Can You Hear Me Now? : Practices for Teachers to help students with hearing disabilities.

If a teacher has a student who has a hearing disability there are low-tech and high-tech solutions to adapting the classroom environment for his/her needs.

Low-Tech Solutions: 

Keep Your Mouth Visible- Some students are very good at reading lips and understanding what is being said. But teachers have a tendency to turn away from students or move about the room while teaching. Be mindful of your relationship to the student, especially if directing a question or statement to him/her

Provide Visuals- Providing visuals and pictures for students to use is the easiest solution and most cost effective way to help adapt the child's environment. The best thing is that by providing visuals of directions on the board, pictures to go along with a story, or other type of visual aid to the whole class, other students can benefit too! 

High-Tech Solutions:

Assistive Listening Devices- Assistive listening devices help to eliminate background noise in the typical classroom and amplifies a specific voice speaking into a microphone. It works in conjunction with the student's hearing aids. The microphone can be worn all day by the teacher or other important person who is speaking and the sound is transmitted to the receiver. 

Computer and Mobile Applications- Computer based programs and portable device applications are helping students who are hard of hearing, by allowing them to become more independent, especially in the classroom. E-mails, web research, blogs, speech recognition software and the like are all text-based, not limiting the student by being dependent upon hearing or speaking.

Reference:

Dell, A., Newton, D., & Petroff, J. (2012). Assistive Technology in the Classroom. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.