Deafness/Hearing Problems

Sensory Needs, Special Educational Needs
  • About one in 1000 babies are born with hearing loss
  • Other trauma throughout the first 10 years of life causes the numbers to rise to 2 in 1000 with hearing loss
  • ‘Glue ear’ can cause temporary hearing loss to some children resulting in delayed learning.

A condition in which one of the parts of the auditory system is damaged causing the sufferer to improperly process sounds.  Those suffering from hearing loss will not be able to develop language properly and their speech may be affected.

Things to look for:

Children with a hearing problem may not respond when called.  There may be slurring of words, incorrect pronunciation or unstressed syllables.  The child may watch your lips and face intently and may be reluctant to speak, answering with a nod of the head instead.  He/She may regularly ask you to repeat things.  There may be a lot of misunderstanding or ignoring instructions and he/she may watch others before doing something himself or he/she may continue doing something after being told to stop.  He/She may prefer to dominate a group by talking rather than listening or else he/she may not take part in group discussions.  His/Her speech can be very loud or very soft.  He/She may frequently ask for help from others and his reading and oral performance may be much poorer than in other areas.

Treatment:

Further Information