Download The anatomy of the hearing process involves the external, middle

Instructor’s Resource Manual for Hardman et al, Human Exceptionality 8/e
Student Handout 15.1
The anatomy of the hearing process involves the
external, middle, and inner ear.
1. The outer ear consists of an auricle, or pinna, and an external
ear canal known as the meatus.
a) The auricle collects sound waves and funnels them into the
ear canal.
b) The eardrum, located between the external and middle ears,
vibrates freely when struck by sound waves.
2. The inner surface of the eardrum is located in the cavity of the
middle ear.
a) The three small bones (ossicular chain) of the inner surface
of the eardrum transmit the vibrations from the external ear
through the cavity of the middle ear to the inner ear.
b) The eustachian tube equalizes the air pressure on the eardrum
with that of the outside air by controlling the flow of air into the
middle-ear cavity.
3. The cochlea and the vestibular mechanism are the two major
structures of the inner ear.
a) Within the cochlea is a structure of highly specialized cells
that translate vibrations into nerve impulses that are sent directly
to the brain.
b) The vestibular mechanism integrates sensory input passing to
the brain and assists the body in maintaining equilibrium.
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Instructor’s Resource Manual for Hardman et al, Human Exceptionality 8/e
Student Handout 15.2
Teaching communication skills
Four common approaches are used to teach communication skills to
students with a hearing loss. No single method or collection of methods
can meet the individual needs of all children with a hearing loss.
The auditory approach emphasizes the use of amplified
sound aid and residual hearing to develop oral
communication skills.
The oral approach emphasizes the use of amplified sound
and residual hearing but also may employ lipreading, reading
and writing, motokinesthetic speech training (feeling an
individual’s face and reproducing breath and voice patterns),
and speechreading (understanding another’s speech by
watching lip movement and body and facial gestures).
The manual approach stresses the use of sign languages
(systematic and complex combination of hand movements
that communicate whole words and complete thoughts rather
than single letters of the alphabet), and sign systems (attempt
to create a visual equivalent of oral language through manual
gestures) in teaching children who are deaf to communicate.
The total communication philosophy holds that the
simultaneous presentation of signs and speech will enhance
each individual’s opportunity to understand and use both
systems more effectively.
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