Hearing Loss and Its Effect on Children's Language Development

Abstract

Hearing loss in children has a negative impact on the process of speech and language development. There is a critical period, during which the central nervous system is more sensitive to the information it receives from the environment, for the development of specific abilities. For speech and language development, the critical period is the first three to four years of life, presenting indeed differentiation in terms of the various elements of language. The hard of hearing children tend to have problems in phonology, morthosyntactix, and semantic development. The early diagnosis of children with hearing problems, either through programs of universal newborn hearing screening, or through the increased vigilance of parents, educators, and pediatricians, and the targeted therapeutic intervention, are crucial for the development of a native language.