Dr Natalia Rohatyn-Martin | Hidden Exhaustion: The Struggle of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students in Education

For most students, attending to a typical school lesson involves listening to the teacher, perhaps jotting down notes, and occasionally participating in discussions. But imagine having to concentrate intensely on every word, constantly shifting your attention between the teacher and a sign language interpreter; or straining to lip-read and process spoken content, while simultaneously trying to keep up with the lesson and take notes. This is the daily reality for deaf and hard of hearing students in schools, and new research suggests it’s leaving them mentally and physically exhausted. Dr Natalia Rohatyn-Martin, an educational researcher at MacEwan University in Alberta, Canada, reveals how fatigue affects deaf and hard of hearing students in inclusive classrooms, with implications for teaching practices worldwide.

Dr Natalia Rohatyn-Martin has been exploring a challenge that is often overlooked in inclusive classrooms: the deep, persistent fatigue experienced by deaf and hard of hearing students. Working with her research team, she’s uncovered how these students face far more than just the difficulty of not hearing – they’re navigating learning environments that demand constant effort in ways most educators don’t fully recognize.

The idea for this research emerged from Dr Rohatyn-Martin’s dissertation work, and observations in her own university classroom, where a technical glitch during a video presentation inadvertently demonstrated the exhausting nature of relying solely on visual information. When the audio stopped working and students had to read subtitles for just five minutes, they quickly became restless and complained of eye strain. ‘I feel bad for students who have to go through this on a daily basis, I’m exhausted!’ one hearing student remarked.

This moment of insight led Dr Rohatyn-Martin to question what educators truly understand about the daily experiences of deaf and hard of hearing students. If hearing students became fatigued after just a few minutes of visual-only learning, what was happening to students who faced these challenges every day, six hours a day, five days a week?

Understanding the Science of Fatigue

To appreciate the scale of this challenge, it’s important to understand what fatigue actually means in an educational context. As Dr Rohatyn-Martin explains, fatigue isn’t about feeling tired – it’s a deeper, more persistent exhaustion that builds up from ongoing mental, emotional, or physical demands and doesn’t simply go away with a good night’s sleep.

The research team identified three distinct types of fatigue that affect learning.

• Cognitive fatigue occurs when mental demands such as concentration, attention, and memory are sustained for extended periods, leading to a decline in focus and clear thinking.
• Social–emotional fatigue comes from constant social interaction and the emotional energy it takes to stay engaged, which can leave students feeling drained.
• Physical fatigue stems from bodily strain, such as eye strain from hours of visual concentration, or muscle tension from maintaining focused postures.

For deaf and hard of hearing students, these three types of fatigue don’t just happen separately – they often compound one another. Dr Rohatyn-Martin’s research reveals that two specific factors significantly increase fatigue levels for these students: auditory effort and visual effort.

The Hidden Burden of Auditory Effort

Auditory effort refers to the cognitive energy required to attend to and understand spoken messages. In most classrooms, background noise from chattering classmates, moving chairs, ventilation systems, and hallway activity creates a challenging listening environment even for students with typical hearing. Research shows that younger students tend to struggle in noisy environments, regardless of their hearing ability.

For deaf and hard of hearing students, this challenge becomes exponentially more difficult. Even with the help of hearing aids, cochlear implants, or FM systems (devices that can amplify sound directly from the teacher’s microphone to the student’s hearing equipment), the auditory signal rarely matches normal hearing quality. Students must work significantly harder than their hearing peers to locate sound sources, understand teacher instructions, and follow classroom discussions.

Dr Rohatyn-Martin’s research includes powerful accounts from students themselves. One participant described how everyday he had to ‘concentrate on the words that they’re saying to me’ finding it ‘really tiring’ because unlike hearing students who could ‘move around, or text, or daydream’, he had to ‘watch and concentrate all the time’.

The Exhausting Demands of Visual Processing

Visual effort can be just as draining as listening effort – sometimes more so. While hearing students can occasionally look away from the teacher without missing important information, deaf and hard of hearing students cannot afford such breaks. They must constantly divide their attention between multiple visual sources: the teacher, any visual aids (e.g., Smartboard, textbook), their notes, and often a sign language interpreter.

