Children can only develop spoken language through consistent exposure to the acoustic cues that comprise speech and language. Until recently, hearing levels from the clinical audiogram were the primary measure used to define typical hearing and the presence or degree of a child's hearing loss. While the clinical audiogram remains an important…

People with hearing loss (HL) often express a desire for the particular hearing device that will yield the best speech recognition. The problem with fulfilling that desire is that a vast number of hearing devices are available from which to choose. In recent years, medical device regulatory agencies have generally viewed hearing devices (i.e.,…

Children with significant hearing loss may experience great difficulty developing spoken language and literacy skills to a level commensurate with children of the same age with typical hearing. While studies of children who use cochlear implants show improved spoken language outcomes in some cases, when compared to the same children's earlier use…

This study examined the association between parenting stress, family functioning, child behavior problems, language development, mother's education, child's sex, child's age, and child's hearing device in a cross-sectional sample of 37 mothers with typical hearing who have children who are deaf and hard of hearing enrolled in early childhood…

The maternal identity of mothers of adolescents who are deaf has certain specific features compared with mothers of adolescents who have typical hearing. That is, maternal identity differs with respect to distinctiveness, self-representation, and representation of mother-child relationships. A study using a comparative paradigm was conducted. The…

State coordinators of early hearing detection and intervention (EHDI) programs completed a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, or SWOT, analysis that consisted of 12 evaluative areas of EHDI programs. For the newborn hearing screening area, a total of 293 items were listed by 49 EHDI coordinators, and themes were identified within…

The purpose of this study is to show the changing trends within the population of children who are deaf and hard of hearing in Belgium over the last 12 years. The combination of Universal Newborn Hearing Screening programs, early intervention, and cochlear implants have tremendously influenced the education and support of children who are deaf or…

This position paper briefly presents evidence-based findings pertaining to the language of labels for people with hearing loss that relate to stigma, expectation levels, stereotypes, and self-fulfilling prophecies. These constructs are important for auditory-based practitioners, administrators, policymakers, students, families, and persons with…

Explored are various means of amplification for aurally handicapped adolescents, including behind-the-ear hearing aids, "custom ear" (or in-the-ear) hearing aids, as well as aural rehabilitation. (BD)

The sound /s/ is a problem for hearing-impaired children because most ear-level hearing aids and earmolds are not efficient in amplifying and transmitting high-frequency acoustic energy. With appropriate wideband hearing aids and wideband earmolds, fricatives such as /s/ should be audible to children with even a severe hearing loss. (Author/CL)

A history of hearing and a review of the physics of sound is followed by an overview of how the ear works. The outer hair cell is the focus of particular attention because of its central role in the conversion of sound energy into neural energy used by the brain. Contains a list of recommended resources. (CR)

Under both the audition alone and combined audition and lipreading conditions, Ss' performance was superior to that previously reported for profoundly hearing impaired children trained in schools in which a "multisensory" approach is typically used. (Author)

This article discusses hearing loss in adults. It begins with an explanation of the anatomy of the ear and then explains the three types of hearing loss: conductive hearing loss, sensorineural hearing loss, and mixed conductive-sensorineural hearing loss. Tinnitus, hearing aids, and cochlear implants are also addressed. (CR)