Helpful Tips for Parents of Children With Hearing Loss

By Nadine Dehgan

You just learned your child has a hearing loss. It is common (and normal!) to feel overwhelmed, scared, and have many, many questions. Hearing loss is a loss. It’s not uncommon to grieve after receiving a diagnosis. Take some time to come to terms with the news, and know that there are professionals ready to help and there are many resources at your disposal. There are also countless families who have gone through this same experience and have found success.

Here are some helpful tips Hearing Health Foundation cultivated from parents just like you:

Accept your child and cherish them for who they are as a person. This will encourage your child to accept themselves and their hearing loss, providing them with the confidence and assurance that they will be accepted by their peers and community, despite their hearing loss.

Help your child develop a fun, but informative, answer to educate their friends and others about their hearing loss and assistive devices, should they ask when you’re not around. This will help them develop self-advocacy skills they will need later in life.

Discussing your child’s hearing loss with their siblings may be something you dread. Simple is key. Let them ask questions and answer them as honestly, and positively as possible.

If your child’s chosen method of communication is sign language, make lessons a family activity, if the rest of the family communicates orally. It’s important that your child with a hearing loss feels and is included in all conversations, especially those taking place in the household.

Ask your child’s audiologist for recommendations for a speech pathologist, education consultants, and materials to set up your child for success. (*Laura, HHF’s communications and programs manager, mother used and was very thankful for the free resources from the John Tracy Clinic).

If your child is school-aged, set up a meeting with the school district’s Department of Special Education Services and start the Individual Education Plan (IEP) process. Cultivate and maintain the relationships made with Special Services—your child’s academic success depends on it.

• Know the laws related to disabilities and special education, so you’re properly equipped to be your child’s best advocate.

• Have regular check-ins with your child’s teachers to identify any gaps and ensure they are developing appropriately for their age, both socially and academically.

Have a folder/binder and notebook where you house all the paperwork of test and reports, dates of appointments and procedures. This would be a good place to keep any and all hearing aid, BAHA or cochlear implant warranty information.

• Hearing loss accidents happen and sometimes you just have to laugh them off: When Laura was in kindergarten, she used to take a bath after dinner, and her mother would scream down the hall, “Take out your hearing aids!” One day, she forgot to remind Laura, and into the bath those hearing aids went!

• Take issues that arise from bullying and other social incidences and turn them into a life lesson about diversity and that being unique is not a bad thing, but something to embrace.

If you’d like to connect to others going through similar situations, or with those who have dealt with these circumstances before, please email us at info@hhf.org. We also encourage you to check out our Pediatrics page for more information and tips.

Nadine Dehgan is the former CEO of Hearing Health Foundation.

The mother of two boys who use cochlear implants, Alaine Jacobs shares “10 Ways to Be Encouraged When You’re Disappointed by a Hearing Loss Diagnosis” on her blog.

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In the Midst of Numerous Natural Disasters, HHF's Emergency Preparation Guide Makes Headlines

HHF Communications and Program Manager's Laura Friedman's "Guide For Preparing For Emergencies When You Have Hearing Loss" recently made headlines in PRNewswire and many national news outlets.

As this year's vicious hurricane season carries on and, just yesterday, the effects of Mexico's devastating hurricane were felt in California, emergency preparation plans for individuals with hearing loss remain more critical than ever.

View the full press release, here.

A Guide for Preparing for Emergencies When You Have Hearing Loss

By Laura Friedman

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” -Benjamin Franklin

With the recent devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey in Southern Texas, the wildfires in the Midwestern United States and California, and impending Hurricane Irma, a Category 5 storm predicted to hit the coast of Florida, Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) encourages everyone to have an action plan in place for the various emergencies one can face.

For people with hearing loss, emergencies can bring extra challenges and anxiety. As someone with a hearing loss myself, I'm nervous I'll sleep through my building's fire alarm or miss my subway stop due to not hearing an announcement. The latter may sound trivial, but it means I'm always hyper-aware of my surroundings, which is exhausting and also a little nerve-racking. So, when it comes to natural disasters and situations where my safety may be at stake, a predetermined action plan puts me (and my loved ones) at ease.

Here are some of HHF's tips for navigating one's hearing loss needs during emergencies:

1. Stock Up On the Basics and Know Your Power Sources

Keep extra batteries in your emergency kit for hearing aid and/or your cochlear implants, as well as for visual or sensory alerting systems.