For students who use interpreters, the cognitive demands are particularly complex. Sign languages like American Sign Language (ASL) or British Sign Language (BSL) have completely different grammar from English. So, when a student watches the interpreter, they first have to understand the signed message, then mentally translate it into English in order to write it down. In other words, they’re working in two languages – at the same time – every class, because there is no written form for sign language as there is for spoken languages. Additionally, hearing students can look down at their notes page and write a note while continuing to listen to the teacher. As soon as a deaf or hard of hearing student looks down to write a note, they are no longer receiving the signed message or lip reading, since their visual attention has moved from the interpreter or teacher to their notes.

The research reveals that students often don’t realise how the need for constant visual attention, as well as deciding what to prioritize (watching the interpreter or teacher versus making notes to support their learning and retention) affects them. One student described feeling ‘really tired in English class’ because ‘the interpreter has to sign a lot, and I have to try really hard not to fall asleep’. Crucially, the student didn’t initially recognise this as problematic, saying ‘it’s just that one class, so it’s not a big deal’ failing to appreciate that this ‘one class’ occurred multiple times per week throughout the entire school year.

Uncovering Student Experiences

Dr Rohatyn-Martin and her team conducted detailed interviews with students to understand their daily experiences. The research revealed four distinct themes that characterise how deaf and hard of hearing students cope with educational demands.

The first theme, listening/viewing effort, captured how students recognised they had to work much harder than their hearing classmates just to keep up. Students described feeling drained by the constant concentration required, with one explaining how he would become so exhausted that his ‘mind is not able to work hard enough or fast enough to get the words together’.

The second theme was listening/viewing conditions, and highlighted how environmental factors dramatically affected student experiences. Noisy classrooms, poor acoustics and lighting, malfunctioning equipment, and teachers refusing to use FM systems or using them incorrectly all increased fatigue levels. Additionally, students described FM systems in noisy environments as sounding ‘scratchy’, ‘wet’, or ‘confusing’, requiring even greater effort to extract meaningful information from degraded audio signals.

Survival Strategies and Their Consequences

One of the most striking findings from the research was the coping strategies and survival mechanisms students developed just to get through the school day. When cognitive resources became depleted, students resorted to strategies that ultimately hindered their learning. These included pretending to listen whilst mentally disengaging, nodding along without understanding, or simply giving up on trying to follow complex discussions.

One student admitted to ‘just pretending I’m listening, sometimes I really am, but sometimes no’. Another described how, when he fell behind in understanding, he would ‘just give up and just nod’.

The final theme, not worth the effort, captured what happens when students hit their breaking point. They didn’t just get tired – they checked out – complete disengagement from learning. When fatigue became overwhelming, students would mentally withdraw from lessons entirely. One student put it as: ‘Sometimes I just think, like what’s the point? So, I put my head down on the desk and think about other things.’ This is often misinterpreted by teachers, that consider this defiant behaviour instead of seeing it for what it is – exhaustion.

The Educational Impact

These coping strategies have serious implications for academic achievement. Dr Rohatyn-Martin’s research suggests that teachers often misinterpret signs of fatigue, such as inattentiveness, distractibility, or apparent disinterest, as behavioural problems rather than recognising them as symptoms of exhaustion.

In fact, when researchers compared fatigue levels across different student groups, they found something striking: deaf and hard of hearing students reported higher levels of fatigue than both their hearing peers and students living with chronic health conditions. This included general tiredness, sleep-related fatigue, and mental exhaustion.

This finding is particularly significant because it challenges common assumptions about inclusion. While placing deaf and hard of hearing students in mainstream classrooms aims to provide equal educational opportunities, the research suggests that without appropriate support, these placements may actually create additional barriers to learning.

Developing Solutions Through Universal Design

Dr Rohatyn-Martin’s recent work has focused on practical solutions to address these challenges. Together with Dr Hayward, she has explored how Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles can create more accessible educational environments for all students.

UDL is an educational framework that recognises learner diversity from the outset, rather than treating accessibility as an afterthought. The approach focuses on providing multiple means of engagement—the ‘why’ of learning, multiple means of representation—the ‘what’ of learning, and multiple means of action and expression—the ‘how’ of learning.

