Equipment for Children with a Hearing Impairment

Hearing aids are essential pieces of equipment as they help hearing impaired children by amplifying sound. However, they can also amplify unwanted background noise in addition to the essential speech sounds. In some schools the acoustic quality of the classrooms can be influenced by thin walls and hard shiny surfaces, which bounce the noise around, rather than absorb it. Some of the difficulties caused by background noise and reverberation can be solved by modifying the physical environment of the classroom. For example:

• putting carpets on the floor or fitting rubber feet on tables and chairs
• installing double-glazing to cut down on noise from outside
• putting pin boards on the walls to 'soften' hard surfaces
• putting blinds on the windows

Any of the above measures would cut down on the level of noise in classrooms and would improve the listening environment for all pupils. However, undertaking large-scale modification of the physical environment is something that cannot happen instantly.

The solution might be to provide the hearing impaired pupil with a radio aid or a personal sound field system.

A radio aid, (or FM system), is a means of 'reducing' the distance between a teacher and a hearing impaired pupil by using radio waves. The teacher's speech is transmitted to the pupil by way of these unseen radio waves. Changes in the distance between them do not affect the volume of speech the child hears. The child receives a consistent sound level even when the teacher moves around.

The second advantage is that they cut down on background noise. As the teacher's microphone is only six inches away from his/her mouth the child receives a good signal, uncontaminated by classroom noise.

For this reason, a radio aids system is of particular benefit to hearing impaired pupils in mainstream classrooms where acoustic conditions are poor and where the level of background noise is likely to be high.

If a child cannot use a radio aid for some reason, maybe their hearing aid cannot take direct input or they are not using hearing aids at that particular time, another system that can help a pupil overcome background noise and reverberation in a classroom is the personal sound field system.

In both systems the teacher wears a transmitter, with a microphone on the chest or near the mouth, which transmits their voice by radio waves. In the radio aid system a receiver, worn by the pupil, and connected to the pupil's hearing aids by a lead and 'shoe', picks up these radio waves. In the personal soundfield system the radio waves are picked up by a receiver sitting next to a small speaker on the desk in front of the pupil. The child hears the teacher's voice via the small speaker.

The radio aid systems currently used by the SCS are the Connevans CRM 220 or Genie, and for older pupils, the Phonak MLx and the personal soundfield system currently used is the Phonic Ear 723.

The pieces of equipment mentioned above are not suitable for all hearing impaired pupils. They are also expensive and budget limitations means that not all children who need them can be supplied with a radio aid or soundfield system as quickly as we would like. The teacher of the hearing impaired and the educational audiologist, following discussion with the parents and class teacher, decides whether or not a particular system is suitable for a pupil. The SCS uses a radio aid request form, which the visiting teachers will fill in, giving details about the child's needs and situation. Acting on their advice, the educational audiologist then decides on the best system to use, and will issue as soon as one is available and/or funding allows.

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