Degree of Hearing Loss (Average
hearing for the frequencies 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz)
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Effects on Child's ability to understand Speech (When amplification is
not used)
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Normal Hearing
0-15 dB HL
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A student with normal hearing, from 0-15 dB HL, is able
to detect the complete speech signal. These students are able to
communicate even at soft conversational levels. Even though the student
has good hearing, it does not mean that he or she will be able to
discriminate speech in background noise or at a distance.
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Borderline Hearing
15-25 dB HL
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Possible Psychosocial Impact of Hearing: |
Potential
Education
Needs and Programs: |
| With borderline hearing, a student
may not be aware of all social norms; they may display immature
behavior. A borderline hearing child may also become fatigued more
easily due to extra effort trying to listen. |
A student with a borderline hearing loss will
benefit from preferential seating close to the speaker (or activity)
and away from room noise sources (i.e., hallways, pencil sharpener,
etc.)
This kind of hearing loss may also need to a decreased amount of
reverberation and/or noise in the classroom.
The child needs to continue medical management if the child has
recurrent otitis media. |
|
A student with borderline hearing may have a difficult
time hearing faint or distance speech. Up to 10% of speech signal can be
missed at a 15 dB HL. When the student's teacher is more than three feet
away and when there is a noisy background, the student with borderline
hearing will struggle.
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Mild Hearing Loss
26-40 dB HL
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Possible Psychosocial Impact of Hearing: |
Potential Education
Needs and Programs: |
| A student with a mild hearing
loss may develop a poor self-esteem. They might be accused of
hearing only with he/she wants to or daydreaming/not paying
attention. |
Students with a mild hearing loss should
also have preferential seating. A student with this hearing loss
may benefit from amplification and working on auditory
discrimination. These students should be referred for speech and
language evaluation. They may need help with vocabulary, speech
and language development, speech reading, and special support in
reading. |
|
Will have trouble hearing faint or distant speech
(beyond 3-5 feet) and understanding
speech in a noisy environment. At 30 dB HL, a child can miss 25-40% of
speech. The student with a mild hearing loss may miss consonant sounds,
especially if he or she has a high frequency hearing loss. Many children with undiagnosed mild hearing
loss experience language delays and read at grade level equivalencies
below those of their peers with normal hearing.
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Moderate Hearing Loss
40-55 dB HL
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Possible Psychosocial Impact of Hearing: |
Potential Education
Needs and Programs: |
| Communication is most often
significantly affected with a moderate hearing loss. Without
amplification, socialization becomes difficult and often
frustrating with their hearing peers. If a person is not aware
of the student's hearing loss, they may be viewed as a slow
learner. Self-esteem may be effected. |
Preferential seating and amplification is
necessary for a moderate hearing loss. Special education support
will most likely involve the teacher of the deaf and hard of
hearing as well as speech and language pathologist. |
|
A student with a
moderate hearing loss might understand conversational speech
face-to-face (3-5 feet) if the structure of the vocabulary is
controlled. This student will be able to understand only loud speech
without his or her hearing aids. 50-100% of speech signal could be
missed by the student without appropriate amplification. A moderate
hearing child has difficulty in group discussions. He or she may likely have
articulation errors (and an atonal voice quality), vocabulary limitations, and deficiencies in
language comprehension and usage.
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Moderate-Severe Hearing Loss
55-70 dB HL
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Possible Psychosocial Impact of Hearing: |
Potential Education
Needs and Programs: |
|
Amplification, such as hearing
aids, may be a stimulus for some kids to pick on and tease a
student with this kind of hearing loss. This may create a poor
self-concept and a sense of rejection. This child may also act
immature for his age. |
Amplification is essential for a
moderate-severe hearing loss. This student will most likely
require additional assistance with language skills, academics
such as vocabulary skills, grammar, and reading and writing. |
|
A
child who has a moderate-severe hearing loss may be difficult to
understand without amplification. The student may struggle when put in
situations that require verbal communication in a group or in a
one-on-one situation. Up to 100% of speech information can be missed at
a 55 dB hearing loss. This student will be able to identify
only loud environment sounds. He or she may be able to discriminate vowels but not
all consonants. Their language development will be seriously deficient if
amplification is not provided, and their own speech will most likely have many errors.
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Severe Hearing Loss
71-90 dB HL
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Possible Psychosocial Impact of Hearing: |
Potential Education
Needs and Programs: |
| A child with a severe hearing
loss may prefer other children with a hearing loss as friends.
having friends with only hearing loss could isolate the child
from the mainstream; however, these friendships may improve
self-esteem and provide a sense of cultural identity. |
With a severe hearing loss, auditory
training needs to occur as soon as possible, and amplification
is essential. The student should also be involved in speech and
language therapy. The student should participate in auditory
training and speech and language therapy. Depending on how this
student acts, different language approaches need to be
considered, such as the aural/oral and total communication
approach. This student will be dependant on visual cues. |
|
A student with a severe
hearing loss might hear loud voices at a close proximity without
amplification. With amplification, the student should be able to
identify both environmental sounds and some speech sounds. This student
will not be able to
discriminate words without visual clues. If his or hear hearing loss is present during
first year of life, understanding of spoken language and use of speech
will not develop spontaneously unless amplification is provided. Their own
speech is mostly unintelligible.
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Profound Hearing Loss
91 dB HL or greater
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Possible Psychosocial Impact of Hearing: |
Potential Education
Needs and Programs: |
| An individual with a profound
hearing loss might prefer associating with other deaf
individuals and be involved in deaf culture. |
This student will need to be on a special
plan/program for deaf children with an emphasis on language. |
|
A student with a profound hearing loss may be able to hear
very loud sounds but may be more aware of vibrations more than tonal
patterns. The awareness of speech sounds are dependant on the use of
amplification and the configuration of the hearing loss. Speech and
language will not develop spontaneously; it is likely to deteriorate
rapidly if the hearing loss recently occurred. Will rely on vision
rather than hearing as primary sensory channel for communication. The
student's own speech is unintelligible. |
Unilateral Hearing Loss
Normal hearing in one ear; at least a
mild hearing loss in the other ear.
|
Possible Psychosocial Impact of Hearing: |
Potential Education
Needs and Programs: |
| A child with a unilateral
hearing loss may be accused of selective hearing because of
discrepancies in speech and his/her ability to understand in
quiet compared to in noise. This student will most likely be
more fatigued in class because of the greater effort needed to
listen. He/she may appear inattentive or frustrated and could
display behavior problems as a result. |
A student with a unilateral hearing loss
needs preferential seating with his/her better ear facing the
class and the teacher (or sound source). This student will may
benefit from amplification. A unilateral hearing loss puts the
students at-risk for educational difficulties. It is important
that his/her hearing and class progress is monitored. |
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A
student who has a unilateral hearing loss might have difficulty in
hearing faint or difficult speech. He or she will experience difficulty
understanding speech and other sounds from the hearing impaired side of
his or her body. A unilateral hearing loss makes it difficult for
students to locate noises and to understand speech in noisy
environments.
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