Tips and Useful Resources for Teachers Working With Students With Hearing Devices

Students with hearing loss benefit not only from academic support—receiving appropriate resources to promote learning—but also from learning skills that help them independently communicate their needs and use their hearing devices, enabling them to successfully integrate socially and emotionally into the classroom community.

Classroom Environment to Support Learning and Academic Achievement

Many children with hearing loss attend regular schools, and educators may be challenged by how to best support these children in their classroom. It is important to know that even very small changes in classroom management can make a big difference. Without these small changes, students may struggle with every lesson, but making small changes can enable students to fully contribute to classroom activities.

Sitting Position

• Teachers need to ensure that students’ sitting positions are appropriate, and they can see the teacher’s face and body language clearly.
• Their sitting position in the classroom also needs to allow them to see what is going on around them. Students with hearing loss benefit from visual cues to support comprehension.
• If the child has a better hearing ear, ensure that they are sitting with the “good ear” towards the teacher/person speaking.
• Sometimes it is necessary for the teacher to face away from the class to write on the board. When facing the board, it is important for them not to provide important information verbally.

Classroom Management

Students with hearing devices benefit from quiet working environments within the classroom. Such environments facilitate appropriate behavior and successful learning:

• Make sure other students in the classroom are aware of how loud noises such as moving chairs, talking during the lesson, and banging doors negatively impact what a student with hearing devices can hear.
• Minimize the noise from outside the classroom: Close the doors and windows to reduce noise coming from outside, such as the playground or noisy corridors.
• Ensure interactive boards, computers, projectors, and other teaching equipment is turned off when not in use—the buzzing sounds they emit can make it difficult to hear well.

MED-EL’s Checklist for Educators can help educators learn how to facilitate ideal listening conditions and improve classroom management for students with hearing loss.

Facilitating Exchange of Information With Caregivers

It is vital for teachers to maintain ongoing contact with the caregivers of their students with hearing loss. Meeting the parents before the child starts school to find out what the needs of their child are and understand how their hearing devices work is essential.

The students may need additional technology and accommodations in the classroom to help them learn. Teachers should ask caregivers what their child needs and talk to the school administration about accommodating these needs.

Parents can provide valuable information about what works and doesn’t work for their child. A communication journal can be a useful tool for teachers to exchange information with caregivers and hearing professionals, such as audiologists, teachers of the deaf, and speech therapists, during the school year. This communication journal can include key information about accessing homework, tests dates, extracurricular activities, and even about areas in which the child may need additional support from parents or other professionals.

All about Me is a resource families can fill out to provide educators and peers with key information about the hearing devices and needs of their child.

Encourage Self-Advocacy Skills and Independent Use of Hearing Devices

It is very important to teach self-advocacy, the ability to recognize a need for assistance and be assertive about asking for help. Students need ongoing support in school and at home to learn how to communicate their needs with peers and educators. They also need to know how, who, and when to ask for assistance. Educators can help them develop this ability by:

• Teaching communication skills
• Encouraging students to ask for missed information to be repeated more slowly, loudly, or clearly
• Teaching students to report problems with their hearing devices
• Encouraging students to explain the benefits of their assistive listening technology to other staff members, teachers, and peers

Being able to use of hearing devices independently is another set of skills that students need to master and be confident in. They should be able to:

• Name the different parts of their device
• Replace the coil if it falls off
• Report when their devices aren’t working
• Switch their devices on/off and change batteries independently

All these skills give students with hearing devices the confidence to explain their hearing loss and thereby receive the support they need from their peers, educators, school staff, and friends. These skills will also support them in everyday social situations, when responding to questions about their hearing devices, and while making and maintaining friendships.

Check out the MED-EL resource Self Advocacy Cards for tips to help students with hearing loss manage their hearing devices independently and communicate their needs to others confidently.