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Students with Hearing Impairment

Faculty Handbook for working with students who are deaf or hard of hearing.

A hearing impairment is a condition involving the entire range or spectrum of hearing loss. Deafness refers to a severe hearing loss and the person may use sign language, speech reading and other non-verbal means of communication. Hard of hearing refers to a less severe condition of hearing loss. The main mode of communication may be audio-verbal.

People who are Deaf most likely use sign language. As such they are members of a distinct linguistic society and are bi-lingual, with Auslan (ASL) as the first language and English as their second language. As with any cultural group it is necessary to be sensitive and attentive to cross cultural information in the classroom setting. However, it is not uncommon to encounter people who are hard of hearing using sign language or people who are deaf preferring oral communication.

Students with hearing loss are not easily identifiable. Unless they specifically tell people that they are deaf or hard of hearing their disability may go unnoticed. Each person's hearing loss and adjustment to that loss varies and each person must be accommodated differently.

Students with hearing impairments face significant obstacles in an academic setting due to the large amount of information being conveyed in an oral format. It is likely that a hearing-impaired student who has progressed to post-secondary instruction will have above-average intelligence to compensate for the significant disability. There are many ways that students with hearing impairments may have their needs accommodated in the classroom.

Instructional Strategies

  • Provide handouts, lecture notes, photocopies of overheads, power points, outlines ahead of time
  • Speak as clearly and distinctly as possible in the classroom; do not lecture with your back turned away from the class or pace as you speak
  • Try not to cover mouth while talking, and avoid talking as you are handing out papers
  • Do not exaggerate lip movements as you are speaking
  • If the student is accompanied by an interpreter, speak to the student, not the interpreter
  • If a class member asks a question, repeat the question before answering
  • Use captioned videos whenever possible
  • Use classroom boards or overheads as much as possible
  • Communicate assignments in writing to the student
  • Minimize auditory distractions in the classroom, i.e., overhead left running
  • Cooperate by wearing an FM sound transmitter, if requested

Exam Accommodation

  • Hearing-impaired students should not be penalized for grammar and spelling errors, as these are caused by their delay in English language acquisition. Students will need extended time for exams
  • Interpreter to clarify nature of questions

Classroom Accommodation

Students who are deaf or hearing-impaired may lip-read, rely on amplification devices and/or use sign language interpreters in the classroom. The communication system the student uses in the classroom must also be available for any other learning environment. Any accommodation agreed upon should continue in all leaming environments required during the course.

Good lighting is important for a number of reasons. In order to lip-read effectively, the light should fall on the speaker's face. If the student is watching a sign language interpreter, the light should also fall directly on the interpreter. During films a small light could be set up to shine on the interpreter, Films that are closed captioned are preferable.

Most people who are deaf or hard of hearing are not totally deaf. Some people use hearing aids to amplify sound. Background noise and other sounds can be very distracting for a hard of hearing person trying to listen in class. These sounds may not seem distracting to the average listener but when the hearing aid amplifies the sound to 100 decibels it can become painful and annoying. For those individuals with personal hearing aids, it is important to sit within ten feet of the speaker or else the microphone will not pick up the speech. Papers ruffling, drinking or eating while trying to speak and other kinds of distracting activity can reduce the student's understanding.

The most common amplification devices used with hearing aids assist the student to focus on the instructors voice and screen out other sound. Unfortunately, this also prevents the student from hearing questions or comments from the class. The teacher should repeat any question and answer it clearly.

FM systems are used extensively by students with a hearing impairment. The student wears a receiver that connects to his or her hearing aids while the instructor wears a transmitter. A miniature microphone is clipped to the instructor's clothing.

Some students may use sign language interpreters both to listen and to ask questions in class. In many cases, the interpreter lags slightly behind the speaker and any comment by the student is also a few minutes behind. It is important to give time for the student to catch up so that any question can be clarified before the topic has past.

Most students who are deaf or hard of hearing cannot take notes while they are lip reading or watching an interpreter. A note-taker and copies of notes and transparencies may be recommended.