Deafness, hearing aids, sign language and other developments

Deafness means hearing poorly or not at all. Deaf people often have damaged hair cells, causing them to hear nothing or hardly anything. With a special language, sign language, deaf people can communicate well.

Schools

Deaf people are often deaf from birth, but deafness can also occur abruptly in adverse situations, such as accidents or working amidst much noise. Deaf people have damaged hair cells, as a result of which the brain does not receive signals that can be converted into sound. Consequently, deaf people have trouble hearing.

Children who are deaf usually go to special schools. Here, children are usually given a hearing aid or special hearing device, a CI (Cochlear Implant), enabling them to follow the lessons. In addition, children are taught sign language to be able to communicate with each other.

Hearing Aids

Not everyone can get a special hearing device (CI). If the cochlea inside the ear is damaged or unreachable, it is virtually impossible to be eligible for CI. The solution that remains is to obtain an ordinary hearing aid. With this, deaf people do not hear as well as with CI. While a Cochlear Implant is better than an ordinary hearing aid, deaf people will never hear as well as non-deaf people.

Functioning of a Cochleair Implant (CI)

A CI works different from ordinary hearing aids. Electrodes are slided into the cochlea. These electrodes replace the hair cells, taking over their function. Sounds are transferred to the auditory nerve and the brain. People who are centrally deaf have no use of a CI because the brain does not recognize any signals, so it cannot convert them into sounds. Even with a CI it is impossible for a deaf person to hear everything well, because some sounds are not received. The sounds and voices a deaf person does hear sound different.

Sign language

In the Netherlands, special schools often teach in two languages: Dutch and sign languages. In earlier times it was less self-evident that deaf people would learn sign language. It was considered a second-rate tool and was even prohibited, as it was said not to be a real language. Around 1960 scientific research showed that sign language is a real language. After all, anything can be said and expressed with it. In addition to ‘ordinary’ talk one can make jokes in it and call someone names. 

Deaf children learn sign language at school. In addition, it is convenient if parents also learn the language to be able to communicate with their son or daughter. Children also learn Dutch as they cannot hear the radio or television. For that reason, reading is very important, for the newspaper is the only means for them to learn things about the world. Finally, there are few Dutch people who know sign language, so it is very convenient if a deaf person is able to speak Dutch.

Other lessons

Children who are deaf and go to a special school, receive other lessons in addition to Dutch and sign language (see sign language). One of these lessons is music. Although the children can hardly hear the music, or rather virtually not at all, they do know when the music starts and stops. This is possible through the tiny signals they receive. On and off can be distinguished reasonably well by deaf children (and by adults too), but the transition from one piece to the next is too hard for them.

In addition to music lessons, children also learn new words each time. A deaf child has a much smaller vocabulary than a non-deaf child. A special method is used for teaching new words: First the teacher (or speech therapist) shows the word along with an image, for instance the word house. The child knows now what it is about. Then the teacher adds a sign to it and writes the word down. Now the child sees which word goes with which image. It is necessary to frequently repeat these words, so the children can memorize them. To pronounce the words the first letters are signified one by one with a gesture. Each gesture is connected to a sound that the child will memorize in due time, so at a given moment the child will be able to pronounce the word. 

Sources: www.todio.nl