Consequences of HL Flashcards
Fundamental Concepts of Comm: How does communication occur?
- Intent (in the sender)
- Message or Signal (from the sender)
- Transmission (through the environment)
- Reception (in the receiver)
- Comprehension (understood by the receiver)
- Response (from the receiver)
The Signal: factors that cause/worsen communication problems
– Sender (talker)
■ Speech, pattern, dialect, vocabulary (position, mumbling, loudness, distance, rate, etc)
– The Message Itself
■ Intensity, length, amount of repetition, amount of contextual information
Environmental Influences:factors that cause/worsen communication problems
– The environment generally: Will degrade the quality of intended (primary) signal
– 3 Negative Factors:
■Noise
■Reverberation (bouncing off the wall/floor)
■Distance from the sound source
Receiver: factors that cause/worsen communication problems
1) Some people don’t hear as well as others
■Loss of sensitivity – person requires more sound intensity in order to perceive a signal
2) Some people don’t understand speech as well as others
■Loss of speech processing abilities
Loss of Sensitivity Outcome
–Outcome: Incomplete information flowing into/through the auditory channel
–Generally follows degree of loss
Loss of Speech Processing Abilities
–Outcome: Incomplete or ambiguous information flowing into/through the auditory channel; often described as “loss of discrimination”
–NOT predictable based on degree of HL (ex. If mild, can’t predict)
–More pronounced if the organic condition causing the HL is in the cochlea or further up the auditory pathway
Receiver (Listener) – Additional Factors
–Native intelligence/cognitive status (attention/memory)
–Status of visual system (if can’t see very well/ can’t read lips)
–Motivation to Communicate
–Level of Language Development/ Ability to Synthesize Information
Problems Specific to an Adult with HL
1) Will likely affect social life in the family and in the person’s community
2) May cause vocational vulnerability/ work performance
3) Implications for psychological and emotional consequences
Early Intervention in Adults
The earlier the adult accepts the condition and takes action toward resolving it, the better the prognosis
(REASON: possible cognitive decline- memory problems and hearing loss)
Problems Specific to a Child with HL (esp if Prelingual or Perilingual Time of Onset)
1) Reduced Perception of Auditory Space – Sound Localization
2) Reduced Reception and Recognition of acoustic events in environment
3) Increased Challenges in learning an acoustic based language system
Problems Specific to a Child with HL: Auditory Deprivation
■Lack of functional communication system; leads to
■Starts to notice they are diff around 4yr old (school age)
■Emotional differences/issues; leads to
■Social Isolation; contributes to
■Where real trouble begins (when depression sets in)
■Academic Learning difficulties; leads to
■Educational/Vocational Achievement Vulnerability; contributes to
■Reduced Quality of Life
Parents/Families will have to make decisions/choices . . . . .
■ As Providers, we have to respect those choices (regardless of our own biases)
■ Earliest possible identification and intervention is critical to prevent or minimize associated consequences specifically related to speech and language
When is the ideal time to find out? (Luterman-Parents)
–83% want to know at birth
–Between 3-6 months (but not realistic)
Emotional response is independent of degree of loss: which emotions?
–The disability is not in the audiogram but in the perception of the parents
–Normal to feel fear, inadequacy, anger, guilt, vulnerability, confusion, etc.
For the Child Luterman
■Common to ask parents
–“What’s the matter with me?” Or “Why am I different?”
■Parents may interpret questions as
–“What did you do to cause me to have a hearing loss?”
–Interpreting in the wrong way
■Can ask the question back to them, “Do you think it’s bad to have a hearing loss?”
–Sad over the loss but not over the child
■Child is usually just seeking facts and need to be given a chance to talk about their feelings at home and with similar peers (so they know they’re not alone)
