Know the signs of hearing loss

Yes, it’s that time of the year again where you get your annual reminder of the importance of hearing to the child’s success in school, and how we (children and adults) can protect ourselves from the danger of a noise-induced hearing loss.

May is Better Speech and Hearing Month as proclaimed by the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association, of which I am a member. According to ASHA, approximately 28 million Americans have a hearing impairment. They estimate that 17 in 1,000 children under the age 18 are affected by a hearing loss.

The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders estimates that three out of four children experience ear infections by the time they reach 3 years of age. This is an inflamation of the middle ear usually associated with the buildup of fluid. The NIDCD states that 70 percent of children experience at least one ear infection by their third birthday. Frequent ear infections can lead to a permanent loss of hearing.
 

An acquired hearing loss is one which appears after birth and is brought on by illness or other medical conditions. This could include such childhood illnesses as measles, chicken pox, mumps, influenza, ear infections and even noise.

If you suspect that your child is having difficulty hearing the TV or when you tell them to clean up their room (that’s another story) you might want to ask the school nurse to administer a hearing test. The Schuylkill Intermediate Unit 29 maintains a Hearing Impaired Program and works closely with the school nurses to service children with hearing impairments.

Better Speech and Hearing Month is also for adults.

Some signs of an impending hearing loss with adults include having difficulty hearing someone 2 feet away from you, people complaining that you turn the TV volume up too high, finding yourself asking people to repeat themselves, people you talk to seem to mumble or not speak clearly, and you have to strain to understand conversation.

It has been estimated by ASHA that 314 in 1,000 people over the age 65 have a hearing loss and between 40 to 50 percent of people 75 and older have a hearing loss. If you worked in a noisy environment most of your life you may have what is described as a noise-induced hearing loss.

The NIDCD states that of the 28 million Americans who have some degree of hearing loss, more than one-third have been affected in part by noise. A noise-induced hearing loss can come on gradually but can result in a permanent loss.

Noise levels are measured in decibels, with the higher the decibel level the louder the noise. A teenager may experience a noise level of 110 decibels or louder at a rock concert, which is on the threshold of extremely loud to painful.

ASHA is also bringing awareness of the damage earbuds can do to a young person’s hearing since they send sound directly into the delicate ear canal and boost volume by as much as 9 decibels. This, coupled with the fact that iPods are often played at up to 120 decibels, can destroy some of the 30,000 hair cells in the inner ear with the first to go being the sounds in the highest frequencies.

Our sense of hearing is a delicate mechanism and one that we too often take for granted until we begin to experience a significant hearing loss. An audiologist with the certificate of clinical competence by ASHA can administer a battery of hearing tests to determine if you are in need of a hearing aid or further medical attention by a specialist.

The NIDCD states that only one person out of five who could benefit from a hearing aid actually wears one. Many advances have been made with hearing aids and cochlear implants that show promising results for the hard-of-hearing.

William J. Gaydos

Retired teacher of deaf and hearing impaired