Chronicles of a deaf Audiologist
Rehabilitation beyond hearing aids and cochlear implants: lipreading instruction, brain/auditory training and communication strategies.
Success for Hearing Better
HEARa is dedicated to the idea that people need the right information, at the right times, to be successful with hearing loss. HEARa’s mission is to reach out to adults with hearing loss and say—keep going. Learning about your hearing loss should be a lifelong process.
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From the chronicles
Do hearing aids prevent dementia?
The short answer is that there is no evidence. The ACHIEVE trial results published in 2023 provide evidence that comprehensive aural rehab, with hearing aid use, effectively improves communication outcomes. However, there was no significant overall effect of aural rehab on the rate of cognitive decline. A reduction in the rate of cognitive decline was […]
Are you getting new hearing aids?
In Star Wars, Luke Skywalker hesitantly says he will ‘try’ to complete a task. Yoda, the warrior mystic, replies: ‘No! Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try.’ Anytime you say that you will ‘try’ something, your words imply a lack of commitment. They suggest that you feel that you won’t be able […]
Addressing cognitive dissonance is a huge part of an audiologist’s job! Part 2
Cognitive dissonance happens when you hold two conflicting thoughts in your mind simultaneously–like denying hearing loss while still being aware of communication difficulties. Canadian Audiologist published an article by Bill Hodgetts, PhD, called “Psychological Dimensions of Hearing Healthcare: Audiology is More Than Just Diagnoses and Devices” in Canadian Audiologist (Vol 11, Issue 3, 2024). I […]
Group work in classrooms can be challenging for children
Several research studies have examined the ability to recall a sequence of items in background noise. Noise was particularly impactful when the children were exposed to “irrelevant sound,” especially when the sound had a changing-state characteristic (e.g., background speech, as opposed to steady-state white noise). An example of this in practical terms is the high […]
Beethoven had lead poisoning, leading to hearing loss
Beethoven died from liver and kidney disease at age 56. He expressed a wish that his ailments be studied and shared so “as far as possible at least the world will be reconciled to me after my death.” Analysis of Beethoven’s hair suggests that he had lead poisoning, which may have contributed to ailments he […]
Noisy classrooms may affect the well-being of children
In 2019, a study looked at how noise affected the well-being of children in classrooms. Over three hundred first graders across 10 different schools were involved in the study. Room acoustics of the various classrooms were measured. Questionnaires were given to the students to determine their state of well-being and perceived disturbance by noise. Students […]
Attention educational audiologists and teachers: how-to videos for remote microphone technology now available!
I’ve created six how-to videos about remote microphone technology from an educational audiologist’s standpoint. To my surprise, I had fun while doing them. Pearce Socials, my social media manager, suggested ways to transition to different “scenes” in the videos and encouraged me to be myself. I hope they will be helpful to teachers this coming […]
Children are more susceptible to noise than adults!
Classrooms can be noisy! Classroom noise levels are expressed as signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), which compares the level of the signal (teacher’s voice) to the level of noise. A typical, noisy classroom will vary in SNR from + 5 to – 7 dB. Research showed that at 0 dB SNR, adults and older children, when compared […]
Did you hear? Silk can be used to reduce sound
The world is a noisy place. Unwanted noise is a problem in schools, in our homes, and in work spaces. An interdisciplinary collaboration of researchers from MIT developed a sound-suppressing silk fabric that could be used to create quiet spaces. An open-access paper about the research appears in the Advanced Materials journal. Let’s say your next-door neighbours […]
Addressing cognitive dissonance is a huge part of an audiologist’s job! Part 1
Cognitive dissonance is a state of having conflicting feelings or beliefs. In an article called “The Psychological Dimensions of Hearing Healthcare: Audiology is More Than Just Diagnoses and Devices” in Canadian Audiologist, by Bill Hodgetts, PhD, (Vol 11, Issue 3, 2024), he said, “Resolving a patient’s cognitive dissonance is a huge part of our job.” […]