HEARING

IMPAIMENT
 Hearing Impairment
Also known as hearing loss, occurs when you
lose part or all of your ability to hear. Other
terms that are used to refer hearing impairment
are deaf and hard of hearing.
Hearing impairments are classified in terms of
the severity and type of hearing impairment is
categorized based on the minimum sound that
can be heard with your better ear. The higher
the decibel(dB) the louder the sound.
 Mild Hearing Impairment
The minimum sound that can be heard is
between 25 and 45 dB. People at this level
cannot hear soft noises and may have
troubles following conversations in noisy
setting.
 Moderate Hearing Impairment
The minimum sound that can be heard is
between 40 and 70 dB. People at this level
cannot hear soft or moderately loud noises
and may be have trouble hearing unless
they use a hearing aid.
 Severe Hearing Impairment
The minimum sound that can be heard is
between 70 and 95 dB . People at this
level are unable to hear most noises and
may rely on lip-reading and/or sign
language, even the uses of hearing aids.
 Profound Hearing Impairment
The minimum sound heard is 95 dB and
over. People at this level may only hear
very loud noises and rely solely on lip-
reading and/or sign language. Hearing
aids are not effective.
Types and Causes
of Hearing
impairment
 Conductive Hearing Loss
Is when hearing impairment is due to
problems in the outer ear, middle ear, ear
canal, eardrum, or the ossicles, which are
tiny bones in the middle ear. When the
sound is not being conducted properly
through the ear, conductive hearing loss
occurs. Most cases of conductive hearing
loss can be corrected medically or surgically.
Causes o Conductive Hearing loss include:
Fluid in the middle ear as a result o colds
Otitis media, commonly referred to as ear infection
Perforated eardrum
External otitis, commonly referred to as ear canal
infection
Allergies
Earwax buildup
Benign tumors or having a foreign body in the ear
Structural abnormalities of the outer ear, ear canal, or
middle ear.
 Sensorinueral Hearing loss(SNHL)
Also referred to as nerve hearing loss,
occurs when there is damage to either the
auditory nerve or cochlea, which is the
inner ear. The hearing loss in SNHL is
permanent, although it may be possible to
treat it hearing aids.
 Causes of SNHL include:
Exposure to excessively loud noise
Head trauma or sudden air pressure changes (e.g., during
airplane descent)
Illnesses, such as Meniere’s disease and meningitis
Structural abnormality of the inner ear
Tumors
Aging
Medication side effects (e.g., aspirin and vicodin)
Autoimmune inner ear disease
Otosclerosis, the abnormal growth of the bone that is in
the middle ear.
 Mixed Hearing Loss
It is when conductive hearing loss and
SNHL occur at the same time. Mixed
hearing loss occurs when there is damage to
the outer or middle ear and damage to the
inner ear.
 Central Hearing Loss
Occurs when there are problems within
the brain that interfere with the ability to
interpret or understand sounds. This is the
rarest type of hearing impairment and the
hardest to treat.
 Causes of Central Hearing Loss Include:
Damage to brainstem structures
Severe head trauma
Damage to the auditory nerves or the
pathways that lead to them
Brain tumors
 Functional Hearing Loss
Occurs when the functioning of the ears
is normal, but the person is showing a
reduced response or not responding at all
sounds. Because there are no functional
hearing problems in individuals with
functional hearing loss, it is detect an the
most often misdiagnosed. Functional
hearing loss is caused by mental health
problems, such as ADHD and depression.
 SYMPTOMS
Muffling of speech and other sounds
Difficulty understanding words, especially against
background noise or in a crowd
Trouble hearing consonants
Frequently asking others to speak more slowly, clearly
and loudly
Needing to turn up the volume of the television or
radio
Withdrawal from conversations
Avoidance of some social settings
 Some of the treatment and interventions
include:
Working with a professional who can help
a child and family learn to communicate.
Getting a hearing device, such as a
hearing aid.
Joining support groups.
Taking advantage of other resources
available to children with a hearing loss
and their families.
 Early Intervention and Special
Education
Early intervention (o-r years) early
intervention program services help young
children with hearing loss learn language
skills and other important skills. Early
interventions shows that early intervention
services can greatly improve a child’s
development. Through this system, you can
ask for an evaluation.
 Special Education (3-22years)
Special education is instruction specifically
designed to address the educational and related
developmental needs of older children with
disabilities, or those who are experiencing
developmental delays. These services are
available trough the individuals with
Disabilities Education Improvement Act 2004
(IDEA2004), Part B.
 Early Hearing detection and
Intervention(EHDI) Program
EHDI works to identify infants and
children with hearing loss. EHDI also
promotes follow-up testing and services or
interventions for any family whose
children has a hearing loss or if you have
any concerns about your child’s hearing.
 TECHNOLOGY
Technology does not sure hearing loss,
but may help a child with hearing
impairment. It may include;

*Hearing Aids
*Cochlear or Brainstem implants
*Bone-anchored hearing aids
 TECHNOLOGY
Hearing aids
- hearing aids make sounds louder. They
can be worn by people of many age,
including infants. Babies with hearing loss
may understand sounds better using
hearing aids. This may give them the
chance to learn speech skills at young age.
 TECHNOLOGY
Cochlear and Auditory Brainstem Implants
- a cochlear implant sends sound signals
directly to the hearing nerve. Both cochlear and
brainstem implants have two main parts – the
parts that are placed inside the inner ear, the
cochlea, or base of the brain, the brain stem ear
during surgery, and the parts that are worn
outside the ear after surgery. The parts outside
the ear send sounds to the parts inside the ear.
 TECHNOLOGY
Bone-Anchored Hearing Aids
- this type of hearing aid can be
considered when a child has either a
conductive, mixed or unilateral hearing
loss and is specifically suitable for children
who cannot otherwise wear ‘in the ear’ or
‘behind the ear’ hearing aids.
 Other Assistive devices
FM system
Captioning
Other devices
Text massaging
Telephone amplifiers
Flashing and vibrating alarms
Audio loop system
Infrared listening device
Portable sound amplifiers
TTY (text telephone or teletypewriter)
 Medical and Surgical
Medications or surgery may also help
make the most of a person’s hearing. This
is especially true for a conductive hearing
loss, or one that involves a part of the outer
or middle ear that is not working in the
usual way.
 Learning Language
Without extra help, children with hearing
loss have problems learning language. These
children can then be at risk for other delays.
Families who have children with hearing loss
often need to change their communication
habits or learn special skill (such as sign
language)to help their children learn language.
These skills can be used together with hearing
aids, cochlear or auditory brainstem implants,
and other devices that help children hear.
 Family Support Services
For many parents, there child’s
hearing loss is unexpected. Parents
sometimes need time and support to
adapt to the child’s hearing lost.
References
 http://www.nchearingloss.org/audnerve.htm
 https://www.everydayhearing.com/functional-
hearing-loss/
 https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-hearing-
impairment-definition-causes-treatment.html
https://uih.org/heath-topics/types-hearing-
impairment