Definitions of Hearing Loss
Medical perspective
– Continuum of hearing loss from mild to profound
Educational perspective (IDEA definition)
– A hearing loss that adversely affects educational performance
Difference between deafness and hard of hearing
– Deaf: The student is not able to hear even with a hearing aid – Hard of hearing: Significant hearing loss that makes special adaptations necessary
• Many persons who are deaf do not view hearing loss as a disability
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How We Hear
**Please refer to Figure 10.1 in your textbook** Audition, the sense of hearing, is a complex and not completely understood process
– The auricle funnels sound waves into the auditory canal – Variations in sound pressure cause the eardrum to move in and out – The vibrations of the bones of the middle ear transmit energy to the inner ear – The inner ear is the most critical and complex part of the hearing apparatus
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Prevalence
• According to ASHA, 95 of every 1,000 people have a chronic hearing loss
• The large majority of persons with hearing loss are adults
• The U.S. Public Health Service estimates 83 out of 1000 children have an educationally significant hearing loss
• About 25% of students who are deaf or hard of hearing have another disabling condition
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Types and Causes of Hearing Loss
Age of onset is important for determining educational needs • Congenital hearing loss is present at birth
– Causes of congenital hearing loss • Genetic Factors • Maternal Rubella • Congenital Cytomegalovirus (CMV) • Premature birth
• Acquired hearing loss appears after birth
– Prelingual hearing loss before speech develops – Postlingual hearing loss after speech develops – Causes of acquired hearing loss • Otitis Media • Meningitis • Ménière’s Disease • Noise Exposure
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Characteristics of Students with Hearing Loss
• Students with hearing loss have different characteristics
– Levels of functioning influenced by: • Degree of hearing loss • Attitudes of parents and siblings • Opportunities to acquire a first language • The presence of other disabilities
• Academic achievement
– Most children with hearing loss have difficulty with all areas of academic achievement – Deafness itself imposes no limitations on the cognitive capabilities of the individual
• Social functioning
– The extent to which a child successfully interacts depends largely on others’ attitudes and the child’s ability to communicate in some mutually accepted way
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Technologies and Supports That Amplify, Provide, Supplement, or Replace Sound
Hearing aids
– Hearing aids make sounds louder but not necessarily clearer – The earlier in life a child is fitted the more effectively he will learn to use hearing – Hearing aids offer minimal benefit in noisy and reverberant classrooms
Assistive listening devices
– A radio link established between the teacher and the child can solve problems caused by distance and noise
Cochlear implants
– A cochlear implant bypasses damaged hair cells and stimulates the auditory nerve directly – Tremendous controversy surrounds cochlear implants in the deaf community
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Supports and Technologies
• Interpreters
– Interpreters have increased the ability of students to perform well in school
• Speech-to-text translation
– Computer devices that translate speech to text
• Television captioning
– Captioning helps students comprehend more
• Text telephones
– Helps teachers communicate with deaf students
• Alerting devices
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Educational Approaches
• Oral/Aural Approaches
– Training in producing and understanding speech is incorporated into virtually all aspects of the child’s education
• Total Communication
– Simultaneous presentation of language by speech and manual communication
• American Sign Language (ASL) and the BilingualBicultural Approach
– ASL is a legitimate language in its own right – The goal of the bilingual-bicultural approach is to help deaf students become bilingual adults who can read and write with competence in their second language
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Educational Placement Alternatives
• Approximately 84% of children who are deaf or hard of hearing attend local public schools
– All of the professional and parent organizations involved with educating students who are deaf have issued position statements strongly in favor of maintaining a continuum of placement options
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Current Issues and Future Trends
• The keys to improving the future for people who are deaf or hard of hearing
– Access to the language and communication modality best suited to their individual needs – Effective instruction with meaningful curriculum – Self-advocacy
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