HEARING IMPAIRMENT 1
Hearing Impairment:
An Exceptionality Review
Natasha Gibson
EDTE 532: Special Educational Needs in the Classroom
Shelley Beleznay
January 24, 2019
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What is hearing impairment?
Hearing Impairment is an exceptionality that encompasses different levels of
hearing loss. Students who are Deaf may need different adaptations than students
who are hard of hearing. There are generally seven categories of hearing
impairment that include normal hearing, minimal loss, mild, moderate, and
moderate to severe, sever, and profound ((British Columbia Ministry of Education,
2006-2007, p. 6). It will be important as a teaching to know what category your student
fits into so you can adapt your teaching to best meet their learning needs.
Typical learning challenges:
Students who have hearing impairments struggle to hear their teacher and their
peers – students may have a hearing aid or cochlear implant or an interpreter if
they read sign language and some may be able to read lips
Students who have hearing impairments need full visual access, so having a “U”
shaped desk arrangement may be beneficial
The lighting in a classroom may affect how the student learns – fluorescent lights
can actually interfere with hearing aids and cochlear implants so having soft
lighting may be beneficial
Students may need more time to process questions and need more time to
respond so wait time is a very important thing to incorporate
Students may rely on lip reading and need the teacher to face them when they
are talking so facing the class when speaking is very important
List of learning challenges from https://www.gettingsmart.com/2016/08/10-
challenges-deaf-students-face-in-the-classroom/
Typical behaviour challenges:
Students with hearing impairments may be shy and have a hard time connecting
with their peers and may gravitate more towards adults
Students with hearing impairments may feel different if they need to wear
special equipment to help with their hearing
Students may miss social cues or interrupt people if they cannot hear that they
are already talking
Students may feel misunderstood by the teacher or their peers
Students may zone out if they are unable to hear what is going on around them
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Students may experience bullying because of their differenced
List of behaviour challenges from https://www.chs.ca/kindergarten-grade-2 and
https://www.chs.ca/grades-5-7
Assessment Tools:
A few different assessments for hearing impairment include:
Pure Tone Audiometry, which assesses when a student can first detect sound
Speech Audiometry, which assesses level at which speech is detected
List of assessments retrieved from
http://wps.pearsoned.ca/ca_ph_winzer_children_8/66/16946/4338289.cw/index.h
tml
List of learning strategies:
Students will hearing impairment often benefit from seeing the teacher’s face
while the teacher is talking so they are able to read lips and get meaning clues.
It is helpful to speak normally; speaking louder does not actually help the learner
but can make it harder for them.
Giving students a list of new or challenging vocabulary that you will be using
throughout a lesson can help them to follow along and understand the lesson
better.
Using visuals or handouts may be helpful for students with hearing impairments.
Provide the student with a class agenda or outline so that the students is aware
of what if going to happen next
List from https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/kindergarten-to-grade-
12/teach/teaching-tools/inclusive/hard-of-hearing-and-deaf-students.pdf
In classroom, students may use FM systems (teacher has a microphone and
students has a receiver) this will amplify what the teacher is saying to help the
student hear
Adaptation found in
http://wps.pearsoned.ca/ca_ph_winzer_children_8/66/16946/4338289.cw/index.h
tml
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List of Additional Resources:
Additional websites:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/kindergarten-to-grade-
12/teach/teaching-tools/inclusive/hard-of-hearing-and-deaf-students.pdf
https://www.ferris.edu/htmls/colleges/university/disability/faculty-
staff/classroom-issues/hearing/hearing-strategy.htm
https://www.teachspeced.ca/hearing-impairment
Additional books:
A Child With a Hearing Loss in Your Classroom? Don’t Panic!! (A Guide for
Teachers) by Amanda J. Mangiardi
Classroom Acoustics: Understanding Barriers to Learning by Carl Crandell and
Joseph J. Smaldino
The Hearing Impaired Child in a Regular Classroom by Winfred H. Northcott
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Resources
British Columbia Ministry of Education. (2006-2007). Hard of hearing and deaf
students. A resource guide to support classroom teachers. Retrieved from
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/kindergarten-to-grade-
12/teach/teaching-tools/inclusive/hard-of-hearing-and-deaf-students.pdf
Canadian Hearing Society. (n.d.). Kindergarten - grade 2. Retrived from
https://www.chs.ca/kindergarten-grade-2
Canadian Hearing Society. (n.d.). Grades 5 – 7. Retrived from
https://www.chs.ca/grades-5-7
Weber, M. L. (2016). 10 challenges Deaf students face in the classroom. In Getting
Smart. Retrieved from https://www.gettingsmart.com/2016/08/10
challenges-deaf-students-face-in-the-classroom/
Winzer, M. (2007). Children with hearing impairment. In Children with
exceptionalities in Canadian classrooms. Retrieved from
http://wps.pearsoned.ca/ca_ph_winzer_children_8/66/16946/4338289.cw
index.html
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