Hearing Impairment

MIT-WPU
School Of Education
Course-School of Inclusive Education
Topic- Hearing Impairment
Prepared by-
Bharati Saikrupa
PhD Student
OBJECTIVES
After completing this unit learners will be able to :
1.Understand the meaning of the term 'hearing impairment'
2.Learn about the nature and characteristics of sound
3.Familiarise themselves with the structure and functions of the
various parts of the ear
4.Become aware of the various types of hearing impairment
5.Appreciate the importance of early detection of hearing impairment
6.Identify the common causes of hearing impairment
7.Analyze ways of preventing hearing impairment.
how infants pick up
language?
How did we learn to
speak?
WHAT IS HEARING IMPAIRMENT ?
The word 'impaired' means damaged, defective, faulty, or flawed.
Hearing impairment is a silent feature, and only the behaviour of the

individual tells us that he may have hearing loss.
In hearing impaired individuals, the hearing mechanism does not

function as it normally should; there is some degree of deficit in the
function. Hearing impairment, thus, is the inability of an individual
to hear sounds adequately.
Then what is 'Hearing loss', 'Hearing
handicap:, and 'Deafness' ?
➢ Any decrease in the sensitivity to sounds is referred to as
'hearing loss'. It need not be severe or total loss of hearing.
➢ The term hearing loss is used when we are making specific
reference to the intensity or extent of a person's inability to hear
properly .
➢ Hearing loss is the quantification of the deficit. It tells us how
much a person is able to hear, and how much he is not able to
hear.
➢ 'Deaf' is used for a person whose hearing loss is very acute.
➢ A 'hard of hearing' person is one who is able to hear some
sounds.
➢ Deafness indicates that the individual has profound congenital
irreversible hearing loss.
➢ The term 'hearing handicap' refers to the effect of hearing

impairment on the person's day-to-day life.
➢ Hearing impairment often turns into a handicap, negatively
affecting a person's development and functioning in day-to-day
life
Definitions of Hearing Impairment
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA),
defines,
Hearing impairment is defined 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.”
The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities. Protection of
Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, defines
Hearing impairment" means loss of sixty decibels or more in better

ear in the conventional range of frequencies.
Hearing impairment is a condition resulting from a structural

abnormality (such as a hole in the eardrum) that may or may not
produce a functional disability (such as diminished hearing).
What is SOUND ?
Sound is produced when an object or a surface vibrates, that is,
rapidly moves back and forth.
The to and fro or back and forth motion of an object is termed as vibration.
The motion of objects causes vibrations.
The sound vibrations travel through the air and reach your ears, and
that is how you are able to hear the sound.
The vibrations produced are like waves .
Sound travels in waves in all directions, like ripples in a pond.

Characteristics of Sound
1.Intensity or Loudness:
The intensity (or loudness) of sound depends mainly upon the

amplitude, that is the size of vibrations produced, and the distance of
the source of sound.
The loudness of sound depends upon how close you are to the source
of sound, because,, the intensity of sound waves decreases and they
become feeble as they travel.
Loudness is measured in deciBels (dB).
2.Frequency or Pitch:
The number of vibrations per second is called the frequency of sound

and is measured in Hertz (Hz).
A dog bark is around 500 Hz.
A truck engine makes a sound in the range of 100 Hz to 300 Hz.
The frequency of a telephone ring is in the range of 2000 Hz to 3000
Hz.
Human speech is in the range of 100 Hz to 6000 Hz.
Most of the speech frequencies fall within the range of 500 Hz to
4000 Hz
Human beings can only hear sounds in the frequency range of 20 Hz
to 20,000 Hz.
Types of Hearing Impairment

Hearing Impairment

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MIT-WPU

Hearing impairment is a silent feature, and only the behaviour of the

In hearing impaired individuals, the hearing mechanism does not

➢ The term 'hearing handicap' refers to the effect of hearing

Hearing impairment is defined as an “impairment in hearing,

Hearing impairment" means loss of sixty decibels or more in better

Hearing impairment is a condition resulting from a structural

Sound travels in waves in all directions, like ripples in a pond.

The intensity (or loudness) of sound depends mainly upon the

The number of vibrations per second is called the frequency of sound

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