-hearing peers frequently fuel targeted harmful behaviors, intentional exclusion, and teasing (peer victimization). To protect their social identity from these twin pressures, many tweens and teens choose to reject their hearing technology entirely just to blend in.

Why are students with hearing loss uniquely vulnerable to stigma and peer victimization?
Mainstream classrooms often lack natural representation, meaning a DHH student might be the only individual in their entire grade using assistive technology. This high visibility can attract unwanted attention. Furthermore, minor communication breakdowns such as a student mishearing a fast-paced joke or failing to respond when called from behind are often misinterpreted by peers as social awkwardness or standoffishness, turning these moments of vulnerability into prime targets for peer manipulation and exclusion.

How can school teams actively reduce the impact of stigma and peer victimization?
Addressing these challenges requires a shift from passive anti-bullying rules to a proactive, structured intervention culture:

Can an IEP legally include goals to combat stigma and peer victimization?
Yes. Because social anxiety and peer isolation directly impact a student’s emotional well-being and academic focus, they present a clear barrier to a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). An IEP or 504 team can write specific, measurable goals that address stigma and peer victimization by focusing on self-advocacy mastery, situational problem-solving, and emotional resilience training.

What proactive sequence should an educational team follow when victimization is suspected?
Because students rarely report social isolation out of shame or fear of retaliation, school teams must deploy a systematic response plan:

• Deploy Direct, Routine Screening Protocol:
  • Identify and Document.
  • Rather than waiting for an overt incident, use routine check-ins to ask specific questions about lunchroom dynamics, recess interactions, and any underlying school avoidance behaviors.
• Practice Explicit Self-Advocacy Scripting:
  • Skill Acquisition.
  • Engage the student in structured role-playing to practice short, matter-of-fact disclosure scripts (e.g., “It’s a Roger transmitter; it streams the audio to my ears. Moving on.”) that neutralize awkward peer questions.
• Designate a Trusted Adult Ally:
  • Environmental Safeguards.
  • Establish a safe, discreet communication channel between the student and a designated ally (like a Teacher of the Deaf or counselor) so relational exclusion can be reported immediately without peer backlash.

Resources used for this article:

• Peer Victimization of Children with Hearing Loss, A. D. Warner-Czyz, Hearing Journal, Oct. 2018.
• Incorporating Stigma Counseling into Audiology Practice, H. Cohen & N. M. Williams, Hearing Journal, Sept. 2018.

Additional Resources:
Bullying and Students with Hearing Loss: What Parents and Educators Need to Know
Self-Concept: How the Child with Hearing Loss Sees Himself
Self-Concept: Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers
Self-Concept: School-Age Children with Hearing Loss
Self-Concept: Assessment & Strategies for Adolescence
Supporting Self-Concept in Students with Hearing Loss: 3 Go-To Ideas
Self-Identity and Hearing Loss
Addressing Self-Esteem and Issues of Fitting In
Teens and the Price to Pass as ‘Normal’
Bullying and Teasing: Protecting Students with Hearing Loss
Supporting Mental Health of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students in the School Setting
What I Wish My Educators Had Known: 20 Tips from Mainstream Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) Individuals

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Originally published: Nov. 2018
Last updated: June 2026