D eafness

& Hearing L oss

✧ Definit
efinit ion ✧
inition ✧ Incidence ✧
The Individuals with Disabilities Hearing loss and deafness affect
Disability Fact Sheet—No. 3

Education Act (IDEA), formerly the individuals of all ages and may occur at
Education of the Handicapped Act any time from infancy through old age.
(P.L. 94-142), includes “hearing The U.S. Department of Education
impairment” and “deafness” as two of (2002) reports that during the 2000-
the categories under which children 2001 school year, 70,767 students aged
with disabilities may be eligible for 6 to 21 (or 1.3% of all students with
special education and related services disabilities) received special education
programming. While the term services under the category of “hearing
“hearing impairment” is often used impairment.” However, the number of
generically to describe a wide range of children with hearing loss and deaf-
hearing losses, including deafness, the
regulations for IDEA define hearing
loss and deafness separately.

Hearing impairment is defined by

IDEA as “an impairment in hearing,
whether permanent or fluctuating,
that adversely affects a child’s is the
educational performance.” National Dissemination Center
for Children with Disabilities.
Deafness is defined as “a hearing
impairment that is so severe that the
child is impaired in processing linguis- NICHCY
P.O. Box 1492
tic information through hearing, with Washington, DC 20013
NICHCY

or without amplification.” 1.800.695.0285 (Voice / TTY)

202.884.8200 (Voice / TTY)
Thus, deafness may be viewed as a nichcy@aed.org
condition that prevents an individual www.nichcy.org
from receiving sound in all or most of
its forms. In contrast, a child with a
hearing loss can generally respond to
auditory stimuli, including speech.

Disabi lit
lityy F
Disabilit act S
Fact heet, N
Sheet, o. 3
No.
January 2004
 ness is undoubtedly higher, since many of these students may
have other disabilities as well and may be served under other
categories.

✧ Char acterist
Characterist ics ✧
acteristics
It is useful to know that sound is measured by its
loudness or intensity (measured in units called
decibels, dB) and its frequency or pitch (measured in
units called hertz, Hz). Impairments in hearing can
occur in either or both areas, and may exist in only
one ear or in both ears. Hearing loss is generally
described as slight, mild, moderate, severe, or
profound, depending upon how well a person can
hear the intensities or frequencies most greatly
associated with speech. Generally, only children whose
hearing loss is greater than 90 decibels (dB) are considered
deaf for the purposes of educational placement.

There are four types of hearing loss. Conductive hearing losses

are caused by diseases or obstructions in the outer or middle ear
(the conduction pathways for sound to reach the inner ear).
Conductive hearing losses usually affect all frequencies of hearing
evenly and do not result in severe losses. A person with a
conductive hearing loss usually is able to use a hearing aid well or
can be helped medically or surgically.

Sensorineural hearing losses result from damage to the

delicate sensory hair cells of the inner ear or the nerves which
D on’t B
Bee Shy!
Shy! supply it. These hearing losses can range from mild to
All of our publications and profound. They often affect the person’s ability to
resource lists are online— hear certain frequencies more than others. Thus,
help yourself! Visit us at: even with amplification to increase the sound
www.nichcy.org level, a person with a sensorineural hearing
If you’d like personalized loss may perceive distorted sounds,
assistance, email or call sometimes making the successful use of a
us: hearing aid impossible.
nichcy@aed.org
A mixed hearing loss refers to a
1.800.695.0285
combination of conductive and senso-
(V/TTY)
rineural loss and means that a problem
occurs in both the outer or middle and the
inner ear. A central hearing loss results from
damage or impairment to the nerves or nuclei of the
central nervous system, either in the pathways to the brain or in
the brain itself.
NICHCY: 1.800.695.0285 2 Fact Sheet on Deafness (FS3)
 ✧ Educational IImplicat
ducational mplications ✧
mplications
Hearing loss or deafness does not affect a person’s intellectual Ot her H
Other elpf
Helpf ul
elpful
capacity or ability to learn. However, children who are either hard of Things to K now
Know
hearing or deaf generally require some form of special education
services in order to receive an adequate education. Such services may These NICHCY
include: publications talk about
topics important to
• regular speech, language, and auditory training from a specialist; parents of a child with a
disability.
• amplification systems;
Parenting a Child
with Special Needs
• services of an interpreter for those students who use sign
language; Your Child’s
Evaluation
• favorable seating in the class to facilitate lip reading; Parent to Parent Support

