Hearing Impairment

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Home > OSL&P > Special Education > IDEA Eligibility Categories > Hearing Impairment

Hearing Impairment: Means a hearing condition, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child's educational performance. The term includes those children who are hard of hearing or deaf.

OAR 581-015-2150 Hearing Impairment Eligibility Criteria
(1) If a child is suspected of having a hearing impairment, the following evaluation must be conducted:
   (a) Audiology assessment. An audiological assessment by an audiologist licensed by the State Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology;
   (b) Medical or health assessment statement. A medical statement or a health assessment statement indicating that the hearing loss is sensory-neural or conductive, if the conductive loss has been determined to be untreatable by a physician;
   (c) Other:
     (A) Any additional assessments necessary to determine the impact of the suspected disability:
      (i) On the child's educational performance for a school-age child; or
      (ii) On the child's developmental progress for a preschool child; and
     (B) Any additional evaluations or assessments necessary to identify the child's educational needs. (2) To be eligible as a child with a hearing impairment, the child must meet one of the following minimum criteria:    (a) The child has a pure tone average loss of 25 dbHL or greater in the better ear for frequencies of 500 Hz, 1000 Hz, and 2000 Hz, or a pure tone average loss of 35 dbHL or greater in the better ear for frequencies of 3000 Hz, 4000 Hz, and 6000 Hz; or
   (b) The child has a unilateral hearing impairment with a pure tone average loss of 50 dbHL or greater in the affected ear for the frequencies 500 Hz to 4000 Hz; and
   (c) The loss is either sensorineural or conductive if the conductive loss has been determined to be currently untreatable by a physician.
(3) For a child to be eligible for special education services as a child with a hearing impairment, the eligibility team must also determine that:
   (a) The child's disability has an adverse impact on the child's educational performance; and
   (b) The child needs special education services as a result of the disability.

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