Current statistics show that three of every 1000 babies born in Utah have a permanent hearing loss.  Utah State Law requires that all newborn infants be screened for hearing loss before they leave the hospital.  This law is in place because identifying hearing loss early can make all the difference in a child’s success in communication, education and social interaction. 

What is the screening?

The screening test performed in the hospital is called Otoacoustic Emissions, or OAE.  This test is performed by an audiologist or a trained audiologist technician (with the results reviewed by an audiologist.)  To perform this test, the administrator uses a tiny probe in the infant’s ear that presents a tone and then looks for an “echo” coming back from the cochlea.   If that echo is not present, the audiologist will recommend that the OAE be performed again a few days later.  If that second test is also failed, then more in depth testing may be recommended.

Why is the screening important?

Hearing is critical for the development of speech, language, communication skills, and learning. The earlier that hearing loss occurs in a child’s life, the more serious is the effect on the child’s development. Similarly, the earlier the hearing loss is identified and intervention begun, the more likely it is that the delays in speech and language development will be diminished. Recent research indicates that children identified with hearing loss who begin services before 6 months old develop language (spoken or signed) on a par with their hearing peers.

What If My Infant Fails the Screening? 

Make sure that you make a follow up appointment with the audiologist who did the screening.  Once the nature of the hearing loss has been established, there are various programs and protocols in place to help you to find the best care for your child.  The State of Utah has an agency in place to help families with childhood hearing loss.  This agency is called Children’s Hearing and Speech Services, or CHSS.  The mission of CHSS is to assure optimal hearing, speech and language in Utah children, through a collaborative statewide system of education, prevention, early identification and intervention, diagnosis, referral and care coordination.  You can find more information here:  http://www.health.utah.gov/cshcn/CHSS/index.html.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) ensures that children who have hearing loss receive free, appropriate early intervention programs from birth to age 3 and throughout the school years (ages 3 to 21). Early intervention services for infants and toddlers are family-centered and are designed to:

• Help your child stay on schedule with his or her speech, language, and communication skills
• Enhance your understanding of your child’s hearing loss and special communication needs
• Support your family in a way that helps you feel confident in raising your child with hearing loss
• Keep track of your child’s progress and to make decisions for intervention and education each step of the way as your child develops

If you have any questions about infant hearing screenings or childhood hearing loss, please read this or give us a call at 801-770-0801.

•  Try putting in a new battery.  Even if you just changed it, sometimes you will get a bad one or even a bad package.
• Check that the battery is in the correct way.  Batteries usually won’t go in the wrong way, but it is sometimes possible.
• Make sure the little tab is off of the battery  (Yes, that DOES happen!)
• Make sure that the battery door is completely closed.  That is essentially your “ON” switch.
• If your hearing aid has a volume control, check that it is not turned down completely.  Volume controls can accidentally be activated when removing  or inserting the aids, so it’s best to check.
• Check that you have not switched it to the “T” setting (for loop listening) by accident.
• If your hearing aid has a program button/switch, it may be on the wrong program, or be muted.
• Take your hearing aid out and check that the ear mold or ear tip is not blocked with wax.  If it is, try brushing vigorously with a toothbrush.
• Check that the tubing is not twisted, squashed or spilt, prohibiting the sound from getting to your ear.

If none of these quick fixes seems to solve the problem, please bring it into our office so that we can get your technology working for you as quickly as possible!  Give us a call at 801-770-0801 if you have any questions or to schedule an appointment.

 Many are affected…

1 in 5 Americans experiences some form of hearing loss.

Yet many do not act…

80% of those with hearing loss do nothing to treat it.

But when they do…

It takes the average person 5–7 years to seek professional diagnosis for a hearing difficulty.

Hearing loss is typically caused by:

•

How loud is loud?

Exposure to noises 85 dB and above—like lawn mowers, concerts, and MP3 players

(at full volume)—for 15 minutes or more can cause permanent hearing damage.

There’s no need to wait.

We emphasize the importance of good dental and vision health yet ignore our crucial sense of hearing. Getting in the habit of receiving annual hearing evaluations can help you maintain better hearing, learn better hearing techniques, and set a positive example for those close to you. There is hope—solutions are available—including a new technology that we are highlighting this month.  See inside for details!

