Anatomy of the Ear and Types of
Hearing Loss
 The Outer Ear
Pinna-Catches the
sound waves and sends
them to the ear canal
Ear Canal- Sends the
sound waves through to the
ear drum
Ear Drum- Vibrates and
sends the sound waves to
the Middle Ear
Middle Ear Parts
The Three Middle Ear Bones
The Malleus- The Malleus gets the
vibration from the Ear Drum and
sends it to the Incus.
Hammer
Stirrup
The Incus-Gets the vibration from
the Malleus and sends it to the
Stapes.
The Stapes-gets the vibration
from the Incus and sends it to
the Cochlea
Anvil
The Inner Ear
The Nerve Endings-Are inside
the cochlea and are like piano
keys because each one makes
different sound. They bend when
they are touched by the vibration
wave.
The Hearing Nerve-Receives
message from the Nerve endings
and sends them to the brain.
Semi-Circular Canals-Aren’t for
hearing. They are like a leveling
tool. They sit on the cochlea and
help make you not feel dizzy
The Cochlea-A liquid filled
space that receives vibration
from the stirrup when it pushes
on it
Types of Hearing Loss
 Conductive

Caused by injury, obstruction, or disease of the outer or middle ear that
prevents the ear from conducting sound.
 Fluid in the middle ear, wax build-up, absence or malformation of the
outer ear, ear infections
 The loss CAN be medically or surgically corrected
 Sensorineural
Damage to the sensory hair cells of the inner ear or the auditory nerve
that leads to the brain
 Effects the way one hears clearly and how one understands speech
correctly
 The loss is permanent and CANNOT be corrected

 Mixed

A combination of conductive and sensorineural losses
 Part of the damage is in the outer ear or middle ear and the other part
is in the inner ear.
 MILD (26 to 40 dB)
 Difficulty understanding faint or distant speech
 May need work to develop vocabulary
 Favorable seating and lighting in classroom
 MODERATE (41-55 dB)
 Understands speaker face to face or a short distance
 May miss as much as 50% of class discussion
 May need vocabulary development, speech therapy, or special class
placement in primary grades
 MODERATELY SEVERE (56-70 dB)
 Conversation must be loud to be heard
 Will need a hearing aid and training with its use
 Is likely to have problems pronouncing sounds, have language
delays, and limited vocabulary
 Will need extra help in Language Arts, speech therapy
 SEVERE (71-90 dB)
 May hear loud voices or sounds very close to ear
 Speech and language development are delayed.
 Will need extra help with language skills, concept
development, speech, intensive communication building
skills should be taught
 May be a candidate for cochlear implant(s)
FM Units
 What is an FM?
 Frequency-Modulated system that allows a D/HH
student hear over a distance and sends the speaker’s
voice directly to the hearing aid or cochlear implant
*Without an FM, the speaker’s voice can be difficult to
understand when paired with everyday background
noise (heaters, buzzing lights, pencil sharpeners, etc.)
Impacts of Hearing Loss
 Language delayed
 Spoken language
Not uncommon for students to speak with nasal or atonal quality
 Academic performance
 Vocabulary development delays
 Reading and writing difficulty
 Difficulty in comprehension across academic subjects
 Idioms and familiar English phrases interpreted literally
 Written and oral language will reflect the way he/she hears
-Word endings –s,-ed, -ing
 Depends on age child was diagnosed with a hearing loss.
 Many deaf children are not “vanilla deaf”
 Limited phonemic awareness
 What does the student hear during everyday conversation? Look at the Speech Banana.


Example: The fox saw two hens. Even with a mild loss, the student misses most of those sounds. /e ok aw oo
en/
 Imagine reading and pronouncing these sounds that D/HH students so rarely hear.
Ways Teachers Can Help!
 Use visual aids whenever possible
 Provide a note-taker or hand-out of notes
 Eliminate or reduce extraneous noise
 Appropriate use of equipment
 Do not speak with back faced to class
 Write announcements and assignments on board
 Avoid chewing gum while lecturing
More Ideas
 Use overhead instead of the board
 Allow for breaks
 Reduce the distance from you to student
 Advantageous seating for student
 Point out who is speaking in class discussions
 Always use captioned films/videos
 Lecture from the front of the room, avoid pacing
And Some More Strategies
 Have key vocabulary accessible visually
 Educate the class about hearing loss
 Face the student when speaking
 Repeat questions and comments other students
make
 Do not stand or sit in front of a bright window
 Flicker lights to get classroom attention
 Speak directly to the student, not the interpreter
Here Is Your Students Audiogram
Here is Your Student’s FM Unit
Thank You!