HEARING IMPAIRMENT

Hearing loss
• A person who is not able to hear as well as
someone with normal hearing is said to
have hearing loss. Hearing loss may be
mild, moderate, severe, or profound. It can
affect one ear or both ears, and leads to
difficulty in hearing conversational speech
or loud sounds.

(World Health Organization, 2018)

Hard of hearing and deafness
• 'Hard of hearing' refers to people
with hearing loss ranging from mild
to severe. They usually communicate
through spoken language and can
benefit from hearing aids, cochlear
implants, and other assistive devices.
• 'Deaf' people mostly have profound
hearing loss, which implies very little
or no hearing. They often use sign
language for communication.
Causes of hearing loss and deafness
Congenital causes may lead to hearing loss
being present at or acquired soon after birth.
• infections during pregnancy;

• low birth weight;

• birth asphyxia;

• inappropriate use of particular drugs during

pregnancy;
• severe jaundice in the neonatal period
Causes of hearing loss and deafness
Acquired causes may lead to hearing loss at any age, such as:
• infectious diseases including meningitis, measles and mumps;

• chronic ear infections;

• collection of fluid in the ear (otitis media);

• use of certain medicines, such as those used in the treatment of

neonatal infections, malaria, drug-resistant tuberculosis, and cancers;
• injury to the head or ear;
Causes of hearing loss and deafness
Acquired causes (cont.)
• excessive noise, including occupational noise such as that from
machinery and explosions;
• recreational exposure to loud sounds such as that from use of
personal audio devices at high volumes and for prolonged periods of
time and regular attendance at concerts, nightclubs, bars and
sporting events;
• ageing, in particular due to degeneration of sensory cells; and

• wax or foreign bodies blocking the ear canal.

TYPES OF HEARING LOSS
Comparing loudness of common sounds
Decibels Noise source
30 Whisper
60 Normal conversation
78 Washing machine
80 to 90 Heavy city traffic, power lawn mower
90 Motorcycle
100 Snowmobile, hand drill
110 Chain saw, rock concert
Four levels of deafness
Impact of hearing loss
• Functional impact: One of the main impacts of hearing loss is on the
individual’s ability to communicate with others.
• Social and emotional impact: Exclusion from communication can
have a significant impact on everyday life, causing feelings of
loneliness, isolation, and frustration, particularly among older people
with hearing loss.
• Economic impact: WHO estimates that unaddressed hearing loss
poses an annual global cost of US$ 750 billion. This includes health
sector costs (excluding the cost of hearing devices), costs of
educational support, loss of productivity, and societal costs.
Prevention
• immunizing children
against childhood
diseases, including
measles, meningitis,
rubella and mumps;
• referring infants at high
risk for early assessment
of hearing, to ensure
prompt diagnosis and
appropriate management;
Prevention (cont.)
• immunizing adolescent
girls and women of
reproductive age
against rubella before
pregnancy;
• screening of children
for otitis media,
followed by
appropriate medical or
surgical interventions;
Prevention (cont.)
• following healthy ear care
practices;
• reducing exposure to loud
sounds by raising awareness
about the risks and
encouraging individuals to
use personal protective
devices such as earplugs
and noise-cancelling
earphones and headphones.
Prevention (cont.)
• preventing infections in
expectant mothers
through good hygiene;
screening for and
treating infections in
pregnant women;
• avoiding the use of
particular drugs which
may be harmful to
hearing;
Hearing aids
• Hearing aids are wearable devices that
assist hearing.
• Hearing aids do not cure deafness but
amplify the sound that enters the ear so
that the listener can hear more clearly.
• Hearing aids consist of a battery,
loudspeaker, amplifier, and microphone.
• A hearing aid is not suitable for a person
with profound deafness.
Types of hearing aids
Behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aid In-the-canal (ITC) hearing aid
Types of hearing aids (cont.)
Completely in the canal (CIC)
Bone conduction hearing aid
hearing aid
Cochlear implants
• If the eardrum and middle ear are
functioning correctly, a person may benefit
from a cochlear implant.
• This thin electrode is inserted into the
cochlea. It stimulates electricity through a
tiny microprocessor placed under the skin
behind the ear.
• A cochlear implant is inserted to help
patients whose hearing impairment is
caused by hair cell damage in the cochlea.
Sign language and lip-reading
• Lip reading, also known as speechreading, is a method for
understanding spoken language by watching the speaker's lip, facial
and tongue movements, as well as extrapolating from the data
provided by the context and any residual hearing the patient might
have.
• Sign language is a language that uses signs made with the hands,
facial expressions, and body postures, but no sounds. It is used mainly
by those who are deaf. There are several different types of sign
languages.
(Nordqvist, 2018)
Examples of sign language
American Sign Language (ASL) British Sign Language (BSL)
What is Deaf community?
"The deaf community comprises those deaf and hard-of-hearing
individuals who share a common language, common experiences and
values and a common way of interacting with each other and with
hearing people. The most basic factor determining who is a member of
the deaf community seems to be what is called 'attitudinal deafness'.
This occurs when a person identifies him/herself as a member of the
deaf community and other members accept that person as part of the
community."

