People with sensorineural loss might speak loudly, experience greater high-frequency loss, have difficulty distinguishing consonant sounds, and not hear well in noisy environments. Mixed loss results from both a conductive and sensorineural loss. Given the close relationship between oral language and hearing, students with hearing loss might also have speech impairments. Those born deaf or who become deaf as very young children might have more limited speech development. Some deaf students are skilled lipreaders, but many are not.
Many speech sounds have identical mouth movements, which can make lipreading particularly difficult.
Make sure you have a deaf student's attention before speaking. A light touch on the shoulder, a wave, or other visual signal will help. Look directly at a person with a hearing loss during a conversation, even when an interpreter is present. Speak clearly, without shouting. If you have problems being understood, rephrase your thoughts.