How to Teach a Child with Hearing Loss

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Kids with hearing loss problems have difficulty understanding words and differentiating between sounds. Hearing loss can be bilateral (in both ears) or unilateral (in one ear) and causes children that are affected to have trouble in learning.

Audiologists, health care professionals, parents, and even teachers need to work together to assist a child with hearing loss so they can cope as well as regular kids. Proper equipment and timely care help children with hearing loss issues in being able to learn and grow without delays and without getting frustrated.

If your child or someone that you know is suffering from hearing loss, it is a good idea to get in touch with HearCanada for professional help. Note that various equipment and different strategies may work for different children, so it is necessary to experiment, be aware and seek medical help. Below, we explore how you can aid a child with hearing loss.

What Difficulties Do Children with Hearing Loss Problems Face?

Before we get into how you can assist a child with hearing issues, it is important to know some common symptoms and problems that affect such children. Let’s look at these below:

• Spoken instructions and conversations are difficult to follow. Since paying attention takes so much energy, such kids are bound to get easily distracted. Frustration from the brain being overworked and constant confusion may cause a kid with hearing loss to act up, break down or throw a tantrum.
• Keeping up with things being taught in class at a regular pace may get challenging. Poor speech and language development including being unable to grab consonants, digraphs, grammar, and vocabulary make learning twice as difficult.
• Reading, spelling, and the ability to recognize different sounds are also challenging. This is known as phonemic awareness.
• Children with hearing loss issues tend to get tired easily and are prone to miss out on a lot of information, especially if a conversation was not directed toward them.

How to Teach a Child with Hearing Loss

Create the Right Environment

In a home setting, it is a smart idea to move away from the source of loud noises such as the window, heater, TV, doorway, stereo, or dishwasher. before you speak to your child. If your child has an ear that they can hear better from, then make sure you are closer to that ear when you speak to them.

In a school setting, the teacher must sit or stand far away from noise sources like heaters, doors, windows, corridors, pencil sharpeners, and trash. The teacher must also pay attention to the ear a child can hear better from.

The child must always have a clear view of the speaker, so it is a good idea to place desks in a horseshoe formation or short rows. A classroom amplifier system can also be used to make the voice of the speaker clearer and more understandable.

Other things you can do include making use of curtains, area carpets, acoustic ceilings, wall artwork, window covers, bulletin boards, and covering decks/chairs with soft materials like socks, felt pads, and tennis balls.

Ensure your HVAC system is running properly to cut off unnecessary noise and turn off the radio, TV, projector, and music before you speak to the child.

Help Them Focus and Understand

The best way to ensure a child can learn and understand is to make sure that you have their attention before you speak, talk, give instructions, or get them to participate in a new activity.

You can grab their attention by calling out their name, tapping on the shoulder, using hand signals gestures, or by flickering lights.

Make sure the child knows who is talking to them and always rephrase and repeat what they say. If a child seems confused, use simpler words, and ask questions to make sure the child knows what you are talking about.

Make Use of Visual Cues

If a child does not respond, it is quite likely that they can’t hear you clearly or are feeling frustrated. Make sure there are no noise sources nearby and that you allow your child enough time to process what is being said.

Encourage your child to participate in group activities like music, crafts, gymnastics, and swimming. Make sure you are encouraging, patient and understanding all along the way. You can also make use of visual cues if all else fails.

Always make eye contact, face the child, speak slowly, and stand/sit still. Keep distracting objects away from your mouth as you speak and encourage the child to read your lips.

Endnote

Children with hearing disabilities are just as gifted as regular children. With time, patience, understanding, and the right teaching methods, you can train them to listen, and understand all activities and lessons like others. Make sure to get medical help and get a professional on board to ensure this process is smooth and successful.