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Welcome to Day One of Stink Week 2016!
Day 1: Hearing & Hearing Loss
Before we start learning about hearing & hearing loss, Deacon, Willow, and Wils (pictured below)
would like to say THANK YOU for Making a Stink about Hearing Loss! They have different types
of hearing loss and have benefited from the programs supported by the Decibels Foundation. By
supporting Stink Week you are helping change the lives of these and many other children!
Deacon, Willow, & Wils at the 2015 Flatbread Benefit Night!
REMINDER: Every day of Stink Week we will be posting information to learn and challenges to try!
Remember to come back every day to learn, share, and let us know how it all goes!
Facts
1. How does the ear work?
There are many parts of the ear that work together to allow us to hear.
1. The outer ear captures sound waves in the air.
2. Then they travel down the ear canal to the ear drum .
3. The sound waves hit the ear drum and it vibrates.
4. This vibration moves the 3 tiny bones of the middle ear (malleus, inucus, and
stapes).
5. The vibration of the bones reaches the tiny hair cells inside of the cochlea.
6. The cochlea translates the sound into a code that the brain can understand.
7. The code is sent it to the brain by way of the auditory nerve.
Phew! That's a lot of work!
Take a look at the picture below to see where these parts are in the ear:
Credit: NIH Medical Arts
2. Sometimes Parts of the Ear Don't Work
These are some things that cause children to have trouble hearing:

Their outer ear isn’t fully developed so sound can’t enter the ear canal.

Their ear drum and inner ear bones are damaged so sound can’t travel from the
ear canal to the cochlea.

The hairs in the cochlea are damaged so sound can be transmitted to the brain.
Sometimes one ear works fine, but a part of the other ear isn't working.
3. There are several levels of hearing loss:
Mild: Can hear most speech sounds at a close distance
Moderate: May hear louder sounds at a close distance
Severe: May hear loud sounds
Profound: May hear extremely loud sounds
Challenges
Challenge #1 - Click here to watch this video to review how ears
work:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMXoHKwWmU8
Challenge #2 - Watch this video of the Flintstones to hear the levels of hearing
loss: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar1Dq-M2ok4
Challenge #3: Ask your parents if you can try on the ear plugs we gave you. Then try to have a
conversation with someone with them in. What level of hearing loss do you think you experienced with
ear plugs in? Try other activities with you earplugs in and see what difference it makes!
How did you do? Please email the information below to Bobbie
Dressel at [email protected]
Name: ________________________________________________
Team:________________________________________________
Did you read the facts for Day 1? Yes/No
How many challenges did you do? ___________
If you shared what you learned, how many people did you tell? _________
Let us know what you thought about today?
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QUESTIONS?
Contact Bonnie Fitzpatrick at [email protected] or (978) 637-2622.