Hearing Loss

What is the role of OT with hearing loss?

procuring, using, cleaning and maintaining personal care devices, including hearing aids and more!

What are the recommendations for interaction with someone with hearing loss?

1. Maintain eye contact when speaking with the client

2. Use Facial expressions and physical gestures

3. Speak clearly

4. Avoid dismissive comments

5. Provide closed captioning or AT when needed, if available

What does hard of hearing mean?

mild to moderate hearing loss

What does deaf mean?

very little or no functional hearing

What does hearing impaired mean?

may be offensive to many individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing

What are the preferred terms for those with hearing loss?

deaf or hard of hearing

What is presbycusis?

age related hearing loss

What happens with presbycusis?

hair cells die naturally over time

occurs equally in both ears

loss of high pitch

What is noise-induced hearing loss?

damage caused by exposing the hair cells to excessively loud sounds, usually unilateral

What is noise-induced hearing loss like?

associated with complaints of hearing changes such as muffled sound and tinnitus, difficulty with clarity of sound

What is a decibel (dB)?

a unit used to measure the intensity of a sound

What are decibel meters?

small handle held device you hold-walk into an environment and take sound reading

What are some noise measuring applications?

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) sound level meter app-free!

iPhones measure

Decibel pro

Decibel X

How can you protect hearing?

modifying the acoustic environment

What are ways to modify acoustic environment?

Remove the Sound (turn it down)

Absorb sound (heavy curtains, bookshelves, houseplants)

When can hearing loss occur?

hearing loss may occur with a single loud noise or long/repeated exposure to sounds at or above 85 dBA

What should you do when you can't modify the environment?

wear protection!

-formable foam earplugs

-pre-molded earplugs

-canal caps that have a stiff band that provides gentle force to seal the ear plugs

-protective earmuffs

Who prescribes hearing aids?

Audiologist!

*not in OT's scope of practice to prescribe hearing aids*

What might be an OTs role in hearing aids?

May assist patients in (after obtaining the hearing aids)

-battery replacement

-Donning and doffing

-Cleaning and care

What are some helpful hints for donning and doffing hearing aids?

*hair and makeup completed prior to donning*

-start around the ear, place in ear, press the wires against the head

-standing in front of mirror can help

-Smile test to make sure it does not fall out

What are some examples of hearing technology?

-Alerting devices

-Telecommunication devices

-Assistive Learning devices (ALD)

-Captioning

What is an alerting device?

devices that someone may use to alert someone with hearing loss-especially relating to safety!

What are examples of alerting device?

loud tone, flashing light, vibration

-Doorbell, smoke alarm, phone, wake-up alarm, weather alert

What are telecommunication devices?

phones that may have amplified ringers

-amplified telephone (listening) *built in amplifier

-Portable phone amplifier (listening) fits over existing phone headset, adjustable volume control

-Assistive listening devices for the telephone

What are some accessibility features on telephones?

-phone noise cancellation

-LED flash/vibrating ringtones

-Visual voicemail (receive text rather than voicemail)

-video calling

-captioned phone

What's a TTY or TDD telecommunication devices?

keyboard with a visual display screen that allows communication by typing and reading

portable and wireless versions

*Computers can function as TTY's with software and additional equipment*

How does a video phone work?

telephone with video screen, allows communication via sign language

What is video relay service (VRS) used for?

can be used to interpret the sign language

What are telecommunication devices used for?

for people unable to hear over the phone, but who want to use their voice to communicate

What are assistive listening devices (ALDs)?

a personal listening device which receives signals from the person speaking, amplifying the sound

How can ALDs be used?

can be used with an existing hearing aid, but limits background noise, audio induction loop

ex) walk through audio tour at resistance museum

What are some examples of ALDs?

*a personal frequency modulation (FM) system:* small, something someone carries with them transmitter microphone used by the speaker and a receiver and headphones or neck loop that user wears

*infrared system:* wireless system transmits sound via invisible IR light, receiver must be in direct line of sight of the transmitter, often used for home television listening

*personal amplified system:* portable, used for one-on-one conversations or TV listening

What is closed captioning?

ability to be turned off "closed"

captions on TV programs and DVDs

What is open captioning?

always "on", captions are a permanent part of the picture, rather than an option

What is real time captioning?

captions are simultaneously prepared and transmitted at the time of the presentation, trained real-time captioners using a stenotype machine