The difference between students who are deaf and those that
are hard of hearing is the former has very little if any, functional
hearing. Hearing impaired students face
obstacles daily in the classroom like following lectures, background noise,
poor acoustics and poor voice quality. Even if student wears an aid he/she is
more sensitive to noise caused by heaters and air conditioners. Class discussions are also a problem as well
and watching a video.
Assistive technology for hearing impaired students aids in
success in the classroom. An assistive
learning device (ALD), reduces background noise and also amplifies the
teacher’s voice. The fire alarm that has
a flashing strobe light allows hearing impaired students to be aware of a fire.
An FM system has a small transmitter
worn by a teacher that has a direct connection to a student’s hearing aid. A
high quality listening environment is known to have an impact on academic
performance of students that are hard of hearing.
I have one student who is hard of hearing. She uses an FM system. The interesting thing is that she tried to avoid using it whenever possible. I think she may feel a little self-conscious about it. I would like to know some strategies to help her out.
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