Deaf and Hard of Hearing

When people mention Deaf some ideas pop into our minds about what the word means or how we associate with those who are deaf. Some may think of their grandma or grandpa who are getting old and can’t hear or a young kid born hard of hearing. I personally think of my dear aunt who was born partially deaf in one ear and fully deaf in the other.  No matter how you think of it, being deaf or hard of hearing makes a person unique and opens the door into a community of supporters.

              In my first year of teaching, I had a student that was hard of hearing in my classroom. This student had hearing aid in his ear that allowed him to hear at an elevated level that his ear’s natural ability. I was glad that no one picked on the student or singled them out because of hearing, and this student never let his hearing get in the way of his learning. This is a case of someone who is hard of hearing, losing a part of hearing, that I had experience teaching.

In my second year of teaching, I had the honor, yes I said honor, of teaching a girl who was fully deaf in one year and almost fully deaf in the other ear. She described to me her struggles as a person who was deaf. Some of the most common events were troublesome to her because she couldn’t hear. She often described how waking up in the morning she had an alarm that flashed and vibrated her mattress. The fire alarm in her house was a very very bright light that would flash to alert her of the imminent danger. Most importantly though, her biggest struggle growing up was learning in the classroom. Until her middle school years, she didn’t have cochlear implants,

surgically implanted hearing devices, to help her listen to the teacher through the FM system. She solely relied on lip reading and visual aids. She told me how this was a struggle because she would miss key information about a lesson if the teacher forgot to look at her while he/she was talking.

Deaf and hard of hearing students are very active students. As teachers we need to know how we can use various assistive technologies to aid in their learning, and how we can differentiate to accommodate their needs.

Citations:
Fecich, S. (2015, July 7). GCSE657. Graduate Class. Lecture conducted from , 2015, 7 July- 2015, 20 August.
http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/eyes/cochlear.html
 http://www.oticon.com/support/wireless-connectivity/amigo-fm/videos.aspx