ABSTRACT
Hearing loss can occur in a number of ways. Historically, it often went undetected, but screening of newborns has improved the situation. However, it remains an often-veiled disability, and even in the special classroom we can be unaware that some children are not hearing well. Children with epilepsy also suffer intermittent hearing disruption, which can have serious effects if their petit mal episodes are frequent. Children with physical hearing loss will generally experience sounds as quieter or muffled and, dependent upon severity, this will affect their attention to language and their ability to respond to, understand or replicate it. Sometimes hearing aids are used for children with conductive losses, but there are often problems managing them with special children. The use of signing is common to compensate for hearing communication difficulties, particularly Makaton or Signalong, which are intended to match the cognitive abilities of special children better than semantic sign languages.
