How To Prepare for Hospital Stays with Hearing Loss
A hospital stay can be an uncertain experience for anyone, but for individuals with hearing loss, it can present additional challenges. Effective communication is critical in a healthcare setting, and taking steps to prepare can help ensure you receive the best care possible. Here’s a guide on how to prepare for a hospital stay when…
Why Does My Earwax Build Up (And Can It Affect My Hearing?)
Cerumen, more commonly known as earwax, is a protective oily substance in the ear produced by glands in the ear canal. Earwax exists to protect the ear against dirt, debris and infection and should naturally expel itself. Sometimes circumstances may prevent this natural process from working as efficiently as it should, leading to a buildup….
How Do Our Brain’s Expectations Influence What We Hear?
Our ears and our brains work together to help us hear. Soundwaves from your environment are captured by the outer ear and travel down the ear canal, which leads to the eardrum. When the soundwave hits the eardrum, a vibration is created, which passes through three tiny bones within the middle ear called the malleus,…
How to Wear a Mask with Hearing Aids
Communication is challenging enough for the millions of Americans with hearing loss, even under the best of circumstances. The global coronavirus pandemic has created additional unexpected obstacles. If you wear behind-the-ear (BTE) style hearing aids, you may have difficulty wearing a protective mask around your ears. In fact, in doing so you run the risk…
The Future for Children with Hearing Loss
Before the 1990s, the average of age of diagnosis for congenital hearing loss was 2 ½ to 3 years old.1 This often resulted in children missing 2-3 years of language exposure at a critical point in their development. In the late 90s, as diagnostic technology improved, state Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) programs expanded,…
Signs Everyone with Hearing Loss Should Recognize
In order to get your driver’s license in Louisville, KY you must pass a written test. Part of that test quizzes you on road signs. Just as knowing what road signs mean is important to driving well, Being able to recognize these important hearing loss signs to be able to successfully navigate the world. Hearing…
Communication Strategies
After noticing your child was not progressing as fast as other children their age you took them to your local Louisville audiologist to be tested. After a series of tests, you received the news you knew was coming, your child has hearing loss. This is not as uncommon as you may think; nearly three of…
The Difference Between Speech and Language
Is There a Difference Between Speech and Language? The terms speech and language are thrown around, almost interchangeably. But did you know there are actually a few key distinctions between these two different skills? If you have a child that has been referred to a Louisville speech pathologist, this is information is especially important. Speech…
Language Delays
Child’s Development of Speech and Language As a Louisville parent, you probably can’t help constantly comparing your child’s development to others. This is especially common in regard to language development and language milestones. If you think your child’s development of speech and language is slower than normal, your Louisville speech pathologist recommends comparing your impression…
When Should You See a Speech Pathologist?
If your child has trouble hearing they see an audiologist, if they have trouble seeing they go to an optometrist; where do you go if your child has trouble speaking? Why See a Speech Pathologist? A speech pathologist’s job is to help prevent, assess, diagnose and treat the following disorders in children and adults: Speech…
Signs Your Child has a Speech, Language or Hearing Problem
Everyone’s child is perfect in their eyes. While it is hard to look past this, when it comes to meeting speech, language or hearing milestones you are going to have to. If your child is in the Louisville area and under the age of three, there are some important questions to ask. Does your child…
What Are Speech-Language Milestones?
Speech-Language Milestones Speech-language milestones help pediatric audiologists identify potential audiological problems by assessing a young child’s communication development. Children all learn and develop differently, so it can be difficult to determine whether a baby’s communication abilities are progressing at a normal, healthy rate. Despite huge variations in the process of early childhood development, infants typically…
Does Your Child Need Speech Therapy?
Types of Speech Disorders A speech disorder occurs when a patient, usually a child, has trouble producing certain sounds. Since this is such a broad term, it is helpful to place a condition into one of four distinct categories; these categories are based on the nature of the speech problem. These four categories are: Articulation…
Holistic Health Screenings and Language Disorders
Pediatric Hearing Screenings Our ability to hear may sometimes be taken for granted, but it is plays a significant role in a child’s emotional and social development. For this reason, our society has implemented pediatric hearing screenings to identify at-risk infants. However, the possibility for hearing loss may actually be more challenging to detect in…
What Does Typical Early Language Development Look Like?
Communication delays in children are more effectively treated when there is an early diagnosis. For many parents, especially first-time parents, it can be difficult to detect a delay during the early stages of a child’s development. However, by understanding the key stages of communication and language development, families can better know when to seek help…
The Effect of Communication Delays on Academic Performance
One of the most rewarding things a parent can experience is witnessing their child shine in an academic setting. When children excel in school, they often have a greater number of opportunities during their transition into early adulthood. That’s why we do our best to give our children every possible advantage. At Heuser Hearing Institute,…