It is often hard for families to get kids with hearing loss to understand them.

With my son, when I used to get angry, if I get angry with him, he's probably a bit shitty with me and doesn't want to listen… my son used to be very strong, you know - probably not listening to what I'm saying but still trying to have his say, keep on going and not listening.

It used to be hard to make him understand. It took me a while. He used to run off, take off and don't listen. Keep doing it, keep doing it. It was really hard. (Mother)

Family can find it hard to manage kids with hearing loss because of their behaviour problems.

My parents say that they can’t handle them (the children) so they don’t want to baby sit them because they (the children) won’t listen to them. It is hard because there is no-one else I can leave them with.

(Mother)

Signs of Hearing Problems

Identifying children with listening problems

What to look out for

If you think a child is being difficult or naughty, it may be due to their poor hearing. Understanding what to look for in children’s behaviour, at home and at school, may help you identify and manage listening problems.

At home

Children with Conductive Hearing Loss:

may not understand or respond to what is said to them
can be easily frustrated and naughty
may come home from school feeling tired and bad tempered, from having to work so hard to listen in class
may be demanding, argue a lot and/or sulk.

At childcare and school

Children with Conductive Hearing Loss:

will find it hard to hear when it is noisy
may be seen as aggressive, over indulged or over sensitive
may often be in trouble at school or be quiet, shy or anxious
may have difficulty learning to read and spell
may have problems playing team sports because they cannot hear other players or the coach.

Video clip about hearing loss

Elaine Cox is an Aboriginal teacher from Broome.

In this video, Elaine remembers what is was like as a child with hearing loss.

Duration:3.45 minutes
File size: 3.2MB

Click on the video camera icon and a new window will open to play the video. Requires Quicktime or Windows Media Player