DON'T BELEIVE EVERYTHING YOU HEAR : DISPELLING UNILATERAL HEARING LOSS MYTHS

It is vital to the success of children with unilateral hearing loss that we update our way of thinking and practice in order to improve outcomes. Understanding how the research has changed will assist you in advocating for your child's needs as they grow.

MYTH #1 FACT IT'S JUST ONE EAR.

FACT

It’s a very common misconception that one normal hearing ear is “good enough.” Due to this belief, many unilateral hearing loss cases have gone untreated and without assistance in schools. With the most recent research however, we now know that having a hearing loss in one ear has significant impacts on the brain itself! After a prolonged period of time with no hearing on one side, pathways in the brain are altered, and other senses begin to use those pathways instead. This is called cortical reorganization. This phenomenon can sometimes be reversed if the hearing loss can be caught early, and if it can be treated through amplification (hearing aids, cochlear implants, etc).

MYTH #2 FACT UNILATERAL HEARING LOSS DOES NOT IMPACT LANGUAGE AND VOCABULARY.

FACT

It was previously thought that students with Unilateral Hearing Loss did not experience language delays in the same way as children with bilateral losses. Newer research shows, that is not the case. In a study completed in 2010 (Lieu, Tye-Murray, Karzon, & Piccirillo, 2010), sibling pairs were administered the OWLS (Oral and Written Language Scales). The sibling with the UHL consistently scored lower than the sibling with normal hearing. This is a very significant finding! Many students with unilateral hearing loss are not being evaluated for language and vocabulary growth. This is an area of concern that should be addressed, evaluated, and monitored for students with UHL.

MYTH #3 UNILATERAL HEARING LOSS DOES NOT HAVE EDUCATIONAL IMPACT.

FACT

Students with a unilateral hearing loss are TEN TIMES more likely to fail a grade level than their hearing peers. That is an

astounding statistic! The educational impacts of the UHL are far reaching. Generally, phonemic awareness will be the most commonly impacted area for school age children. Phonemic awareness is the ability to identify and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes), and to know how the sounds work in spoken and written words. However, deficits are also seen across academic subjects, due to reading, language, and vocabulary delays. Educational settings are also more difficult for the student with UHL, due to difficulty hearing when there is background noise, working memory issues, and inattentive behaviors from not being able to access the information in the classroom through hearing alone.

MYTH #4 FACT UNILATERAL HEARING LOSS DOES NOT NEED AMPLIFICATION.

FACT

In conjunction with the belief that one ear is “good enough”, it has long been believed that amplification was not necessary or beneficial for the UHL. However, new technologies and research have opened many avenues for treatment! Hearing aids, assistive listening devices, and even cochlear implants are now viable options for people living with a unilateral hearing loss! Please note that not all situations can be treated and the decision should be made with the assistance of an experienced audiologist and/or ENT. However, it is very important that amplification be considered in order to assist the child with equal and fair access!

MYTH #5 FACT UNILATERAL HEARING LOSS DOES NOT QUALIFY FOR AN IEP.

FACT

Given the updated research and understanding of how unilateral hearing loss affects a child, eligibility can now be determined given medical documentation of the hearing and an educational impact. If your child is being evaluated for an IEP, make sure that an educational audiologist is a member of the team to ensure all parties are educated on the impacts and needs of the student!

Understanding how the research has changed will assist you in advocating for your child’s needs as they grow. “Just one ear” is no longer acceptable. Addressing these issues early will assist all children in changing the statistics and ensuring success in the future! •

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Robin Bliven is the Outreach Director at The Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind. She attended the University of Tennessee for her bachelors and masters degrees in Education of the Deaf and hard of hearing. She has taught in Pre-K-12th grade across the country in both itinerant and site based settings. Robin moved to Virginia and into the role of Outreach Director in 2021. She lives in Chesapeake, Virginia with her 2 daughters and cats. Robin spends her free time watching a lot of youth softball, driving people places, and doing copious amounts of laundry.