Concerns About a Student’s Hearing

If a teacher or parent is concerned about a student’s hearing, they should contact the district’s AEA team for assistance. AEA staff will work through the disability suspected process as they do for other areas of concern.  

Signs that a student may need to be referred for a suspected disability related to hearing may include:

• Difficulty following verbal instructions
• Frequently asking for repetition or clarification
• Misunderstanding words that sound similar
• Looking to peers to get cues on what to do before following instructions
• Asking for things to be louder
• Seeming to ignore or not respond to sounds/speech
• Complaining of ringing or buzzing in the ears

Please also consider that hearing may be having an impact on the student if there are academic concerns, especially in reading and writing, communication concerns or behavior concerns.