Families Coping with a Deaf Child Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Families Coping with a Deaf Child - Essay Example Children may be either deaf, Deaf, hard of hearing, or have acquired deafness. The deaf are those who are unable to hear speech without the use of a hearing aid. Deaf (i.e. with a capital D) refers to users of sign language who also share a common â€Å"heritage, social afflilation, educational background, experience of oppression and culture† (NCTSN, 2004). In other words, whereas the ‘deaf’ are an audiologically distinguished group, the ‘Deaf’ also indicates a sociolinguistic and cultural affiliation. Although the deaf cannot hear, many tend to have sharper visual skills instead (CHS, 1998). Those who are ‘hard of hearing’ have a mild to moderate loss of hearing (or reduced hearing acuity) so can communicate without amplification to some degree. And, the loss may be either permanent or fluctuating. Acquired deafness occurs when the hearing loss begins at a later stage of the child’s development or in adulthood. Permanent loss of hearing affects is known as ‘sensorineural hearing loss’. It is caused by damage to the inner ear, or the auditory nerve as a result of infections, medications, being exposed to loud noise, head injuries, or due to defective genes. (Chandler, 2001) Infections to the middle or outer ear are more common, especially in children, but the accompanying hearing loss, known as ‘conductive hearing loss’ is treatable and therefore not permanent. Middle ear infections (otitis media) are caused by bacterial/viral infections and are actually common in young children. These parts of the ear can also be affected by excessive wax, presence of foreign bodies or auditory canal swelling. A combination of sensorineural and conductive hearing loss can also occur. There are two complications in providing accurate statistics of the number of deaf children. Firstly, there are varying definitions, and degrees of