What is Hearing Loss?
Hearing loss is defined by the:
- Type of hearing loss
- Degree of hearing loss
- Configuration of the hearing loss
Is the hearing loss located in the outer ear, the inner ear, or both?
How severe is the hearing loss? The degree of hearing loss ranges in order from least to most severe: normal, mild, moderate, severe, profound.
What tones are audible? Hearing loss could affect high tones, low tones, or a mixture of both
Hearing Loss Symptoms
- Does not pass Newborn Hearing Screening
- Begins cooing or babbling as a baby, but abruptly stops
- Does not startle to loud sound
- Does not turn to familiar voice or sound
- Delayed language development (typical first word should be said around age 1, combine 2 words by age 2)
What does Hearing Loss sound like?
Hearing loss can vary in severity from mild, moderate to severe. It will also sound differently depending on the source of the sound. For example, a child’s voice may be more difficult to hear than a man’s voice and the environment. For a full experience of what it sounds like to have hearing loss, please try this hearing loss simulator.
Hearing Loss Speech/Language Evaluation and Treatment Process
Here at Family First Therapy, we are an experienced team of Speech Language Therapists that understand the importance of a team approach. We involve parents and professionals, including hearing specialists, Audiologists, and Otorhinolaryngologists (ENT’s) when developing a child’s treatment plan. We offer intense and individualized treatment for children with hearing loss whose families choose Listening and Spoken Language as their desired communication approach. We employ AG Bell Academy for Listening and Spoken Language’s principles of Auditory-Verbal Therapy.
- Medical history questionnaire and interview
- Consultation with other family/professionals involved in the care of your child
- Oral Mechanism exam
- Intonation exam
- Speech sound exam
- Expressive and Receptive Language exam
- Observations in the natural environment
- Formal report with standard scores and a detailed and a plan of care
Each individual child’s therapy program is designed to encourage repetitive listening practice and language development. Let’s discuss your child’s treatment plan today. Call 813-848-0341.
Resources
Please visit the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association for information regarding hearing loss.
Please view this handout from American Speech-Language-Hearing Association for information regarding aural habilitation for children.
Please visit Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing for information regarding “Ages & Stages of Language Development,” “Hearing Loss Explained,” “Next Steps for Your Child,” and more.