Severe Hearing Loss
How this Level of Hearing Affects an Adult
Adults with this level of hearing loss are usually seen wearing hearing aids of some sort. Without the help of hearing instruments, these ears do not hear well enough to provide much information at all. Many of these people function quite normally with respect to most sounds, thanks to the help of special hearing instruments – hearing aids, assistive listening devices, special telephones, and other helpers.
How this Level of Hearing Affects a Child
A child born with this degree of hearing loss will not develop normally without intervention. This child likely will not ever develop spontaneous speech without significant amounts of therapy. Language skills will also be slow in developing (and may not) unless rigid therapeutic plans are implemented. Without early and continued intervention, a child with this degree of hearing loss may not be able to enter school at all.
A severe hearing loss – between 66 dB hearing level and 90 dB hearing level – is sufficient to preclude hearing speech except when that speech is shouted. An individual with this degree of hearing loss does not hear even the vowels of normal speech, and the consonants are lost completely.
Audiogram
