Hearing ImpairmentBy: Karl S. Olimpo

Hearing Impairment“an impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance but is not included under the definition of ‘deafness.'”

--- Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) ---

Deafness  A hearing loss above 90 decibels

Hearing impairmentHearing loss below 90 decibels.

Four subcategories of hearing loss

1. Conductive impairment stem is found in the outer/middle ear

2. Sensor Neural impairments stem

3. Mixed  is in the inner ear4. Central impairments stem is

both from inner and outer ear

General signs of hearing lossEarly signs of hearing loss can include:

• difficulty hearing other people clearly and misunderstanding what they say

• asking people to repeat themselves• listening to music or watching television with the

volume turned up high• difficulty hearing the telephone or doorbell

• regularly feeling tired or stressed, due to having to concentrate closely while listening

Educational Challenges  

• the subjects of grammar, spelling and vocabulary

• taking notes while listening to lectures• participating in classroom discussions

• watching educational videos• presenting oral reports

Tips for Teachers and Parents

• Designating a note taker can allow a student with a hearing impairment to concentrate fully on listening to

a lecture.• A combination of traditional communication, lip reading, sign language and assistive technology can

compensate for issues which make listening to lectures and participating in class discussions challenging.

• Children who read lips often need to sit close to the teacher, while those who use sign language may

use an interpreter

• Turning on captions during a video can reiterate what a student may pick up from his or her amplifying device.

•Finally, it’s important that parents and teachers don’t underestimate a child’s intelligence based on a hearing impairment.

•, “For most children with hearing impairments, language acquisition and language development are significantly delayed. As a result, some may incorrectly estimate the child’s intelligence as low.” 

Speech Impairment/ Language Disorder

“A communication disorder such as stuttering, impaired articulation, a language impairment, or a voice impairment that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.”  “A person is unable to produce speech sounds correctly or fluently, or has problems with his or her voice”

Speech and language subcategory

1. Communication disorder such as stuttering -- fluency disorder; unusual word repetition and

hesitant speech

2. Impaired articulation-- impairments in which a child experiences

challenges in pronouncing specific sounds

3. A language impairment -- can entail difficulty comprehending words

properly, expressing oneself and listening to others

4.A voice impairment-- involves difficulty voicing words; for instance, throat issues may cause an abnormally soft voice

2 General Category

1. Receptive language - When a person has trouble understanding others

2. Expressive Language- When a person has trouble sharing thoughts, ideas, and feelings completely 

Sources:

• http://www.specialeducationguide.com/disability-profiles/hearing-impairments/

• http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/hearing-impairment/Pages/Symptoms.aspx

• http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/