To celebrate the incredible work school health professionals do to support students’ hearing health, we invited you to share a time when a hearing screening made a meaningful difference in a student's academic journey — and how you helped get them the care they needed.
Click the tabs below to read some inspiring stories from school nurses, special education professionals, and early childhood staff!
- "As a school nurse, hearing screenings are not just a task on my checklist - they are a doorway to learning. I once worked with a hearing and vision screener supporting a quiet little student who had been struggling academically and was often labeled as 'not paying attention.' During the hearing screening, I noticed inconsistent responses. After follow-up and referral, we discovered a hearing deficit that had gone unnoticed. With proper support and accommodations in place, that child's confidence blossomed. Participation improved. Grades improved. Smiles increased. That experience reminded me that hearing screenings change trajectories. They protect access to education, support early intervention, and give children the chance to fully engage in their world. Sometimes a simple screening makes the biggest difference. " - Maribelia
- "I was doing hearing screenings on third grade students at the beginning of school in 2024 when a third grade girl failed her hearing screening. I repeated the hearing screening a couple weeks after the original screening to make sure she didn't have fluid on her ears affecting the screening results. This young student failed the repeat hearing screening. I called mother to let her know that her daughter failed her hearing screening at school and recommended she see her primary care doctor so that she can get a referral to an ENT. After an ENT consult it was determined she had hearing loss and needed to wear hearing aides daily. She finally got her hearing aides and was putting her shoes on for school one morning and said to her mom, 'Mom! I can hear myself putting on me shoes! I can hear my foot slide into my shoe.' Her mom was so surprised that her daughter had never heard those noises before and was so grateful that her daughter can now be successful in the classroom because her hearing loss was detected using a MAICO audiometer." - McKenzie
- "We had a student who in the course of our regular 10th grade screenings, failed the hearing screening. At all frequencies tested in both ears she needed the volume raised quite a bit to hear the tone. When discussing the results with the student, she admitted that her friends often joked with her that she couldn't hear them. She hated going to the cafeteria for lunch because she couldn't hear individuals, only noise. Her grades were borderline failing. We reached out to the parents who took her in for testing. It turned out that she had a profound hearing impairment that had never been diagnosed. We helped the family get hearing aids for the student using funding from an annual grant we receive for helping students with unusual expenses. The student went on to graduate in 2024 and went to college. The results of her school hearing screening were truly life changing." - Florence
- "We worked with a student who had a history of behavioral challenges. After conducting a hearing screening, we discovered that the student had significant hearing loss in one ear. We referred the student to a physician for further evaluation and maintained close communication with the family throughout the process. The student was subsequently fitted with hearing aids. Following this intervention, we observed a dramatic improvement in the student's behavior. The student appeared calmer, happier, and more engaged in classroom activities, with increased participation and overall success." - Katie
- "When I first started as a school nurse at my elementary school, I had screened a student who failed his hearing exam two consecutive times. After the second screening, I sent a referral letter to mom and called her. This student had been struggling in the classroom and had been diagnosed with ADHD but medication wasn't helping. After mom brought him to be assessed, it was found that he was mostly deaf in both ears and was fitted for hearing aids. Once he received them and began to acclimate, his academics and behavior improved significantly. He wasn't misbehaving, he just couldn't hear what was going on around him, so he wasn't able to pay attention. I was so happy to be able to assist him in figuring out what truly was going on and help him to achieve success!" - Bethani
- "We use the MAICO Ero•Scan frequently. It has been a game changer for our identification process. For one particular student, he was brought to Child Study for a Special Education referral due to concerns with behavior and lack of attention. An OAE was done with a 'refer' bilaterally. The student was since by an audiologist and identified with bilateral hearing loss. Adding accommodations for hearing, including strategic seating and amplification, changed the student's behavior and improved attention and language skills." - Kim
- The MAICO audiometer I currently use to perform hearing screening is a working-still-dinosaur! I screen a special needs population which presents inherent challenges. These students are phenomenal human beings who more than deserve the attention and problem-solving the screener and equipment can provide." - Rita
- "One of the most meaningful experiences I’ve had with a hearing screening involved a student in my special education Pre-K class who was struggling with participation and early literacy skills. He often seemed disengaged during whole-group instruction, had difficulty following multi-step directions, and rarely responded when his name was called. At first glance, it appeared to be an attention or behavior concern. During a routine hearing screening, he did not pass in one ear. That result immediately shifted our perspective. Instead of assuming noncompliance or lack of focus, we considered how limited access to sound might be affecting his ability to process language, develop phonological awareness, and engage socially. We notified the family right away and provided information about the screening results, along with a referral to his pediatrician and an audiologist for a comprehensive evaluation. The follow-up evaluation confirmed a mild conductive hearing loss due to persistent fluid in his ears. From there, several important steps were taken: the family worked with his doctor to address the medical concern; we added classroom accommodations while waiting for treatment, including preferential seating, reducing background noise, and ensuring we had his visual attention before giving directions; we incorporated more visual supports, gestures, and picture cues during instruction; and our speech-language pathologist adjusted sessions to emphasize clear articulation and auditory discrimination skills. The impact was noticeable within weeks. Once the medical issue was treated and classroom supports were in place, he became more responsive, began participating in group discussions, and showed growth in identifying letter sounds and following directions. His confidence improved, and so did his peer interactions. This experience reinforced how critical hearing screenings are—especially in early childhood settings." - Jessenia
