OTTO‛S EXERCISE BOOK– Learn about hearing

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www.otikids.com

We believe that it takes more than technology and audiology to

create the best hearing instruments. That’s why we put the individual needs and wishes of people with

hearing loss fi rst in our development of new hearing care solutions.

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This book provides an easy introduction to the subject of hearing loss. It is ideal for classes with children who use hearing aids, and perfect for those who want to learn more about hearing in general.

School environments are challenging at the best of times because they are notoriously noisy. In fact, noise is becoming increasingly problematic in many schools – especially for hearing aid users. That’s why it’s so important to raise awareness not only of this development but also of solutions such as FM equipment, which help children to overcome noise and focus more clearly on their teachers.

This book can also be used to help children with normal hearing understand the kind of challenges hearing loss presents, and why it is so important to look after their hearing. They can also gain insight into how best to communicate with hearing aid users – and each other!

This book contains information and exercises that are designed to make learning about hearing both informative and fun. Since these exercises are meant for children between the ages of 4-9, the degree of diffi culty varies. Some exercises need no clarifi ca-tion, while others are accompanied by a brief description. And some should be completed in pencil, so the answers can be erased if necessary. The correct answers can of course be found at the end of the book.

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The ear consists of 3 parts

The outer ear is the part that can be seen on the side of the head. Called the Pinna, it marks the entrance to the ear canal. The outermost part of this canal is lined with hairs and wax, which help to keep it clean. Wax is a sign of a healthy functioning ear.

The ear canal leads to a transparent membrane called the eardrum. The sound waves are captured by the pinna and sent down the ear canal. And when they hit the eardrum they cause it to vibrate in much the same way as when you beat a drum or jump on a trampo-line. These sound vibrations then travel into the middle ear.

The middle ear contains three tiny bones that are actually the smallest bones in the human body. Together they resemble a little bridge.

These bones are called - The hammer - The anvil - The stirrupThey help to send sound to the inner-most part of the ear via the oval window.

The inner ear contains a system of tubes, which are fi lled with a watery liquid. This system is called the cochlea. When sound coming from the middle ear makes contact with the oval window, the liquid moves. And sensitive nerve endings change this movement into electrical signals. These are then sent to the brain, where they are transformed into the signals we recognise as speech.

This is how small they are in real life!

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The EAR

The outer ear The middle ear The inner ear

Nerve of hearing

Cochlea

EardrumEar canal

Oval Window

Hammer

Anvil

Stirrup

The outer ear (pinna)

Muscle

Semicircular canals

Eustachian tube (leading to the back of the nose)

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Can you name the different parts of the ear?

Study the diagram on pages 4 and 5 and try to fi nd the names of all the parts that are drawn below. Write your answers in the boxes next to each diagram.

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Who can get hearing loss?Fill in the spaces to complete these sentences:

• Some children are born with a hearing loss

• Some diseases or infections, such as meningitis, can cause hearing problems. Even colds or flu can affect your hearing, although this normally doesn’t last.

• Many people, as they get older, find that their hearing is not as good as it used to be.

• Noise can damage your ears, so never turn your music player, television or radio up too loud.

• Hearing loss may run in the family. Maybe one of your parents or grandparents has a hearing problem which has been passed down through the generations.

Some people wear _______________________ to straighten out their teeth.

Some wear _______________________ to see better.

And some people wear _______________________ to help them hear better.

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Which kite belongs to Otto?How does a hearing aid work?A hearing aid consists of three basic parts:- A microphone- An amplifier- A loudspeaker

Study the diagram at the top of this page, which shows the basic functions. Can you think of anything at home that works in a similar way? Write your answers on the lines to the right.

The amplifi er makes the signals from the microphone louder.

The loudspeaker sends the amplifi ed sounds into the ear, so the person can hear much better.

The microphone catches sound waves in the air and turns them into electrical signals.

Loudspeaker

Microphone

AmplifierBattery

Off/On switch

Volume control

There are many kinds of hearing aids so you may have seen one that looks different from this one.

1MICROPHONE

2AMPLIFIER

3LOUDSPEAKER

1ELECTRICAL SIGNAL

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Elephants have very good hearing, but that’s not all they use their ears for; they also use them to cool down. When an elephant gets too hot it fl aps its ears to fan cool air over itself. Then the blood running through all the blood vessels lying just under the skin gets nicely cooled down.

Owls have excellent hearing. They can hear exactly where their prey is. Some owls have feathers on their heads that are shaped like a funnel. They look like ordinary ears. The owl also has good night vision.