• For hearing aids, it's recommended to have a month's worth of batteries on hand.
  

• For cochlear implants, consider a portable battery charger, especially because batteries generally last at most about eight hours. The chargers themselves need to be charged, so use them sparingly.

Procure a waterproof/sealed container that is large enough to hold hearing aids or cochlear implants to protect them in cases of extreme weather or susceptibility to damage/displacement, e.g., in an earthquake.

Remember your car can be a power source. Depending on the model and whether you have gas, your car may have some power for charging things like a cochlear implant battery pack or a cellphone through its USB port.

2. Emergency Contact List

Have a contact list printout with phone numbers for those to reach out to in case of emergency, as well as local text-9-1-1 services.

• Keep your audiologist/ENT's number on hand, in addition to the phone number of the hearing aid or cochlear implants company in case the device needs to be repaired or for emergency support.
  

• For those who live in urban areas, contact your city's Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD) to inquire for emergency services and alerts; services vary greatly by city. For example, in New York City, there's a phone "tapping system" for connecting with local police and fire departments if vocalizing your needs is a challenge.
  

• For those in suburban and rural areas, contacting your local Mayor's office may also be useful, as well as introducing yourself to the local police and fire departments. If you belong to a church, synagogue, or other place of worship, your religious leader may have local resources available or know the right people to connect you to.

3. Communication With Authorities and Loved Ones

• When the power's out, it's important to have access to a regular landline phone (not cordless), battery-powered amplifier, or battery-powered TTY.

• Buddy systems are not just for toddlers. It's recommended to have two or three friends locally who agree in advance to check up on you in case of an emergency.

• One contact should be out of state in case the local power and/or telephone lines are down.

• If your smartphone and laptop have internet access and power, use social media to stay in touch and ask friends for help, as well as mark yourself safe, through Facebook's Safety Check.

• Reverse 911 is available in some communities; This service will call YOU in an emergency. Check with your local emergency management office to find out if Reverse 911 is available and if they have TTY capabilities.

• Key Phrases Card: Have a card printed out that has key phrases to help you communicate with local authorities.

4. Emergency Alerts

• Visual Fire Alarms with Strobe Lights: Many cities and states, such as Houston, offer free visual fire alarms for the D/d/HoH. You can also visit the National Fire Protection Association's website for a list of brands that meet that U.L. standards for smoke alarms.

• Sign up for weather and other emergency alerts through The Emergency Email & Wireless Network at emergencyemail.org.

• NOAA Weather Radio: Provides one of the earliest warnings of weather and other emergencies and is programmed to alert you to hazards in your specific area. Some have a warning light, while others have LCD screen for alerts.

• Notify Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), neighborhood watch, community block associations, and other local groups and authorities about your needs.

For more information, contact:
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): fema.gov
Ready (part of Homeland Security): ready.gov
Department of Labor’s Disability Resources: www.dol.gov/general/topic/disability

All of us at HHF—the staff, Board of Directors, consultants, and volunteers—have the victims of recent natural disasters in our thoughts and hope for swift relief for those affected and displaced.   

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That Annoying Ringing in Your Ears Has a Name: Tinnitus

HHF's communications and programs manager, Laura Friedman, shared her knowledge of tinnitus treatments with Boomer in "Have You Heard? That Annoying Ringing in Your Ears has a Name: Tinnitus."

There are currently no permanent solutions to cure this constant, unexplained noise, but the efforts of HHF's Hearing Restoration Project, an international scientific consortium working collaboratively in search of a biological cure for hearing loss, may produce one.

"One of the more interesting experimental treatment possibilities for tinnitus is reported by Laura Friedman...Since hair cell loss in the Corti (the organ containing sensory hair cells required for hearing) leads to hearing reduction, missing hairs may cause persistent imbalances in the auditory nerve, resulting in tinnitus. To address this possibility, the HHF’s Hearing Restoration Project is working to discover factors that would allow new human hair cells to be regenerated and restored in the Corti, or to convert non-sensory cells into hair cells."

Read the full article from Boomer, here.

Don’t Let Swimmer's Ear get in the Way of Your Summer Fun

By Lauren Conte

After a long day spent enjoying the public pool, your youngest child runs towards you clutching one of his ears. You calm him down, and after a few moments he tells you that his ear itches, hurts to the touch, and sounds are muffled.

