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Unilateral Hearing Loss
Selected
Resources
www.MNHandsandVoices.org |
“Unilateral hearing
loss” refers to a hearing loss that is in one ear only. It is estimated that
approximately 2 in every 1000 babies are born with a unilateral loss.
What
are the Consequences?
Some children with
unilateral hearing loss do well at home and school with no intervention.
Generally, however, research indicates that children with a unilateral loss
typically have problems in one or more of the these
areas:
·
locating the
source of sounds;
·
understanding speech
when there is background noise;
·
maintaining
attention and following instructions and discussions in the classroom;
·
completing schoolwork, especially in language based subjects such as
reading, writing and spelling (Heald et al, 1987).
Research also
suggests that children with unilateral hearing losses are at a higher risk for
grade failure. Specifically, “two recent clinical reports suggest that at least
25% of these youngsters repeat one or more grades, especially if the loss is
severe-profound and/or is in the right ear (Bess, et al,1986;
Oyler, Oyler & Matkin, 1986).”
What
are Some Issues That Need to be Addressed at School?
One problem for children is that
unilateral losses “are often undetected in the schools” and the students suffer
the consequences when the issue is not addressed (Mauk,
Barringer and Mauk, 1995).
Researchers note that:
Because the child hears well in one ear, she usually has
good speech and an adequate vocabulary, but many times subtle language problems
exist. In addition, the child is often accused of “hearing what she wants to
hear” when, in fact, she hears those things directed at her “good” ear and
misses those things directed at her bad ear” (Easterbrooks
and Baker, 2002).
What Can Be Done to
Assist Children with Unilateral Loss?
There are many ways families, schools,
and professionals can assist children in getting the information they need. For
example, parents can develop strategies that maximize communication (e.g., by
“favoring the child’s “good” ear but anticipating problems if speaking at a
distance since noise may interfere with comprehension”). Schools can take many
steps to enhance learning for children with unilateral loss, such as using
amplification systems to “amplify the teacher’s voice and minimize
comprehension problems” (see these and many other strategies from the resources
listed below, such as the “Guidelines for Management of School-Age Children
with Unilateral Hearing Loss.”).
MN Hands and Voices
can direct parents to many resources on this topic and related topics, as
listed below, including resources in our library. For a complete list of our
library materials, please visit www.MNHandsandVoices.org
We also encourage you to call or write us if you have
additional questions or comments about unilateral hearing loss.
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Books |
1.
Our Forgotten Children: Hard of Hearing Pupils in the School
by Julia M. Davis, 2001. Key topics include “definitions,
early intervention, medical aspects of hearing loss, classroom acoustics, the
latest technology in hearing assistance and cochlear implants, federal
regulations” and more. (Currently on order, May 2003)
2.
Learning Language in Children who are Deaf and
Hard of Hearing by
S. Easterbrooks and Sharon Baker, 2002. There is only
one paragraph in this book specifically devoted to unilateral loss (see page
89), but it does a good job of summing up the implications of unilateral loss
on a child’s educational experience.
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Articles and
Other Resources on the Web |
1.
For links to
several articles, go
to: http://deafnes.about.com/library/weekly/aao060500.htm
(or just go to http://deafness.about.com/library
and search for “unilateral). This will bring you to links for:
·
“Guidelines - This page
lists guidelines for managing unilateral hearing loss in children. The emphasis
is on protecting and maximizing use of the "good ear" by Heald et al., 1987)
·
Unilateral Hearing Loss in
the Classroom - This article reproduced from Hearing Health magazine
focuses on the difficulties associated with unilateral hearing loss.
·
Unilateral/Asymmetric
Hearing Loss - This page neatly summarizes the basic background and
localization problems with unilateral hearing loss.”
2. www.boystownhospital.org/parents/info/unilateral.asp has a fact sheet called “information on
Hearing Loss: Unilateral Hearing Loss.”
3.
www.callier.utdallas.edu/txctc12.html has the
article “Effects of Hearing Loss in One Ear.”
4.
www.handsandvoices.org. Search for “unilateral hearing loss” to find
“Unilateral Hearing Loss: Tips for Parents” under the heading Early
Intervention and “Aid or Not Aid: Children with Unilateral Hearing Loss ” is in the Technology Section.
5. www.sesa This
website offer information on meeting the needs of students who are hard of
hearing. This article could be a point
of interest “Understanding the Needs of Hard of Hearing Students in a
Mainstream Setting.”
6. www.asha.org. When going to this site
type in Unilateral Hearing Loss and many articles will come up on this
subject. One article of interest is
Management Guidelines for Children with Unilateral Hearing Loss.
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This is not a complete list of resources
available. If you do not find
something of interest listed here, we encourage you to contact MN Hands &
Voices for further information and The resources
listed here have been selected by the staff of MN Hands & Voices but are
not affiliated with us in any way, please review carefully as we can not be
responsible for their contents or claims.
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