Effects on the marital relationship
The reality of hearing loss in the child is not the cause of marital dysfunction but can be the catalytic factor to disrupt what may have been a shaky marriage. Like the arrival of any child with either a physical or psychological disability, one or both partners may use the circumstance to inflict on the other blame, resentment, accusation, or recriminations that may appear to be related to their reaction to the child’s disability but in fact are tied to their won unresolved marital problems.
Ironically, in some case, although the traumatic occasion may be an excuse for both parents to inflict abuse on each other, it also could bring to the surface issues with which they previously had not been forced to cope. They may seek professional help for themselves, which ultimately will benefit their afflicted child. Unfortunately, this sequence of events is not the case generally. The parents are more likely to get further immersed in their own marital difficulty, which in turn can have a devastating effect on the child and the rest of the family.