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Hearing impairment

A hearing impairment is a decrease in one's ability to hear (i.e. perceive auditory information). While some cases of hearing loss are reversible with medical treatment, many lead to a permanent disability (often called deafness). more...

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If the hearing loss occurs at a young age, it may interfere with the acquisition of spoken language and social development. Hearing aids and cochlear implants may alleviate some of the problems caused by hearing impairment, but are often insufficient. People who have hearing impairments, especially those who develop a hearing problem later in life, often require support and technical adaptations as part of the rehabilitation process.

Causes

There are four major causes of hearing loss: genetic, disease processes affecting the ear, medication and physical trauma.

Genetic

Hearing loss can be inherited. Both dominant and recessive genes exist which can cause mild to profound impairment. If a family has a dominant gene for deafness it will persist across generations because it will manifest itself in the offspring even if it is inherited from only one parent. If a family had genetic hearing impairment caused by a recessive gene it will not always be apparent as it will have to be passed onto offspring from both parents.

Dominant and recessive hearing impairment can be syndromic or nonsyndromic. Recent gene mapping has identified dozens of nonsyndromic dominant (DFNA#) and recessive (DFNB#) forms of deafness.

  • The most common type of congenital hearing impairment in developed countries is DFNB1, also known as Connexin 26 deafness or GJB2-related deafness.
  • The most common dominant syndromic forms of hearing impairment include Stickler syndrome and Waardenburg syndrome.
  • The most common recessive syndromic forms of hearing impairment are Pendred syndrome, Large vestibular aqueduct syndrome and Usher syndrome.

Disease or illness

  • Measles may result in auditory nerve damage
  • Meningitis may damage the auditory nerve or the cochlea
  • Autoimmune disease has only recently been recognised as a potential cause for cochlear damage. Although probably rare, it is possible for autoimmune processes to target the cochlea specifically, without symptoms affecting other organs. Wegener's granulomatosis is one of the autoimmune conditions that may precipiate hearing loss.
  • Presbyacusis is deafness due to loss of perception to high tones, mainly in the elderly. It is considered a degenerative process, and it is poorly understood why some elderly people develop presbyacusis while others do not.
  • Mumps (Epidemic parotitis) may result in profound sensorineural hearing loss (90 dB or more), unilateral (one ear) or bilateral (both ears).
  • Adenoids that do not disappear by adolescence may continue to grow and may obstruct the Eustachian tube, causing conductive hearing impairment and nasal infections that can spread to the middle ear.
  • AIDS and ARC patients frequently experience auditory system anomalies.
  • HIV (and subsequent opportunistic infections) may directly affect the cochlea and central auditory system.
  • Chlamydia may cause hearing loss in newborns to whom the disease has been passed at birth.
  • Fetal alcohol syndrome is reported to cause hearing loss in up to 64% of infants born to alcoholic mothers, from the ototoxic effect on the developing fetus plus malnutrition during pregnancy from the excess alcohol intake.
  • Premature birth results in sensorineural hearing loss approximately 5% of the time.
  • Syphilis is commonly transmitted from pregnant women to their fetuses, and about a third of the infected children will eventually become deaf.
  • Otosclerosis is a hardening of the stapes (or stirrup) in the middle ear and causes conductive hearing loss.

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Court's refusal to provide videotext display for person with hearing impairment violated ADA's reasonable accommodation requirement
From Law Reporter, 12/1/01

Court's refusal to provide videotext display for person with hearing impairment violated ADA's reasonable accommodation requirement.

Duvall v. County of Kitsap, 260 F.3d 1124 (9th Cir. 2001).

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a trial court's refusal to provide videotext display to an individual with a hearing impairment violated the reasonable accommodation requirement of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. (sec) 12101 et seq.

Here, Duvall, who has a severe hearing impairment, was a party in a divorce action. His request for videotext display during the proceedings was denied, and the trial court subsequently denied his motion for a mistrial based on the court's refusal to provide the display. Duvall sued the county, alleging, among other claims, that defendant violated the ADA by denying him the use of videotext display. The trial court granted defendant summary judgment.

Reversing, the Ninth Circuit noted that plaintiff, as an individual with a hearing impairment, is protected by the ADA. Thus, the primary issue is whether defendant was required to provide videotext display as a reasonable accommodation for plaintiff's disability. The implementing regulations of the ADA provide, in part, that a public entity must furnish appropriate auxiliary aids and services to an individual with a disability. These regulations specifically mention videotext displays as a method of making materials available to individuals with hearing impairments, the court said.

The court rejected defendant's argument that videotext display was not a reasonable accommodation because it was not available to the county at the time of plaintiff's case. Plaintiff presented evidence that one of defendant's court reporters was familiar with videotext display, and that other court reporters outside the area were available to provide the service at the time of his trial. In addition, firms from the surrounding areas were able to provide videotext display. Mere speculation that a requested accommodation is not reasonable, the court said, is not sufficient to satisfy the ADA. Rather, the act creates a duty on the part of public entities to gather sufficient information from the individual requesting accommodation and qualified experts to determine what accommodations are necessary, the court noted.

The court also rejected defendant's argument that it provided reasonable accommodations to plaintiff-specifically, an assistive listening device and a specially equipped courtroom-sufficient to satisfy the ADA. Plaintiff presented evidence that the listening device was inappropriate for his needs because it would have required him to remove his hearing aids, which are precisely adjusted to his hearing needs. He also offered evidence that, despite the use of the specially equipped courtroom, he was unable to participate equally in the trial. Thus, there is a material issue of fact as to whether defendant's refusal to provide videotext display prevented plaintiff from participating equally in the trial, the court concluded.

Accordingly, the court remanded.

Plaintiffs Counsel

Lonnie Davis, Seattle, Wash.

Christopher K. Steuart, Seattle, Wash.

Copyright Association of Trial Lawyers of America Dec 2001
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved

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