Self-rated sensory performance in profoundly deaf individuals. Do deaf people share the conviction about sensory compensation?

Abstract

Sensory deficits in one modality lead to functional changes of brain structures. Neural reorganization may result in sensory compensation and enhanced performance in sensory sensitivity tests. Many studies investigated how deafness affects functioning of the intact senses. Overall, their results remain inconclusive, mainly due to the statistically underpowered conclusions. A limited number of studies have focused on deaf people's convictions on their sensory abilities. This study compared a large sample of profoundly deaf subjects (n = 74) with hearing individuals (n = 100) in terms of their convictions about own sensory performance. First, participants were screened with speech perception tests. Then, they were asked to rate their own sensory sensitivity using two reference categories: (1) other people and (2) their usual sensitivity. Results show that majority of deaf individuals rated their intact senses (i.e., vision, smell, taste, and touch) as more sensitive than hearing controls. Furthermore, on the day of testing deaf individuals reported increased performance of the intact senses as referred to the usual performance. Explanations of the positive self-evaluations of sensory abilities focus on the common belief among deaf people about sensory compensation and on using self-enhancement strategies. Practical applications: Reported study introduces important knowledge about positive self-views on sensory sensitivity of deaf individuals. Although these positive self-views are unlikely to reflect the actual sensory performance, presented results are of high significance for the sensory scientists. Functional aspects of self-views in domain of sensory sensitivity should guide educational programs and product design targeted to deaf individuals.