Parents Of Hearing-impaired Children Research Articles

Vocal health of parents of children with hearing assistive devices.

VH (Vocal health) is the need of the hour. VH of parents of children with hearing assistive devices (HAD) reveals a literature gap, during the habilitation process of their children. To explore the vocal health of parents of children with hearing assistive devices. This cross-sectional study was conducted at Riphah International University from September to December 2021. Study recruited N=384 parents of Hearing Impaired children (HIC) using HAD for at least two years, of both genders and aged 2-9 years using convenience sampling. Voice-related quality of life (V-RQOL), and vocal health Index (VHI) -10 were used for data collection. Data was analyzed on SPSS Version 25. Descriptive statistics, Anova and t-test were utilized to see difference between means of groups. P<0.05 shows significant-results. Parents of children using hearing assistive devices had excellent V-RQOL score in 350(91.14%) parents. There was no significant difference in V=RQOL as regards type of hearing assistive device use (p=0.102), laterality of device use (p=0.918) and degree of hearing loss (p=0.143). However, type of hearing loss revealed significant difference (p=0.021). Also VHI score revealed significantly (p=0.008) lower means in parents of children with cochlear implants. Current study concludes that the parents raising hearing impaired children with hearing assistive devices, possess good vocal health as determined by VHI and V-RQOL scores with only a very small number of parents reporting vocal symptoms.

Storytelling App for Child Using Natural Language Processing (NLP)

The paper introduces a mobile app that is specifically designed to enable hearing-impaired children to access stories. The app differs from traditional storytelling methods, which involve reading or listening to stories, as it converts written text into sign language images using two algorithms. The first algorithm utilizes speech APIs to convert text to speech, while the second algorithm uses natural language processing techniques from the NLTK toolkit to convert speech to sign language. The app is capable of translating english words into Indian sign language, making it an invaluable tool for caregivers, teachers, and parents of hearing-impaired children. This research project contributes to the field of assistive technology by providing a platform that caters to the specific needs of hearing-impaired children, allowing them to enjoy stories in a way that is tailored to their unique abilities. One of the unique features of the app is its ability to translate English words into Indian Sign Language, which is particularly beneficial for caregivers, teachers, and parents of hearing-impaired children in India. By offering a platform that caters to the specific needs of hearing-impaired children, this research project contributes significantly to the field of assistive technology. The app's innovative approach to storytelling provides a tailored experience that allows hearing-impaired children to enjoy stories in a way that is engaging and accessible. This app has the potential to transform the way hearing-impaired children access stories, and its contribution to the field of assistive technology is significant. Overall, this paper underscores the importance of developing technology that caters to the needs of diverse communities and highlights the possibilities that emerge when technology is designed to serve all members of society.

IMPROVING PARENTAL EDUCATIONAL COMPETENCE IN CAREER GUIDANCE FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENTS

Introduction. The paper highlights the issues of improvement in the educational competence of parents of hearing impaired children in terms of the family considered as a system-forming determinant in the socio-cultural status of the child, which predetermines their further psychophysical and social development, and professional self-determination given special educational needs. Materials and methods. The study relies on the analytical methods (exploration and analysis of psychological and pedagogical scientific and methodological literature on the problem of research, study of pedagogical experience), diagnostic methods (questionnaires, analysis of documents, conversations), and statistical methods (quantitative and qualitative analysis of the results obtained and processing of experimental data). The results of the study. The study has identified the difficulties encountered by parents of high school hearing impaired students when discussing one of the most serious issues in a teenager’s life, i.e., the choice of a specialty and future profession. The stages of work with parents have been developed to improve educational competence in professional self-determination of students with hearing impairments; the criteria and indicators of parental readiness for career guidance of their children have been identified. Conclusion. The family plays an extremely important role in solving the problems of professional self-determination of individuals with hearing impairments since it forms the closest environment of the child, which builds 1) the child’s self-esteem; 2) the picture of the world; 3) their ideas about their place in the world around them; 4) professional attitudes and understanding of the world of the profession. Therefore, the style of upbringing and the level of interaction in the family, the development of children’s focus on success, the organization of an educational and developmental environment in family conditions help to overcome the emerging crisis associated with the need to choose their professional path. The results of the study include the development of stages of the work with parents of hearing impaired students on building their educational competence in career guidance for high school students in the family, with a focus on the special educational needs of hearing impaired children

