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Introduction
As a family with a child recently diagnosed with
hearing loss, you will find yourself faced with many
challenging decisions about your child's hearing
impairment and treatment of their hearing loss.
Perhaps one of the first challenges you may face is
deciding what amplification system would be most
appropriate for your child.
This website is designed to give you some basic
information about hearing loss. The effects of your
child's hearing loss on the sounds he is able to
hear are discussed.
Possible amplification options are reviewed. This
website aims to serve as an initial aid as you
embark on a new pathway with your child. We hope it
provides you with some useful information and
assists you in making the best decision for your
child.
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Types of hearing
loss
Conductive
hearing loss
• Any problem in the outer or middle ear can block
the normal sound path to the inner ear and cause a
conductive hearing loss.
• Conductive losses are usually mild or moderate in
degree, causing hearing loss of up to 50-60
decibels.
• This is often a temporary type of hearing loss
such as caused by ear infection, blocked nose or
colds but in rare cases may get worse over time or
even be permanent.
Sensorineural hearing loss
• Any damage to the sensitive inner ear hair cells
can lead to a sensorineural hearing loss.
• The degree of
hearing loss can range from mild through moderate to
a severe, or profound hearing loss.
• This is a permanent type of hearing loss that will
not get better but can sometimes get worse. It is
possible for someone to have a conductive loss in
addition to a sensorineural loss.
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Degree of hearing
loss
• The chart below shows the loudness of different
sounds around us.
• The "banana" shape indicates the area where most
speech sounds typically occur.
• The pictures show the loudness and pitch of some
everyday sounds.
• You can draw your child's audiogram on top of this
chart to get an idea of what sounds your child can
hear.
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Aids for listening
Simple communication begins even before we learn to
speak, through facial expressions, like a smile and
later with simple signs and gestures. The goal of
aids for listening is to make speech sounds heard so
that speech and spoken language can develop as
normally as possible.
Hearing aids
• A hearing aid is a device that makes sounds louder
and clearer for the wearer, the aim is to make all
the sounds of speech clear enough to be heard.
• Hearing aids for young children may be worn behind
the ear (BTE or post-aural), in the ear (ITE) or on
the body. Most infants will be provided with a BTE
aid.
• A microphone picks up sound, which is amplified
then sent into the ear through a connecting tube and
earmould. The earmould has to fit exactly to give
the best possible sound quality, the shape of the
ear will be copied by taking an impression
which will be sent away for the mould to be made.
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Cochlear implants
• A cochlear implant is an electronic device
designed to help individuals with a very severe or
worse degree of hearing loss, who gain little or no
benefit from hearing aids.
• Cochlear implant systems convert everyday sounds
into coded electrical impulses. These electrical
impulses stimulate the hearing nerve and the brain
interprets them as sound.
• It consists of two parts: an internal implant that
is put in place under surgery and an external part
known as the speech processor.
• The speech processor can be worn behind the ear or
on the body.
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Approaches to
communication
We all communicate in different ways: with facial
expressions, gestures and body language as well as
through speech and hearing. Each child is different
and there are many different ways to help your child
to communicate. Your local teacher of the deaf or
speech and language therapist will be able to
discuss the options and give further advice.
Oral-aural
communication
A method that emphasizes use of residual hearing and
lip-reading to teach spoken language.
Auditory-verbal
This is similar to the oral-aural approach, but
lip-reading is not used. It is often referred to as
"active listening".
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Sign language
A visual and manual language using handshakes and
the rest of the body, including the face, to convey
words and concepts, e.g. British Sign Language (BSL).
Sign language is an independent language with a
specific vocabulary and grammatical structure.
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Total communication
A habilitation approach consisting of the
integration of oral/aural and manual communication
strategies.
Although these are separate ways of communicating
with your child, some people choose to use them in
combination. Some parents may choose to talk to
their child, whilst others use speech and sign. Some
parents may be hearing impaired themselves, and may
choose to communicate with their child using
oral-aural communication or sign language. The mode
of communication you use with your child may change
over time, depending on their amplification,
schooling and other factors. Ask your local
professional about the different communication
options and resources available.
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