Download How is hearing loss described?

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How is hearing loss described?
Different terms are used by different people to describe the varying degrees of hearing loss.
Hearing impaired
The term hearing impaired is used to describe people with any degree of hearing loss.
Hard of hearing
Hard of hearing is used to describe those who have a hearing loss and communicate mostly orally.
Deaf
Deaf is a medical term that describes a significant hearing loss. Some people who are deaf view
themselves as a part of the Deaf community (and use a capital D to describe Deaf).
Hearing loss is often described as mild, moderate, severe or profound. Here’s what the terms
mean for a child’s hearing.
0–20dB: Range of normal hearing
Hearing thresholds in this range are “within normal limits.”
21–45dB: Mild hearing loss
Without hearing aids:
• The child might understand speech okay if the room is quiet and they are close to the person
speaking.
• They might not hear someone talking if they are more than a few metres away, even if it is quiet.
• They might have difficulty understanding speech in noisy places.
A young child with a mild loss might need hearing aids and early intervention to develop good
speech and language skills. Even if their language progress in early childhood is satisfactory
without aids, they might have difficulties once they start school. Classrooms and playgrounds are
often noisy and the teacher is usually speaking from a distance. They might need hearing aids
and/or remote microphone technology to hear well.
46–65dB: Moderate hearing loss
Without hearing aids:
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• A child with this loss will have a lot of difficulty understanding conversational speech, even in a
quiet room.
• They might not hear speech at all if someone is talking from more than a few metres away.
• They will have a lot of difficulty understanding speech in noisy places.
Early fitting of hearing aids, consistent aid use and early intervention will be crucial to good speech
and language development. Remote microphone technology will be important for school and very
helpful in many other situations where noise or distance make listening difficult.
66–90dB: Severe hearing loss
Without hearing aids:
• A child with this loss usually won’t hear normal conversation. Their speech and language skills
won’t develop without intensive help.
Early fitting of hearing aids, consistent aid use and early intervention help most children with severe
loss to develop good language skills and participate in regular schooling. Visual cues, such as lipreading, can help them to understand speech, especially in noisy places. Children who do not
progress well with hearing aids might need a cochlear implant. Remote microphone technology will
be very important for school and many other situations where noise or distance make listening
difficult.
91dB+: Profound hearing loss
Without hearing aids:
• A child with this loss won’t hear even loud speech. Their speech and language skills won’t
develop without intensive help.
Early fitting of hearing aids, consistent aid use and early intervention will be vitally important.
Hearing aids might not help enough for the child to develop speech and language. Many children
with profound hearing loss are offered early fitting with a cochlear implant. This can dramatically
improve the ability to hear and understand speech. Visual cues, such as lip-reading, will still apply
in difficult listening situations. Remote microphone technology will still be very important for school
and many other situations where noise or distance make listening difficult.
What about the percentage hearing loss?
Sometimes people give their hearing loss as a percentage, for example, “I have a 50 per cent loss
of hearing.” This might seem easy to understand, but it’s not the most accurate way to describe
hearing loss. A 100-decibel (100dB) hearing loss is considerable, but it certainly doesn’t mean 100
per cent loss or total deafness. Percentages are only used for the purpose of compensation for
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hearing lost in a noisy workplace or in an accident.
Types of hearing loss
Hearing loss is categorised into three different types:
1. Conductive
This is caused by blockage or damage to the outer and/or middle ear (eg, a middle ear infection). It
can often be helped by medical or surgical treatment.
2. Sensorineural
This results from damage to, or malfunction of, the cochlea (the hearing organ) or the hearing
nerve. This type of hearing loss is permanent and hearing devices are often recommended. About
10 per cent of children with sensorineural hearing loss have auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder
(ANSD), which disrupts the transmission of sound from the cochlea along the hearing nerve.
3. Mixed
This is a hearing loss where there is a problem both in the conductive pathway (outer and middle
ear) and the nerve pathway (inner ear). Despite the type or degree of hearing loss that the hearing
test shows, each hearing loss is unique, so your audiologist will help guide you towards the
appropriate treatment.
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