Understanding My Friend’s Hearing Loss

Brief Review of the Ear

There are 3 Parts to the Ear.Sound goes through the outer to the middle to the inner.

Outer Ear

Middle Ear

Inner Ear

(1) Sound Waves pass through the ear canal (2) Sound beats against the eardrum (3) Which causes vibrations of the three small bones in the middle ear (4) When the bones vibrate, sound waves pass through, the inner to the

cochlea. (5) Thousands of hair cells make up the auditory nerve. Movements of the

fluid bend the tiny hairs and stimulates electrical impulses, which are carried up the auditory nerve to the brain.

How your hearing works

Deep in your ear is a remarkable pea-sized structure called the cochlea. The cochlea is fully developed at birth. Tiny, delicate hair cells in the cochlea send sound signals to your brain, so you can hear different pitches and sounds. If these delicate cells are damaged, you can lose some or all of your ability to hear.

The Cochlea

Audiogram

140 dB Gunshot

130 dB Jet Take-off

120 dB Rock Concert

105 dB MP3 at max

95 dB Motorcycle

90 dB Lawn Mower

85 dB Heavy traffic

60 dB Conversation

30 dB Whisper

15 dB Rice Krispies in milk

Measuring the Loudness of Sound

Degrees of Hearing Loss• Mild 20-40dB Can hear without

amplification but will miss parts of words.

• Moderate 40-60dB Will have difficulty hearing spoken conversation

without amplification.• Mod/Severe 50-70dB Conversation must be very

loud to be heard without amplification. Aids will

help person to be aware of spoken language.

• Severe 70-90dB May hear loud sounds close to ear. With amplification

may be able to detect speech.

• Profound 90dB + Amplification may or may not be useful.

Types of Amplification

Behind the ear aid

In the ear aid

Cochlear Implant

Baha System

Multiple Parts even in brief communications.

Ideally, communication is give and take, back and forth.

Problems occur when some part of this breaks down.

The Communication Process

Message

ReceiverFeedback

Sender

Familiarity with speaker

Familiarity with topic

Level of noise in the environment

Factors Within the Receiver

Factors Within the Speaker

Use kid friendly, familiar words, phrases

Use a normal volume when talking

Use a comfortable rate of speech

Tone of voice can make understanding easier or harder(male/female, adult/child)

Length of Message

State topic and make sure student knows when topic is changed

Amount of information, chatting

Do you repeat the message?

Volume of message

Factors Within the Message

Get the person’s attention before you begin speaking

Face the person and maintain eye contact Use body language and facial expression Speak clearly Use open ended questions to see if the

person is understanding Re-phrase a sentence instead of repeating

it over and over

Communication Strategies

Thank You!