Definition of Deaf and Hard of Hearing NICHCY Fact Sheet
Number 3 (FS3), January 2001
National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities
DEFINITION The Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA), formerly the Education of the Handicapped Act (P.L. 94-142),
includes "hearing impairment" and "deafness" as two of the categories under
which children with disabilities may be eligible for special education and related
service programming. While the term "hearing impairment" is often used generically
to describe a wide range of 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 educational performance." Deafness is defined as
"a hearing impairment that is so severe that the child is impaired in processing
linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification." Thus, deafness may be viewed
as a condition that prevents an individual 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. INCIDENCE Hearing loss and deafness
affect individuals of all ages and may occur at any time from infancy through
old age. The U.S. Department of Education (2000) reports that, during the 1998-99
school year, 70,813 students aged 6 to 21 (or 1.3% of all students with disabilities)
received special education services under the category of “hearing impairment.”
However, the number of children with hearing loss and deafness is undoubtedly
higher, since many of these students may have other disabilities as well and
may be served under other categories. CHARACTERISTICS 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 supply it. These hearing losses can range from mild to profound.
They often affect the person's ability to hear certain frequencies more than
others. Thus, even with amplification to increase the sound level, a person
with a sensorineural hearing loss may perceive distorted sounds, sometimes making
the successful use of a hearing aid impossible. A mixed hearing loss refers
to a combination of conductive and sensorineural 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. EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS Hearing loss or deafness
does not affect a person's intellectual capacity or ability to learn. However,
children who are either hard of hearing or deaf generally require some form
of special education services in order to receive an adequate education. Such
services may include:
regular speech, language,
and auditory training from a specialist;
amplification systems;
services of an interpreter
for those students who use manual communication;
favorable seating in the
class to facilitate speechreading; captioned films/videos;
assistance of a notetaker,
who takes notes for the student with a hearing loss, so that the student can
fully attend to instruction;
instruction for the teacher
and peers in alternate communication methods, such as sign language; and counseling. 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 verbal
communication. For children who are deaf or have severe hearing losses, early,
consistent, and conscious use of visible communication modes (such as sign language,
fingerspelling, and Cued Speech) and/or 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. People with hearing loss
use oral or manual means of communication or a combination of the two. Oral
communication includes speech, speechreading and the use of residual hearing.
Manual communication involves signs and fingerspelling. Total Communication,
as a method of instruction, is a combination of the oral method plus signs and
fingerspelling. Individuals with hearing
loss, including those who are deaf, now have many helpful devices available
to them. Text telephones (known as TTs, TTYs, orTDDs) enable persons to type
phone messages over the telephone network. The Telecommunications Relay Service
(TRS), now required by law, makes it possible for TT users to communicate with
virtually anyone (and vice versa) via telephone. The National Institute on Deafness
and Other Communication Disorders Information Clearinghouse (telephone: 1-800-241-1044,
voice; 1-800-241-1055, TT) makes available lists of TRS numbers by state. RESOURCES Luterman, D.M. (1991).
When your child is deaf: A guide for parents. Parkton, MD: York Press.
(Telephone: 1-800-962-2763.)
Medwid, D.J., & Weston, D.C. (1995). Kid-friendly parenting with deaf and
hard of hearing children: A treasury of fun activities toward better behavior.
Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press. (Telephone: 1-800-621-2736; (888)
630-9347 (V/TTY). Web: http://gupress.gallaudet.edu)
Ogden, P.W. (1996). The silent garden: Raising your deaf child (Rev.
ed.). Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press. (See telephone above.)
Schwartz, S. (Ed.). (1996). Choices in deafness: A parents' guide to communication
options (2nd ed.). Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House. (Telephone: 1-800-843-7323.)
Tucker, B.P. (1997). IDEA advocacy for children who are deaf or hard of hearing:
A question and answer book for parents and professionals. San Diego, CA:
Singular. (Telephone: 1-800-521-8545.)
Shhh Journal. Published
bimonthly by Self Help for Hard of Hearing People (SHHH). See "Organizations"
for SHHH's address and telephone number.
FS3, January 2001 This document is made possible
through Cooperative Agreement #H326N980002 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 or trade names,
commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
This information is in the
public domain unless otherwise indicated. Readers are encouraged to copy and
share it, but please credit the National Information Center for Children and
Youth with Disabilities. Your comments and suggestions for briefing papers are
welcomed. Please share your ideas and feedback by writing the Editor.
NICHCY Fact Sheet Number
3 (FS3), January 2001
National Information Center
for Children and Youth with Disabilities
P.O. Box 1492
Washington, DC 20013
1-800-695-0285
E-mail: nichcy@aed.org
Web site: http://www.nichcy.org/ | 
