How does hearing impairment affect speech development in children?

Hearing impairment significantly impacts a child's ability to develop speech and language skills. When a child has difficulty hearing, they are unable to receive auditory input crucial for understanding and producing speech sounds. This reduced access to sounds can lead to delayed speech and language acquisition, as the child may miss out on important phonetic cues and language models that are essential for developing effective communication skills.

Children with hearing impairments may struggle with articulation due to the lack of auditory feedback necessary for learning to pronounce words correctly. They might also have challenges with grammar, sentence structure, and overall language comprehension which can further delay their communication skills. Early intervention and appropriate strategies can help mitigate these effects, but the fundamental impact of hearing impairment is a delay in the acquisition of both speech and language.