- "I am an SLP at a public charter school. I handle all the hearing screenings for our school. I had a kindergarten student who was demonstrating severe speech sound errors and was very difficult to understand. We discovered through a hearing screening and subsequent follow-up from an ENT that he had fluid in his inner ear that was about to rupture his eardrum. He had never complained of ear pain, but it was clear that this was not an isolated occurrence. He had tubes placed immediately and then began receiving speech therapy. After some time in therapy, he has eliminated multiple phonological processes and is thriving in school! He was recently in a play at school in which he recited his lines with clear articulation in the leading part." - Kristin
- "In 2011, during a routine Child Find screening, my three-year-old son failed his hearing test. At first, I wasn't concerned. He was already on his second set of ear tubes due to chronic infections. But as I sat with him on my lap during the follow-up audiology appointment, the reality shifted. We learned he was completely deaf in his left ear. Because he was meeting his developmental milestones, we initially opted against hearing aids. That changed in kindergarten when he tried a Bone Anchored Hearing Aid (BAHA). He came home that day and told me, 'Mom, I can hear my friends.' We haven't looked back since. Now 17, my son serves as a mentor for younger students with hearing loss. His journey has profoundly shaped my 22-year career in special education. Whether as a teacher, a PST for eight years, or in my current role as a Special Education Director, my experience as a mother makes me a fiercer advocate. I strive to ensure our students have more than just access; I want them to have meaningful engagement with peers who share their lived experiences. I advocate for the 'small' things that matter, like understanding incidental sounds to ensure no student with hearing loss is ever lost in the crowd." - Jen
- "I have a student here in preschool who had her first hearing screening at school with me during our yearly assessments. The student was tested twice and the sounds were loud enough that I could hear them during testing but the student still couldn't hear. A referral was sent home to her mom requesting she have the student seen but a doctor and she immediately made an appointment. Student was confirmed at two different appointments to have mild to moderate sensorineural hearing loss bilaterally. She was then fitted with hearing aides that she received last week and also put on an IEP for accommodations to make sure her needs were met. It wasn't even on parents radar since the student is 4 years old but now steps have been taken to ensure student is successful and thriving!" - Angela
- "I had a 3rd grade student that transferred into our district. In her IEP meeting I noticed we didn't have any hearing information. The child was pretty far behind grade level in reading, writing, and math. I did a hearing screening as part of her IEP evaluation. She failed. I rescreened 2 weeks later and did an audiogram. She still failed miserably. I signed her up for our difficult to test hearing clinic hosted by our local university. It was noted that she was nearly deaf and required hearing aids. She was able to receive those and has since made such amazing progress and is now reading and writing at current grade level!" - Jenny
- "I did a routine hearing test on a little girl who was in the first grade and was found to have no hearing on her left side. Her parents were notified and took her to her pediatrician. She was found to have no eardrum on the left side. She was sent to Boston Children's Hospital where her eardrum was rebuilt. The next hearing test that I did showed perfect hearing in both ears. She is now a thriving 5th grader with extremely thankful parents!" - Ruth
- "I was screening a kindergartner one year and he could not hear the tones in the left ear but heard all the tones in the right ear. Rescreened at a later date and the student failed again. Audiogram was done and the student was referred to an audiologist. The student was DX with sensorineural hearing loss in the left ear. The student now wears a hearing aid and is thriving in school. Catching the hearing loss when a child starts school is key. Having the mandatory screenings in place has helped many children in my district." - Jamie
- "Hearing screening was completed on one of our 1st grade students. Because he comes from a Spanish speaking household, communication is often difficult. He failed initial screening and rescreen, then threshold. He was referred for ENT referral and audiologist. He was found to have a conductive hearing loss and the placement of tubes bilaterally and tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy were preformed. Student is now in 2nd grade and hearing much better. He is much more articulate with his communication, therefore making his needs known to his teacher, other support school staff, and myself (school nurse). We were unaware of his hearing deficit. This is the value in hearing and vision screenings in schools. Our student is thriving academically and understands verbal communication because he can hear better. His hearing deficit was unknown without the value of the hearing screenings." - Sue
- "I had a bright student that I noticed who was talking loudly and wasn't responding to anyone calling his name. I spoke to his mother, which then stated they had noticed it and brough it up to the child's PCP. Since this was his first year in pre-k, I take all my students to our school nurse to have a hearing test done on them. The test results confirmed that he had failed it. We called in a specialist to reevaluate the student with higher technology. That was confirmed again that the student had failed it. During this period, the child was having a hard time 'hearing' the correct way to make letter sounds. He was referred to Arkansas Children's Hospital for another evaluation. The mother made an appointment. It in fact showed that he had a loss of hearing and would need surgery. The student received his surgery and now can hear much better which in fact helps him excel in his academics." - Ashley
Your stories show the real difference early hearing detection makes — and we’re proud to support you every step of the way.
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