Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Overview

Deaf: inability to hear sounds 90dB or greater

Hard of hearing: inability to hear sounds between 26-90 

• Congenitally deaf:   born deaf

• Adventitiously deaf: acquire deafness sometime after birth

• Prelingual deafness: occurs at birth or before speech and language develops

• Post lingual deafness: occurs after development of speech and language

  • Mild: 26 to 40 dB

  • Moderate: 41 to 55 dB

  • Moderate-severe: 56 to 70 dB

  • Severe: 71 to 90 dB

  • Profound: 91 dB and above

Prevalence: 

• 0.10% of the population from 6 to 21 years of age is deaf or hard of hearing

• Evidence suggest far greater prevalence for hard of hearing than for deafness

• 30% of the students receiving services for deaf or hard of hearing come from Spanish-speaking homes

CLASSIFICATION OF CAUSES 

Conductive hearing impairment: interference with transfer of sound along the conductive pathway of the middle or outer ear

Sensorineural hearing impairment: problems in the inner ear

Mixed hearing impairment: combination of the two 

PSYCHOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIORAL 

• Spoken language and speech development

  • The most severely affected area of development

  • Linked to degree of loss and age of onset Intellectual ability

  • Performance tests indicate no difference

• Academic achievement

  • Deficits in reading ability

  • Trail behind even in math

    • Benefit from explicit phonics-based instruction

    • Children who are deaf with parents who are deaf have higher achievement

• Social Adjustment 

• • • Amount of inclusion and hearing status of parents affect degree of social isolation

    • Need strategic grouping in general education

ORAL-AUDITORY 

Oralism is the education of deaf students through oral language by using lip reading, speech, and mimicking the mouth shapes and breathing patterns of speech.

Cued Speech: a method of communication in which the mouth movements of speech are combined with a system of hand movements to facilitate understanding and use by people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

MN Eligibility 

Support Tool: Assistive Technology for hearing