OP267 Evidence for Health Technology Assessment: The Capability Approach

IntroductionHealthcare services, such as cochlear implants and subsequent rehabilitation, aim to increase valuable activities and opportunities of those affected. Their impact may be inferred from the extent that they protect or restore capability, which reflects the real freedoms that people have to be or do things they have reason to value. Capability emerges from the dynamic interaction between available resources, individual, social, and environmental conversion factors, and functionings. This model sets the informational requirements of the capability approach.MethodsOn the basis of interviews with thirty-three hearing impaired children and thirty hearing peers, information on capability elements (values, resources, conversion factors, and functionings) was collected. Qualitative results were triangulated with standardized clinical audiological and psycholinguistic quantitative measures.ResultsHearing impaired children and their hearing peers concurred in terms of the doings and beings they valued, but differed in terms of conversion factors to realize capability. Parents of hearing impaired children played a more upfront role, hearing impairment predominated many areas of life, and communicating through hearing aids required more energy than was usually acknowledged by the people around them.ConclusionsThe capability approach offers opportunities not only to assess impact of technology on dimensions that are important to patients, but also to better understand the mechanisms that are involved in value generation.

Emotional and behavioral problems in children and adolescents with hearing loss and their effects on quality of life

PurposeDetermination of mental functions in children with hearing loss is important in improving the quality of life of the child. Many scales have been developed for this purpose. In this study, it was aimed to determine the emotional and behavioral effects of both the child with hearing loss and the parent in the hearing loss and device process, and to investigate the effect of this situation on the quality of life. MethodsForty-five children aged 7–17 years with sensorineural hearing loss with audiometric methods and 32 healthy controls without hearing problem were included in the study. All children received a Powers-Weakness Questionnaire-Self-Reporting Scale, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, Child Anxiety and Depression Scale, and Kid-KINDL Quality of Life Scale. In all parents, the Parental Statement of Powers-Weaknesses Questionnaire and the Kid-KINDL Quality of Life Scale parental form questionnaires were applied. ResultsIn the patient group, both mother (p = 0.001) and father (p = 0.027) education levels were significantly lower than the control group. The success rate of the sick children was lower than that of healthy children (p = 0.013). According to the surveys, the quality of life scale and all subscales were significantly lower in the patient group than in the control group (p < 0.05 for each). Child depression inventory score was also significantly higher in the patient group (p = 0.005). ConclusionsData obtained in the study indicate that children with hearing disabilities should be closely monitored and undergo a better rehabilitation process in terms of both anxiety and depression and their quality of life. According to our findings, since the parents of hearing-impaired children are observed to have a low level of education, it is seen that these families should be educated more closely in approaching children and improving their quality of life.

Caregiver Burden among Parents of Hearing Impaired and Intellectually Disabled Children in Pakistan

Caregiver burden is a multidimensional response to physical, psychological, emotional, social and financial stressors, usually associated with the experience of caring and can be objective or subjective. The objective of current study was to explore the caregiver burden among parents of hearing impaired and intellectually challenged children in Pakistan. A Comparative cross sectional survey was conducted on n=162 parents of hearing impaired (HI) and intellectually challenged (IC) children from July 2018 to February 2019. Convenient sampling technique was used to collect the data from Parents of hearing impaired and intellectually challenged children with age range 1-16 years in National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine and Al-Farabi Special Education Institute Islamabad. Caregiver Burden Inventory was used to assess the caregiver burden. The results showed a greater need for respite and other services in both groups. Parents of intellectually challenged children need more respite and other services as compared to hearing impaired children (60.62±11.43 ver. 45.74±11.20, p<0.001). A total of 3 (4.0%) parents of hearing impaired children reported rare need for respite and other services, 32(42.7%) reported sometimes and 40(53.3%) reported frequent need. On the other hand 12(13.8%) parents of intellectually disabled children reported sometimes, 66(75.9%) reported quite frequently and 9(10.3%) nearly always a greater need for respite and other services. The parents of hearing impaired or intellectually challenged children face significant burden of their disabled child. In addition, due to cognitive deficits that lead to behavioural abnormalities the parents of intellectually challenged children face more burden and stress.

