Hearing loss in infants and young children may adversely affect the children’s language skills. Once the child begins to attend school, the hearing loss can cause new challenges. Hearing impairments in school aged children can affect the children’s ability to hear in a classroom, play with peers, and build a healthy self-image.
The classroom can be a noisy setting for a person with hearing loss. Even if school aged children with hearing loss sit in the front of the classroom, a classroom can have moderate to high levels of background noise. This can interfere with the effectiveness of the teacher’s instruction.
In addition to hearing aids, some hearing impairments in school aged children are treated with the use of other hearing devices. The teacher may wear or hold a small microphone that delivers sound directly to the child with hearing loss. This helps the child be able to focus on the voice of the teacher by amplifying the teacher’s voice and minimizing background noise.
The child may have a device that makes use of a directional microphone. The microphone is pointed towards the teacher or other speaker. This type of hearing device amplifies the sound that the microphone is pointed towards to a much higher degree than the other sounds in the room. Therefore, the background noise is minimized.
A child with hearing loss may not communicate well with other children. In some cases, the child may have learned through early experiences that the other children’s voices can’t be heard very easily. The child with hearing loss may be reluctant to be as social as other children are. This resistance to social interaction with peers can worsen if the child with hearing loss has been subjected to teasing or has had bad experiences with peers.
During the elementary years, a child begins to develop attitudes and opinions towards themselves based on how the child compares themselves with other children. This is called the self-image. A healthy self-image is the foundation for a healthy self esteem. During those formative years, differences are often viewed negatively.
A child with hearing loss may develop the self-image of being different or bad. Parents are encouraged to emphasize the child’s strengths and encourage the acceptance of individual differences. This may help the child accept others and themselves.
