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Sensori

A SENSORI-NEURAL HEARING LOSS results from damage to some part of the inner ear - the sensorineural pathway. This type of loss often produces a perception of sounds that are distorted due to differing responses to differing frequencies. The absence or lack of clarity for consonants in speech will sound distorted for someone with a moderate loss for low frequencies increasing to a severe loss for high frequencies.

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38 views

Sensori

A SENSORI-NEURAL HEARING LOSS results from damage to some part of the inner ear - the sensorineural pathway. This type of loss often produces a perception of sounds that are distorted due to differing responses to differing frequencies. The absence or lack of clarity for consonants in speech will sound distorted for someone with a moderate loss for low frequencies increasing to a severe loss for high frequencies.

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ayomip
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© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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A SENSORI-NEURAL HEARING LOSS

WITH REFERENCE TO YOUR PUPIL: Dated / /

The hearing system is made up of two parts: Conductive and Sensori-neural.


‘Conductive’ describes all those parts of the ear, which collect and direct sound signals toward the inner
ear. At the inner ear sound vibrations are converted to electrical impulses for the brain to interpret. This is
the ‘Sensori -Neural Pathway’. The conductive section consists of the auricle (external ear) and auditory
canal, the tympanic membrane (eardrum) and the chain of ossicles (3 small bones) in the middle ear cavity.
The sensori-neural pathway consists of the cochlea, the auditory nerve, and the auditory areas of the
brain’s cortex. Problems with hearing may occur at any or any number of these stages.
Hearing-impairment may be described as mild, moderate, severe, or profound. The level of impairment is
determined by measuring the quietest sounds perceptible to the individual across the range of
frequencies required for speech comprehension. For example, the volume of the quietest perceptible
sound to someone with a ‘severe’ hearing loss might be equal to a shout near the ear for someone with
normal hearing!
A SENSORI-NEURAL HEARING LOSS results from damage to some part of the inner ear - the sensori-
neural pathway. The origin of this type of hearing loss can be:
♦ Genetic 25%
♦ Pre-natal e.g’s. include: viral attack on foetus, maternal illness 20%
♦ Peri -natal e.g. premature/difficult delivery 25%
♦ Acquired e.g. meningitis, physical trauma 5%
♦ Unknown causes 25%
As well as the reduced response to sound we normally think of as ‘deafness’, this kind of loss often
produces a perception of sounds that are distorted due to differing responses to differing frequencies. For
example, the consonants in speech are generally higher frequency sounds than the vowels. For someone
with a moderate loss for low frequencies increasing to a severe loss for high frequencies, all speech will
sound distorted. The absence or lack of clarity for consonants can easily cause confusion and difficulty in
understanding.
For example, could you understand this sentence if you only had the vowel sounds to read?
a-e ou a-e i ou o-e-o e?
( Have you handed in your homework yet? )

As our voices copy what we hear now read it aloud, phonetically, as the vowel sounds you might hear if
you had a hearing loss which denied you the high frequency consonant sounds:
a oo a - eh i or o - er eh?

Today, powerful hearing aids can be adjusted to amplify selected frequencies, but they cannot restore
damaged hearing.
LANGUAGE is our ‘program’ for communication. Our primary interest in a child born with a moderate,
severe or profound hearing-impairment concerns the development of language and speech. At school
entry the average child has a vocabulary of several thousand words, a sophisticated understanding of
language for many of its varied functions and the ability to select and order many of the words to express
themselves. This has depended, among other things on the normal input process i.e. efficient hearing.
The hearing-impaired child is often typified therefore by restricted vocabulary and confused or delayed
language usage. This can have marked implications for the development of fluent verbal language, with
additional problems in acquiring literacy and using literacy as a means to learn across the curriculum.
continued >>>
SPEECH is the articulated sound system of our language ‘program’. The speech of a hearing impaired
child will reflect, amongst other factors, his / her perception of others’ speech as influenced by the level and
type of hearing loss. With efficient hearing aids a child with a moderate loss might present little perceptible
speech difficulties. The speech of a child with a severe high frequency loss might by typified by indistinct
consonants. A profoundly deaf child’s speech might be difficult to understand due to its mostly vowel
sounding, nasal nature.
Hearing-impaired children are simply children who happen to have a hearing difficulty. There can be
generalizations as outlined above about the implications of the hearing-loss, but in all other respects they
are as different to each other as any other randomly selected group of children. As such they have the
same range of abilities, need for love, learning opportunities, care and discipline as hearing children.

CONSIDERATIONS IN SCHOOL

♦ Position: A hearing-aid wearer should be within 2 metres of the important sound source -usually the
teacher!

♦ Lip-reading: Used to a lesser or great degree by any individual to supplement residual hearing.

♦ Be visible; avoid talking to flip chart/black/ whiteboard. Gain attention before speaking.
Avoid over-mouthing - it destroys normal lip-patterns.

♦ Listening Conditions: Try to reduce background noise (babble and hardware) when speaking.
A hearing aid cannot filter noise from important information.

♦ Extra Clues: Written language is the only concrete form of language for the hearing-impaired. Key
concepts, key language, deadlines, tasks, dates, names, homework etc should all be written on white /
blackboard. Illustrate your language with pictures, objects, and diagrams.

♦ Finally: Avoid asking ‘Did you understand?’ Ask a direct question to assess understanding.

Please call me if you have any questions or concerns,

Sensory Support Teacher (Hearing)

Sensory Support Service


Elmfield House Greystoke Avenue Westbury-on-Trym Bristol BS10 6AY
©SensoriSAW99  (0117) 9038441 / 9038442 Fax (0117) 9038440
www.sensorysupportservice.org.uk

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