• captioned films/videos; Questions Often Asked

by Parents About Special
• assistance of a notetaker, who takes notes for the student with a Education Services
hearing loss, so that the student can fully attend to instruction; Developing Your Child’s
IEP
• instruction for the teacher and peers in alternate communication
All are available in
methods, such as sign language; and English and in Spanish—
on our Web site or by
• counseling. contacting us.
Children who are hard of hearing will find it much
more difficult than children who have normal hearing
to learn vocabulary, grammar, word order,
idiomatic expressions, and other aspects of Hearing loss or
verbal communication. For children who are deafness does not
deaf or have severe hearing losses, early,
consistent, and conscious use of visible
affect a person’s
communication modes (such as sign language, intellectual capacity
fingerspelling, and Cued Speech) and/or or ability to learn.
amplification and aural/oral training can help
reduce this language delay. By age four or five, most
children who are deaf are enrolled in school on a full-
day basis and do special work on communication and
language development. It is important for teachers and audiologists to
work together to teach the child to use his or her residual hearing to
the maximum extent possible, even if the preferred means of
communication is manual. Since the great majority of deaf children
(over 90%) are born to hearing parents, programs should provide
instruction for parents on implications of deafness within the family.

NICHCY: 1.800.695.0285 3 Fact Sheet on Deafness (FS3)

 People with hearing loss use oral or manual means of ✧ Organizat ions ✧
Organizations
communication or a combination of the two. Oral comm-
unication includes speech, lip reading, and the use of Alexander Graham Bell Association
for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
residual hearing. Manual communication involves signs and
3417 Volta Place, NW, Washington, DC 20007
fingerspelling. Total Communication, as a method of 202.337.5220; 202.337.5221 (TTY)
instruction, is a combination of the oral method plus info@agbell.org
www.agbell.org
signing and fingerspelling.
American Society for Deaf Children
Individuals with hearing loss, including those who are
P.O. Box 3355, Gettysburg, PA 17325
deaf, now have many helpful devices available to them. Text 717.334.7922 (V/TTY); 800.942.2732 (V/TTY)
telephones (known as TTs, TTYs, or TDDs) enable persons to ASDC1@aol.com
www.deafchildren.org
type phone messages over the telephone network. The
Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) makes it possible for American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
TT users to communicate with virtually anyone (and vice 10801 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852
301.897.5700 (V/TTY)
versa) via telephone. Dial 711 to access all TRSs anywhere in
800.638.8255 (V/TTY)
the United States. The relay service is free. www.asha.org

✧ Resources ✧ Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center

KDES PAS-6, Gallaudet University
800 Florida Avenue N.E.
Luterman, D.M. (2002). When your child is deaf: A guide for Washington, DC 20002-3695
parents (2nd ed.). Parkton, MD: York Press. (Phone: 202.651.5051 (V/TTY)
800.962.2763. Web: www.yorkpress.com/index.html) Clearinghouse.InfoToGo@gallaudet.edu
Medwid, D.J., & Weston, D.C. (1995). Kid-friendly parenting http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/InfoToGo
with deaf and hard of hearing children: A treasury of fun activities
toward better behavior. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University National Institute on Deafness and Other
Press. (Phone: 800.621.2736; 888.630.9347 (V/TTY). Communication Disorders Information
Web: http://gupress.gallaudet.edu) Clearinghouse
1 Communication Avenue
Ogden, P.W. (1996). The silent garden: Raising your deaf child Bethesda, MD 20892-3456
(Rev. ed.). Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press. 800.241.1044; 800.241.1055 (TTY)
(See contact information above.) nidcdinfo@nidcd.nih.gov
www.nidcd.nih.gov/
Schwartz, S. (Ed.). (1996). Choices in deafness: A parents’ guide
to communication options (2nd ed.). Bethesda, MD: Woodbine
Self Help for Hard of Hearing People (SHHH)
House. (Phone: 800.843.7323. Web: www.woodbinehouse.com)
7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 1200
So your child has a hearing loss: Next steps for parents (n.d.). Bethesda, MD 20814
(Available online at: www.agbell.org/information/ 301.657.2248; 301.657.2249 (TTY)
brochures_parent_so.cfm) info@hearingloss.org
www.hearingloss.org

FS3, January 2004

Publication of this document is made possible through Cooperative Agreement #H326N030003
between the Academy for Educational Development and the Office of Special Education Programs of the
U.S. Department of Education. The contents of this document do not necessarily reflect the views or policies
of the Department of Education, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations
imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

This publication is copyright free. Readers are encouraged to copy and share it, but please credit NICHCY.