Hearing Impairments

By: Nayeli Padilla

What is it?

Hearing impairment: problem/damage to one or more parts of the ear.

• C:\Documents and Settings\achaney\My Documents\My Videos\Causes and Types of Hearing Loss.mp4

Facts

• Hearing loss: ranges from mild to profound.

• Mild, Moderate, Severe and Profound (deaf).

www.digitalhearingcare.org

• C:\Documents and Settings\achaney\My Documents\My Videos\Hearing Loss Example.mp4

Mild

Usually results in problems with clarity since the brain receives some sounds but not all of them.

Symptoms•Understanding someone from a distance

•Background environment is noisy.

•Understanding someone with a weak voice

Moderate No problem

hearing from short distances;

amount of distance or vision cues changed.

Symptoms

•Problems hearing normal conversations.

•Problem hearing consonants in words.

Severe

• Have difficulty hearing in all situations.

• May cause you to miss 100% of the speech signal.

SymptomsConversations possible except under the most ideal circumstances (face-to-face, or when in quiet)

Profound (Deaf)

• May not hear loud anything at all.

• Main methods of communication are visual cues instead of hearing.

Symptoms

• Little to no, understandable speech.

• Largely rely on their vision, body language, and contextual cues to communicate.

Teaching Suggestions

• Speak in normal volume and speed.

• Pause and wait for a response.

• If not understood, repeat, rephrase or demonstrate.

• Use gestures and facial expressions to reinforce spoken words.

• Label classroom furniture and materials.

Teaching Suggestions (cont.)

• Teach daily routines and transitions using a light switch. (Flash the light to get the child’s attention)

• Use a picture poster to point to the upcoming activity.

• Select books with simple, large and uncluttered illustrations. (This children rely more on vision than hearing during story time)

The Americans with Disabilities Act

• Need opportunities to learn how to listen and speak.

• Provide activities that encourage communication and language development.

• Can develop important language skills with practice.

• Art and block play offer opportunities for satisfying play without demands on language or communication.

Work Cited

• http://www.betterhearing.org/hearing_loss/hearing_loss_simulator/index.cfm

• http://www.hearingaidhelp.com/hearing-loss-levels.html

• http://www.digitalhearingcare.org