Dr. James Hamilton defines Hearing Impairment, its forms, causes, prevention and other pertinent details about the disability. View the transcript here.

I. Definition
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." while Deafness is defined as "a hearing impairment that is so severe that the child is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification."

II. Condition
Deafness is a condition that prevents a person from receiving sound in all or most of its forms. In contrast, a child with a hearing loss can generally respond to auditory stimuli, including speech. Read more (see Appendix A).

III.Causes
There are four types of hearing loss and their causes:

1. Conductive hearing loss results from physical problems with the movement of the sound wave through the ear. An example is blockage of the ear canal.

2. Sensorineurial hearing loss stems from damageto the hair cells or nerves that sense sound waves. This can range from mild to profound.

3. Mixed hearing loss is a combination of conductive and sensorineural loss. The problem occurs in both the outer or middle and the inner ear.

4. Central hearing loss results from damage or impairment to the nerves or nuclei of the central nervous system, either in the pathways to the brain or in the brain itself.

Hearing loss for kids may be caused by genetic factors, prenatal illnesses, postnatal childhood infections like meningitis, measles, and others (see Appendix B).

Click here (see Appendix C) to see a list of disease database that shows some of the possible medical causes of hearing impairment.

IV. Categories
The five categories of hearing loss are 1) Mild: 21dB - 40dB, 2) Moderate: 41dB - 55dB, 3) Moderate/Severe:
56dB - 70dB, 4) Severe:71dB - 90dB, 5) Profound: 91dB and greater

V. Characteristics
Some behavioral characteristics of a hearing impaired individual include: lack of attention, use of gestures, lack of speech development, monotone quality in voice, and others (see Appendix D)

VI. Assessment
There are a number of forms of assessment to determine presence of hearing impairment. Some of these are audiological, hearing aid evaluation, auditory comprehension, cognitive/intellectual abilities, communicative abilities, and others (see Appendix E).

VII. Checklist
The Eligibility Checklist for Hearing Impairment used at Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction comprises two sections namely significant impairment and adverse effects. See details and downloadable forms (see Appendix F).

VIII. Treatment
Self-care at home and medical treatment are two ways to address the hearing loss problem. For example, if you know that earwax has built up in the ear, over-the-counter preparations can be used to soften the wax so that it can come out of the ear on its own. For medical treatment, cochlear implant is one. Read more (see Appendix G).

IX. Prognosis
The prognosis of an individual’s hearing loss depends on the amount of nerve damage, which determines the severity. Details here (see Appendix H).

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