Enhancing Communication for Students Who Are Hard of Hearing

Although students who are hard of hearing can understand speech through a combination of hearing aids and lip-reading techniques, they face many obstacles in a typical education classroom. If a teacher is lecturing quickly and using a quiet and unclear voice, students who are hard of hearing often have trouble following what is being discussed. Poor acoustics in the classroom, such as noisy heating/cooling systems decrease hearing aid effectiveness. When a teacher turns his/her back, these students will have a difficult time lip-reading or hearing what is being taught. Social interactions between teachers and peers are also diminished for students who are hard of hearing. Many times, the inability to communicate successfully causes feelings of isolation and frustration for these students.

Hearing assistive technology helps students communicate effectively in the classroom. Assistive listening devices (ALDs) can catch the sounds of a teacher's voice and amplify it. They also diminish background noise and poor room acoustics. Specific examples of ALDs include FM systems and soundfield amplification systems. With a FM system, the teacher wears a microphone and the student either wears headphones or has a connection set up to their hearing aids. When the teacher speaks, his/her voice is broadcasted to the FM receiver worn by the student and amplified through the headphones or hearing aid. The soundfield amplification system broadcasts the teacher's voice through loud speakers in the classroom. These loud speakers can be mounted on the wall or ceiling of the classroom.







Resource: Dell, A., Newton, D., Petroff. (2012). Assistive technology in the classroom: Enhancing the school experiences of students with disabilities. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.