Can all animals hear?

Snakes don’t have ears like we do. Instead, they "feel" sounds by picking up vibrations in the ground.

Bats might be blind but they can track down a mos-quito 20 metres away with 100 % accuracy! A bat makes more noise than any other mammal. But their clicking sounds are so high that people can’t hear them at all. These sounds bounce off objects and echo back towards the bat, so they can track down insects that are worth eating,

Dogs hear much better than people. They can hear high-pitched tones that we cannot catch at all. Dogs with pointed ears use them as a kind of funnel to capture and amplify sounds. Dogs with fl oppy ears can’t hear nearly as well.

Insects don’t have ears like people do, but most of them hear quite well anyway. Their ears don’t sit on the side of their heads though. Grasshoppers have ears on their legs, while moths have ears on their backs. These consist of a small membrane which resembles a human eardrum.

Insects can’t hear very much. A grasshopper can only hear the sounds other grasshoppers make, while a moth can only hear the clicking sounds a bat would send out when it is hunting. This is how the moth tries to avoid being caught.

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Draw a hearing aid

Find a classmate to do this exercise with.

Pick one of the animals from the list at the bottom of this page.

Then draw a hearing aid that will help the animal do everyday things, such as fi nding food.

When designing the hearing aid, think about the size of the animal’s ear.

Remember that page 14 shows you the three basic elements that make up a hearing aid.

ELEPHANT SNAKE OWL

DOG BAT MOTH

... draw here

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Earmoulds

Earmould

Now it’s perfectly positioned!

The earmould sits at the end of a hearing aid, and is the part through which sound is sent into the ear.

No two ears are the same. They are actually as individual as fi ngerprints. So before making an earmould, a special, soft material is placed in the ear canal to make an accu-rate impression of the inside of the ear. After a while this material hardens, so it can be taken out again. The ear-mould is then made from this impression.

This is how to place the earmould and hearing aid on the ear:

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Can you help Otto- fi nd his hearing aids?

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Can you draw Otto?

Try, with the help of this little sketch, to make a bigger drawing of Otto. Do it one square at a time.

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FM

Even with hearing aids it can sometimes be diffi cult to hear. A good example is a classroom, where the teacher might be standing a long way away, or where students might be whispering to each other.

And when students are moving their chairs back and forth, or shuffl ing their feet, classrooms can get very noisy. So it can be necessary to use an FM system.

An FM system consists of two parts: a transmitter and a receiver. It’s a bit like a walkie-talkie system - or like your radio at home. A radio transmitter sends signals to your radio. Both parts are tuned in to the same channel, so the sound can be sent from one to the other.

The FM-transmitter is the part your teacher either wears around her neck or on her belt. The recei-ver is the part that can be clicked onto the bottom of a hearing aid. It will then receive any sounds sent from the transmitter. And when the teacher talks it will sound as though they are standing right next to the person with the hearing aid.

Now that’s clever!

Find 15 errors

15 items are missing in the cartoon below. Can you fi nd them?

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Good advice

Make eye contact before you speak

When you use hearing aids it can be very diffi cult to hear what’s going on behind you. So always tap the person on the shoulder before saying anything.

Talk one at a time

When several people are talking at once it can be confusing and very hard to keep up. So remember to talk one at a time.

Face the person you are talking to

People with hearing aids fi nd it easier to follow a conversation when they can follow the movement of your lips. So always face the person you are talking to.

You don’t need to shout

You can talk at a perfectly normal level to someone who uses hearing aids. If you raise your voice they will fi nd it uncomfortable.

Don’t talk with food in your mouth

Even with good hearing, it’s hard to follow what someone is saying when their mouth is full of food. For a hearing aid user, this becomes even more diffi cult. So don’t do it!

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OtiKids Internet

If you’d like to learn more about hearing, or read about other children who use hearing aids, you can always visit our website on:

www.otikids.com

Look out for the special Kid’s Corner – it has lots of different games! Have fun!

Answer Key

Page 13

Page 27

Page 22

Page 7Page 10BracesGlasseHearing Aids

Page 61. The Stirrup2. The Hammer3. The Cochlea4. The Anvil5. The Eardrum

OTTO‛S EXERCISE BOOK– Learn about hearing

911

47 1

10 0

0/12

.07

Otic

on D

anm

ark

www.otikids.com

We believe that it takes more than technology and audiology to

create the best hearing instruments. That’s why we put the individual needs and wishes of people with

hearing loss fi rst in our development of new hearing care solutions.

Name: