WHAT WE DO
Hearing Testing
Wilmington Hearing Specialists provides audiological testing to individuals from the ages of 12 hours (infants) to over one hundred years old. The type of testing varies depending to the age of the client and their capabilities. Every effort is made to determine how the individual hears tones as well as speech. Testing in noise is also important.
Adults:
Adults' hearing sensitivity may be evaluated with more conventional techniques in which they raise their hand or push a button when they hear tones through an earphone.
When testing hearing, our goal is to find the threshold or the softest tone one hears 50% of the time. Thresholds are found for eight frequencies or tones in each ear and plotted on an audiogram. We also test the individual’s ability to hear and understand words in a variety of circumstances.
A conductive hearing loss may be present with any outer or middle ear pathologies. This type of hearing loss can be treated through medical or surgical means and we refer the individual to the appropriate physician for that treatment. A sensori-neural hearing loss indicates there is nerve damage to the hair cells in the inner ear. This type of hearing loss cannot typically be treated medically. Causes of sensori-neural hearing loss may include noise exposure, head injury, aging, medications, and certain illnesses.
Facts:
National surveys estimate the total number of hearing impaired in the United States is 31.5 million people.
The prevalence rate for hearing loss increases with age.
- Ages birth to 18 is 1.4 million
- Age 18 – 34 is 2.5 million
- Age 35 – 44 is 3.6 million
- Age 45 – 54 is 6 million
- Age 55 – 64 is 6.3 million
- Age 65 – 84 is 10.2 million
- Age 85 and above is 1.4 million
In the U.S., currently there are a little over 23 million people who are 65 and older.
It is projected that by the year 2030 that number will increase to 55 million.
The number of people in the 45 to 65 age group is the fastest growing group with hearing loss. The incidence rate is 14.6% in the Baby Boomer age range for hearing impairment
7.4% of Generation Xers (age 29-40) have hearing loss
Children:
The type of testing used to evaluate children varies depending on the age and ability level of the child. Most children over the age of 5 with normal cognitive function can be tested like an adult. Children who cannot be tested using traditional methods can be evaluated using special pediatric methods. These include behavioral methods such as play audiometry (dropping blocks in response to a sound), visual reinforcement audiometry (receiving a visual reinforcer such as a puppet show in response to a change in behavior that indicates the sound was heard) or objective measures of structural function such as an auditory brainstem response (ABR) or otoacoustic emissions (OAE).
FACT:
More people have hearing disorders than heart disease, cancer, blindness, kidney disease, tuberculosis, and multiple sclerosis combined...
Infants:
Birth to three years of age is the most important time to develop speech and language. Our brains are pre-programmed to learn speech during this "critical learning period;" even a deaf child will babble because it is visually and physically reinforcing. Recent research shows that identifying and providing appropriate amplification prior to age 6 months is critical for children with significant hearing impairments to develop normal speech and language, social and emotional skills.
Many times, parents will assume their child hears adequately if they turn or startle to loud sounds. However, the infant may be responding to visual cues and vibration rather than actual auditory signals. Therefore, this "test" misses the more subtle mild-to-moderate hearing losses in which the child cannot hear softer sounds. These soft sounds often include consonants and vowels that are vital in developing speech and language skills, as well as affecting their social, academic and emotional development.
Wouldn't I know if a baby had a hearing loss?
Previously, only children who experienced high risk factors for hearing loss were tested at hospitals. These risk factors include but are not limited to elevated bilirubin levels, prematurity, low birthweight, family history of hearing loss, low APGAR scores, and mechanical respiration. However, 50% of children identified with hearing loss exhibited no high risk factors at birth.
Because of the number of children with hearing loss either missed or identified late, there has been a nationwide push by physicians, audiologists, consumers, insurers and hospital representatives to implement universal newborn hearing testing at every hospital which delivers babies. In 1998, North Carolina began it’s own universal hearing screening program of all newborns in the state.
How do you test infants when they cannot tell you if they hear the sound?
We can assess the auditory function in infants using sophisticated equipment that requires no overt response from the baby. We use Otoacoustic Emissions (OAEs) to elicit the necessary information from the infant's auditory system. OAEs evaluate the physical function of the ear. Very soft sounds at five different pitches are emitted through a soft, small tip into the ear. The sound travels to the inner ear where small hair cells in the inner ear or cochlea respond to the sound. If the ear physically functions properly, these outer hair cells send the sound signal to the brain for interpretation while also emitting a sound or “echo” of their own that is measured and analyzed by the OAE equipment. If further testing is necessary we make appropriate referrals. For more information about these tests please contact our office at 791-4755.
FACTS:
Three (3) in every 1000 babies are born with a severe to profound hearing problem
Five (5) in every 1000 babies are born with some degree of hearing loss.
Hearing loss is the most common birth defect
Half (50%) of these children were considered "well-babies" with no high risk factors.
Twenty perscent of children eventually identified with hearing loss passed the initial hearing screening. In other words, children are still at risk to develop progressive hearing loss, so parents must continually monitor their speech and language development and their attentiveness to sound throughout childhood.
Prior to universal newborn screenings the average age of identification of children with congential hearing loss is 2 ½ to 3 years of age.
Children with hearing loss identified between birth and six months have significantly higher developmental function than those identified after six months of age.
If hearing-impaired children are not identified early, it is difficult, if not impossible, for many of them to acquire the fundamental language, social and cognitive skills that provide the foundation for later schooling and success in society.
Good hearing is extremely important for proper development of speech and language skills. Early diagnosis and management of permanent hearing loss leads to improved language, vocabulary and academic performance.
Infants with hearing loss can be fit with amplification as young as 4 weeks of age. With appropriate family-centered intervention, normal language, cognitive and social development for such infants is likely.
