Hearing and The Ear

1. Hearing and The Ear

4. Armpit Story =)

5. Types of Hearing Loss • The three types of hearing loss are: • Conductive • Sensori-neural • Mixed

6. Conductive Loss • Means the sounds are blocked and not carried to the inner ear. • Can be corrected through surgery. • Possible causes: • A buildup of wax in the ear. • Fluid in the ear canal • Puncturing of the ear drum. • Problems/injuries to the bones or membrane which carry sounds through the middle ear to the inner ear.

7. Sensori-Neural Loss • Also known as nerve deafness. This is when there is damage to the inner ear or the auditorynerve. • Roughly 90% of people with a hearing loss have this type of loss.

8. Sensori-Neural Loss • The damage is permanent. • Tinnitis (ringing in the ear) is associated with this type of loss.

9. Sensori-Neural Loss • Possible causes: • Natural aging process • Exposure to loud noises • Infections or other diseases • Genetic disorder.

10. How do audiologists determine a hearing loss? • An audiogram is a graph that measures what you can hear. • It measures both decibels and frequency. • Decibels measure the volume of sound. 10dB is quiet and 100 dB is loud. • Frequency measures the pitch of sound. A small number is a low sound and a big number is a high sound.

11. The Speech Banana • The speechbanana shows at what decibel levels specific speech sounds are made.

12. The Speech Banana • Speech is made of different sounds. Speech sounds can be drawn on the audiogram.  They are between the 10dB and 60dB lines.Vowel sounds like oo, ah, ay and ee are low and loud. Sounds like m, n and ng are low but quiet.  Other sounds like d, t, s, f and th are high and quiet. Words with no high sounds are hard to understand.

13. Levels of Hearing Loss This audiogram shows normal hearing. Sounds below the lines on the audiogram can be heard. X shows the left ear.0 shows the right ear.All the X and 0 are above the 20 dB line.

14. Levels of Hearing Loss • This audiogram shows a mild  hearing loss. Sounds below the lines on the audiogram can be heard.All the X and 0 are between the 21 dB and 40 dB lines. 

15. Levels of Hearing Loss • This is a moderate hearing loss. Sounds below the lines on the audiogram can be heard.  Low/loud sounds like oo, ah, ay and ee may be heard. All the X and 0 are between41 dB and70 dB. The hearing loss in the left ear is worse than the right ear. 

16. Levels of Hearing Loss • This is a severe hearing loss. Conversational speech cannot be heard.  Shouting and loud noise (like traffic) can be heard. All the X and 0 are between 71 dB and 95 dB.

17. Levels of Hearing Loss • This is a profound hearing loss. Speech cannot be heard.  Very loud noises like pneumatic drills and planes taking off can be heard (or felt). The X and 0 are mostly below the 95 dB line. People with very profound hearing losses can feel loud low sounds.  

18. So what about hearing aids? Hearing aids only increasethe volume, it doesn’t mean you can understand what’s being said.

19. How does hearing loss affect your language acquisition? • Pre-lingually Deaf – • These are people who become Deaf before they are able to acquire spoken language – BornDeaf or lose hearing before 18 months old. • Post-lingually Deaf • These are people who lose their hearing after they have already acquired language. • Can happen at any age.

20. So how does this affect me? • Noise-Induced Hearing Loss • Permanent damage to fillia in the inner ear. • Caused by exposure to dangerous noise levels. • Too loud and too long • Very loud and sudden

21. A rule of thumb is if you can not understand someone talking to you in a normal speaking voice when they are an arm’s length away… it is too loud.

22. It is the decibel level that’s important…not whether you listen through speakers or earbuds. • Loud music will cause damage no matter the source.

23. Examples of everyday decibel levels • 60 dB Normal conversations or dishwashers • 80 dB Alarm clocks • 90 dB Hair dryers, blenders, lawnmowers • 100 dB MP3 players at full volume • 110 dB Concerts (any music genre), car racing and sporting events • 120dB Jet planes at take off • 130 dB Ambulances • 140 dB Gun shots, fireworks, and custom car stereos at full volume

24. 85 dB is considered to be “safe” but even exposure for 8 hoursat a time can cause damage. • The greater the decibel level, the less time you can be exposed to it before damage occurs.

25. When you increase the decibels by 3 dB, the “safe” time is cut in half. Continued dB Permissible Time exposure 85 dB 8 hours 88 dB 4 hours 91 dB (lawnmower) 2 hours 94 dB 1 hour 97 dB 30 minutes 100 dB (MP3 full volume) 15 minutes 103 dB 7.5 minutes 106 dB 3.75 minutes 109 dB < 2 minutes 112 dB < 1 minute 115 dB (concerts) 30 seconds

26. iPod facts… • At 70% of maximum volume, you can safely listen for 4.6 hours. • At 80% of maximum volume, you can safely listen for 90 minutes. • At full volume, you can only safely listen for 5 minutes.

27. One final thought on NIHL… Hearing loss develops over time and you may not notice anything until it’s too late.

28. Cochlear Implants for Adults? • It is generally agreed that the best adult candidates are those who: • Have severe to profound hearing loss in both ears • Have had limited benefit from hearing aids • Have no other medical problems that would make the surgery risky • Have a strong desire to be part of the hearing world and communicate through listening, speaking, and speechreading • Have lost their hearing after speech and language development

29. Cochlears for Children • Children as young as 14 months of age have received cochlear implants, and the potential exists for successful implantation at younger ages. • It is generally agreed that the best child candidates are those who: • Have profound hearing loss in both ears • Have had limited benefit from hearing aids • Are healthy and have no medical conditions that would make the surgery risky • Are involved (when able), along with their parents, in all the steps in the process

30. Children (cont.) • Understand (when able), along with their parents, their role in the successful use of cochlear implants • Have (when able), along with their parents, realistic expectations**** for cochlear implant use • Are willing to be actively involved in their habilitation/rehabilitation • Have support from their educational program to emphasize the development of auditory skills • ****What is a realistic expectation?? What do you think?