My brother has a hearing loss: A life story investigation

The aim of this study, is to examine the life story of an adult who has a brother with hearing loss and to understand the effect of his brother on his life. The study designed as life story investigation data were collected through semi-structured interviews, reflective journals and documents. The data were analyzed using the induction method, and 70 codes, 16 sub-themes and 6 themes were identified. Research findings indicated that: The research participant Ahmet evaluated the effect of his brother with hearing loss on his own life differently at different periods of his life. Ahmet indicated that his parents did not put any extra responsibility on himself and his siblings in relation to the education or care of his brother, and that his parents did not give privileges to his brother with hearing loss, either. He said that his brother was able to live a life like everyone, he had a rapid language development after implantation, and that he was also capable of taking responsibilities related to himself. Ahmet saw the most negative effect of his brother's hearing loss on his life during his childhood as moving from Konya to Eskişehir. Ahmet, who experienced short-term difficulties in adapting to a new school and friends, longed for Konya in this period. Today, however, he thinks that this situation actually has led to positive results for them, both in terms of education and quality of life. Ahmet frequently emphasized that he did not see his brother with hearing loss different from his peers with normal hearing or his other siblings. He considered that a close brotherly relation would continue in the following years as well.