The Outer Ear
The outer ear is what most people consider “the ear.” It consists of a flap of skin/cartilage (called the pinna or auricle) on the outside of the head. It collects sound and directs it into the ear canal. The ear canal is a closed tube with hairs and “wax glands” in the outer portion. Our ear canal is self-cleaning. The wax glands produce wax, or cerumen, and the tiny hairs push the wax out of our ears. As the wax moves out of the ear, it cleans the ear canal and keeps unwanted critters, such as insects, out of the ear. At the end of the ear canal is the eardrum, or tympanic membrane. When air moves it creates vibrations. These sound vibrations are collected by the pinna and directed into the ear canal, to the eardrum, causing it to vibrate just like the head of a drum when you hit it with a drumstick. When an audiologist or physician looks into a healthy, unobstructed ear with an otoscope, s/he can see the outer surface of the eardrum.
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Audiology,
Communication,
Hearing,
Hearing Loss
Self-advocacy encompasses learning how to speak up for yourself. It involves surrounding yourself with individuals that will support you in your journey, being knowledgeable regarding your rights, and being able to voice your rights to others. Advocating for yourself will not only lead to success in life, but it will help break down barriers and educate others about hearing loss. Living with a disability presents challenges, but fear not - with the appropriate support systems, strategies, and knowledge, you can learn to improve your quality of life.
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Audiology,
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Hearing,
Support,
Hearing Loss
Compiled by Barry Guitar, Ph.D. and Edward G. Conture, Ph.D.
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Speech,
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Stuttering
For people with hearing loss, hearing on the telephone is often a struggle; whether conversing with friends or family, arranging a job interview, contacting a company’s customer service department, or scheduling a medical appointment.
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Hearing Aid,
Audiology,
Hearing Aids,
Communication,
Hearing,
Hearing Loss Prevention,
Hard of Hearing,
Hearing Loss
The National Education Association (NEA) Read Across America Day is an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading on March 2, the birthday of beloved children's author Dr. Seuss.
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Speech,
Language,
Communication,
reading,
literacy,
Wilson Reading Program,
Learning
World Hearing Day, formally known as International Ear Care Day, is celebrated every year on March 3rd. The World Health Organization started this day in 2007 to promote better hearing health care through themes. The 2018 theme is “Hear the future” - drawing attention to the anticipated increase in the number of people with hearing loss around the world in the coming decades. It will focus on three strategies (Prevention, Identification, Treatment) to stem the rise and outline steps to ensure access to the necessary rehabilitation services and communication tools and products for people with hearing loss.
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Hearing Aid,
Audiology,
Hearing Aids,
Communication,
Hearing,
Hearing Loss Prevention,
Hard of Hearing,
Hearing Loss
My beautiful baby is born and the feelings of joy are immense. Everything is brand new and a little overwhelming. The routine hearing screening at the hospital is performed. Wait. What? My baby needs more testing? But that doesn’t make sense! We have no history of hearing loss in the family and my baby is "healthy.” I do as suggested and schedule a full diagnostic test. The results show a permanent hearing loss. The audiologist is recommending hearing aids.
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Hearing Aid,
Hearing Aids,
Communication,
Hearing,
Hard of Hearing,
Hearing Loss
What to Look for at Various Ages
Birth to 6 Months
- Responds to sounds (startles, turns head).
- Quiets to familiar voices.
- By 6 months, responds to name being called.
- Vocalizes when talked to.
- Begins to coo.
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Speech,
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If your child has difficulty with any of the listed signs and symptoms, a language learning evaluation conducted by a speech-language pathologist SLP) is recommended.
- Reads slowly and painfully
- Shows wide disparity between listening comprehension and reading comprehension of some text; that is, they understand if someone tells them
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Speech,
Language,
Communication,
reading,
literacy,
Learning
