Hearing Inservice

Anatomy of the Ear and Types of Hearing Loss

The Outer Ear Pinna-Catches the sound waves and sends them to the ear canal Ear Canal- Sends the sound waves through to the ear drum Ear Drum- Vibrates and sends the sound waves to the Middle Ear

The Three Middle Ear Bones Middle Ear Parts The Three Middle Ear Bones The Malleus- The Malleus gets the vibration from the Ear Drum and sends it to the Incus. Hammer Stirrup The Incus-Gets the vibration from the Malleus and sends it to the Stapes. Anvil The Stapes-gets the vibration from the Incus and sends it to the Cochlea

The Cochlea-A liquid filled space that receives vibration from the stirrup when it pushes on it The Inner Ear The Nerve Endings-Are inside the cochlea and are like piano keys because each one makes different sound. They bend when they are touched by the vibration wave. The Hearing Nerve-Receives message from the Nerve endings and sends them to the brain. Semi-Circular Canals-Aren’t for hearing. They are like a leveling tool. They sit on the cochlea and help make you not feel dizzy

Types of Hearing Loss Conductive Sensorineural Mixed Caused by injury, obstruction, or disease of the outer or middle ear that prevents the ear from conducting sound. Fluid in the middle ear, wax build-up, absence or malformation of the outer ear, ear infections The loss CAN be medically or surgically corrected Sensorineural Damage to the sensory hair cells of the inner ear or the auditory nerve that leads to the brain Effects the way one hears clearly and how one understands speech correctly The loss is permanent and CANNOT be corrected Mixed A combination of conductive and sensorineural losses Part of the damage is in the outer ear or middle ear and the other part is in the inner ear.

MILD (26 to 40 dB) Difficulty understanding faint or distant speech May need work to develop vocabulary Favorable seating and lighting in classroom MODERATE (41-55 dB) Understands speaker face to face or a short distance May miss as much as 50% of class discussion May need vocabulary development, speech therapy, or special class placement in primary grades

MODERATELY SEVERE (56-70 dB) Conversation must be loud to be heard Will need a hearing aid and training with its use Is likely to have problems pronouncing sounds, have language delays, and limited vocabulary Will need extra help in Language Arts, speech therapy SEVERE (71-90 dB) May hear loud voices or sounds very close to ear Speech and language development are delayed. Will need extra help with language skills, concept development, speech, intensive communication building skills should be taught May be a candidate for cochlear implant(s)

FM Units What is an FM? Frequency-Modulated system that allows a D/HH student hear over a distance and sends the speaker’s voice directly to the hearing aid or cochlear implant *Without an FM, the speaker’s voice can be difficult to understand when paired with everyday background noise (heaters, buzzing lights, pencil sharpeners, etc.)

Impacts of Hearing Loss Language delayed Spoken language Not uncommon for students to speak with nasal or atonal quality Academic performance Vocabulary development delays Reading and writing difficulty Difficulty in comprehension across academic subjects Idioms and familiar English phrases interpreted literally Written and oral language will reflect the way he/she hears -Word endings –s,-ed, -ing Depends on age child was diagnosed with a hearing loss. Many deaf children are not “vanilla deaf” Limited phonemic awareness What does the student hear during everyday conversation? Look at the Speech Banana. Example: The fox saw two hens. Even with a mild loss, the student misses most of those sounds. /e ok aw oo en/ Imagine reading and pronouncing these sounds that D/HH students so rarely hear.

Ways Teachers Can Help! Use visual aids whenever possible Provide a note-taker or hand-out of notes Eliminate or reduce extraneous noise Appropriate use of equipment Do not speak with back faced to class Write announcements and assignments on board Avoid chewing gum while lecturing

More Ideas Use overhead instead of the board Allow for breaks Reduce the distance from you to student Advantageous seating for student Point out who is speaking in class discussions Always use captioned films/videos Lecture from the front of the room, avoid pacing

And Some More Strategies Have key vocabulary accessible visually Educate the class about hearing loss Face the student when speaking Repeat questions and comments other students make Do not stand or sit in front of a bright window Flicker lights to get classroom attention Speak directly to the student, not the interpreter

Here Is Your Students Audiogram

Here is Your Student’s FM Unit

Thank You!