Hearing/Aural Rehab- Pediatrics

There are two main types of hearing loss a child may experience, sensorineural and conductive impairments.  A sensorineural hearing impairment is characterized by deficits with transmitting sound impulses through the cochlear hair cells and the auditory nerve (Roth & Worthington, 2021).  A conductive hearing loss is characterized by impaired sound transmission through the external auditory canal to the inner ear (Roth & Worthington, 2021).  A child can also experience a combination of a sensorineural and conductive hearing loss, which is referred to as a mixed hearing loss (Roth & Worthington, 2021). 

Children with hearing loss will experience differences in their impairments dependent on the age of onset, age of identification, type and degree of hearing loss (Roth & Worthington, 2021).  Each variance of hearing loss will have a different impact on the child's communication which can be improved through speech therapy and the use of listening devices.  Table 3-6 from the Treatment Resource Manual for Speech Language Pathology by Roth and Worthington outlines the different impacts on communication a hearing impairment can cause ranging from slight to profound losses (Roth & Worthington, 2021).