Unsure of how to treat his pain, you book an appointment with your family's doctor. In the meantime, you try to stop your son from shoving his fingers into his ears as the burning pain worsens.   

At the appointment, the doctor sees the red inflammation in the ear canal and notes the clear, odorless discharge draining from your child's ears. "Yep," the doctor says, "its Swimmer's Ear."

Well, what exactly is Swimmer's Ear, and how does it occur? Swimmer's Ear (also known as acute otitis externa) is an ear infection caused by bacteria, and though instances are rare, sometimes can occur from viruses or fungi.

Long exposure to contaminated water, such as recreational pools or lakes makes individuals susceptible to infections. The water softens the skin inside the ear and allows bacteria to multiply and cause irritation. When people use their fingers, cotton swabs, or other objects to itch their ears, the softened skin is easily broken, spreading the infection further.  

To catch the infection early, some symptoms include:

• Itchiness in the ear canal

• Pain when pushing or pulling on the outer ear

• Clear drainage

• Swelling and redness of the ear

• Sensation of fullness in the ear

• Swollen lymph nodes around the ear, upper neck, and jaw

Treatment options vary, but often your doctor will prescribe an antibiotic or antifungal medication to kill the infection. Your doctor may prescribe a steroid to decrease the inflammation, or an acidic solution to restore the normal pH inside the ear. (When applying the drops, have someone else help you. Also, lie down with the affected ear facing upwards in order to fill the ear completely with medication.) To decrease the pain before and during treatment, over-the-counter pain relievers are effective at helping relieve some of the discomfort in the ears.

Okay, so now we know how it happens and how to treat the infection should it occur, but let's try to avoid getting to that point. Spoiler alert: you don't have to give up the pool, lake, or beach time!

While in the water, keep ears dry by using earplugs or a swim cap.

If that isn't your style, dry the outside of your ears with a towel, drop some drying-aid into each ear, and then tilt your head to the side to help the water drain out.

Pro-Tip: DIY Ear-drying Aid

• 1 tablespoon white vinegar

• 1 tablespoon rubbing alcohol

• (Or however much solution you desire, but keep equal parts vinegar and rubbing alcohol)

• Mix solution together and add drops into both ears.

The alcohol in the solution combines with the water and because alcohol evaporates at a lower temperature, pulls the water out with it. The acidity of the vinegar lowers the pH of the ear so bacteria cannot grow. Use this solution each time you leave the water, to ensure that infection does not occur.

Also, never use cotton swabs or fingers to try to remove water from ears. Your fingernails can cut up the inside of your ears, cotton swabs can puncture eardrums, and scrape the ear canal as well. Similarly, do not try to use cotton swabs to remove earwax, as the natural substance protects against infection and waterproofs your ears.

There you have it, the signs to look out for, and the ways to avoid putting a damper on your summer.

Lauren Conte is a Communications Intern for Eosera, a biotechnology consumer products company.

More People = Less Noise?

By Kathi Mestayer

Beautiful, open, echoey space.

In the summer, attendance at our church falls noticeably as people go on vacation and spend weekend mornings doing other seasonal things, like birdwatching. After the service on a recent Sunday, we all headed out of the sanctuary, toward the atrium. Normally, this is a time when it’s really difficult for me to talk with anyone because of the reverberant nature of our building. It’s an architectural masterpiece and wonderful for music—and an acoustical nightmare, at least for speech comprehension.

To be fair, our church is not the only one with a large, open worship space where sound bounces around for what can seem like…. forever.  It’s actually becoming more common; when churches get bigger, sound challenges follow. As the authors of a research paper on the topic point out, “We are witnessing a paradigm shift from small church enclosures to very large church auditoriums.  Most of these auditoriums fall short of providing good sound quality and… sooner or later it becomes a very serious problem because such buildings are places for communication to an audience.…”

So, I’ve gotten used to the reverberation, and just try to avoid conversation until we’re out of the sanctuary. That summer day, however, as I worked my way toward the exit, I noticed that the noise level was significantly louder than usual. “That’s weird,” I thought, "fewer people, but more noise?” I checked with a couple of friends, and they had also noticed that the noise level seemed much higher than usual. So it wasn’t just me.

When I got home, I told my (physicist) husband about it, and he asked me how many people were at the service. I said, "Way fewer, less than half the usual number…probably vacations.” He replied, "Oh, that’s probably why it was noisier. People absorb sound.” But at such a noticeable level?

