What is Hearing
Impairment?
Hearing Impairment occurs when there’s a problem with or
damage to one or more parts of the year. There are different forms of hearing
loss including: conductive hearing loss, sensorineural hearing loss, auditory
neuropathy spectrum disorder, mixed hearing loss, central hearing loss and
auditory processing disorders. Each are defined below:
Conductive hearing loss results from a problem with the outer or middle ear, including the ear canal, eardrum, or ossicles. A blockage or other structural problem interferes with how sound gets conducted through the ear, making sound levels seem lower.
Sensorineural hearing loss results from damage to the inner ear (cochlea) or the auditory nerve. The most common type is caused by the outer hair cells not functioning correctly. The person has trouble hearing clearly, understanding speech, and interpreting various sounds. This type of hearing loss is permanent. It may be treated with hearing aids.
Auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder is when the transmission of sound from the inner ear to the brain is then disorganized. Children with auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder can develop strong language and communication skills with the help of medical devices, therapy, and visual communication techniques.
Mixed hearing loss happens when someone has both conductive and sensorineural hearing problems.
Central hearing loss happens when the cochlea is working properly, but other parts of the brain are not. This is a less frequent type of hearing loss and is more difficult to treat.
Auditory processing disorders (APD) is not exactly a type of hearing loss because someone with APD can usually hear well in a quiet environment. Most people with APD have difficulty hearing in a noisy environment, which is the usual environment we live in. In most cases, APD can be treated with proper therapy.
The degree of hearing impairment can vary
widely from person to person. Some individual have partial hearing loss,
meaning that the ear can pick up some sounds; others have complete hearing
loss, meaning that the ear cannot hear at all (people with complete hearing
loss are considered deaf). In some types of hearing loss, an individual can
have much more trouble when there is background noise. One or both ears may be
affected, and the impairment may be worse in one ear than in the other.
Along with this, the timing of the hearing
loss is important and can vary. Congenital hearing loss is present at birth. Acquired hearing loss happens later in
life such as during childhood, the teen years, or in adulthood and it can be
sudden or happen over time.
There are three attributes that are considered
when describing hearing impairment:
1) Type of hearing loss which
is the part of the hearing mechanism that is affected
2) Degree of hearing loss
which is the volume of sounds that are not heard
3) Configuration which is
the range of pitches or frequencies at which the loss has occurred
Assistive Technology for Individuals with Learning Impairments.
Low Tech
1) Paper and pencil is a low tech assistive
technology that can be used to communicate with people who have a hearing loss.
2) Whiteboards, like paper and pencil, can be used
for informal conversation.
Mid Tech
1) Dragon Naturally Speaking is a voice recognition
program that is used for the general public. Individuals with hearing
impairments can also use this software because it creates text documents out of
voice files.
2)
Closed Captioning are the words at the bottom of
the screen when watching television.
High Tech
1) Personal Frequency Modulation (FM) Systems are
like miniature radio stations operating on special frequencies. This systems
uses a transmitter microphone used by the speaker and a receiver used by the
listener. The receiver transmits the sound to the ear of the listener or to the
hearing aid directly if the listener is wearing one.
2) iCommunicator performs as a communication tool
that concerts the voice of an individual into text on a computer. This
technology translates voice into sign-language or a computer generated voice.
