Hearing Inservice

Anatomy of the Ear and Types of Hearing Loss

The Outer EarPinna-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

Hammer

Anvil

Stirrup

The Malleus- The Malleus gets the vibration from the Ear Drum and sends it to the Incus.

The Incus-Gets the vibration from the Malleus and sends it to the Stapes.

The Stapes-gets the vibration from the Incus and sends it to the Cochlea

The Inner Ear

The Cochlea-A liquid filled space that receives vibration from the stirrup when it pushes on it

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 LossConductive

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 correctedMixed

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 heardWill need a hearing aid and training with its useIs likely to have problems pronouncing sounds, have

language delays, and limited vocabularyWill need extra help in Language Arts, speech therapy

SEVERE (71-90 dB)May hear loud voices or sounds very close to earSpeech 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 UnitsWhat 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 possibleProvide a note-taker or hand-out of notesEliminate or reduce extraneous noiseAppropriate use of equipmentDo not speak with back faced to classWrite announcements and assignments

on boardAvoid chewing gum while lecturing

More IdeasUse overhead instead of the boardAllow for breaksReduce the distance from you to studentAdvantageous seating for studentPoint out who is speaking in class

discussionsAlways use captioned films/videosLecture from the front of the room, avoid

pacing

And Some More StrategiesHave key vocabulary accessible visuallyEducate the class about hearing lossFace the student when speakingRepeat questions and comments other

students makeDo not stand or sit in front of a bright

windowFlicker lights to get classroom attentionSpeak directly to the student, not the

interpreter

Here Is Your Students Audiogram

Here is Your Student’s FM Unit

Thank You!