Unilateral hearing loss

[Sunandsea77]

Hi. I’m looking for someone in a similar position to me for some words of wisdom and support.

My son has a unilateral high frequency hearing loss and has just started year 2. I’m just finding school hard to navigate with his hearing loss, and I feel like no one else understands or can relate. He was only diagnosed last year so it’s been a bit intense.

My child has hearing loss and wears aids.
Your best help will be gained from speaking to your local councils Teacher of the Deaf from the Advisory Teaching Service. They can go into school and see your child, discuss classroom adjustments eg seating/acousitcs. Speak with school SENDCo soon too.

Make sure your child is having “hearing breaks”, classrooms are very noisy places and if aided or not they can struggle to focus/concentrate so may benefit from a little time out or hearing aids out for a rest.

@ABC09887 Thank you for your response.

We do have involvement from the Teacher of the Deaf who visited school at the beginning of last year and we have already arranged a visit for this year. She has been very helpful.

The school SENCO is not involved as they say my child

Not sure if the post cut out…

The school SENDCO is not involved as they say my child’s needs are medical needs, not learning needs.

He is meeting where he should be academically but I worry about him emotionally. He appears to manage fine but I know things are difficult for him and he misses bits.

Last year information was not passed on to his teacher so we have been very forward this year with a meeting already, but I worry school is underestimating him (again). He is sat in the optimal place for him to hear - but is on a table with several ADHD children (absolutely no disrespected meant - I just don’t think it’s the best combination with someone with a hearing loss).

The support network around us is divided into people with no experience of hearing loss and people in very different circumstances to us. I’m just finding it hard to find the balance and handle my emotions around what’s going on.

Does he read IWB slides to help him to predict or understand what will be said next?It is a tricky balance whether it is easier to be on a table with closer or a potentially calmer table further away.Would doing bits of learning eg bitesize quizzes or discussing the topic outside school help?Not perfect solutions just trying to think of things that might help.

Hi OP,

I'm not in a similar position to you but I was once (over 30 years ago) in a similar position to your son. You said he's meeting the academic standard but still struggling. So do you mean struggling with confidence, struggling to make friends? If so, I was similar.

A few thoughts: my SENCOs were never very involved either. I was often congratulated for being able to talk and they would write an extra page on my annual report to say I was doing well and that was pretty much it.

I agree that it's very unlikely to help him if he's sat with children who struggle to concentrate as they may not have heard the teacher either (but for different reasons) and may be struggling themselves and therefore unable to help your son. I don't mean to imply that any of the pupils should be constantly helping but the occasional bit of help is appropriate. Ideally he'd be sat next to somebody who could become a friend because it's harder for deaf children to communicate in a noisy environment with lots going on but 1:1 is easier and to be 'paired' with a child who is likely to get on with yours (a similar love of football or lego, etc) would be really helpful.

I wonder if he is using a radio aid transmitter/microphone? It acts like a booster and will certainly help with hearing the teacher. In my day they were big, heavy boxes but now they are very light, small and discreet. This would be appropriate if the hearing loss is anywhere near the 'severe' category.

Finally, if it is the friendship side of things which he is struggling with, your support with 1:1 playdates, etc, would be really helpful. Try to develop a good working relationship with the teacher so s/he can help with that as well.

I wish you and your son all the best with this. I know it's hard.

Edit: changed one word

I would raise this with the headteacher. As a trained SENDCo, I can tell you that overseeing provision for pupils with hearing impairments is definitely part of their job.

Go back to the school and request a meeting with the SENCO. DS has SEN. The legal definition of SEN is set out in law. HI is mentioned several times in the SENCOP. The SENCO should be involved.

I actually think who he's sitting with is a bigger issue than SENCO involvement but perhaps the SENCO could help you with that.

Thanks for all your responses, I wasn’t expecting so much.

DS has a moderate hearing loss in one ear and normal hearing in the other. However, he has also had glue ear in both and the cause of his permanent (cochlea) loss is unknown so his prognosis for the future is also unknown.

We have been told that he doesn’t need a radio monitor as they are no longer given to children with hearing loss in one ear in our LA. SENDCO is not based in his school but part of the academy chain so I don’t actually know who she is.

We have been told that he is very quiet in school and doesn’t contribute to class discussions. He is not confident asking for help. He sometimes mishears things but won’t ask for support - we are working on this with him. He has several good friendships, talking to others when getting to school etc. and it regular playtime issues haven’t been mentioned by anyone. We do some work with him at home alongside his set school work.

He is in a unique position which we are still trying to navigate too. If he was to have an IEP, I’m not sure what his targets would be as essentially he is meeting their goals and getting by? Although it does take a big toll emotionally and he is shattered in the evenings.

Teacher of the Deaf is in next week so I’m unsure if to email and mention the seating for her to assess her thoughts. My main concerns to her so far is that DS is ‘quietly doing the right thing and blending into the background’ and his slower processing skills.

On the surface - at school - he is a quiet boy with no speech concerns who is meeting expectations. However, I’m seeing someone who is surviving and not thriving and it’s just breaking my heart hearing about the withdrawn version of him that they see… but perhaps that is just school him and not even linked to his hearing. I just don’t know.

Also just to add that I am a primary school teacher at a different school and so can see things from different perspectives which causes me a lot of overthinking 🤣

Support should be based on needs, not what is typically offered in your LA/school.

DS may be meeting ARE academically, but SEN support is also about things other than academics. All the non-academic things you mention need support.

Yes, I would raise your concerns with the ToD beforehand.

Put things in writing so you have a paper trail as evidence.

i don’t know what the criteria is now, but for a moderate loss I would look at a cochlear implant for that ear, I wouldn’t wait for it to worsen. The younger the recipient is the better and the outcome tends to be excellent, although rehab/audiology are needed.

I'm glad that he's doing well with friendships, that's where I struggled but when I did have friends, I was much happier at school.

I don't think it's the end of the world that he doesn't answer 'whole class' questions. And, even now, I don't always ask for clarification if I've missed something; I know that there's stuff I'm missing all the time so I only ask if I think it's something I really need to know.

Edit to add: I can see why they don't add a radio aid if it's a moderate loss with normal hearing in the other. I once had a friend who had that pattern of loss and she eventually got a cochlear implant; she fared much better than I did even though I had a higher level of technological support (but my hearing is much worse).