Identifying Minimal Hearing Loss and Managing Its Effects on Literacy Learning

It is well established that students who have moderate to profound hearing loss may experience difficulty in learning how to read and write and can benefit from modifications to the classroom environment and curriculum, however, minimal hearing loss often goes undiagnosed, and its negative impact on literacy acquisition is less widely known. Minimal hearing loss encompasses the "slight" and "mild" hearing loss categories. Students with hearing loss in these ranges are able to hear environmental sounds and participate in conversations but may have difficulty with some specific speech sounds and soft speech. Minimal hearing loss can make listening in classrooms particularly difficult as background noise is a persistent problem within these environments. What steps can be taken to assist children experiencing difficulty with literacy who may have undiagnosed minimal hearing loss? In this article, Krystal L. Werfel and Alison Eisel Hendricks present four action steps that include: (1) Ensuring students receive hearing screenings; (2) Reducing background noise in the classroom, increasing the volume and clarity of the teacher's voice, and addressing the individual literacy needs for students with minimal hearing loss; (3) Talking to parents about the importance of managing minimal hearing loss; and (4) Fostering interprofessional collaboration. When teachers, parents, and other educational professionals work together, proper management of minimal hearing loss can help alleviate the literacy difficulties experienced by many students who struggle to learn to read and write.