Hearing Loss and College Students

The fall term is underway and the last days of summer give way to beautiful campus green spaces and city scapes. Both incoming first-years and seniors alike have academic schedules that demand their full attention, but it can be difficult as a student living with hearing loss. There is much you can do, though, and the following are some tips to make the most of your learning experience and succeed as a student with a hearing impairment.

• How does hearing loss affect you?

It helps to have a basic understanding of your level of hearing impairment so that you can seek the help you need. If you are unsure of the degree of your hearing loss, consult you radiologist or other hearing health care professional to have your hearing tested and diagnosed. The results that a board-certified hearing instrument specialist or otolaryngologist (an ear, nose, and throat doctor—or ENT) can provide can determine the level of hearing loss in each ear and a course of action to address it. Hearing aids, assistive listening devices, or cochlear implants are common recommendations.

• Utilize university resources

Most colleges and universities have an office to support students with disabilities and ensure they have equal access in the classroom and on campus. Once registered with the disability services office, some schools will assign an advisor, with whom the student will decide which accommodations would be best suited to their needs. Then, the student’s professors are notified so that those needs can be met in the classroom.

Several accommodations exist for students with hearing loss, partial deafness or other hearing impairments, including but not limited to: preferred seating in the classroom, note-taking services, assistive listening devices, closed captioning on any in-class video material, and others.

• Meet with your professors

Once the office of disability services notifies your professor about your needs, it is always a good idea for you to introduce yourself, too, in person or over email. Make an appointment during their office hours during the first week of classes to discuss the accommodations that can be made during class. If you are unable to meet in person, an email at the beginning of term is also helpful. This puts your needs in writing and offers your professor a record to look back on as the term progresses.

If you have communicated your needs before, at work or another school, for example, perhaps you have this information at the ready. Whether they are in digital or hard copy form, they can be a helpful tool with which to walk into the first week of classes. It can also demonstrate your level of preparation for your studies ahead!

• Disclosing your hearing loss to classmates

It can be helpful to discuss your hearing loss with some of your classmates, especially if you will be working closely together throughout the class. Due to common misconception, they may not understand how a younger adult could have a hearing loss. However, according to Hearing Loss Association of America, 30 million Americans aged 12 and older has hearing loss in both ears.

They may be confused about how to best communicate with you, which is why requesting accommodations from them is important, too. Perhaps you would like to be facing a speaker during conversation because you use lipreading as one of your communication strategies, or you have found that sitting in the round rather than a long table during group discussion helps you follow along better. These accommodations will set you and your classmates up for success as the term moves forward.

Seeking Treatment for Hearing Loss

There are many ways to succeed from the start school term and carry that momentum through to the end. Use your university’s resources and be in touch with your professors to begin a dialogue about what you need to help you succeed. Equity in higher education learning environments is more important to your institution than you think. Take advantage of the services in place to benefit you.

If you happen to be at square one and need to have your hearing checked, ask your health care professional to refer you to an audiologist. You can also use online resources to find a hearing health specialist near you.