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Disability Specific Resources
Information: Deafness
Includes Deafness, Hard of Hearing, and Hearing Loss.
Click on this link for Vestibular Disorders, Inner Ear Disorders, Meniere's Syndrome, or Dizziness.
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Definition:
- Deafness is the temporary or permanent, partial or full, impairment or loss of hearing.
- Hearing Loss is a full or partial decrease in the ability to detect or understand sounds.
- Congenital Deafness is hearing loss present at birth, which may or may not be genetic.
- Acquired Deafness is hearing loss acquired after birth, which may or may not be genetic.
- Hard of Hearing can mean that one has varying amounts of hearing loss, but usually not enough to be considered deaf or it is also how a person who is deaf may refer to themself.
Causes:
- The cause of deafness is due to damage to a part or parts of the ear and auditory nervous system for which there may be various causes listed below:
- Congenital factors are those that affect ones hearing before or during birth and are not necessarily genetic, but could be caused by disease such as rubella/German measles that the mother was exposed to during pregnancy. On the other hand, the genetic disease called Waardenburg syndrome can cause deafness.
- Acquired factors are those that occur after birth and any time during life and also may or may not be genetic. For example, deafness may be a manifestation of a delayed-onset form of genetic deafness. Or acquired deafness may be due to damage to the ear from noise.
Causes of deafness:
- Hereditary (genetic) factors
- Infection, disease, illness
- Medication
- Trauma
to any of the audiosensory system
- Environmental or industrial noise
- Degeneration (may be related to age)
Types
- Conductive
- Sensorineural hearing loss
- Combination of both
Classifications
- Pre-lingual
- Loss occurring before the appreciation of sound and speech
- If hearing loss occurs before a child develops and recognizes sound and develops speech, developing language and social skills can be affected.
- Post-lingual
- Loss developing after the appreciation of sound and speech.
- Temporary loss.
- No serious long-term effects
Characteristics:
- Loss of the ability to detect some loudness, frequencies, to detect low or high amplitude sounds or discriminate sounds that humans naturally detect.
Statistics:
- For those who seek medical attention for hearing loss, 3 million of these have major hearing loss.
- "Age-related hearing loss affects 30 to 35 percent of the population between the ages of 65 and 75 years, and 40 percent of the population over the age of 75." Statistics from Medicine Net.com
Misconceptions
Affects all ages, not just the elderly.
Prevention:
Awareness:
- People are more alike than they are different.
- Identify and develop an appreciation for each person's strengths and accomplishments.
- Become aware of the affect on daily activities.
Viewpoint
Can you hear me now? by Nancy Wood, The Villages Daily Sun columnist. Check out this article on the ten commandments for those who interact with people with hearing loss. Nancy Wood writes that the smallest amount of consideration helps people with hearing loss.
On-Line Discussion
Needs and Solutions
- Education, support, therapy may be needed as gradually increasing hearing loss leads to increased anger, frustration, insecurity, nervousness, irritability and depression.
- Hearing aids can amplify the incoming sound.
- Cochlear implants artificially stimulate the VIIIth Nerve by providing an electric impulse substituion for the firing of hair cells. Cochlear implants are expensive, and require sophisticated programming in conjunction with patient training for effectiveness.
Treatment and Rehabilitation
- Support
- Technical adaptations
- Learn lip reading
- Learn sign language
Learn more about Hearing Impairment and Deafness
- Augustana College's general resource directory for the deaf and hearing-impaired, with links to sites dealing with everything from cochlear implants to schools for the deaf.
- Deaf -Info: Everything You Wanted to Know About Deafness is a great resource, however a listserv website, to find out some practical information about deafness including Medical, Education, Employment and much more with topics such as Controversial Issues, Discrimination and Humor.
- Deafness Research Foundation, a leading source of private funding for basic and clinical research in hearing science, offers information on various issues relating to deafness. More specifically, their website features information on cochlear implants, hearing aids, various ear conditions, and much more.
- National Association of the Deaf : Virtual Tour of the Ear
Resources
References
- Disability and Rehabilitation Handbook, by Robert Goldenson, McGraw-Hill, New York, New York, 1978: P. 200.
Wikipedia
- Medicine Net.com
For more on the topic of Hearing Impairment and Deafness
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[Originated January 31, 2009]
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