Challenges in the class
DR. G.K. HEBBAR
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Hearing impairment among children is very common. How can teachers help?
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Photo: S. Gopakumar
IN SESSION: A therapist at work.
A hearing impairment is a decrease in one's ability to hear (i.e. perceive auditory information). Deafness is the second most common disability and is largely invisible. Approximately three in every 1,000 children are born with it. Parents, teachers and the public need to have a thorough understanding of the challenges faced by these hearing impaired children in order to be able to handle them properly. Children may have different levels of hearing loss.
They may be classified as: Mild hearing loss; Moderate hearing loss; Severe hearing loss; Profound hearing loss.
Effects
Childhood hearing loss is very common. Even a very mild loss can affect how a student learns. Children spend at least 45 per cent of their day engaged in active listening activities. The maximum desirable noise level for children with normal hearing is 35 decibels (dB). With 25 students and one teacher, the noise level can reach from 55 to 75 dB. Children in the process of building their language base do not have the same linguistic experience as adults. It is only when children reach their teens that their speech recognition in difficult listening conditions comes close to that of an adult. Most children with losses begin to show considerable learning difficulties when they reach third grade.
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