The two main types of hearing loss are: sensorineural (nerve deafness which involves impairment of the auditory nerve) and conductive deafness (usually a dysfunction of a part of the middle ear mechanism). Hearing loss is measured by decibels, and according to the decibel count the loss may be mild, moderate, severe or profound.

Approximately 21 million people in the United States who have a hearing disability differ considerably in their abilities to hear. A person may be born with a hearing loss or may become hard of hearing or deaf due to an accident or illness later in life.

If the age of onset occurs before the acquisition of language and the development of speech (roughly two years of age), the individual may have language-based deficiencies that interfere with language syntax and vocabulary that is auditory based.

Communicating with Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students

Although they may wear hearing aids, many students rely primarily on lip reading. Even highly skilled lip readers usually comprehend only 30% of what is said. Also, students who rely on lip reading frequently miss class members’ comments and have difficulty understanding instructors who cover their lips, face the chalkboard, move around, or wear mustaches.

People who use hearing aids usually do not hear sounds the way others do. Hearing aids amplify all sounds and can make small noises, such as loud air conditioners, hissing fluorescent light fixtures, and traffic noise overwhelming. Sometimes people with hearing aids hear only jumbled and disjointed fragments of spoken speech.

An interpreter may be necessary to convey spoken speech to the deaf student by the use of sign language, such as American Sign Language, Signed English, Exact English or Cued Speech. The interpreter should be placed in close proximity to the instructor so that the student can see both the signed interpretation and the visual cues of the instructor with ease.

During lectures, some students with hearing impairments may need to have the instructor’s speech amplified so that they can hear more clearly. Some students may ask that the instructor wear a small wireless FM microphone that is compatible with their hearing aids. Other students may need to audio tape lectures so that they can play the tape back at a higher volume. All students with hearing loss will most likely need notetaking services as it is difficult to focus on the interpreter and/or the instructor while simultaneously taking notes.

Technology is available to make telephone communication available to individuals with hearing impairments. Some students can use a regular telephone if it has a volume control. Other individuals must use a TTY (telecommunication device for the deaf). North Carolina has a telephone Relay Service which makes it possible for a TTY user and someone with a regular telephone to communicate. The telephone number for this Relay Service is 1-800-735-8262. For further information ask for the publication, Deafness 101, from Disability Services, in Terrell 219, second floor.

Accommodations

• The student who is deaf or heard of hearing will need a notetaker so that he/she can give full attention to watching the speaker or interpreter.
• The speaker should face the class as much as possible and should speak clearly and audibly.
• Students need to sit close to the speaker for maximum intake of visual cues.
• Many students with hearing disabilities need to receive assignments in written form in order to ensure proper understanding of the requirements.
• The instructor should write technical or unfamiliar vocabulary on the chalkboard or on an overhead transparency.
• Instructors should keep some lighting on when presenting audiovisual information so the instructor or interpreter can be seen at all times. It would be helpful to supply the student with a written explanation of a demonstration in advance. Video tapes or movies should be open or closed captioned. If they are not, the student should be provided with notes or a summary. Disability Services needs to be notified of video use that is not captioned so that the interpreter may review it in advance.
• The instructor should give a deaf student adequate time to respond to questions or participate in class discussions. There is a lag time between the end of a spoken comment and the end of the interpretation into sign language.