Learning and Hearing Loss
Learning and Hearing Loss
Hearing loss can impact on children at school as well as adults participating in formal training or informal workplace training.
Often people’s hearing loss is not identified and they also may not be aware that they have a hearing loss. The indicators on the right side of this page are important in order to consider who may have a hearing loss.
With adults it is not only their current hearing loss that contributes to communication problems. People who've had a hearing loss from a young age often find it hard to learn English, especially if it is their second, third, fourth or fifth language.
They are likely to have found it hard to learn how to read as well as to have had social problems, particularly at school.
They probably have experienced lots of frustration, anxiety and used avoidance as a coping strategy and some may have been involved in aggression as a result of their frustrations.
The adult functional listening problems are a combination of these types of long term effects of past hearing loss, as well as the the communication problems they may have related to their current hearing loss.
Auditory processing problems
Some people may pass a hearing test but still have the kinds of problems described above. This may be because they have auditory processing problems.
Auditory processing problems often come as a consequence of the inconsistent auditory input during childhood through having regular hearing loss from middle ear disease.
When children are deprived of the full range of sounds by having repeated periods of hearing loss, their auditory processing skills may not develop normally and they can be left with some auditory processing difficulties.
This is a very common pathway for Aboriginal children and adults leading to auditory processing difficulties.
Often Conductive Hearing Loss is associated with auditory processing problems. Even if someone has had hearing loss in the past, and has no current hearing loss, they still may have auditory processing difficulties that contribute to communication and learning problems.
Video clip about hearing loss
Elaine Cox is an Aboriginal teacher from Broome.
In this video, Elaine talks about her experiences as a parent and teacher of children with hearing loss.
Video: Elaine Cox
Duration: 3.45 minutes
File size: 4.1MB
Requires Quicktime or Windows Media Player