Download 10 Myths and Misconceptions Regarding Deafness

10 Things You Should Know about Listening
Technology
Dr. Susan Easterbrooks
Professor, GSU
Dr. Nanci Scheetz
Professor, VSU
I. The ear has three major sections. Each section
is uniquely involved with hearing and listening.
outer
middle
inner
III. We hear because sound waves are transferred
to nerve impulses in our brain by a very complex
system?
• The sound wave is
conducted through the outer
ear to the middle ear, where
it causes the three bones to
vibrate. This vibration is
transferred to the inner ear
(cochlea), where it turns to
electrochemical impulses
that stimulate the nerves of
hearing to fire. These nerve
impulses travel to the brain,
where they are interpreted
as sound.
III. We describe problems with hearing by
the part of the ear that is involved.
• A problem in the outer and middle ear
causes a conductive loss.
• A problem in the inner ear causes a
sensorineural loss.
IV. Most sensorineural losses
cannot be fixed?
• Many conductive hearing losses respond
to medical or surgical treatment to some
degree.
• Sensorineural losses are generally
complicated and do not respond to
corrective surgery or medications.
V. Listening devices cannot completely
correct a hearing loss?
• A hearing aid or cochlear implant can only amplify sounds in the
frequencies that are not completely damaged.
• Also, you hear with your ears, but you listen with your brain, and
most brains need to be taught how to make meaning out of the
sounds that are coming through a hearing aid or a cochlear implant.
• http://www.listen-up.org/haid/with-aid.htm
– This website describes what hearing aids can do
more completely.
VI. We use a variety of technology for testing
hearing depending on the age of the child.
Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE)
A probe is placed in the child’s ear canal. Sounds are
presented to the ear. The internal mechanism of the
healthy ear creates additional sound (the OAE) that is
recorded by a microphone probe fitted in the child’s ear.
Auditory Brainstem Response Testing (ABR)
– For very young infants, the auditory brainstem
response test (ABR) may be used. This test
measures the electrical activity occurring in response
to sound. Electrodes are placed on the child's scalp.
As the child sleeps, sounds are presented through
earphones.
• Traditional Behavioral Testing
– As the child grows and matures, more structured
testing is available.
– Behavioral Observation Audiometry
– Visual Reinforcement Audiometry
– Play Audiometry
• Audiometers
• Traditional behavioral testing is done on a device called
an audiometer.
• An audiogram is a graphic representation of a person’s
hearing or auditory responses to tones of specific pitch
and loudness.
• Pitch, or frequency, is measured in Hertz (Hz).
• Loudness is measured in decibels (dB).
Speech Banana Revisited
Do you remember the
Speech Banana from the
first presentation?
You will want to ask and
audiologist or teacher of
the deaf to show you
what your student can
hear on this chart with
his hearing aids on.
VII. There are many kinds of hearing aids
• All hearing aids have a microphone, an amplifier,
and a receiver.
– Microphone- picks up sounds from the environment
– Amplifier- makes the sounds louder
– Receiver- delivers sound to the ear
• All hearing aids have internal controls that are
set by the audiologist.
– Frequencies amplified
– Loudest response (saturation)
• Hearing aids have external controls.
– An on-off control switch.
– A volume control, a small wheel which can
be adjusted to increase or decrease the
loudness of sound. On some hearing aids the
volume control is combined with the on/off
switch.
– A telecoil switch which allows the hearing
aid to be used with a telephone and some
assistive listening devices.
BTE - The Behind-The-Ear
Hearing Aid
Works well for all
degrees of hearing
loss. This is usually
the type
recommended for
children's use.
VIII. Cochlear implants are making it possible for many
profoundly deaf children to have access to sounds.
• Today many children
wear cochlear implants.
• These devices are
surgically implanted
into the cochlea in the
inner ear.
• The child to the right
has a cochlear implant
Credits: Centers for Disease Control
A cochlear implant is a small, complex electronic
device. The implant consists of an external portion that
sits behind the ear and a second portion that is surgically
placed under the skin. An implant has the following parts:
– A microphone, which picks up sound from the environment.
– A speech processor, which selects and arranges sounds
picked up by the microphone.
