Are Deaf Children Mute Dumb?

The ear is one part of the body that is very important in helping children practice communication skills. Every sound that is captured by the ear receiver will make the child easier when learning about things around him. Hearing loss in children will certainly interfere with their ability to speak. So, are deaf children mute too?

Is it true that deaf children are mute?

Generally, deaf children do have difficulties when talking. Even if they speak fluently, there are still some letters or words that are difficult to pronounce, especially in consonantal letters. Often their pronunciation is not as clear as the pronunciation of people with good hearing function.

However, this does not mean that children who are deaf must also be born mute. Communication skills are also influenced by the deaf condition of each child.

There are two types of conditions that are deaf, namely sensorineural hearing loss and conductive hearing loss.

Sensorineural hearing loss is a condition where a person has permanent hearing loss. This situation occurs when there is damage to small cells such as hair from the inner ear. It could also be because there is damage to the auditory nerve which weakens the nerve when sending signals carrying information about sounds to the brain.

Meanwhile, conductive hearing loss is a condition that arises when there are obstacles or disturbances in the outer and middle ear that prevent sound from entering the inner ear. This hearing loss is usually temporary, but can be permanent depending on how severe and the cause.

Not only at birth, but a person can also lose hearing after knowing the language. In deaf children who experience this case, they may still have better speech skills and are not mute.

It is different if the deaf condition which is owned by a child has existed since birth. Children with this condition will have difficulty learning to communicate because they cannot hear all the sounds around them or their voices since they were born. That's why their language development was delayed.

Train children who are deaf to communication

Indeed, with a non-functioning sense of hearing, teaching children to talk will be more difficult. They will need more time to understand words and their meanings, and their use to form a sentence.

Usually, deaf children also tend to use shorter and simpler sentences to communicate and that does not mean that they are mute.

Training deaf children to communicate must still be done. Without proper treatment, early hearing loss will certainly affect their future lives, both academic problems at school and their social lives.

Therefore, the presence of a caregiver working with a pathologist will help guide the child to continue to practice. With the help of these professionals, they will provide speech therapy that is right for the child.

Usually, the therapist will add a listening game to the session to help the child progress in therapy.

There may be an assumption that children with more severe deafness will not be able to speak or will be mute. Research shows that they can begin to develop the ability to speak.