The Cost of Losing Your Hearing
When you lose your hearing, thee is a loss to your quality of life.  Untreated hearing loss may:

• Strain relationships with family, friends, and/or co-workers.
• Stop you from doing the things you used to enjoy.
• Impact your earning power on the job.
• Reduce your ability to understand what people are saying

Preventing Hearing Loss
Although hearing loss is a common effect of aging, some Americans are starting to lose their hearing earlier in life as a result of exposure to noise, noise-induced hearing loss. Noise-induced hearing loss is 100% preventable.

Wear hearing protection such as ear plus and earmuffs when being exposed to levels of noise over 85 decibels (dB) for extended periods of time. (Look for the NRR rating to know the approximate dB reduction the ear protection provides.)

A quick reference for levels of noise:

• 60 dB - Normal conversations or dishwashers
• 80 dB - Alarm clocks
• 90 dB - Hair dryers, blenders, and lawnmowers
• 100 dB - MP3 players at full volume
• 110 dB - Concerts, car racing, and sporting events
• 120 dB - Jet planes at take off
• 130 dB - Ambulances and fire engine sirens
• 140 dB - Gun shots, fireworks, and custom car stereos at full volume

*reported by the American Academy of Audiology

National Awareness Month Educates Parents About Hearing Disorders Affecting School Performance

Hearing is critical to a child's speech and language development, communication, and learning, yet children with hearing problems continue to be an underidentified and underserved population.

This May, as part of Better Hearing and Speech Month, Midwest ENT Centre is urging parents to take their child for a hearing screening if they suspect a problem.

Warning to Parents: The earlier a hearing loss occurs in a child's life, the more serious the potential effects on the child's development. However, the earlier the problem is identified and intervention begins, the less serious the ultimate impact will be.

There are four major ways in which hearing loss affects a child:

• It causes delays in the development of receptive and expressive communication skills (the child's speech and language skills develop more slowly).
• The language deficit adversely affects the child's vocabulary, sentence structure, and speaking ability, causing learning problems that result in reduced academic achievement.
• These learning and academic problems often lead to social isolation and poor self-esteem.
• The inability of the child to effectively communicate and socialize with others and the low self-esteem that often occurs frequently have a detrimental impact on the child's future vocational choices.

What Can Parents Do? 

Research indicates that children identified with a hearing loss who begin services early may be able to develop language (spoken and/or signed) on a par with their hearing peers. If a hearing loss is detected in your child, early family-centered intervention is recommended to promote language (speech and/or signed, depending on family choices) and cognitive development. An audiologist, as part of an interdisciplinary team of professionals, will evaluate your child and suggest the most appropriate audiologic intervention program.

For more information about hearing disorders and prevention, visit www.asha.org  or visit our website at  www.mid-westent.com

Midwest ENT Centre's Audiology Department is home to highly educated, trained and certified clinical audiologists .

About the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
ASHA is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than 145,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists. Audiologists specialize in preventing and assessing hearing and balance disorders as well as providing audiologic treatment including hearing aids. Speech-language pathologists identify, assess, and treat speech and language problems including swallowing disorders. www.asha.org/.

“The mission of Missouri Assistive Technology is to increase access to assistive technology for Missourians with all types of disabilities, of all ages.”

Telecommunications Access Program for Telephone

“Missouri TAP for Telephone is designed to provide adaptive telephone equipment and telephone signaling devices for individuals with disabilities in Missouri.  A full range of adaptive equipment is provided at no cost to meet the needs of individuals with all types of disabilities.  Missouri TAP for Telephone can provide access to basic voice telephone calling and receiving for individuals with all types of disabilities through delivery of adaptive telephone equipment…”

For more information about this program and for eligibility, visit  http://www.at.mo.gov/tap_telephone.html

Missouri Assistive Technology works with 29 demo center sites in the state of Missouri, located at Centers for Independent Living. To find the closest demo center nearest you, visit  http://www.at.mo.gov/regions.htm
Please contact the demo center to schedule an appointment for your demonstration. 