– A transmitter and receiver/stimulator, which receive signals
from the speech processor and convert them into electric
impulses.
– An electrode array, which is a group of electrodes that collects
the impulses from the stimulator and sends them to different
regions of the auditory nerve.
• An implant does not restore normal hearing.
Instead, it can give a deaf person a useful
representation of sounds in the environment
and help him or her to understand speech.
• Source:
http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/coch.asp
IX. Troubleshooting problems with
hearing aids
– If you have a child in your class with a hearing aid,
you are going to run into problems.
– An audiologist or a teacher of the deaf can help you
prevent many problems and resolve others.
– It is important to have a plan for dealing with a
malfunctioning hearing aid as most children with
usable residual hearing are lost without their hearing
aids.
Problems and Solutions
•
Whistling or squealing
– The ear mold may not be inserted properly. Re-insert the hearing instrument or
ear mold.
– There may be a wax build-up. Send child to the school nurse.
– The child may have outgrown the earmold. Refer to the audiologist.
•
Low or no volume
– The child has turned on the hearing aid.
– Make sure the batteries a fresh.
– There is wax in the earmold. Have child clean it out.
– It is accidentally set to telecoil.
•
While there are many other problems associated with hearing aids, these
are the ones you can easily fix in the classroom. Otherwise contact the
school audiologist or the teacher of the deaf.
X. Troubleshooting problems with
cochlear implants
– As with hearing aids, if you have a child in your class
with a cochlear implant, you are going to run into
problems.
– An audiologist or a teacher of the deaf can help you
prevent many problems and resolve others.
– It is important to have a plan for dealing with a
malfunctioning implant as most children with implants
are deaf when they are not accessing sound through
the implant.
•
This book may be downloaded for
free from the website below the
picture. It provides a wealth of
information about cochlear implants.
•
There are many reasons why children
have trouble with their implants. The
most important thing you can do is to
make sure that the device is turned
on. Anything after that should be
referred to the school audiologist or
the teacher of the deaf as an implant
is a very sensitive and expensive
computer.
http://www.bionicear.com/Professional/
Educational_And_Clinical/
educators_guide.cfm?langid=1
References and Resources
• http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/coch.asp
– This is the website of the National Institute on Deafness and
Other Communication Disorders. It contains a lot of up-to-date
information about hearing loss.
• www.agbell.org
– This is the website of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for
the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (AG Bell). This association has a
lot of resources for teachers.
• www.listen-up.org
– This website will take you to a variety of links for different
vendors of hearing aids and cochlear implants.
The following three slides were downloaded from
http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/CIEC/resources-manufacturer.html
• Tools for Schools
– The Tools for Schools Program (TFS) is designed to provide parents
with support and guidance about topics related to cochlear implants and
education, assist cochlear implant centers in providing support to
schools, and support school professionals, early intervention
professionals, aural rehabilitation specialists, and others who work with
children with cochlear implants. Free membership includes: ENewsletters, resource materials such as the TFS Universal Kit, web
courses, email and phone support:
[email protected]; 800-678-2575 8AM to 5PM
PST, Monday-Friday, training event notices, and access to new
materials as they become available. To sign up go
to: http://www.bionicear.com/webform.cfm?langid=1&formtype=2
• Educators Guide for Children with Cochlear
Implants:
http://www.cochlearamericas.com/support/2156.asp
– The on-line guide provides information on cochlear implant
technology and how to use it, as well as detail on how
educational and (re)habilitation professionals can help a child
with a cochlear implant reach his full potential. It addresses such
topics as what services children need at school and how to
prepare a classroom for the child with a cochlear implant. The
guide is organized so that you can access materials by chapter.
• MED-EL hearLIFE Educator CD
– This CD contains the following: Handbook for Educators;
Handling and Troubleshooting the TEMPO+; HearSay
Newsletter; Communication Options; FM Guide; and How a
Cochlear Implant Works video. There is a Glossory of Terms and
a dynamic table of contents in both the Handbook for Educators
and Troubleshooting the TEMPO+. The video clips in Handling
and Troubleshooting the TEMPO+ demonstrate some of the
information presented in the guide. To obtain the Educator CD,
contact, MED-EL Corporation at (888) 633-3524 or
www.medel.com