{"id":27789,"date":"2024-11-12T12:26:44","date_gmt":"2024-11-12T12:26:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings-new\/send\/areas-of-need\/sensory-and-or-physical\/deaf-or-hard-of-hearing\/conductive-hearing-loss\/"},"modified":"2024-12-10T13:59:30","modified_gmt":"2024-12-10T13:59:30","slug":"conductive-hearing-loss","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/send\/areas-of-need\/sensory-and-or-physical\/deaf-or-hard-of-hearing\/types-of-deafness\/conductive-hearing-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"Conductive hearing loss"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is a conductive hearing loss?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Conductive hearing loss:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>affects the passage of sound between the ear canal, ear drum and the inner ear<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>is common in young children<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>may be treated with grommets or using hearing aids<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It can be temporary or permanent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Causes of conductive hearing loss<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A common cause of a temporary conductive hearing loss is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/send\/areas-of-need\/sensory-and-or-physical\/deaf-or-hard-of-hearing\/glue-ear\/\">glue ear<\/a>. This is a build-up of fluid in the middle ear which can cause a temporary deafness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hearing levels can fluctuate for children and young people with glue ear especially in the winter months. It can impact on a child and young person&#8217;s ability to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>access speech<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>understand routines of the setting<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>reduce the ability to learn incidentally, for example, learning new words by listening to adults talk around them or use correct grammar<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Please note that during the time when hearing returns to normal, it may take time for the brain to re-adjust to hearing sounds in speech and the environment. Children and young people may still need support with listening skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Causes of permanent conductive hearing loss<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The main causes for permanent conductive hearing loss are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>persistent glue ear: when presence of fluid in the middle ear becomes long term<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>damage to the three bones in the middle ear (malleus, incus, stapes)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>microtia: under-development of the outer ear (pinna)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>atresia: the absence of the ear canal<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Indications of a conductive hearing loss<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>shows changes in behaviour, child or young person tires easily, has trouble concentrating and may be getting frustrated<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>signs of delayed or unclear speech and language<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>child or young person may ask for constant repetition of conversations, instructions or discussions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>maybe reluctant to join in with social situations or play<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>may have difficulty understanding speech in background noise<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Strategies that can help<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/send\/areas-of-need\/sensory-and-or-physical\/deaf-or-hard-of-hearing\/using-your-devices-video-guides\/\">Encourage effective use of hearing technology<\/a>, if hearing aids have been fitted. Ask your Teacher of the Deaf for support.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ask your Teacher of the Deaf to explain the child or young person&#8217;s hearing needs. Read any reports for more information and strategies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/send\/areas-of-need\/sensory-and-or-physical\/deaf-or-hard-of-hearing\/deaf-friendly-classroom\/gaining-attention\/\">Gain the child or young person&#8217;s attention<\/a> before talking to them<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Get close (within 1 metre) and for younger children, down to their level<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Check child or young person&#8217;s seating position. Make sure they are sat close to anyone speaking, they can see your face or their peers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Check understanding e.g. of instructions or new vocabulary using discreet questioning\u00a0 or rephrasing, for example, remind me of the difference between an equilateral and an isosceles triangle<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Speak clearly and at normal pace<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/send\/areas-of-need\/sensory-and-or-physical\/deaf-or-hard-of-hearing\/deaf-friendly-classroom\/reducing-background-noise\/\">Manage background noise<\/a>: in early years settings, have quiet times and quiet zones to help reduce listening fatigue<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reduce clatter and background noise by using soft furnishings, cloth or carpet under toys such as Duplo, pencil pots lined with felt<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use routine and repetition<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>For Early Years support stories, songs and rhymes with pictures and props<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>For older children and young people support with real objects, word banks, pictures etc &#8211; share these with home<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is a conductive hearing loss? Conductive hearing loss: Causes of conductive hearing loss A common cause of a temporary conductive hearing loss is glue [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2616,"featured_media":0,"parent":26697,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-27789","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-07 10:36:09","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/27789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2616"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27789"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/27789\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28908,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/27789\/revisions\/28908"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/26697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}