Parham Elementary teacher Sharon Stephens noticed last year that when she called on Chanel Gore in class, the girl wouldn't turn to answer her.

        “She was having difficulty comprehending,” Ms. Stephens said.

Parham Elementary teacher Sharon Stephens wears a tiny microphone that amplifies her voice to her sixth-grade students. (Ernest Coleman photo) | ZOOM |

        Chanel, now 13, went for diagnostic testing. Results: She suffered from some hearing loss in one ear.

        Ms. Stephens began wearing a tiny microphone that transmits sound to a speaker in the classroom.

        This year, Chanel, a seventh-grader, has one of the hearing systems in all her classrooms, including a newer model obtained through a donation of $10,500 worth of hearing equipment made this summer. The equipment is being placed in 15 Cincinnati Public Schools from a donation through the J. Louis Karp Fund for Hearing Impaired Children.

        The small microphone and speaker, called a classroom amplification system, are used to amplify voices eight to 10 decibels, said Dr. Eleanor Stromberg, executive director at the Hearing, Speech & Deaf Center of Greater Cincinnati.

        “This is so significant, because kids with unilateral hearing loss are at a risk of academic failure,” Dr. Stromberg said.

        Jonas Karp, grandson of the Phyllis Karp, who started the fund for hearing impaired children, said the amplification systems make a big difference in a child's ability to learn.

        Mr. Karp, 27, has been wearing a hearing aid since he was a child.

        If a teacher is not facing the student, much of what the teacher says can be lost in the surrounding sounds.

        “This has enhanced the learning process for all students,” Ms. Stephens said. “It amplifies what I am saying so all the students can hear.”

        To donate to the J. Louis Karp Fund, call 221-0527.
       

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