DO YOU KNOW? In Singapore, every baby receives a hearing test at birth, which is known as universal newborn hearing screening. Research has showed that about 0.1% (or 1 of every 1,000) babies born in Singapore have severe or profound hearing loss, and about 0.5% (or 5 of every 1,000) have lesser degrees of hearing loss. Find out more about Universal Newborn Hearing Screening here.
Types of hearing loss, levels of hearing loss and causes of hearing loss are covered below.
Types of Hearing Loss
CONDUCTIVE
Conductive hearing loss refers to cases where sound is not conducted efficiently through the outer ear canal to the eardrum and the middle ear.
SENSORINEURAL
Sensorineural hearing loss happens when there is damage to the inner ear (called the cochlea), or to the nerves from the inner ear to the brain.
MIXED
Some people have mixed hearing loss, which means they have both conductive and sensorineural loss in the same ear(s).
DID YOU KNOW? Singapore is the second fastest ageing nation in Asia after Japan. Persons over 65 years old will increase from 7% of the total resident population in 1999 to 18% in 2030. Age-related hearing loss is becoming very common and about 50% of those 80 years and above is expected to have significant hearing loss. (For more information, refer to SADeaf’s Mini Enabling Masterplan 2012.)
Levels of Hearing Loss
Every Deaf and hard-of-hearing person’s degree of hearing loss is unique. These are the general board bands of hearing loss and the extent to which sounds can be heard by those classified as such.
MILD HEARING LOSS
Unable to hear soft sounds. Understand speech may be difficult in a noisy environment.
MODERATE HEARING LOSS
Unable to hear soft and moderately loud sounds. Understanding speech may be difficult in a noisy environment.
SEVERE HEARING LOSS
Unable to hear people speaking at a normal conversational level. Even loud speech is difficult to hear or understand.
PROFOUND HEARING LOSS
Only able to hear very loud sounds. Most sounds are difficult to hear or distinguish.
Causes of Hearing Loss
There are many causes of hearing loss, some of which are genetic and others are due to external factors such as accident or prolonged exposure to loud noises. Hearing loss affects people of all ages.
Do download our brochure on Understanding Deafness for more information.
DID YOU KNOW? The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is an international human rights instrument of the United Nations which Singapore has ratified. The CRPD protects the rights and promotes equality of persons with disabilities, including those of Deaf and hard-of-hearing people. The Convention mentions sign language and accessibility for the deaf seven times in five different articles. These articles are: Article 2 – Definition Article 9 – Accessibility Article 21 – Freedom of expression and opinion, and access to information Article 24 – Education Article 30 – Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport.
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