This document discusses hearing loss in children and intervention strategies. It describes the different types of hearing loss, implications of hearing loss on communication and academics, and components of audiologic intervention. Intervention programs should address communication skills, academics, social skills, and self-esteem, and consider a child's residual hearing through appropriate amplification and acoustic environments. Professionals should collaborate with families to meet each child's unique needs.

1. ...FOR PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL COMMUNICATION NEEDS
Your Child’s Hearing Loss
by Evelyn Williams, MS, CCC-A & What are the Different Types of
Tina R. Mullins, MA, MSW, Hearing Loss?
CCC-A There are four basic types of
hearing loss:
My child failed a hearing
screening. What does that mean? • Conductive – hearing loss result-
A hearing screening provides ing from disorders of the outer
pass/fail information on your child’s and/or middle ear (e.g., resulting
ability to hear sounds at a certain from ear infections, abnormal ear
loudness level and at specific pitches. structures).
• Sensorineural – hearing loss
What should I do if my child fails resulting from disorders of the
a hearing screening? inner ear or the 8th cranial nerve
See an ASHA-certified audiolo- What are Some Implications of
that carries the auditory signals Hearing Loss?
gist (CCC-A) for a comprehensive
audiological assessment of your Communication development
child’s hearing and middle ear func- and behavioral skills are influenced
tion. An audiologist evaluating a by a child’s ability to hear. Hearing
child typically uses certain basic pro- loss can also effect a child’s social
cedures to determine if the child has interaction, emotional development,
An audiologist evaluating a and academic performance.
a hearing loss and, if so, the type and
degree of the loss. These procedures child typically uses certain
may include a pure tone hearing test, Audiologic Implications
speech audiometry, and tests of mid- basic procedures to Hearing loss may be bilateral
dle ear function. Depending on the (both ears) or unilateral (one ear)
age and/or the child’s ability to reli-
determine if the child has a
Hearing loss may be fluctuating,
ably respond to these procedures, hearing loss and, if so, the permanent, or temporary.
hearing sensitivity may be deter- Children can exhibit:
mined using tests that do not require type and degree of the
• varying degrees of difficulty
the active participation of your child
loss. hearing and understanding envi-
(e.g., auditory evoked potentials,
ronmental and speech sounds
otoacoustic emissions). Based on the
results of an audiological assessment, • significant problems listening
the audiologist will provide informa- to the brain (e.g., resulting from and understanding in noisy and
tion regarding the impact your meningitis, noise exposure, reverberant environments
child’s type and degree of hearing problems at birth).
loss may have on communication, Communication Implications
learning, and social skills. An audi- • Mixed – a combination of Children typically exhibit delays
ologist will also provide you with conductive and sensorineural and/or difficulty with:
recommendations for intervention hearing loss. • tasks involving language
and appropriate referrals (e.g., concepts;
speech-language pathology, medical, • Central – results from disorders • auditory attention and memory,
educational). of the central auditory nervous and comprehension;
system (e.g., auditory processing • receptive and expressive
disorders). language;
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Permission is granted for unlimited photocopying of “Let’s Talk.” © American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2003

2. • syntax, semantics, and vocabu- In general, intervention programs for For more information about
children with hearing loss should hearing loss, hearing aids, or referral
lary development;
have goals that address the acquisi- to an ASHA-certified audiologist,
• speech perception and produc-
tion of spoken and/or manual com- contact the:
tion.
munication systems, academic skills,
and social skills, and promote emo-
Academic Implications tional well-being and positive self-
Children may have:
esteem.
• problems in academic achieve-
ment, including language arts, What are some of the compo-
vocabulary; nents of audiologic intervention? 10801 Rockville Pike
• development, reading, spelling, Interventions for children with Rockville, MD 20852
arithmetic, and problem-solving; hearing loss encompass many broad 1-800-638-8255 (Voice or TTY)
• lower scores on achievement and and sometimes overlapping areas.
E-mail: actioncenter@asha.org
verbal IQ tests; Some of the needed services may be
• greater need for enrollment in provided directly by audiologists, Web site: www.asha.org
special education or support whereas others will be provided by
classes; other qualified professionals, such as
• increased need for organization speech-language pathologists, teach-
support in the classroom. ers of the deaf and hard of hearing,
social workers and/or occupational
Social Implications therapists. The effective use of resid-
Children may: ual hearing is a primary considera-
• have self-described feelings of tion in intervention because it can
isolation, exclusion, embarrass- affect the child’s success or failure in
ment, annoyance, confusion, and other areas. The two factors that con-
tribute most to successful use of
helplessness;
residual hearing include appropriate
amplification and/or assistive tech-
nology (hearing aids, cochlear
implants, and/or FM systems) and a
favorable acoustic environment
where noise is eliminated or reduced.
• refuse to participate in group
activities;
• act withdrawn or sullen;
• exhibit lower performance on Compliments of
measures of social maturity; American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
10801 Rockville Pike • Rockville MD • 20852 • 800-638-8255
• have significant problems
and
following directions.
What factors should be consid-
ered in implementing an appropri-
ate intervention program for my
child?
Intervention should be con-
ducted by qualified professionals and
designed to meet the individual and
unique needs of children with hear-
ing loss and their families/care-
givers. Professionals planning and
providing services should collaborate
with the child, family and/or care-
givers, and educators to ensure the
success of the intervention program.
3906
Permission is granted for unlimited photocopying of “Let’s Talk.” © American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2003