“The Hearing Loss Association of America is the nation’s largest organization for people with hearing loss…HLAA provides assistance and resources for people with hearing loss and their families to learn how to adjust to living with hearing loss. HLAA is working to eradicate the stigma associated with hearing loss and raise public awareness about the need for prevention, treatment, and regular hearing screenings throughout life.”

“The St. Louis chapter exists to provide local support to those living with hearing loss. Our members consist of not only individuals with various levels of hearing loss, but also people who care about someone with hearing loss.”  Visit http://www.hearinglossstl.org/

The key words are education and prevention!

Dealing with noise and its effects on your hearing is a personal responsibility. The obvious first rule is to avoid loud noise whenever possible. A good rule of thumb is to remember that if you must shout to be heard, then you should avoid the situation.

In typical day-to-day activities, you and your children can be exposed to damaging noise from many sources, such as:

• Lawn mowers and leaf blowers
• Hairdryers
• Power tools
• Kitchen appliances (like food processors, garbage disposals, and dishwashers)
• Prolonged exposure to heavy traffic or subway noise
• Long flights in an airplane
• Farm tractor noise

In addition, recreational activities can be sources of damaging noise:

• Hunting and target shooting
• Riding personal water craft
• Snowmobiling
• Motorcycle riding
• Attending rock concerts
• Listening to music on personal devices (such as MP3 players)

Here are some things you can do:

Wear hearing protection. Cotton in the ears will not work. Hearing protection, such as earmuffs or earplugs, can be purchased at drugstores, hardware stores, or sports stores. Custom earmolds can be made to fit your ears by an audiologist. Learn how to correctly insert the earplugs and earmolds for the best noise reduction.

Earplugs are placed into the ear canal so that they totally block the canal. They come in different shapes and sizes, or they can be custom-made by taking an impression of the ear. Earplugs can reduce noise by 15 to 30 decibels (dB) depending on how they are made and fit.

Earmuffs fit completely over both ears. They must fit tightly so that sound is blocked from entering the ears. Like earplugs, muffs can reduce noise 15 to 30 dB depending on how they are made and fit.

Earplugs and earmuffs can be used together to achieve even greater sound reduction. Use of earplugs and earmuffs is recommended when noise exposure is particularly high.

Do not listen to loud sounds for too long. If you don’t have hearing protection, move away from the loud sound. Give your ears a break from the sound. Plug your ears with your fingers as emergency vehicles pass on the road.

Lower the loudness of the sound. Keep personal listening devices set to no more than half volume. Don’t be afraid to ask others to turn down the sounds from speakers. Speak to the movie theater projectionist if the movie sound track is too loud.

Be a good consumer. Look for noise ratings on appliances, sporting equipment, power tools, and hair dryers. Purchase quieter products. This is especially important when purchasing toys for children.

*reported by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association

Monday -  9:00 to 5:30
Tuesday -  9:00 to 4:00
Wednesday - 8:30 to 4:00
Thursday -  9:00 to 5:30
Friday -  9:00 to 3:30

 

"Outdoor warning devices are intended to warn those who are outside when they are sounded.  They are not intended to penetrate inside a structure, especially considering ambient noise and insulation.  Please augment your safety by purchasing a Weather Alert receiver!"

Residents are not expected to hear the tornado and weather sirens from inside their homes, especially those with hearing loss. It is recommended that everyone own a weather radio to alert them to bad weather and tornadoes.  For those who have hearing loss and may not hear the weather radio alerts, they can purchase systems to attach to the radio which would utilize bed shakers, strobe lights or extra loud sounds to alert them.

The recommended radios are NOAA weather radios with an external device jack to plug in an additional alerting device. The NOAA radios can be purached at any electronic store.  You can also purchase a Sonic Shaker alarm clock, which has the bed shaker and extra loud alarm sounds, at Midwest ENT Centre.  Call the Audiology Department for details.