Download UNILATERAL HEARING LOSS

UNILATERAL HEARING LOSS
A child may have hearing loss in only one ear. These losses are normally sensorineural,
but may be conductive or mixed. Unfortunately, many people feel that “one ear is good
enough”, so children with unilateral losses may not receive needed intervention.
Research has shown that one ear is not enough for many children. The brain needs to
receive information from both ears to best localize sound, and to sort speech out of
competing background noises. A child with a unilateral hearing loss is at a disadvantage
when someone is speaking on their “bad side”, especially if there is competing noise
around. Classrooms have a high level of ambient noise, making it difficult for the child
to hear the teacher’s voice, especially if the teacher is at a distance from the child. For
more information on unilateral hearing loss, it’s effect on a child, and tips for classroom
intervention, please see:
http://www.boystownhospital.org/hearingLoss/Pages/default.aspx
and http://www.theitinerantconnection.com/unilateral_hearing_loss.htm