Having unilateral hearing loss (UHL) as a child can be quite challenging. Especially in a classroom where UHL students might be grouped together with the students who have normal hearing. Unilateral hearing loss is used to indicate ALL children who have hearing loss in one ear, and specifically for those with any residual hearing. Even though they don't have normal hearing, they aren't completely deaf and may be grouped with kids who hear and communicate normally. In the classroom, this can impact how well they receive information and how they are able to communicate with the teachers and other students. In this blog, we will discuss how UHL affects children’s language development and some potential solutions! 

Impact of UHL on Language and School Performance 

Below we will discuss some statistics comparing UHL students with normal hearing students so we can see how it impacts learning and development in the classroom. Why are these numbers important? It can...

Since the pandemic began, we have been having more and more important conversations about mental health, especially around our children. You may wonder how hearing loss impacts mental health.  As of 2019, about 20% of the world’s population has some form of hearing loss. A little over 15% of those people are kids.

What is anxiety?

The American Psychological Association defines anxiety as an emotion that is characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes. It is also considered a persistent heightened state of alert. Sometimes this can be a normal reaction to stressful situations and sometimes spirals into a disorder in itself.

What does it look like?

Anxiety can trigger physical symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, muscle aches, insomnia, and trouble concentrating, which may impact students’ quality of life and ability to perform and participate in school activities.

Hearing loss and anxiety

Language deprivation is a...

I recently spoke to teachers and family members in New York about meeting the social needs of Deaf and Hard of Hearing students.  This is a topic that I am passionate about and one that is a special challenge - especially for students who are mainstreamed.

I'm passionate about this topic because of the statistics of mental health for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals.  Let's take a look at them:

Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing:

*  Are 1.5 times more likely to feel left out  

*  Have a 25% higher incidence of loneliness  

*  Are 1.46 times more likely to experience mental problems  

*  Are 28% more likely to find overall mental health fair or poor

Why are students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing more likely to experience these feelings of isolation?

Lack of access to people and missing what's going on around you can create feelings of isolation.  For many students who are deaf or...