A qualitative review of parents’ perspectives on the value of CAEP recording in influencing their acceptance of hearing devices for their child

Objective: To obtain a parental perspective on how audiological tests, including recording cortical auditory-evoked potentials (CAEP) to speech sounds, influenced their uptake of hearing devices for their infant.Design: A focus group was established by parents of hearing-impaired children. A facilitator explored how audiology tests influenced their understanding and management of hearing loss in their child and their acceptance of hearing aids or cochlear implant referral. The views were transcribed and thematic analysis was used to understand key topics.Study samples: Eight sets of parents participated. Their children had been enrolled in an audiology pathway that included CAEP testing. The sample included six children who were aided, one child who was going through the implant assessment and one child who was implanted.Results: Parents reported that it was important for them to understand the test results because this influenced acceptance of hearing aids and cochlear implant assessments. Seven sets of parents had not understood ABR results, while six reported that CAEPs had helped them to understand their child’s hearing and need for intervention.Conclusion: Compliance with early hearing aid use and referral for cochlear implant depends upon parents’ understanding of their infant’s hearing loss by including CAEPs in the audiology pathway.

Expectations and Experience of Children with Unilateral Cochlear Implantation: A Parental Perspective.

To find out parental expectations regarding outcomes of unilateral cochlear implantation prior to surgery and experience received by them after cochlear implantation and 1year of regular auditory verbal therapy, with respect to the communication abilities, social skills and participation. Total of 200 parents of hearing impaired children participated in the study. A closed ended questionnaire containing 13 questions were used to collect the data. The participants were instructed to complete all the questions provided based on their expectations and experiences. The descriptive statistics were used to determine the frequency and percentage. Among 200 parents, almost all (95%) of the parents expected to have improvement in all the subscale of communication abilities, social skills and participation. 68.5% of the parents experienced improvement in their child's communication abilities, such as, response to quiet sounds, repetition of words without seeing speaker's face, elimination of use of gestures, easy communication and verbal expression for needs, thoughts and feelings. 76% of the parents experienced improvement in social skills and participations, such as, good relationship with elders, siblings and peers, making friends outside the family, actively participating in the activity done by other children and easily accepted by peers in the classroom. A large number of parents met with their expectations and a small proportion of families were found to be disappointed due to high hopes and unrealistic expectation before implantation, which had adverse effect on the children's performance.

The child doesn't hear? On breaking bad news as perceived by parents and audiologists

ObjectiveThe object of this study was to explore how parents experienced receiving the news of their child's hearing loss, and how audiologists experienced the situation of conveying the diagnosis, in order to examine improvements to the current process. MethodA questionnaire regarding different aspects of breaking the news was developed. 48 Arabic and Hebrew speaking parents of hearing impaired children answered the questionnaire. A similar questionnaire was filled out by 31 audiologists. ResultsFindings demonstrate parents' general satisfaction with the manner in which the diagnosis was delivered.According to the parents' reports, receiving the diagnosis evoked negative feelings of fear, depression and difficulty believing the diagnosis. Parents' feelings were influenced by their cultural background, such as their ethnic identity, religious practice and difficulties due to language barriers.The audiologists described concern and anxiety when breaking bad news, but they felt they were able to present the diagnosis. The audiologists felt that they were not trained in this aspect, and the ability was acquired through experience.Both parents and audiologists agreed that the audiologist should be the professional to deliver the diagnosis. All emphasized sensitivity and professionalism as necessary qualities. Whereas audiologists were of the opinion that the most important information to transmit was the type of hearing loss, the parents were most interested in discussing their feelings, the rehabilitation process, and talking to other parents. ConclusionsOverall, results reveal that breaking bad news of a child's hearing loss has been done fairly well. Due to the parents' reports of the need for emotional support, it is suggested that audiologists receive further training and adjust to personal and cultural differences. Recommendations include establishing an appropriate setting and ensuring that an interpreter is available when necessary. Further emotional support may be provided through establishment of a family support network.

Parental anxiety in cochlear implanted children’s family

Background and aim: Early rehabilitation such as cochlear implantation is an effective way to reduce the negative effects of hearing impairment in children. Parents of hearing impaired children may feel anger, sorrow, guiltiness and anxiety. The aims of this study were measurement of anxiety level experienced by parents of children with CI and comparison between the level of experienced anxiety in parents of children with CI and parents of children with normal hearing.Materials and methods: This study was carried out on 25 parents whose child had cochlear implanted for six months and also 25 parents of normal children. Parents’ demographic data were collected. The Beck anxiety inventory was given to parents of both groups. The results were analyzed according to the questionnaire instructions.Results: Parents’ average age was 32.56 ± 4.4 and 31.76 ± 5.25 in the cochlear implant group and normal group respectively. No significant correlation between parents’ educational level and the score achieved by the Beck anxiety inventory was observed (p > .05). There was significant difference between the scores of the parents of cochlear implanted children and normal group (p < .05). Mild, moderate and severe anxiety levels were observed in 44% of the cochlear implanted children’s parents. On the other hand, 32% had mild and moderate anxiety levels and no severe anxiety was observed in normal hearing children’s parents.Conclusion: This study indicated significantly higher total average and also higher levels of anxiety in the parents of cochlear implanted children. Therefore, these parents’ anxiety levels affected their environment. Therefore, in order to prevent raising anxiety level in families with cochlear implanted child, controlling the environmental factors that affect families’ life should take place. In this way, a cochlear implanted child will have a smoother learning road ahead.

