DEAFNESS AND HEARING IMPAIRED

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

The 21 million people in the United States who have this disability differ considerably. A person may be born with a hearing loss or may become hard of hearing due to an accident or illness. If the age of onset occurs before the acquisition of language and the development of speech, the individual may have language based deficiencies such as poor syntax and vocabulary, and difficulty understanding abstract concepts.

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 may not comprehend what is said. Also, lip reading students frequently miss class members’ comments and have difficulty understanding instructors who cover their lips, face the board, move around, or wear mustaches.

People who wear hearing aids may 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. An interpreter may be necessary to convey the oral message to the student with a hearing impairment by the use of sign language (American Sign Language, Signed English, Exact English or Cued Speech). The interpreter should be placed close to the instructor, or between the instructor and the student, so that the student can watch both the signing and the body language of the instructor.

During lectures, students with hearing impairments often need to have the instructor’s speech amplified so that they can hear. Some students may ask that the instructor wear a small wireless FM microphone that is compatible with their hearing aids. Other students with hearing loss will most likely need note taking services.

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 TDD (telecommunication device for the deaf). Georgia has a telephone Relay Service which makes it possible for a TDD user and someone with a regular telephone to communicate.

Suggested Modifications:

The student with a hearing disability will need a note taker so that he/she can give full attention to watching the speaker or interpreter. Select an excellent student who is also taking the class to take notes. The office of the Vice President for Student and Enrollment Services will pay the note taker for providing this service.

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 board, on an overhead transparency, or a Power Point slide. Instructors need to also make available appropriate outlines, assignments, vocabulary and discussion outlines on their web page.

Instructors should keep enough 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. Dr. Maggie Martin, Director of Student Development, 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 student with a hearing impairment adequate time to respond to questions or participate in class discussions. There is a lag time between the end of a comment and the end of the interpretation into sign language.