Frequency responses of hearing aids and their relation to word discrimination by hard‐of‐hearing subjects

1974 ◽  
Vol 56 (S1) ◽  
pp. S46-S46
Author(s):  
David P. Pascoe
Author(s):  
Dani Levine ◽  
Daniela Avelar ◽  
Roberta Michnick Golinkoff ◽  
Kathy Hirsh-Pasek ◽  
Derek M. Houston

Copious evidence indicates that, even in the first year of life, children’s language development is beginning and is impacted by a wide array of cognitive and social processes. The extent to which these processes are dependent on early language input is a critical concern for most deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children, who, unlike hearing children, are usually not immersed in a language-rich environment until effective interventions, such as hearing aids or cochlear implants, are implemented. Importantly, some cognitive and social processes are not dependent on the early availability of language input and begin to develop before children are fitted for hearing aids or cochlear implants. Interventions involving parent training may be helpful for enhancing social underpinnings of language and for maximizing DHH children’s language learning once effective hearing devices are in place. Similarly, cognitive training for DHH children may also provide benefit to bolster language development.


2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie E. Ambrose ◽  
Lauren M. Unflat Berry ◽  
Elizabeth A. Walker ◽  
Melody Harrison ◽  
Jacob Oleson ◽  
...  

Purpose The purpose of the study was to (a) compare the speech sound production abilities of 2-year-old children who are hard of hearing (HH) to children with normal hearing (NH), (b) identify sources of risk for individual children who are HH, and (c) determine whether speech sound production skills at age 2 were predictive of speech sound production skills at age 3. Method Seventy children with bilateral, mild-to-severe hearing loss who use hearing aids and 37 age- and socioeconomic status–matched children with NH participated. Children's speech sound production abilities were assessed at 2 and 3 years of age. Results At age 2, the HH group demonstrated vowel production abilities on par with their NH peers but weaker consonant production abilities. Within the HH group, better outcomes were associated with hearing aid fittings by 6 months of age, hearing loss of less than 45 dB HL, stronger vocabulary scores, and being female. Positive relationships existed between children's speech sound production abilities at 2 and 3 years of age. Conclusion Assessment of early speech sound production abilities in combination with demographic, audiologic, and linguistic variables may be useful in identifying HH children who are at risk for delays in speech sound production.


1977 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 13-14

We have recently discussed the use of hearing aids.1 For many hard-of-hearing people the help given by a hearing aid is not enough, and some are not helped by an aid. The Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID) booklet ‘Special Aids to Hearing’ describes devices other than hearing aids, all tested by them; it gives manufacturers’ addresses and usually prices. It also gives information on a free hearing-aid testing service in London and in Glasgow available by appointment and by post. This booklet complements the advice in the DHSS booklet ‘General Guidance to Hearing-aid Users’ which is available to patients from their local NHS hearing-aid centre.


Psico-USF ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-191
Author(s):  
Anna Carolina Cassiano Barbosa ◽  
Katerina Lukasova ◽  
Tatiana Pontrelli Mecca ◽  
Elizeu Coutinho Macedo

The intelligence assessment of deaf and hard-of-hearing students has been a challenge for Brazilian psychologists, due to the lack of standardized and validated instruments for this population. The objective of this study was to assess the intelligence of deaf and hard-of-hearing students with the Test of Nonverbal Intelligence, Third Edition (TONI-3: Forma A) according to external variables: age, education, gender, type of deafness, use of hearing aid and communication mode. Study participants were 205 deaf students of both genders, with an average age of 14 years, from four public schools, ranging from elementary to middle school. Results showed no significant differences between subjects according to gender, type of deafness and communication mode. There was an increase in test scores with increasing age, grade and differences between students that used hearing aids. Thus, the findings demonstrate the validity of the TONI-3 to assess the intelligence of Brazilian deaf students.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 908-926
Author(s):  
Erik J. Jorgensen ◽  
Elizabeth A. Walker

Purpose Music is an important part of life for many people. Furthermore, music training has been shown to improve a variety of cognitive functions among children and adults. However, little research exists on how children who are hard of hearing (HH) perceive or participate in music. In particular, it is unknown whether hearing loss limits participation in music activities among school-aged children with mild-to-severe hearing loss. The purpose of this study was to determine whether hearing loss limits participation among children who are HH compared to children with normal hearing (NH). Method Participants were parents of 2 cohorts of children finishing 5th grade (approximately 11 years old). Parents were asked to complete a survey (online or paper) regarding the role of music in their child's life. A total of 88 surveys were completed (67 from parents of children who are HH and 21 from parents of children with NH, with an overall response rate of 74%). Results Hearing loss did not limit music participation among children. Children who are HH listened to recorded music, attended live concerts, and practiced an instrument at the same rates as children with NH. Listening to recorded and live music, practicing an instrument, and playing in an ensemble were equally as important to children who are HH as children with NH. Children who are HH were significantly more likely to regularly play in an ensemble than children with NH. Parent participation in music significantly influenced music participation for children who are HH but not children with NH. Descriptive data about music genres, instruments, and ensembles are also presented. Conclusions Children who are HH participate in music at the same or greater rates as children with NH. Parent participation in music may be particularly important for children who are HH. In light of this, music listening should be a consideration when fitting children with hearing aids.


