Types of Hearing Loss

Loss of hearing may be:

• mild
• moderate
• severe
• profound

There are two main types of hearing loss:

• Conductive hearing loss: sound is prevented from travelling through the outer and/or middle ear through to the inner ear
• Sensorineural hearing loss: the inner ear or auditory nerve has suffered damage so that messages cannot be passed on to the brain

Characteristics

There are a number of characteristics associated with hearing loss. These may include:

• difficulty hearing conversation within a group of people (e.g. at meetings or social gatherings)
• difficulty hearing high-pitched sounds (e.g. the telephone ringing)
• difficulty hearing others over the telephone
• frequent misunderstandings
• frequent requests for repetitions of words or phrases
• difficulty hearing in public places where sounds sources are at a distance away from the listener (e.g. at church)
• children with hearing loss may omit certain sounds in speech, or may have difficulty understanding what is said to them

Causes

There may be a number of causes of hearing loss in individuals. Common causes may include:

• exposure to loud noise
• family history
• middle ear infections ("glue ear")
• the natural ageing process
• illness or birth defects

Role of the Speech-Language Therapist

The degree to which a Speech-Language Therapist may be involved in cases of hearing loss varies. However, their role may include one or some of the following:

• administering an initial hearing screening
• referring to an Audiologist for a comprehensive hearing assessment
• provision of communication strategies for individuals with hearing loss
• provision of strategies for coping with background noise, lighting, and distance
• assisting with treatment of children with Auditory Processing Disorder (APD)
• provision of information about prevention of hearing related communication and language disorders

What you can do

If you know someone who has a hearing loss, try using the following strategies in assisting them in their communication:

• look directly at the person when speaking
• speak clearly and not too quickly in a normal tone of voice
• do not shout
• do not exaggerate your lip movements
• reduce background noise and visual distractions
• reduce the distance between you and the person with a hearing loss
• ensure their is sufficient lighting to support lip-reading (where appropriate)
• if the person does not understand, reword your sentence, rather than repeat it
• be patient when misunderstandings occur

More Information

For more information about hearing loss, or for contacting a Speech-Language Therapist, try getting in touch with one of the following:

• local Audiologist
• local doctor
• the Yellow Pages
• Massey University Speech-Language Therapy Clinic: (09) 414 0800 ext 41290 / 41277
• the University of Auckland Speech-Language Therapy Clinics: (09) 303 5979
• the University of Canterbury Speech and Hearing Clinic: (03) 364 2408
• the NZSTA Private Practice Register

Other sources of information may be:

• the New Zealand Audiological Society (NZAS)

mail@audiology.org.nz

0800 625 166 (Free phone in NZ only)

http://www.audiology.org.nz/

• National Foundation for the Deaf

enquiries@nfd.org.nz

0800 867 446 (Free phone in NZ only)

http://www.nfd.org.nz