Ask an Acoustician

In search of a second opinion, I contacted Rich Peppin, the president of Engineers for Change, a nonprofit acoustics and vibrations consulting firm. Rich had helped me with a Hearing Health article, “Caution: Noise at Work,” so I knew he’d have the answer. I posited our working hypothesis in my email to him: that a reverberant space would be noticeably noisier if there are fewer people in it.

Rich replied: “Yes. Because people absorb sound and hence reduce reflections. We can calculate the reduction of reverberation if we know before and after numbers of people.” Now, we’re getting somewhere.

The calculations Rich was talking about are based, in part, on how much sound humans absorb. In addition to the sound absorption by human bodies, there are other variables that impact reverberation, such as: what the people are wearing, whether they are sitting or standing, whether there are padded seats in the room, and the size and shape of the room.

In my church example, however, most of the major variables were unchanged between winter and summer: lightly padded seats with metal frames; hard floor, walls, and ceiling; and no drapes. And everyone was standing up, walking out to the atrium, where conversation is a little more possible.

So, how much sound can people absorb? The study Rich shared with me had the results of controlled tests of sound absorption with different numbers of people (zero, one, two, three). The results varied widely for different frequencies (more sound absorption per added person at the higher frequencies tested).  

Human speech, however, was the source of the sound in our church sanctuary, and its frequencies range from an average of 125 Hz (for males) to 200 Hz (for females).  

And the result? Sound absorption increased by about 5 to 20 percent (depending on the frequency) with each person added to the test chamber.

Even though I didn’t know the exact numbers of people at my church, it was a big difference between the winter months, when it’s close to full, and that summer day, with its small attendance.  I estimate at least 75 fewer people. So it was not so surprising that the sanctuary was noisier the day that I, and a few others, noticed it. The bottom line? My husband was right—again. Oh, me of little faith!

Kathi Mestayer is a staff writer for Hearing Health magazine.

Turning Fourth of July Into a Science Lesson

By Kelly N. Barahona

In most cities if not towns of a certain size in the U.S., a grand display of fireworks for the Fourth of July is part of the celebration of America’s birthday. But just how loud are the fireworks people have come to expect every summer? Unfortunately fireworks can measure from 140 to as high as 165 decibels, easily a hearing-damaging event if you are sitting too close.

This doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the festivities. With the abundance of decibel-reading apps for smartphones it’s easier than ever before to learn how much noise is in the world around us. Most apps use the smartphone’s microphone to give a reading of the decibel level. As with a professional-grade meter, most apps can also show how the noise fluctuates over time, in real time, and provide numerical reference points that users can compare to their own sound levels. Some apps even let you geo-tag the decibel level to a specific location, like your local coffee shop or favorite restaurant.

Parents, camp counselors, and teachers can turn the Fourth of July into a science lesson. On the night of the fireworks show, Hearing Health Foundation recommends staying at least one block away from where the fireworks are being displayed and using a smartphone app to measure the decibel level.

If you want to be closer to the action, protect your hearing by using foam earplugs or over-the-ear earmuffs for the youngest children. A fun but loud activity like this can be a good segue for conversations about how listening to music at too loud a volume and participating in noisy recreational activities may be harmful, as well as how to incorporate better hearing health practices in your daily life.

Fourth of July should be a time of fun and enjoyment, but as with anything, it is necessary to take precautions to make the holiday safe as well. Teach your loved ones about the noises and sounds around them to hopefully encourage everyone to take active measures to protect their hearing on a regular basis. Remember, noise is the most preventable cause of hearing loss.

Telehealth Tools Can Change Your Hearing Care

By Carol Meyers, Au.D.

We continue to benefit from incredible technological advances that assist in the diagnosis and treatment of many health conditions. One rapidly growing technology with the potential to revolutionize hearing care is telehealth, which utilizes telecommunication technologies like smartphone apps to provide virtual healthcare and education services to patients.

Many hearing aid wearers already use apps that serve as remote controls or audio streamers for their hearing aids. As manufacturers develop more ways to leverage smartphone apps, consumers can also expect to change the way they interact with their hearing care professional for the better. Here are some ways telehealth hearing care apps can help you.

Save time and effort.