Issues Related to Screening and Caring for Newborns With Hearing Impairments

The critical period for auditory development in humans begins at around the 20th gestational week and continues until 3 years of age. Both genetic and environmental factors are known to cause impaired hearing. Without early identification and intervention, hearing-impaired children face a high risk of experiencing significant difficulties with speech and language development, social behavior, and emotional functioning. Two types of commonly used hearing screening technologies include transient evoked otoacoustic emission (TEOAE) and automated auditory brainstem response (aABR). aABR is considered to have high sensitivity and specificity, to have a relatively low referral rate, and to generate a relatively low rate of false-positive results in identifying newborn hearing impairment. The present paper outlines the psychosocial issues that are commonly experienced by parents of hearing-impaired children. Parents and other family members may benefit from medical, financial, social, and education supports in order to facilitate their adjustment to this challenging situation. The relevant literature is reviewed and recommendations for improving care for this population are provided.

Early Intervention in Context of Special Education - Communication between Parents of Hearing Impaired Children and Professionals with an Emphasis on Auditory-verbal Therapy

Early Intervention in Context of Special Education - Communication between Parents of Hearing Impaired Children and Professionals with an Emphasis on Auditory-verbal Therapy

Portal dos bebês ? seção aparelho auditivo: avaliação por pais de crianças deficientes auditivas

Objetivo : verificar a auto-avaliação do conhecimento dos pais de crianças deficientes auditivas sobre o Aparelho de Amplificação Sonora Individual (AASI) e molde auricular e como o conteúdo do website “Portal dos Bebês – Seção Aparelhos Auditivos” auxiliou no entendimento de tais informações.Métodos : 22 pais (seis homens e 16 mulheres, idade média 32,6 anos) preencheram anonimamente um formulário online com 36 questões abrangendo dados demográficos, uso da internet, orientação fornecida no momento da adaptação do AASI e auxílio fornecido pelo conteúdo do website.Resultados : no dia da adaptação do AASI materiais informativos foram oferecidos apenas para 52,4% dos pais, no entanto, estes estavam satisfeitos com as orientações recebidas. Em média o auxílio fornecido pelo conteúdo do website foi de 86%. A pontuação atribuída ao conteúdo e a satisfação com o website foi relacionada à idade da criança, tempo de uso do AASI e conhecimento prévio dos pais a respeito dos tópicos sobre o AASI e molde.Conclusões : o “Portal dos Bebês“ é um instrumento que pode auxiliar pais de crianças deficientes auditivas na compreensão das orientações fornecidas no momento da adaptação do AASI. A continuidade do estudo com maior número de participantes é necessária.

Effects of parental education level and economic status on the needs of families of hearing-impaired children in the aural rehabilitation program.

The family of each hearing-impaired child has its own cultural, social, educational, and financial background, and its own special needs. The objectives of our study were to explore the information and support needs of parents of children with severe-to-profound hearing impairment and to investigate the effects of the parents' level of education and economic status on the score attained in the parents'-needs questionnaire. Fifty-one parents of children with severe-to-profound hearing loss (53% girls, 47% boys; mean age 47.96 months) who used the Auditory-Verbal Therapy approach were asked to complete the parents'-needs questionnaire. The questionnaire included demographic information and hearing-loss history and covered six domains which evaluated the information or support needs of parents. Parental needs with regard to different domains were evaluated separately in all participants. Statistical analysis indicated that there was a significant decrease in the score attained in the parents'-needs questionnaire with increasing level of education of the child's parents (P<0.0001). Furthermore, the questionnaire score decreased as the parents' economic status increased (P<0.0001). The results of our study indicate that most parents of hearing-impaired children need adequate and appropriate information in all domains, and these findings support the positive effect of creating an appropriate educational environment by considering individualized needs. Furthermore, parents' levels of education and economic status have a significant effect on their parents' needs.

