Abstract
Sensory integration represents the organization of the senses for their use. It is a neuro-biological activity that allows the reception and processing of sensory information, which it arrives from the senses in huge quantities into the brain, at any time. The ability of the brain to successfully process tactile information allows the child to feel safe and develop a connection with those around it. Hearing impairment that occurred in early childhood has consequences on the child's cognitive, emotional and social development. The hearing provides access to the acoustic information needed for oral communication. Hearing loss can lead to unusual integration of sensory information. The aim of the study was to examine the prevalence of sensory integration difficulties of the tactile sensory system of children with hearing impairment and to determine the statistical significance of differences in relation to children without developmental difficulties. The total sample of subjects (N=30) consisted of two subsamples. The first subsample of subjects (N=15) consisted of children with hearing impairment, and the second subsample of subjects (N=15) consisted of children without developmental difficulties. The measurement instrument of the Questionnaire for testing tactile sensory sensitivity with 11 variables and the offered answers of possible sensory response was applied. The Mann-Whitney U test and the Wilcoxon W test at the level of statistical significance of p<0.05 were used to examine the statistical significance of the differences between the subsamples of the subjects. The results of the study show that children with hearing impairment have the same or better sensory integration, i.e., the better sensory response of the tactile sensory system in relation to children without developmental difficulties. They show better sensory integration on the neutral and hyposensitive type of tactile sensory response, and the same on the hypersensitive type of tactile sensory response. There is a statistically significant difference in the level of statistical significance of p<0.05 between children with hearing impairment and children without developmental difficulties on all variables of the measurement instrument, except on the variables: Certain types of fabric, stitches, labels, belts, cuffs, etc. and Clothing, footwear or embellishments that are very narrow or very loose.

Key words: sensory integration, tactile sensory system, hearing impairment, children with developmental difficulties, children without developmental difficulties