School-Aged Children with Hearing Loss

How to Plan and Provide for a Child with Special Needs

Select any of the questions below to be directed to resources that will help you to understand this issue


  • Effect on Learning

What are the possible effects the hearing loss can cause at school? My child is now old enough to be starting school. How might his hearing loss affect his education? What should I know before I meet with the school team?  How will I know what to ask for?

  • Responsibility for Devices

How can my child learn to be responsible for his hearing devices? What should I expect, when?  My child wears hearing devices (hearing aids or cochlear implants). What should he be doing to take care of them? How does this change as he gets older? What should I expect?

  • Starting School

What information can I share with the school as my child starts a new school year or in a new school?  My child is starting preschool (or  in elementary school). What should I share with his new teacher? What should I be aware of when I meet with the school team? How will I know what to ask for?

  • Tiredness

Listening is hard work when you aren’t able to hear all of the speech sounds! Children with hearing loss are usually more fatigued than their typically hearing friends or siblings. For a brief article on this topic from Britain, download Tiredness in Deaf Children

  • Ear Infections

Will having many ear infections impact my child’s learning? My son has had ear infections since he was a tiny infant. Now he doesn’t say his words clearly. Can this be because of the many ear infections he has had? 

  • Resistance and Identity

As my child with hearing loss has gotten older, he doesn’t want to wear his hearing aids. Why? What can I do?  I have a child with hearing loss who is in upper Elementary (or Middle School, Jr. High, High School). He still seems to have learning challenges. Sometimes he resists wearing his hearing aids. What can be done to know that his needs are being met?

  • Noise and Hearing

Can hearing loss be caused by noise? Is this a big deal?  We just found out that our child has a permanent hearing loss, but it’s only in one ear. This doesn’t seem like a big deal What should we know?

Share This!