Many people are embarrassed or “grossed out” by ear wax, but earwax (or cerumen) is a self-cleaning agent produced in your ears with protective, lubricating, and antibacterial properties. Earwax is not really a “wax” but a water-soluble mixture of secretions (produced in the outer third of the ear canal), plus hair and dead skin. Contrary to popular belief, earwax is not formed in the deep part of the ear canal near the eardrum, but in the outer one-third of the ear canal.

Many people worry about earwax and use many methods to remove it. Many of those methods are not recommended by ear specialists, such as Q-tips and”ear-candling” Most of the time earwax naturally works its way out of the ear through movement of your jaw while speaking and chewing. If you do have impacted ear wax, we recommend seeing a professional (your audiologist or physician) to have it removed. You can make the process easier by using earwax softening drops such as Murine or Debrox for a week or so before seeing a professional.

For patients who wear hearing aids, earwax can cause a litany of problems and you must take special care not to let earwax lessen the effectiveness of or damage your hearing technology. Cerumen in the ear canal can cause the hearing aid to fit poorly and not seal properly. If the hearing aid fits poorly, sound produced by the aid passes around it and out of the ear canal, where it is picked up by the microphone and reamplified. A positive feedback loop is created and audible, high-pitched feedback results. Cerumen removal eliminates feedback, when the feedback is due to excess earwax.

Too much earwax can also damage the listening device. In fact, current estimates from various hearing aid manufacturers indicate that 60 to 70 percent of all hearing aids sent for repair are damaged as a result of contact with cerumen.

Patients who wear hearing aids should have their clinician examine the ears for impacted earwax during routine visits. We recommend that patients schedule a hearing aid cleaning at least every 6 months to professionally remove any earwax that may have accumulated in the hearing aid.

If your professional finds evidence of earwax impaction in the ear, he or she may need to perform a variety of techniques to help remove the obstruction. These include:

• ·         Flushing the ear with cerumenolytic (wax-dissolving) agents, which include water, saline, and other agents of comparable efficacy.
• ·         Using irrigation or ear syringing.
• ·         Manual removal with special instruments or a suction device, which is preferred for patients with narrow ear canals, eardrum perforation or tube, or immune deficiency.

If you would like to have a complimentary ear wax check, please call our office at 801-770-0801 or see www.utahhearingaids.com for more information.

Sources:

American Academy of Otolaryngology

This is one of the most common complaints we hear from people when they come in for their first hearing exam.  This is usually a sign that a patient is experiencing what we call “Sound Voids.”  Sound Voids are the areas of sound where you experience difficulty– usually starting with higher frequency sounds such as “th”, “k”, “f”, “s”, “h” and “t”.  That means you may hear a word, but have a hard time distinguishing between words that are close such as “is” and “if”, or “Kick” and “Kit”.  It may seem like people are mumbling or “just not speaking clearly like they used to.”

We measure hearing loss in terms of frequency, or pitches that a patient can or cannot hear.  Deep voices have a low frequency and high voices (such as women and children) have a high pitch or frequency.  Most hearing loss begins in the higher frequencies– making women and children and high frequency sounds more difficult to distinguish. 

It may be hard to recognize these Sound Voids as hearing loss because hearing in the lower frequencies is still good.  However, many people who have a high frequency hearing loss are surprised when they discover how many sounds they have been missing.

One of our patients recently told us some of the sounds she had been missing.  She said that she didn ‘t realize that there was a nest of birds in the tree outside her window until she was fit with AGX hearing aids.  She also didn’t know that her favorite rocking chair had a terrible squeak that was driving her family crazy!  She had that fixed right away.  Most of all, she was amazed at how much better she could interact with her small grandchildren.  Instead of being tired after being with them from struggling to understand what they were saying, she found herself energized from their time together.  You can’t put a price on that!

If you are experiencing Sound Voids, your best course of action is to make an appointment with a qualified Audiologist.  They will examine the physical parts of your ear (the Sound Voids could just be ear wax!) as well as test the neurologic parts of your hearing.  Once you discover where the Sound Voids are coming from, determining a course of treatment is a much easier process than most people expect.

If you have questions or would like to make an appointment for a free consultation with one of our Audigy Certified audiologists, give us a call at 801-770-0801.