1. Deaf & Hard of Hearing Assistive Technology

2. Welcome Your presenter today is:
Julianne Gillen, Community Resource Officer
Please switch off all mobile phones

3. DeafHear.ie
DeafHear.ie is a voluntary non-profit organisation and is registered charity
We have 12 Resource Centres throughout the country
Outreach clinics in a number of different locations.

4. Support Network DeafHear.ie Services
This is an overview on the services provided by DeafHear.ie. Touch on each one individually, but keep questions until the end of the session. At all times, remind people of our contact information, should they require anything further.

5. Under the Umbrella of DeafHear.ie
Irish Hard of Hearing Association
Irish Tinnitus Association
Irish Society for Mental Health & Deafness

6. Statistics 14% of population have a hearing loss* Of that 14%:
1% is culturally deaf
5% require amplification
4% can not use amplification
4% may not be aware of their hearing loss
*NDA official figure, DeafHear 17%

7. Talking Numbers Wheelchair Users 1% Vision Impairment 1.4%
Deaf or Hard of Hearing
14%

8. How We Hear
The ear receives sounds from the environment and transmits them to the brain. The ear consists of three parts. The outer ear (1) is those parts of the ear that are visible on the sides of your head plus the canals that enter into your head. These canals lead to the eardrum (2) , which is attached to three small bones, the 'ossicles' (3) , that amplify and conduct sound to the inner ear. The area that contains these small bones is called the 'middle ear'.
The inner ear consists of an organ called the 'cochlea' (4), which is shaped like a snail shell. The cochlea contains tiny cells called 'hair cells' (which vibrate when a sound is conducted to them by the eardrum and ossicles of the middle ear). The movement of the hair cells transmits electrical impulses down the auditory nerve (5) to the brain. That is when you 'hear' the sound.
How sound travels through the ear
Sound vibrations are picked up by the outer ear 
These sound vibrations move down into the ear through the ear canal
The sound vibrations make the parts of the outer and middle ear vibrate as they pass through
(the ear drum & ossicles)
In the inner ear (cochlea) the vibrations are changed into nerve signals
The nerve signals are sent to the brain along the auditory nerve
When the brain receives these signals we hear the sound(s)

9. Conductive Hearing Loss
This is when sound cannot be conducted (pass through) the outer and middle ear.
The causes include:
collection of fluid in the middle ear ('glue ear' in children)
damage to the eardrum by infection or trauma
blockage of the outer ear (by wax)
middle ear infections

10. Sensorineural Hearing Loss
This happens when the tiny hair cells in the cochlea are damaged and so do not convert sound into electrical impulses.
The causes include:
age related hearing loss (a natural part of the aging process)
acoustic trauma (such as a loud noise) to the hair cells
viral infections of the inner ear (measles, mumps, chickenpox)

11. Frequency and Intensity of familiar sounds
Frequency (Kilohertz)
Rustling
leaves
Library
Ocean
Conversation
Telephone
Truck
Lawn mower
Chain
Saw
Personal
stereo (max)
Jet aircraft
(100m)
Rock
band
Pain
threshold
0.25
0.5 1 2 4 8 20 30 40 60 80
100
120
Sound pressure level (dBA)
Hearing damage
This chart outlines the different frequencies in intensities of familiar sounds and is a good way to illustrate the practicalities of a hearing loss. Refer back to this when using the individual audiograms later.
Also highlight the level at which sounds can cause damage to hearing especially loud music and the use of personal stereos. Refer to legislation and recent media reports *Emma Mc Auley’s interviews* if possible.

13. Normal Mild Moderate Severe Profound Different Levels of Hearing Loss
Mild - Dave Browne (32) - secondary school teacher
Normal
Mild
Moderate
Severe
Profound
We use examples of a mild hearing loss and of a profound hearing loss to compare the difficulties of both.
Use the audiograms and speech bananas to illustrate the individual difficulties of both for communication, in speech and environmental sounds.

14. Mild - Dave Browne (32) - secondary school teacher
Speech Audiogram
Mild - Dave Browne (32) - secondary school teacher

15. Normal Mild Moderate Severe Profound Different Levels of Hearing Loss
Profoundly deaf - Carol Casey (28) - civil servant
Normal
Mild
Moderate
Severe
Profound

16. Profoundly deaf - Carol Casey (28) - civil servant
Speech Audiogram
Profoundly deaf - Carol Casey (28) - civil servant

17. What is a Hearing Aid Half Shell In The Ear (ITE) Canal Behind The Ear
A hearing aid is similar to a miniature public address system. They include a:
Microphone-Picks up the sound. Amplifier-Increases the loudness of the sound. Receiver-Reproduces the sound and transmits it into your ear. Battery-The power supply of the hearing aid.
Different types of hearing aids are made to accommodate different types of hearing loss. Custom hearing aids are not appropriate for some severe forms of hearing loss, as they may not have enough volume to help the individual.

18. Behind the Ear (BTE) hearing aid and attached earmould

19. In the Ear (ITE) Hearing Aid

20. Cochlear Implant

21. Hearing Aid Batteries

22. Aids & Appliances
Make it shake
Make it flash
Make it loud

23. Telecoil or ‘T’ Switch Telecoil on the Behind The Ear
Telecoil switch on ITE
The telecoil switch/button on an in-the-ear hearing aid is often located near the top.On behind-the-ear hearing aids, the telecoil switch is usually located in the centre of the on and off switch.

24. Loop System

25. Portable Loop Systems

26. Counter Loop

27. Using the loop with Telephone
Hold the telephone receiver close to our ear - without touching the hearing aid.
If your hearing aid “whistles,” tilt the telephone receiver away from the ear until the whistling stops.
Experiment with the position of the telephone to find your hearing aid’s “hot spot”.
With any style hearing aid, it may be necessary to:
Increase the volume control of the hearing aid
Be sure you are holding the telephone at the angle pictured above
Turn the volume back down before changing your hearing aid back to “on”

28. Assistive Telephone Equipment

29. When a Phone Rings…

30. When the doorbell goes…

31. When the baby cries at night….

32. When the Fire Alarm activates…

33. Bellman System

34. Silent Alert System

35. TV/Audio listening devices

36. Personal Listening Devices

37. Digisystem
Video Clip

38. Tinnitus Assistive Technology
Tinnitus Pillow
Tinnitus Pillow Speaker
Tinnitus Alarm Clock
Tinnitus CD’s
Sounds and Aroma Tinnitus Relaxer
Naturcare Tinnitus Masker
Sound Oasis Tinnitus Relaxer

39. Guidelines Getting Deaf/hard of hearing person’s attention
Topic of discussion
Face the person
Maintain eye contact
Speak slowly and clearly
Facial expression
Mouth free of obstruction
Avoid standing in front of a light source
Level of noise in the room

40. Thank you for listening!
Any Questions?
Thank you for listening!