Author(s):  
Χρήστος Γεωργοκωστόπουλος ◽  
Μαρία Τζουριάδου

In this study, we investigated the perceptual function of deaf/hard of hearing children. The sample of the study consisted of 58 pupils aged 8-13 years old (3rd-6th graders) with severe (60-90 db) or profound (90 db and above) neurosensory hearing loss – pre-lingual with or without cochlear implants. Children with co-morbidity (intellectual disabilities, syndromes, autism, motor disorders, etc.) and children with post-lingual deafness/hearing impairment were excluded. In order to investigate their perceptual function, the Perceptual Functionality Criterion was used. The results of the study show that deaf/hard of hearing participants exhibit a “sporadic” profile regarding the general perceptual functionality. In particular, the participants were found to perform similarly in terms of visual-perceptive skills, while there was one exception, i.e. their visual-motor skills were worse. Higher scores have been shown in the domain of kinesthetic and tactile perception and lower ones regarding vestigial perception, especially in terms of the sense of balance. In addition, the perceptual function was investigated among the cochlear implant participants and those with conventional hearing aids. The results showed no significant differences between the two groups regarding the perceptual function, although the visual perception was found to be significantly better among the users of conventional hearing aids relative to cochlear implant users. Finally, the perceptual function was investigated in terms of the main method of language/communication used. The data indicated that participants, regardless of whether they use sign language, total/bilingual or oral communication, performed roughly similarly on the test variables. Among the different types of main method of language/communication, statistically significant differences were absent, though regarding the visual and kinesthetic perception sign language users outperformed the users of oral communication.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frush Holt

Radical advancements in hearing technology in the last 30 years have offered some deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children the adequate auditory access necessary to acquire spoken language with high-quality early intervention. However, meaningful achievement gaps in reading and spoken language persist despite the engineering marvel of modern hearing aids and cochlear implants. Moreover, there is enormous unexplained variability in spoken language and literacy outcomes. Aspects of signal processing in both hearing aids and cochlear implants are discussed as they relate to spoken language outcomes in preschool and school-age children. In suggesting areas for future research, a case is made for not only expanding the search for mechanisms of influence on outcomes outside of traditional device- and child-related factors, but also for framing the search within Biopsychosocial systems theories. This theoretical approach incorporates systems of risk factors across many levels, as well as the bidirectional and complex ways in which factors influence each other. The combination of sophisticated hearing technology and a fuller understanding of the complex environmental and biological factors that shape development will help maximize spoken language outcomes in DHH children and contribute to laying the groundwork for successful literacy and academic development.


2020 ◽  
pp. 095679762096038
Author(s):  
Chi-Lin Yu ◽  
Christopher M. Stanzione ◽  
Henry M. Wellman ◽  
Amy R. Lederberg

Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children born to hearing parents have profound theory-of-mind (ToM) delays, yet little is known about how providing hearing assistance early in life, through cochlear implants and hearing aids, influences their ToM development. We thus addressed (a) whether young DHH children with early hearing provision developed ToM differently than older children did in previous research and (b) what ToM understandings characterize this understudied population. Findings from 84 three- to six-year-old DHH children primarily acquiring spoken language demonstrated that accumulated hearing experience influenced their ToM, as measured by a five-step ToM scale. Moreover, language abilities mediated this developmental relationship: Children with more advanced language abilities, because of more time using cochlear implants and hearing aids, had better ToM growth. These findings demonstrate the crucial relationships among hearing, language, and ToM for DHH children acquiring spoken language, thereby addressing theoretical and practical questions about ToM development.


Author(s):  
Sandra Thorpe ◽  
Carol Jardine

This study investigated the effectiveness of the application of the Prescription of Gain/Output (POGO) in hearing aid fittings. Six subjects were tested. Each presented with binaural mild to moderate sensorineural hearing losses and were previously fitted monaurally with behind-the-ear aids using modifications of the traditional Carhart (1946) approach. Functional gain requirements stipulated by POGO were calculated from unaided thresholds and compared to actual functional gain measurements. Five subjects, whose functional gain measures were not within prescribed limits, were referred for modification of the gain and frequency responses of their hearing aids and earmoulds. Post-modified functional gain measurements were analysed. The extent to which the required functional gain measurements were met, was investigated statistically in relation to word recognition scores and subjective ratings of perceived benefit. The conclusion reached was that the application of POGO results in improved word recognition scores and self-reported user satisfaction.


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