Parent Resources
Getting Started	Welcome Parents
Why your child needs assessments?	Parent Testimony about Assessment
Unilateral Hearing Loss	F.A.M.I.L.Y Assessment
Terms and Definitions	An Open Letter to Parents

Your Child Has A Unilateral Hearing Loss

Some Tips for Parents

Infants with unilateral hearing loss are being identified within the first few months of life, subsequent to having a newborn hearing-screening test before hospital discharge. Approximately 2 babies in every 1000 births have a unilateral hearing loss. There are many strategies parents can use to enhance their child's listening skills. And, there are specific changes that can be made to the home environment to make listening easier for your child. Each family can work with their Colorado Hearing Resource (CO-Hear) Coordinator, audiologist, and/or facilitator with the Colorado Home Intervention Program to select specific activities for your child.

Parents ask, "Why does a unilateral hearing loss make it more difficult for my child to hear?"

• Hearing in noise: The important sound, often the speech of the caregiver, is harder to hear and is not as clear for a child with a unilateral hearing loss.

• Finding or localizing a sound: For most children, it is difficult to find a sound when you do not hear the exact same way in each ear.

• Language development: Children say what they hear. If a child does not hear speech clearly, it may be more difficult for the child to develop clear speech.

• Attending to auditory information: Soft voices and voices that are far away may be more difficult for a child to understand.

Parents ask, "What strategies can I use at home to make listening easier for my child?"

• Move away from noises when you want your child to listen to you

• Position your baby so that the ear with normal hearing is directed toward the sound you want the child to hear. When you're feeding your baby make sure the ear with best hearing is exposed to sound.

• When you want your child to hear you, notice if there are other sounds around you … Try to make the environment quieter so that your child will hear you better.

• When you are talking to your baby, minimize the distance between you and your baby. Come even closer when you are in a noisy environment

Parents ask, "How can I speak to my baby to make my words clearer?"

• Make your speech a little louder by getting a little closer to your baby

• Provide visual cues when you speak or make a sound by letting your baby see your lips, be sure there is good lighting, and add gestures

• Get your child's attention and then start to talk

• Provide occasional pauses in what you say to allow more time for your baby to understand the message

• Place additional emphasis on key words in a phrase

Parents want to know, "Will a hearing aid or amplification help my child?"

• Some audiologists are fitting a hearing aid on the ear with a hearing loss. This is done more regularly when there is a mild, moderate, moderate-severe or severe hearing loss. Ask your audiologist if a hearing aid will help your baby.

• When your baby is a little older, there are many assistive listening devices that may help him. (For example, there are sound field amplification systems in the schools and Walkman-style amplifiers to help a child hear better.)

Parents, you can carefully observe your child and look for any warning signs that indicate the hearing loss is affecting your child's development. Consider these tips

1. If your child has an ear infection, go to your doctor right away. An ear infection may make it harder for your child to hear in his good ear.

2. Have your baby's hearing tested on a regular basis, as recommended by your health care provider and your audiologist

3. Have a comprehensive assessment every 6 months to check your baby's development in these areas: speech, communication, language, functional hearing

4. Obtain help from an early interventionist who can teach your family specific techniques to help your baby hear

5. Learn some strategies that help your child to develop good listening skills from your early interventionist. This is called auditory training.

Parents are part of a team and the team can check to see if there is an impact on speech and language learning from the unilateral hearing loss. Your partners are your health care provider, your audiologist, and an early interventionist who is familiar with hearing loss and audit6ry skill development

Click here for more on unilateral hearing loss

References

Bardon, J.I. (1986). Unilateral sensorineural hearing loss: From the inside out a Patient's perspective. SHHH Journal (September - October).

Bess, F.H. & Tharpe, M. (1984). Unilateral hearing impairment in children. Pediatrics, (74:2). pp.206-216.

Brackett, D., Maxon, a.B., Blackwell, P.M. (1993). Intervention issues created by successful universal newborn hearing screening. Seminars in Hearing (14:1). pp.88 - 104.

Byrd, K. & McCollister, F.P. (1997). Language skills of students with unilateral hearing loss. Paper presented at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention. Boston, MA.

Dodd-Murphy, J. & Fischer, R. (2000). Working with children with minimal hearing loss: Two perspectives. Paper presented at the American Academy of Audiology, Chicago, IL.

Matkin, N. (May, 1998). Presentation at Colorado EAA, Denver, CO

Oyler, F.R., Oyler, AL. & Matkin, N.D. (1987). Warning: A unilateral hearing loss may be detrimental to a child's academic career. The Hearing Journal. September. pp 18-22.

Center for Hearing Loss in Children: Professional Information Series. Boys Town Research and Training Center. Funded by the national Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Website 5/30/96.

Van Kirk, J.L. & Matkin, N.D. (1995). University of Arizona. Handout