(Baker & Padden, 1978)

Most commonly accepted terms

deaf Deaf

Hard of
Hearing
What is the difference in deaf and Deaf?
“We use the lowercase deaf when referring to the audiological
condition of not hearing, and the uppercase Deaf when referring to a
particular group of deaf people who share a language (sign language)
and a culture. The members of this group have inherited their sign
language, use it as a primary means of communication among
themselves, and hold a set of beliefs about themselves and their
connection to the larger society.”

(Padden & Humphries, 1988)

Not culturally acceptable labels

Deaf and Deaf-

Dumb Mute

Hearing-
impaired
DEAF EDUCATION HISTORY
1907, sped program started in the country
Dr. David P. Barrows, Director of
Public Education

Insular School for the Deaf and

the Blind in Manila

Ms. Delia Delight Rice, an

American educator
1963, School for the Deaf and the Blind
was divided into two separate schools
1969, Deaf Evangelistic Alliance
Foundation (DEAF) was founded
1974, Southeast Asian Institute for Deaf
(SAID) was established
1987 • Maria Lena Buhay Foundation

• CAP College School for the

1989 Deaf

• School of Deaf Education and

1991 Applied Studies (SDEAS)

• Manila Christian Computer

1993 Institute for the Deaf (MCCID)
Examples of special programs

Early Multiple Deafblind Speech

Childhood Handicapped Program Program
Intervention Program

(Philippine School for the Deaf, 2007)

MYTHS ABOUT DEAF PEOPLE
All deaf people sign or can lipread
Deaf people cannot drive
Deaf people cannot listen to music
Deaf people cannot speak
Deaf people cannot watch TV
Deaf people read braille
PEOPLE WITH HEARING LOSS
Famous People with Hearing Loss
Bill Clinton Whoopi Goldberg
Famous People with Hearing Loss (cont.)
Lou Ferrigno Helen Keller
Famous People with Hearing Loss (cont.)
Ludwig van Beethoven Thomas Edison
Famous People with Hearing Loss (cont.)
Derrick Coleman Lance Allred
Famous People with Hearing Loss (cont.)
Ana Kristina Arce Gilda Quintua-Nakahara
Communicating with deaf people
• Face the person directly.

• Speak clearly, slowly, distinctly, but naturally, without shouting or

exaggerating mouth movements.
• Say the person's name before beginning a conversation.

• Avoid talking too rapidly or using sentences that are too complex.

• Keep your hands away from your face while talking.

• Know where to position yourself.

• Try to minimize extraneous noise when talking.

Communicating with deaf people (cont.)
• Avoid situations where there will be loud sounds when possible.

• Try to find a different way of saying the same thing.

• Acquaint the listener with the general topic of the conversation.

• Provide pertinent information in writing.

• Recognize that everyone, especially the hard-of-hearing, has a harder

time hearing and understanding when ill or tired.
• Pay attention to the listener.

• Take turns speaking.

Don’ts
• Don’t grab or poke when you walk up behind a
Deaf person.
• Never throw objects at a Deaf person to get his or
her attention.
• Chewing gum is a no-no in Sign.

• When you see two people are Signing secretly,

don’t stare.
• Never initiate a conversation about a Deaf
person’s hearing loss.
One-word questions in ASL
Essential expressions in ASL