Drawing upon ethnographical, primarily “in the wild” data from different projects within the performing arts sector, and the annual cultural-policies of Örebro County, Sweden between 2012-2020, this paper aims to describe a third position related to participation and learning by focusing on people’s ways-of-being in and across policies and practices. It problematizes the audiology framed identity positions of being hearing or deaf and hard-of-hearing with the intention of unpacking socialization processes that frame people into positions of “normal” and “disabled”. Thus, “natural” praxis in situ pertaining to the projects, including digital sites and written documents are focused upon. The study aligns itself with tenets that are framed in terms of Southern epistemologies, ontologies and methodologies, on the one hand, and presuppositions within sociocultural perspectives on learning and communication, on the other hand. It focuses on the social dimensions of collaborations that play out in peoples’ lives and the nature of what is and can be meant by the label’s language and identity. The findings highlight the importance of and the ways in which interpretation services shape institutional discourses, and peoples’ experiences and participation across contexts. The findings point to tensions that facilitate/obstruct individuals’ participation and their learning and possibilities to be citizens on an equal footing in relation to access, rights and responsibilities for all citizens. Unequal power relationships position deaf individuals in passive roles, albeit with major responsibilities and curtailed opportunities to shape their own participation including rights and responsibilities.