Hearing and The Ear

Armpit Story =)

Types of Hearing Loss

The three types of hearing loss are: Conductive Sensori-neural Mixed

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.

Sensori-Neural Loss

Also known as nerve deafness. This is when there is damage to the inner ear or the auditory nerve.

Roughly 90% of people with a hearing loss have this type of loss.

Sensori-Neural Loss

The damage is permanent.

Tinnitis (ringing in the ear) is associated with this type of loss.

Sensori-Neural Loss

Possible causes: Natural aging process Exposure to loud noises Infections or other diseases Genetic disorder.

Mixed Hearing Loss

A mixed hearing loss is a combination of sensori-neural and conductive hearing loss, happening at the same time.

Both the inner and the middle ear are involved.

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.

The Speech Banana

The speech banana shows at what decibel levels specific speech sounds are made.

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. 

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. 

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. 

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 between 41 dB and 70 dB. The hearing loss in the left ear is worse than the right ear. 

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. 

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.  

So what about hearing aids?

Hearing aids only increase the volume, it doesn’t mean you can understand what’s being said.

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 – Born Deaf 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.

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

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.

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.

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

85 dB is considered to be “safe” but even exposure for 8 hours at a time can cause damage.

The greater the decibel level, the less time you can be exposed to it before damage occurs.

When you increase the decibels by 3 dB, the “safe” time is cut in half.

Continued dB Permissible Time exposure85 dB 8 hours88 dB 4 hours91 dB (lawnmower) 2 hours94 dB 1 hour97 dB 30 minutes100 dB (MP3 full volume) 15 minutes103 dB 7.5 minutes106 dB 3.75 minutes109 dB < 2 minutes112 dB < 1 minute115 dB (concerts) 30 seconds

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.

One final thought on NIHL…

Hearing loss develops over time and you may not

notice anything until it’s too late.

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

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

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?