Consequences of congenital hearing loss - a longterm view

Responsibility for detection of hearing loss at the earliest possible age rests on the shoulders of the medical profession. Early detection and presentation of language through all available sensory channels, most notably the visual, are essential since deaf children of hearing parents, the vast majority of the deaf, characteristically remain grossly deficient linguistically despite years of special schooling. The deaf children of deaf parents, who are not as deprived linguistically since they learn a manual language at the normal age of language acquisition, tend to be less severely handicapped than the deaf children of hearing parents. Deafness is a hidden handicap in infancy although lack of vestibular function may delay motor milestones like sitting and walking but does not constitute a serious problem after they are achieved. The average 18 year old deaf student achieves a reading level comparable to that of a hearing fourth grader and the mathematical skills of a sixth grader. He is also deficient in science, social studies, and general information despite his average scores on nonverbal intelligence tests. Although many deaf students drop out of school before graduation and few go on to higher education, congenitally deaf adults are usually self-supporting and independent. Eighty per cent of the deaf marry hearing impaired persons. The deaf are greatly assisted by the cohesive deaf community existing in every sizable city which provides a social, recreational, and economic framework to their lives. As a result, delinquency and psychiatric illness are not higher among the deaf than the hearing, despite the difficulties they have dealing with the complexities of the hearing society.