Hard of Hearing: Assistive Technologies for the Classroom

     Students who are "hard of hearing" differ from students who are deaf. They usually can understand speech through a combination of personal hearing aids, which amplify sounds, and their skills in lipreading. These students typically DO NOT use sign language. However, these students generally find many obstacles when in the typical general education classroom. There are plenty of things that provide an obstacle/barrier in the students learning. The acoustics of the room (i.e. noisy heating/cooling systems), the volume of the teachers voice, and whether or not the teacher has his/her back to the class when speaking are situations when students who are hard of hearing may have difficulty. Other situations that students may have difficulty in hearing because of background distractions include class discussions, video presentations, face to face interactions, and small group instruction. 
      
     Hearing assistive technologies are technologies that help people who have hearing losses. Assistive listening devices (ALDs) help reduce the effect of a room that may provide many distractions. The biggest advantages of these devices are they help minimize background noises (i.e chairs moving, students talking) and provides amplified voices right to their ears. Below are a few examples of hearing assistive technologies used in schools:

FM System: Teacher and student wear device. When teacher speaks, the voice is amplified into the headphones the student is wearing making it easier to hear the teacher. I have had experience using these devices in my classroom. It is important to remember to turn the device on if given to you! Otherwise, it is not beneficial for the student! 
 
Induction Loop System: 


Soundfield Amplification System:


Resources of Material:
Dell, A. G., Newton, D. A., & Petroff, J. G. (2012). Assistive Technology in the Classroom (Second ed., pp. 139-160). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.