A child’s speech and language is a big indicator. Does the child leave out -ed, -ing, and -s endings of words in speech or writing? Do they leave out prepositions and articles? These are soft sounds, and often children with hearing loss do not hear them, so they do not produce them in their speech or writing. Vocabulary acquisition can be delayed, because of the loss of incidental learning, which can cause vocabulary delays, and difficulty understanding new concepts. If you suspect a child has a hearing loss, he needs an audiological evaluation and a speech/language eval. There are some strategies you can use without an IEP, however, such as keeping the doors closed during instruction, keeping fans, HVAC systems, and computers off during instruction, putting felt or cloth on desks when using manipulatives, allowing the student to sit closest to the speaker, and making sure your face is always visible when speaking, so that the child may speech read. Repeating what other students say (especially if they are behind the student, or at a distance where it’s hard to speech read) will help the student participate in classroom discussions. Use videos and books on tape with caution, and always give the student a visual when you do use these. Repeat and rephrase questions, and always use visuals when introducing new vocabulary or concepts. If the student is old enough to be taking notes in class, give him a copy of the notes, or allow him to have a copy of a students’ notes, so that he may devote his attention to what you are saying instead of trying to write things down. Allow him to orally clarify written answers, if writing is an issue.

Good answers above, which I won’t repeat. Other signs that I see in my own child include ADHD-like behavior (9 % of children diagnosed with ADHD have an untreated hearing loss), social difficulties in interacting with other children, especially in noisy environments like a bus or a cafeteria or open areas like playgrounds. Other speech issues might include misunderstanding words that sound the same (like double and bubble or Patty and Daddy). Children who are hearing impaired can have poor auditory memories (meaning they can remember instructions they see, but not verbal instructions) so if you see a big discrepency there, that should set off some concerns. They almost always have trouble understanding speech if you are talking while facing away from them (i.e. while writing on a chalkboard).

FM systems are one of the most important classroom tools available to hearing impaired children. Acoustical assessments to reduce background noise in the classroom to increase the signal to noise ratio can also be of huge benefit to these children.

the most obvious is that they don’t react normally to sounds. they may turn their heads toward voices so one ear is closer than the other. they ask people to repeat a lot or misunderstand what’s being said. they might not follow directions correctly. first, get them tested so you know how bad the loss is. they might need hearing aids. put them closer to the front of the room. after getting the class started on an assignment, go to them and ask if there are any questions. make sure they know what to do and how to do it. you could assign another student to help the child with the impairment.

My son has hearing loss in his right ear. We started to notice he was talking a lot louder than needed, as was his teacher. We got him tested, and they found the problem. He is going into 4th grade now, and we have it worked out that he sits close to the board and teacher, and his seat faces so his “good” ear is toward the teacher talking. As for his volume, we have to live with that!