Nothing will ever completely replace face-to-face interactions with your healthcare providers. However, some issues can be resolved with a brief conversation. Telehealth apps offer text, voice, and even video calls so that you can consult your hearing care professional without making a trip to the office. Furthermore, apps can store useful information, such as care and usage instructions and troubleshooting guides, so you can use them to solve problems at your convenience. This is particularly advantageous if you live in a remote area, cannot take time off work, or have difficulty getting around.

Adjust to wearing new hearing aids.
Getting used to wearing new hearing aids involves actually retraining your brain to process all the sounds that you were missing before amplification. Hearing care apps can assign you simple daily exercises to complete, such as rustle a newspaper or have group conversation during a family meal. These exercises encourage your exposure to a variety of listening situations. As you complete these tasks, you can rate your satisfaction with the experience, which is then transmitted to your hearing care professional.

Let hearing care professional monitor your hearing needs.

Your hearing care professional wants to ensure your satisfaction and success just as much as you want your questions and concerns about your new hearing aids resolved. Your ratings and feedback regarding new listening experiences can be transmitted via the app to your hearing care professional, who can then contact you if necessary.

Have your hearing aids adjusted remotely.

Not only can your hearing care professional interact with you via apps, they can also access your hearing aid settings directly without your needing to visit the office. Based on your feedback (via a text or call) they can adjust your hearing aid settings and send the update through the app to your hearing aids. Once you accept the change, those adjustments take effect so you can try them out immediately.

Finally, telehealth apps are safe. They are secured via end-to-end encryption so that interactions and conversations between you and your hearing care professional remain private. The next time you visit your hearing care professional, ask how a hearing aid telehealth app can help you.

With more than 25 years of clinical practice, Carol Meyers, Au.D., is an educational specialist for Signia responsible for the training and education of staff and hearing care professionals in the U.S. on the company’s products, technology, software, services, and audiology-related topics.

Hearing Loss: The Costs, The Effect on Society and How to Prevent It

Hearing Health Foundation's Communications and Programs Manager, Laura Friedman, was featured in the Mediaplanet UK's Ear, Nose, and Throat Campaign. Read her article on Hearing Loss: the costs, the effect on society and how to prevent it, here. 

When Hearing Aids Are Not Enough

By Kathleen Wallace

May is Better Hearing and Speech Month and Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) would like to take this opportunity to raise awareness on the importance of treating one’s hearing loss.

Hearing aids are currently unable to restore damaged or lost hearing due to the complexities of our auditory system. Hearing aids are simply devices that provide access to sound while maintaining comfort; they are a tool to assist one’s hearing ability.  

But what if hearing aids alone aren’t enough? Aural rehabilitation can provide extra training necessary to improve the use of hearing aids, helping a person with hearing loss overcome daily challenges. Just as physical therapy may be needed after an injury to improve function, aural rehabilitation helps a person to adapt to amplification and to develop communication strategies to increase understanding. While aural rehabilitation is a service provided by audiologists, it tends to be underutilized.

Aural rehabilitation typically encompasses counseling on the impact of hearing loss, device orientation, and perceptual training. These programs are tailored to address the needs of a particular individual, as hearing loss can be manifested in countless ways over the course of one person's daily life. It is therefore essential for audiologists to develop a thorough understanding of how hearing loss is impacting a person’s everyday life specifically. This is typically done through the use of self-assessment measures, which also serve as outcome measures to track progress and to identify areas for improvement.

A strong body of research demonstrates the efficacy of aural rehabilitation to reduce hearing handicap and stress as well as improve satisfaction with amplification1, quality of life, and communication function. Furthermore, studies have shown that embarking on aural rehabilitation with a significant other or communication partner is beneficial for both parties; it facilitates better communication and understanding of the difficulties accompanying hearing loss. In fact, the greatest reduction in hearing handicap occurred when the individual with hearing impairment and the significant other completed the program together.

If hearing aids are unable to provide noticeable benefits, even after completing aural rehabilitation programs, individuals with significant hearing loss may want to consider cochlear implantation. These implanted devices can provide audibility beyond the limitations of traditional amplification, as they directly stimulate the cochlea. To find out if you are a candidate, consult your audiologist for a full evaluation.

If you suspect a hearing loss or tinnitus, HHF recommends getting your hearing checked. If you do have a hearing loss or tinnitus, talk with your hearing healthcare professional about available treatments. For more information, visit hhf.org/tinnitus or email us at info@hhf.org.

1Northern, J. L., & Beyer, C. M. (1999). Reducing hearing aid returns through patient education. Audiology Today, 11(2) 315-326.