"A lonely time for deaf and hard of hearing kids": A qualitative study of the impact of pandemic precautions on classroom communication for adolescents with hearing loss.

BACKGROUND

Pandemic public health measures, such as masks and social distancing, present unique challenges for people who are hard-of-hearing. This study sought to understand how adolescents with varying levels of hearing loss would describe their experiences communicating in a classroom environment during a pandemic and its associated public health measures.

METHODS

Qualitative study utilizing one-on-one semi-structured interviews conducted from July 2021 to April 2022. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using a reflexive thematic analysis to conceptualize the main themes from the data. Adolescents ages 12-17 who attended school in person during the COVID-19 pandemic with either normal hearing or; bilateral cochlear implants or; bone-anchored hearing aids or; unilateral moderate to severe (40-70 dB) conductive hearing loss secondary to mastoidectomy, were interviewed. Participants were recruited from BC Children's Hospital Otolaryngology clinic via a convenience sample.

RESULTS

Fourteen adolescents were interviewed with a median age of 15, 9 with hearing loss and 5 with normal hearing. Pandemic associated challenges such as masks muffling speech, protocol fatigue, and missing pre-pandemic life were present in both the hearing loss and normal hearing groups. Classroom communication for adolescents with hearing loss was disproportionately affected by pandemic measures, leading to challenges making friends, feeling behind their peers in learning, and listening fatigue. Resilience was noted among adolescents with hearing loss in their ability to adapt to pandemic measures and changing classroom dynamics. For adolescents with unilateral hearing loss, the pandemic provided an improved listening environment via a reduction in background noise.

CONCLUSION

Pre-existing classroom communication challenges for adolescents with hearing loss were amplified under pandemic public health measures and shared, in part, by those with normal hearing. These findings can be used to further inform classroom design to the optimize learning environment for deaf and hard of hearing students.