What Is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs?
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Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a motivational theory in psychology comprising a five-tier model of human needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid.
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Needs lower down in the hierarchy must be satisfied before individuals can attend to needs higher up in the hierarchy.
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From the bottom of the hierarchy upwards, the needs are:
Physiological Needs - The need for water, shelter and clothing.
Safety / Security Needs - The need to feel safe, protected and stable.
Love and Belonging Needs - The need to be a part of something, love, friendship and relationships.
Self Esteem Needs - The need to feel respected, have status and pride.
Self Actualisation Needs - The need to have meaning in life, achievements and meet potential.
Hearing Hierarchy Of Needs
The different types of hearing loss shows the level of impairment it has on personal lifestyle. Symptoms of hearing loss begin with the need to have conversation repeated or turning the tv/radio/music up louder a couple of notches. When symptoms begin to develop more severely, the development of frustration and embarrassment kicks in therefore, a lack of interest in conversation or withdrawal from activities that was once enjoyed, ultimately leading to isolation to prevent the feelings of embarrassment and frustration.
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It has been scientifically proven that the loss of hearing and delayed treated has a direct link to the development of Mental health conditions such as Depression and Dementia.
Self Actualisation Needs
(Mild Hearing Loss)
The need to have meaning in life, meet and exceed self potential and have a level of achievement.
A Mild hearing loss can effect the ease to communicate with those around you and the different methods of communication can be misinterpreted or the need to have things repeated.
The ability to have an easy conversation or to hear the direction of sound becomes slightly more difficult This can cause a lack of attention to detail as more concentration is needed. An example - Conversation in background noise becomes harder to interpret. The common phrase used is 'Cocktail Party Effect'. This means that it becomes harder to concentrate on a single voice in a noisy or crowded environment. This can lead to the body's natural defence mechanism to kick in and learn to lip read or follow conversation through others emotions and reactions.
Self Esteem Needs
(Mild to Moderate Hearing Loss)
The need to have respect and fit into the surroundings and social groups. This has an element of pride attached and status is very important.
A Mild to Moderate hearing loss can effect the ability to interact with those around you and the different methods of communication can be misinterpreted or the need to have things repeated will become more frequent.
The ability to perform daily tasks becomes decreasingly effortless and more enthusiasm is needed to ensure status is maintained. This can become more tiresome and cause fatigue. An example - Listening to bird song. When in the woodlands, the once upon a time ability to hear the birds and locate direction of the call was easy, however, with this type of loss, direction can be misjudged and some higher pitches of bird song can be missed completely.
Love and Belonging Needs
(Moderate Hearing Loss)
The need to master the art of communication in different settings. The art of communication is efficient to develop relationships, love and friendship. This can be through work, social or private affairs.
A Moderate Hearing loss will effect the ability to interact with those around you and the different methods of communication can be misinterpreted.
The ability to perform daily tasks becomes harder and more effort is needed to keep in touch and keep up to date with what is going on around. An example - Attending meetings at work can become harder to hear the speaker especially if the speaker is at the other end of the table or a small distance away. Coping mechanisms play a significant role here and the mind / body is very good at doing this to save the feeling of frustration and embarrassment.
Safety and Security Needs
(Moderate to Severe Hearing Loss)
The need to learn and develop language and communication skills in order to effectively interact with other people.
Moderate to Severe hearing loss will effect the ability to communicate well as the five senses will not be working well together to give a correct understanding.
The ability to perform daily tasks becomes very difficult without the use of hearing aids and accessories. Even with these devices, sometimes misinterpretation can occur but a difference with and without is significant. An example - Answering the telephone and hearing the conversation on the other end. The telephone ring can be heard with hearing devices and conversation is made significantly easier to understand with limited requests for things to be repeated.
Physiological Needs
(Severe to Profound Hearing Loss)
The need to have full ability to utilise the five senses (Sight, Hearing, Smell, Taste and Touch). Stimulation of these senses is vital in order to survive.
When a hearing loss is Severe to Profound in nature, it will effect these five senses being stimulated drastically and the foundation of this pyramid is hindered.
The ability to perform daily tasks will become very difficult to impossible. An example - Answering the door as the doorbell will not be heard. Hearing aids and accessories will help to make things a little easier but a person with this type of loss will become heavily dependant on the people around them.