Disciplining the audiological encounter

This article addresses the social power variations in the context of audiological rehabilitation. The empirically based study examines the everyday interaction between professional medicine and the patient when hearing aids are being provided. By the use of video recordings an analysis is conducted of the structural level of rehabilitation practice for hard-of-hearing working age people in two outpatient clinics in two different public hospitals in Denmark. It is shown that the hearing aid fitting consultations are conducted in a ritualised manner which makes it possible to control what kind of experiences patients are allowed to bring to the audiological encounter. Bureaucratic time imperatives preclude patients’ subjective experiences and standardised, normative accountabilities based on scientific knowledge work as an effective structuring principle to get the work done in the appropriate time.