Hearing and Kids

I just read an article about using speech perception testing to validate hearing aid outcomes for adults. The article has a large box on the front page which says that it is not customary to do speech perception testing unless a patient is struggling enough to be considered for a cochlear implant. The author, Dr. Anna L. Mc Craney, is

One of my old babies has been a social worker in a large hospital for about 15 years. She has been doing discharge planning for patients leaving the hospital. She uses a cochlear implant and communicates extremely well. She does so well that people don’t even know that she has a hearing loss. At least, until now. While she has

A colleague recently asked me how many earmolds a baby was likely to need from the time hearing loss is identified until they are five. He is an adult audiologist and had been surprised when someone told him it could be as many as 32. It is a good question and one  that it helps to consider.  So how many

What can parents and clinicians do to check how well children are hearing, now that we can’t easily get in to see the audiologist? First, we need to be sure we are monitoring every child’s hearing. It is not a good idea to assume that, because a child was hearing well two months ago, that they will be hearing well

Being stuck at home, while we know it is essential, can be difficult. Kids are bored missing activity and friends, adults have work to do other than entertaining kids etc. But there are things we can do to keep kids entertained, and to help accomplish necessary activities.   No matter the child’s age, we can work on language by doing

This is a terrible time for everyone trying to managing during this crisis. But, what can we do to help kids with hearing loss manage?   Issue 1 – understanding when people are wearing masks   A friend of mine with severe hearing loss posted that she is having a difficult time managing because everyone is wearing masks. She needs

I asked some young adults what they would want people to know about living with a hearing loss. Here is what they said:   JAKE Hearing technology can change your life, but it takes work to make it work. Having a good support network of friends, family, professionals to coach you through the journey is everything. There’s a lot on

I receive questions often about what is good speech perception so I think it is time to bring this up again in this blog. I wrote an article in 2011 with colleagues from the Beth Israel/NYEE Hearing and Learning Center and Cochlear implant Center where I had been the director. We had done a survey of audiologists, speech-language pathologists, listening

This weeks blog is written by Camille Dunn, PhD. Dr Dunn joined the Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Iowa in 2003 where she is an Assistant Professor and the Director of the Cochlear Implant Program.  She received her Masters and Doctor of Philosophy Degree from University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Dr. Dunn holds her Audiology license from

Those of us who work with children with hearing loss have learned good skills about identifying hearing loss, fitting technology, and developing speech and language. There is not very much in our professional training about providing support for children and families, or understanding the communication difficulties of our young patients. If we are going to help these kids be successful