Assistive Courseware for Hearing Impaired Learners in Malaysia

This paper reports a research on Hearing Impaired (HI) learners in Malaysia which focuses on beginner level. This research has been carried out with intention to solve problem faced by parents of HI children in teaching their children to know the six basic sounds which is known as Ling-6 Sound. The HI learners were assisted by speciallydeveloped electronic-learning application or known as Assistive Courseware (AC) in their teaching and learning process. The AC utilizes their mother tongue language. The objectives of the study include 1) To identify the characteristic of AC for HI learners, 2) To design the storyboard of AC for HI learners, and 3) To design the interface of AC for HI learners. This study adapts the Iterative Triangulation Methodology, and is integrated with the IntView Methodology. The storyboard of the prototype is outlined next. The findings of this paper highlight the prototype of the AC labelled with certain characteristics that has been identified and the result is based on interview with parents. The final part concludes this paper.

A comparison between parents of children with cochlear implants and parents of children with hearing aids regarding parental distress and treatment expectations

Objective: The aim of the present study was to compare the parents of children with a hearing aid (HA) and children with a cochlear implant (CI) regarding their psychological distress, their expectations from treatment, their family climate, and the way they first obtained information on HA/CI. Methods: 154 parents (return quota 41%; 81 mothers and 73 fathers) of 90 children with a HA and 103 parents (return quota 59%; 57 mothers and 46 fathers) of 57 children with a CI were interviewed by means of a questionnaire. Results: Both groups of parents felt distressed, particularly at the time of diagnosis. Their psychological well-being was gradually stabilized in the further course of rehabilitation. Due to the operation associated with it, fitting with a CI brought on a phase of heightened parental psychological distress compared with less invasive treatment with a HA. Regarding family climate, more distress was found in parents of CI children than in parents of HA children. Expectations from therapy appeared realistic in both parental groups; however, after CI fitting, the parents of the CI children showed heightened expectations by comparison with the parents of the HA children. Conclusions: The results of our study suggest that the parents of hearing impaired children fitted with a HA or a CI may be divided into two subgroups with divergent psychosocial parameters. For the counseling of the parents of hearing impaired children in clinical practice, it would seem important to take these specific differences into consideration.

Relationships between parents of hearing-impaired children and teachers of the deaf

AbstractFamily involvement and support in the home are influential factors in the educational experience of the hearing-impaired child. The development of the home–school relationship is important in optimizing sources of support in the home and enhancing the learning of the children, parents and schools alike. This study examines the perspectives of parents of hearing-impaired children and their teachers of the deaf regarding the relationships between the family and school.

Relationships between parents of hearing-impaired children and teachers of the deaf

Family involvement and support in the home are influential factors in the educational experience of the hearing-impaired child. The development of the home–school relationship is important in optimizing sources of support in the home and enhancing the learning of the children, parents and schools alike. This study examines the perspectives of parents of hearing-impaired children and their teachers of the deaf regarding the relationships between the family and school.

The views of parents of hearing impaired children on the need for neonatal hearing screening.

Much research is now being undertaken into the implementation of universal neonatal hearing screens, but consumer opinion about such screening has not been widely available. The opinions of the parents of 356 children and young adults, with varying degrees of permanent hearing impairment were sought for the current study. They were questioned about their satisfaction with the age at which the hearing impairment was confirmed to be present in their child. Of 208 responses, only 58 were reasonably satisfied with the age at which their child's impairment had been confirmed. They were also asked whether they would have wanted a neonatal hearing screen had it been available. The overwhelming majority (166) would have welcomed such a test. This opinion was shared by the parents, even when their child had a mild or unilateral impairment. Parental comments about the advantages and disadvantages of neonatal screening are discussed.

Total Communication Use Among Elementary Teachers of Hearing-Impaired Children

This study examined the degree to which teachers' signed Manually Coded English messages represented their spoken utterances. Results indicate that educators in early elementary programs can, and do, provide a complete manual representation of their spoken English messages. This is in contrast with earlier research with middle school educators and parents of hearing-impaired children. Findings indicate that MCE proficiency may be influenced both by teacher attitude regarding the importance of signing a complete message and the degree to which program supervisors monitor teacher implementation of clearly specified MCE policies. Findings from this study have implications for programs to train teachers in using MCE and also provide information on the effects of program policy on teacher use of sign language.