Hearing loss is basically a loss of hearing. Can happen at any stage in life. It has multiple causes. From hereditary to infections like mumps, measles, rubella. It is of 3 types: sensorineural, conductive, and mixed. It can be of various degrees, from mild to profound.

KEY FEATURES:

• Inconsistent response to sounds may respond only to loud sounds.
• High dependency on gestural commands. Unable to understand pure verbal commands
• Have difficulty following instructions in noisy/group environment
• May frequently ask for repetitions Have difficulty localizing the sound source

LANGUAGE CHARACTERISTICS

• Inability to learn or delay in acquiring babbling and jargon stage.
• Communicate in gestures
• Errors in saying sounds (tit for sit, tat for cat)
• Play with peers, cognition, understanding is not affected.
• Difficulty in imitating words or sounds but not gestures

KEY MARKERS

• Hearing loss can be congenital (by birth) or acquired (due to an illness or infection), can be in one ear or both ears.
• Some types of it can be prevented by vaccinations to the mother during pregnancy and to the child post-birth. (Prevents chances of MMR)
• There is a high probability of hearing loss in case of family history or consanguinous marriage.

INTERVENTION

• Hearing aids and cochlear implants are the available rehabilitation options
• Auditory training is required after fitting a hearing device
• Speech-language therapy helps in the acquisition of verbal language
• Sign language is also an option.