Hard-of-Hearing Conditions

Question 1

How are the deaf considered a minority?

Answer 1

• cultural and linguistic minority (sign language)

Question 2

What is a hearing impairment?

Answer 2

• indicates the presence of a hearing disability that can range in severity from mild to profound

Question 3

What does it mean to be deaf?

Answer 3

• cannot process auditory information at all (non-functional)

Question 4

What does it mean to be hard of hearing?

Answer 4

• residual hearing enables processing of auditory information with or without a hearing aid (functional hearing)

Question 5

What are the three attributes of sound?

Answer 5

• Intensity (dB)
• Frequency (Hz)
• Resonance (timbre)

Question 6

What does intensity of sound entail in everyday life?

Answer 6

• point of first audible sound is 0 dB.
• normal speech 10 feet away is 45 to 65 dB (train passing at 10 feet away is about 90 – 120 dB)
• anything over 100dB can be harmful and
  painful

Question 7

What does frequency (pitch) of sound entail in everyday life?

Answer 7

• frequency of sound waves and is measured in hertz (Hz)
• some hearing impairments involve only certain frequencies
• older individuals have issues with high frequencies or sounds such as (s, z, v, t)

Question 8

What does difficulties with resonance sound qualities entail in everyday life?

Answer 8

• enable us to distinguish between sounds (music) and voices

- individuals with deficits in this area are known as tone deaf

Question 9

Putting your fingers in your ear canal creates what dB conductive hearing loss?

Answer 9

• 25 dB

Question 10

How does our hearing work?

Answer 10

• sound waves are vibrations
• these vibrations pass from the outer ear to the middle ear
• waves are then converted into neural information that passes along auditory nerve to our brain where we make sense of it

Question 11

What does a slight hearing loss entail?

Answer 11

• loss of 25-40 dB

- difficulty with whispered speech

Question 12

What does a mild hearing loss entail?

Answer 12

• 41-54 dB

- difficulty with normal speech at a distance of three to five feet

Question 13

What does a moderate hearing loss entail?

Answer 13

• 55-69 dB

- understanding loud or shouted speech at close range; group discussions

Question 14

What does a severe hearing loss entail?

Answer 14

• 70-89 dB

- difficulty understanding speech at close range, even when amplified

Question 15

What does a profound hearing loss entail?

Answer 15

• 90+ dB

- difficulty hearing most sounds, including telephone rings and musical instruments

Question 16

What is conductive hearing loss?

Answer 16

• affects outer and/or middle ear

Question 17

What are some disorders of the middle ear?

Answer 17

• ossicles, eustachian tube, otitis media (inflammation of
  the middle ear - most prevalent conductive disorder)
• 75-95% children at risk due to repeated ear infections

Question 18

What is sensorineural hearing loss?

Answer 18

• affects inner ear or auditory nerve
• caused by damage to the cells and nerve fibres that transmit and receive sound
• not only reduces sound but causes distortions in residual hearing as well
• less likely to be improved by medical treatment
• sensorineural hearing loss and balance deficits sometimes occur together

Question 19

What is mixed loss and tinnitus?

Answer 19

• combined conductive and sensorineural hearing loss
• tinnitus is sound sensation in one or both ears
• Whistling, hissing, buzzing, throbbing, whining

Question 20

What are some reasons for hearing loss?

Answer 20

• autosomal recessive genes, bacterial and viral infections, idiopathic, maternal illness
• noise! (recreation, occupation)
• age

Question 21

How many people experience hearing loss or impairment?

Answer 21

• 3.1 million people have some degree of hearing loss

1: 25…2:25 Canadians affected

Question 22

What are some consideration for physical activity regarding people with hearing impairment?

Answer 22

• lower motor performance
• lack of opportunity to practice
• balance problems caused by vestibular damage
• communication barriers may limit experiences

Question 23

What are some ways to improve communication between instructors and hard of hearing participants?

Answer 23

• speech reading/lip reading, amplification of residual hearing
• sign language, finger spelling
• oral, signed, and written
• ASL – most accepted method of communication