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Recognising and engaging with language problems
Published in Ross Balchin, Rudi Coetzer, Christian Salas, Jan Webster, Addressing Brain Injury in Under-Resourced Settings, 2017
Ross Balchin, Rudi Coetzer, Christian Salas, Jan Webster
When evaluating patients with possible language problems, keep the following advice in mind: Determine the patient’s literacy level before you evaluate their language abilities because some patients may never have learnt to read and/or write.Make sure that the patient is able to hear normally and is not deaf/hearing impaired.Do not be overwhelmed by the existence of so many different language problems. Instead, simply focus on one aspect of the patient’s presentation at a time and proceed from there.Make general observations about the patient’s language ability based on their behaviour, rather than focusing solely on test results.Be aware that sometimes you may not actually be viewing a language problem because other symptoms may appear to represent a language difficulty. For example, difficulty speaking may be the result of weakness or paralysis of the muscles used to speak (known as dysarthria).Remember that speech fluency is determined based on the number of words produced in a given amount of time, not on whether what is being said is correct and understandable.
Regulating hearing aid compatibility of cell phones: results from a national survey
Published in Assistive Technology, 2020
Michael L. Jones, John T. Morris, James L. Mueller, Ben Lippincott, W. Mark Sweatman
In addition, the research team conducted outreach via the Internet and social media outlets, including organizational websites and Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn accounts. Recruiting was aided by individuals working for national, state and local advocacy organizations, who disseminated the invitation to participate to their networks of people living with hearing loss. These organizations included the National Organization on Disability, National Association of the Deaf, Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), and Telecommunications for the Deaf, Inc. (TDI). Survey participants were entered into a raffle for gift cards. Human subjects research approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board of the authors’ institution to conduct this survey research with adults. Data were screened to exclude any record showing an age lower than 18 years.
Telehealth rehabilitation for adults with cochlear implants in response to the Covid-19 pandemic: platform selection and case studies
Published in Cochlear Implants International, 2022
Julie M. Carter, Catherine F. Killan, Jillian J. Ridgwell
Measures to slow the spread of Covid-19 have included the need to wear PPE and to socially distance, both of which impact on the successful delivery of face to face clinical sessions to people with severe to profound hearing impairment. Establishing a telehealth service for adult rehabilitation has ensured continuity of care for our CI patients. By considering the security, accessibility and functionality of the available platforms, we delivered successful sessions, despite our clients being severe-to-profoundly deaf hearing aid users, or recently implanted CI users beginning to adjust to the sound provided.
Central deafness: a review of past and current perspectives
Published in International Journal of Audiology, 2019
Frank E. Musiek, Gail D. Chermak, Barbara Cone
CD refers to “deafness” of central origin with some preserved peripheral auditory function (although responses to acoustic signals may be inconsistent). Complete central deafness (CCD) is reserved for those individuals who present a total lack of response to sound input (except perhaps at the most intense sound levels) prior to any spontaneous recovery of function. Patients with CCD do not perceive (i.e. hear) any environmental or speech sounds, although sometimes they react to them (e.g. a startle response mediated by the brainstem) despite denying hearing them (i.e. so-called deaf-hearing), and they do not respond to standard pure-tone audiometric testing at the maximum or near the maximum output of the audiometer (Yeomans and Frankland 1995). Pure-tone thresholds may be absent in CCD or show severe decrements in CD; however, the source of these deficits in sensitivity is central in origin: they do not originate in the peripheral auditory system. The term CD is preferred to central hearing loss since the term hearing loss implies a peripheral origin. Indeed, the presence of otoacoustic emissions suggests normal cochlear function (i.e. outer hair cell function), or at most mild hearing loss, and a finding of normal auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) would confirm the integrity of the inner ear and cochlear nerve, as well as the auditory pathways within the brainstem. Speech recognition typically is severely depressed – often more severely depressed than predicted based on pure-tone thresholds (see for example Kaga et al. 2004). Evoked potentials that assess electrophysiological responses that originate in the cortex or the radiations to the auditory cortex reveal abnormalities in CD and CCD (Musiek et al. 2004). Typically, patients can speak, read and write (Zaidan and Baran 2013). Auditory deficits (e.g. pure-tone thresholds, patient’s assessment of “hearing”) typically are worse in the ear contralateral to the hemisphere with the most damage (Musiek, Baran, and Pinheiro 1994; Hefner and Heffner 1986). Inconsistent responses to sound may result from attention deficits, or improper triggering of attention by ascending auditory tracts (Musiek, Baran, and Pinheiro 1994).