ABSTRACT
This chapter draws upon an interview study with a sample of 12 musicians with hearing impairments. It presents the musicians' stories chronologically, from the early influences of family and school to the realities of life as adult professional or amateur musicians. The chapter presents a parallel trajectory of the development of musical and deaf identities, and emphasizes universal human responses, such as anxiety, resilience and confidence, and places them in the social contexts that brought them about. It proposes a basis for acknowledging hearing impairments in music education and in music-making in general. The chapter also proposes that music is a lifelong gift that must be learned. A distinction must, therefore, be made between the use of music for therapeutic purposes and involvement in music for its own sake. Musical engagement includes listening, performance and composition, involves emotional, creative and communicative processes.