For deaf and hard of hearing students, this might involve offering frequent breaks during lessons, alternating between whole-class and small-group activities, combining auditory, visual, and kinaesthetic learning opportunities, as well as reducing speaker overlap in classroom discussions. Importantly, these strategies benefit all students, not just those with hearing difficulties.

The Development of Assessment Tools

Recognising the need for a better understanding of fatigue in educational settings, Dr Rohatyn-Martin’s team has developed the Fatigue in Educational Contexts (FEC) survey. The FEC has forms intended to be completed by students, guardians, and educational teams, which provide a comprehensive view of fatigue factors when combined. This groundbreaking tool can be used to inform alleviation approaches.

Unlike other fatigue tools, this survey incorporates multiple presentation formats to ensure it can be used by students regardless of their communication preferences and needs. It can be accessed online, and questions are presented in various formats, including written English, ASL, and spoken English. Response options include visual icons, signed responses, and spoken language recordings, accommodating students who use spoken language, sign language, or both, ensuring that as many individuals as possible can engage with the survey.

The development process involved extensive consultation with deaf and hard of hearing students, parents, and education professionals. This collaborative approach ensures that the survey reflects the real experiences of the community it aims to serve, rather than imposing external assumptions about their needs.

Current Research and Future Directions

The research team is currently conducting pilot testing of the FEC survey with secondary school students, their families, and educational teams. This phase involves ‘think-aloud’ protocols where participants complete the survey whilst verbalising their thought processes, helping researchers identify any unclear questions or unclear response options.

Next, the team plans to test the survey in actual classroom settings. They’ll gather feedback in both English and sign language to make sure the tool works well for students with different communication preferences.

The ultimate goal is to provide educators with reliable methods for identifying and addressing fatigue before it becomes overwhelming for students. Dr Rohatyn-Martin and team also developed 4 animated videos to help with identifying and understanding fatigue. This is vital, as early identification could prevent the downward spiral that leads from manageable tiredness to complete educational disengagement due to fatigue.

Implications for Educational Practice

The research has significant implications for how educators approach inclusive education. Dr Rohatyn-Martin argues that many teachers lack awareness of the specific challenges faced by deaf and hard of hearing students, often having ‘no concept of the challenges’ these students encounter every day in classroom environments.

Inclusion isn’t just about putting students with disabilities in mainstream classrooms. It’s about understanding their unique needs – and that includes knowing how to spot the signs of fatigue and recognizing just how much extra effort these students are putting in.

Simple modifications to teaching practices can make substantial differences. Ensuring that assistive technology is properly maintained and used correctly, minimising background noise where possible, providing visual summaries of spoken information, and incorporating regular breaks into lesson plans can all help lighten the load.

A Call for Greater Awareness

Perhaps most importantly, Dr Rohatyn-Martin’s research highlights the need for greater awareness of fatigue as a significant barrier to educational success. Many students interviewed in the studies had never made the connection between their exhaustion and the demands of learning in a hearing world, instead attributing their tiredness to personal failings or inadequate sleep.

The research team advocates for normalizing describing fatigue and fatigue symptoms that help students identify and communicate their fatigue experiences. This might involve teaching specific vocabulary to describe different types of fatigue to students, and creating agreed-upon signals for requesting breaks or support.

Looking to the Future

Dr Rohatyn-Martin’s work represents a crucial step towards understanding and addressing a previously overlooked barrier to educational success. By giving voice to the experiences of deaf and hard of hearing students, her research challenges educators to reconsider their assumptions about inclusive education.

The team’s ongoing development of assessment tools and intervention strategies promises to provide practical resources for schools worldwide. As Dr Rohatyn-Martin notes, addressing these challenges benefits not only deaf and hard of hearing students but also creates more supportive learning environments for all students.

The research serves as a reminder that true inclusion requires more than good intentions. It demands careful attention to the hidden challenges faced by students with disabilities and a commitment to adapting educational practices to meet their needs. Only by understanding and addressing these barriers can schools fulfil their promise of providing equitable educational opportunities for all students.

As educational systems worldwide continue to embrace inclusive practices, Dr Rohatyn-Martin’s research provides essential guidance for ensuring that inclusion truly means access to learning, not just physical presence in mainstream classrooms. Her work offers hope that with greater awareness and appropriate support, deaf and hard of hearing students can participate meaningfully in educational experiences without the hidden burden of exhausting fatigue.