HEARING IMPAIRMENT

BY: MISS LAUREN

REVIEW
Cochlea
Small, curled tube.
When sound reaches the cochlea, the vibrations cause the hairs

on the cell to move, creating nerve signals that the brain

interprets.

HEARING LOSS (DEAFNESS)

Lacking the power of hearing or having

impaired hearing.

CONDUCTIVE HEARING LOSS

This happens when there is a problem with the outer and middle

ear.
Kids with conductive hearing loss have a mild hearing loss.
It is usually temporary because in most cases medical treatment
can help.

SENSORY HEARING LOSS

This happens when the cochlea is not working correctly because the

tiny hair cells are damaged or destroyed.

Kids with sensory hearing loss hear most sounds (muffled), hear in
quiet but not in noise, hear only some sounds; or hear no sounds at
all.
Almost always permanent and a kids ability to talk may be affected.

NEURAL HEARING LOSS

This happens when there is a problem with the connection

from the cochlea to the brain.

Neural means related to nerve, so neural hearing loss
means the nerve that carries the messages from the
cochlea to the brain is damaged.

CENTRAL HEARING LOSS

This happens when the cochlea is working

properly, but parts of the brain are not.

This is a less frequent type of hearing loss and is
more difficult to treat.

WHAT CAUSES HEARING LOSS?

Can happen because a person was born with part of the ear that didnt form

correctly and dont work well.

Other
Middle ear fluid
Serious infection (meningitis)
Head injury
Listening to music very loud (especially headphones or earbuds)
Repeated exposure to loud sounds like machinery
Ear infection (rare)

HOW TO TEST FOR HEARING LOSS?

Audiologist
Someone who is specially trained to test and help with

the problems related to hearing loss.

HOW IS HEARING LOSS TREATED?

Cochlear Implant
Very tiny piece of electronic equipment that is put into the cochlea during an

operation.
It takes over the job of the damaged or destroyed hair cells in the cochlea by
turning sounds into electrical signals that stimulate the hearing nerve directly.

COMMUNICATION
Sign Language
Sign Language (ASL: American Sign Language): language of hand movements

that allows a person who is deaf to communicate without speaking.

Speechreading
Involves looking closely at a persons lips, facial expressions, and gestures to
help figure out spoken words.