Inclusive Classroom: Students w/ Hearing Impairments

Education and educators are growing and changing rapidly with each new wave of students and teachers. With this growth, we must educate ourselves on the students in our classrooms. As teachers, it is our job to make sure that each individual is understood, represented, and respected in our classroom. 

Photo taken from: https://www.hearinglikeme.com/teaching-a-child-with-hearing-loss/

With that being said, there are many topics that we can educate ourselves on when it comes to education, and one that stuck to me throughout this semester deals with hearing impairments. Hearing impairments are one of the most common disabilities found in children, with approximately 17,000 infants being diagnosed each year (Levey). “According to the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA), children who have mild to moderate hearing loss but do not get intervention services are very likely to be behind their hearing peers by anywhere from one to four grade levels. And for those with more severe hearing loss, intervention services are even more crucial; those who do not receive intervention usually do not progress beyond the third-grade level” (Packer). Since it is such a common disability that can highly affect our students, I decided to take a deeper look at what it is, how students are affected, and what I can do as a future educator to make sure all my students are succeeding at their best. 

In order to give our students the opportunity to grow in the mainstream classroom, we must educate ourselves on their struggles, wants, and needs.  The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) defines hearing impairment as, “an impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance but is not included under the definition of ‘deafness’” (Special Education Guide). Children with hearing impairments can be classified as mild, moderate, or severe, depending on if they have a fluctuating hearing impairment like an infection, hard of hearing/ difficulty hearing, and deafness. Each category has its own struggles and things you can do as a teacher to help the student out. 

Hearing loss is determined by an audiogram that audiologists use to plot children's hearing threshold using frequency, pitch, and intensity of sound. Normal hearing loss is classified as a hearing level between 20 and 25 dB HL (decibels- hearing level), mild hearing loss ranges from 30 to 40 dB HL, moderate is 45 to 55 dB HL, severe is 60 and 90 dB HL, and profound is 95 dB HL or greater. The different categories that make up hearing loss are conductive hearing loss, sensorineural, noise induced, mixed hearing loss, and auditory processing disorder (Levey). 

With each category and severity of hearing impairment/loss, students experience obstacles in the classroom that can cause difficulty in their learning. “To meet the demands of an inclusive classroom, a general education teacher must believe that all students can learn; expectations of students cannot be lowered” (Nancy), as teachers we must identify students needs and accommodate to them. Teachers can not just sit back and say it's ok if those students aren't learning because they are struggling. We have to hold all students accountable for their learning, regardless of how they get there. 

In a mainstream classroom, a student with a hearing impairment will struggle if the classroom isn't accommodated to their needs. “Several studies indicated that d/Deaf and hard of hearing students experience difficulties participating and interacting with general education teachers and hearing students” (Alasim). Some of the main difficulties of a student with hearing impairment include listening to directions and instructions, communicating with peers, and experiencing delays in learning material. But, what some people don't know is that the difficulties of students with hearing impairment can be easily fixed with accommodations to the classroom environment and your teaching styles. A study done in Saudi Arabia found that, “most obstacles that d/Deaf and hard of hearing students encounter in the general education classroom can be addressed when the entire school staff works together and provides all possible support to those students” (Alasim). Also, when you address the difficulties of students with hearing impairment, you are also benefiting the other students in your mainstream classroom as well. 

One of the difficulties that students with hearing impairments have is focusing on words due to background noise. Background noise can range anywhere from the AC unit blowing, students in the hallway passing, or even whispers amongst their peers. “Such conditions (background noise) can have a deleterious effect on a student’s ability to discriminate and understand speech, which in turn can negatively impact their academic achievement and performance. The presence of background noise has been shown to have a detrimental effect on any task requiring high levels of attention and cognitive processing in children with normal hearing… Noise-related effects are further exacerbated in students with hearing loss” (Zanin). Simply changing the classroom environment can help students with hearing impairment as well as the rest of the students in your classroom. Ways to do this can be to add more carpet to reduce the noise bouncing, keep the door closed, limit distractions, and/or control ac/vents if possible. 

The second largest difficulty with students who have hearing impairments is the struggle when it comes to following directions and understand their teacher and peers due to their inability to hear well. This can cause students to struggle badly in class because missing simple instructions can delay their learning. “With regard to speech perception in the classroom, it is not the overall background noise level but rather the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) that has the most significant effect on audibility… Many classrooms are not ideal listening environments, particularly for students with hearing impairment” (Zanin). When teachers don't take necessary steps to ensure all students hear, students are missing out on valuable education. There are many simple solutions to this overarching problem: face students when speaking, enunciate your words, and speak with a louder voice. Although simple solutions can help, we can start thinking about the stronger assistance students may need in the classroom. Assistive learning devices can help students hear better, clearer, louder, and reduce the effects of distance and reverberation. “The term ALD encompasses any device that assists individuals in the detection of environmental sounds. These include devices such as soundfield amplification systems, personal listening devices or remote microphones, induc- tion loop systems and a myriad of devices that enhance environ- mental sounds (Dillon, 2001)” (Zanin). Such solution, like ALDs, can properly help the students succeed in the classroom at their fullest potential. 

As future educators, we must understand the valuableness of each student. Looking at each strength and weakness of our classroom, and making our curriculum based on our students needs ensures an environment where students can flourish. 

References

Alasim, K. N. 1. k. alasam@psau. edu. s. (2018). Participation and Interaction of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students in Inclusion Classroom. International Journal of Special Education, 33(2), 493–506. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.ezp.slu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=133903262&site=eds-live

Levey, S., & Polirstok, S. (2011). Language Development. Understanding Language Diversity in the Classroom. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.

Nancy D. Turner, & Maryann Traxler. (1997). Children’s Literature for the Primary Inclusive Classroom: Increasing Understanding of Children with Hearing Impairments. American Annals of the Deaf, 142(5), 350. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.ezp.slu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsjsr&AN=edsjsr.44392533&site=eds-live

Packer Lisa Packer, L. (2018, September 12). How hearing loss affects school performance. Retrieved November 24, 2019, from https://www.healthyhearing.com/report/52433-How-hearing-loss-affects-school-performance.

Special Education Guide. What is a Hearing Impairment? (2013). Retrieved November 24, 2019, from https://www.specialeducationguide.com/disability-profiles/hearing-impairments/.

Zanin, J., & Rance, G. (2016). Functional hearing in the classroom: assistive listening devices for students with hearing impairment in a mainstream school setting. International Journal of Audiology, 55(12), 723–729. https://doi-org.ezp.slu.edu/10.1080/14992027.2016.1225991