Chapter 20: Hearing Assessment, Amplification & Rehab

• Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR)


  an electrophysiological response (brain activity) to sound that consists of five to seven identifiable peaks that represent neural function of auditory pathways
• Pure-tone Audiometry


  audiometry using tones of various frequencies and intensities as auditory stimuli to measure hearing using both air and bone conduction
• Audiometer


  an electronic device designed to measure the sensitivity of hearing of pure-tone frequencies and intensities. Sounds are delivered to ears either thru headphones or free field in an audiometry booth
• Air Conduction


  the transmission of sound to the inner ear through the external auditory canal and the structure of the middle ear
• Bone Conduction


  transmission of sound to the inner ear thru vibration applied to the bones of the skull, allows determination of the cochlea's hearing sensitivity while bypassing any outer or middle ear abnormalities
• Audiogram


  a standard graph used to record pure-tone hearing thresholds with air & bone conduction thresholds graphed by frequency in hertz and hearing level in dB
• Masking


  in audiology, the process that occurs when two sounds occur simultaneously and one sound is sufficiently loud to cause the other to be inaudible
• Speech Audiometry


  a key component of audiological assessment that uses auditory signals present in everyday communication; assessment involves, in part, the presentation of single-syllable words at a fixed intensity level above the threshold with the person aurally discriminating the sounds in the words to correctly say words aloud for the examiner to score
• Tympanometry


  a measurement of middle ear pressure that is determined by the mobility of the tympanic membrane as a function of various amounts of positive and negative air pressure in the external ear canal
• Compliance


  the ease with which the tympanic membrane and middle ear mechanism function
• Impedance


  the opposition of sound-wave transmission, which includes frictional resistance, mass, and stiffness and is influenced by frequency
• Hearing Aid


  any battery powered electronic device designed to amplify and deliver sound to the ear; consists of a microphone, amplifier, and receiver
• Assistive Listening Device (ALD)


  amplification systems, other than conventional hearing aids, that are designed for specific listening situations
• Aural Rehabilitation


  a broad term that involves intervention aimed at minimizing and alleviating the communication difficulties associated with hearing loss
• Aural Habilitation


  intervention for people who have not developed listening, speech, and language skills, and may include diagnosis of communication and hearing-related difficulties, speech perception training, etc.
• Auditory Training


  aural rehabilitation methods designed to optimize use of residual hearing by structured practice in listening, altering the environment, and use of hearing aids to increase sound awareness, sound discrimination, etc
• Lipreading


  the process of recognizing speech using only the visual cues from the speaker's mouth and face
• Speechreading


  the process of recognizing speech by attending to the speaker's auditory and visual messages (nonverbal communication), clues from the setting of the conversation, and the likely conversational topics in those settings
• Oralism


  a philosophy in the education of the deaf that maintains language should be oral, that is, from the mouth, and sign language and teachers who are deaf should be excluded from the classroom
• Sign language


  a visual means of communication using finger, hand, and arm shapes and gestures to represent words and concepts along with some finger spelling
• Finger spelling


  the use of certain finger and hand shapes to represent letters of the alphabet
• Manualism


  a philosophy in the education of the deaf that emphasizes the learning and use of sign language and finger spelling as a natural form of communication among the deaf
• American Sign Language (ASL)

  a manual system of communication commonly used by members of the deaf culture in the USA
• Manually Coded English


  a form of communication in which manual signs correspond to English words and syntax
• Deaf Community


  individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing who share a common language, common experience & values, and a common way of interacting with one another
• Deaf Culture


  ideology, beliefs, and customs shared by many individuals with prelingusitic deafness that may include communication, social protocol, recreation, etc.
• Total Communication


  a philosophy calling for every possible means of communication to be used by deaf individuals, including hearing aids and assistive devices, speechreading, signing, and spoken English