Hearing And Deafness

Question: Help about deafness/hearing aids? I'm writing a short story in which the main character is deaf or hearing impaired. I haven't decided yet, but because I know virtually nothing about the subject - though I would love to! - so, I was wondering if someone with experience, or who are deaf/hearing impaired would be able to help me? He is a 14 year old, who goes to regular school by the way! In the story, the boy got meningitis when he was 4 and lost his hearing. 1) Would he become completely deaf or hearing impaired from this? 2) Would he use a hearing aid? 3) If you are completely deaf, do hearing aids work? 4)I would like to introduce lip reading into the story as I find it fascinating, so I was wondering does the hearing aid work for everything ir would he have to rely on reading lips sometimes? 5) In school, what support would he have - mainstreamed? How would he take down notes? I am really interested in this topic! And it would be very much appreciated if you could answer! Thanks!

Answer: 1. He could become either, although deaf is more likely. 6% of meningitis survivors end up deaf. 2/3. Hearing aids are for hearing impaired people...they're sort of like microphones, they make the sounds heard louder. they don't always work perfectly, they can malfunction, but they don't really change HOW you hear sounds, just make them louder for you. For deaf people, you can get something called a cochlear implant. a cochlear implant is basically a surgery where doctors attach a little microphone on the outside of your ear (behind it) and then put a wire carrying this sound to your inner ear. the microphone picks up sounds and carries them to the auditory nerve, where they get sent to the brain. this lets deaf people 'hear' pretty well. the only thing is its not exactly like hearing 'naturally'. cochlear implants work differently for everyone, but they're a little weird. human voices are heard as sounding kind of scratchy and robotic, and hard to tell apart, and music is a problem. people with cochlear implants often have a hard time understanding music; they hear the sound but they can't really decipher the melody and they most likely won't be emotionally moved by the music. its very interesting. 4. yes, he would have to use lip reading sometimes. cochlear implants don't give you perfect hearing and people sound weird through them. lip reading is really tough, though...especially if the people you're trying to understand have accents or speech impediments. also, they have to be talking pretty slowly and facing directly toward you. lip reading can be frustrating. 5. if he was mainstreamed, the state would most likely provide a free interpreter for him if he was completely deaf. however, if he had a cochlear implant, they might not; he would have to figure things out on his own, although he could probably ask teachers for written copies of notes. if he doesn't have a cochlear implant, he'll have an interpreter. the interpreter will translate everything the teacher says into asl (american sign language) for him, and if he wants to answer a question in class they'll translate his answer to the teacher for him. however, it can be tough; for example, what if the teacher is talking while gesturing to a map, like if she is tracing the route an explorer took? anything with a diagram would mean that the boy would have to be constantly looking back and forth from the diagram/map to the interpreter, and so he would miss a lot of information and most likely be very confused. i hope this helps, and good luck with your story ;)

Question: Help about deafness/hearing aids in school etc? I'm writing a short story in which the main character is deaf or hearing impaired. I haven't decided yet, but because I know virtually nothing about the subject - though I would love to! - so, I was wondering if someone with experience, or who are deaf/hearing impaired would be able to help me? He is a 14 year old, who goes to regular school by the way! In the story, the boy got meningitis when he was 4 and lost his hearing. 1) Would he become completely deaf or hearing impaired from this? 2) Would he use a hearing aid? 3) If you are completely deaf, do hearing aids work? 4)I would like to introduce lip reading into the story as I find it fascinating, so I was wondering does the hearing aid work for everything ir would he have to rely on reading lips sometimes? 5) In school, what support would he have - mainstreamed? How would he take down notes? Also, his father will not approve of him learning sign language. So he relies on lip reading. I am really interested in this topic! And it would be very much appreciated if you could answer! Thanks!

Answer: i had custody of a boy with hearing loss, the hearing aids helped him a lot. he became deaf because his mother never had his ear infections treated as an infant, resulting in scar tissue that built up over old scar tissue, he was prone to infections, and was not treated in time, so he became deaf. my mother also has hearing loss due to a bone in her ear, she had to have it replaced with a prosthetic bone to prevent her hearing loss. if someone is totally deaf then cochlear implants may work, depends on the person. most deaf do not get them because you can not filter the volume. hearing aids do not work if you are completely deaf, there has to be some hearing in order for them to work. the boy that lived with me, his school provided hearing aids for him, or a special listening device with head phones like those whisper 2000's that pick up the faintest noise. when he was younger, he learned how to read lips through deaf services, sign is taught from an early age, i cant imagine a father telling his son, he is not allowed to learn to talk, and ASL is a most primary way of a deaf person learning to speak, so you may want to rethink that one, however, a lot of parents are opposed to the cochlear implants. in school, the boy i had, had an IEP (individualized education plan) so, he sat up front in regular classes, and when he took tests, they were tailored to what he could read and learn while he was in class. you have to remember that the deaf community speak differently, and have a hard time writing complete sentences, since, sign language is not considered complete sentences in the listening world, they also speak choppy, because its hard to teach discrepancies....they greet someone "nice me meet you" we greet "nice to meet you" they use their hand gestures to assimilate one person going "to" another. in school the boy had an aid that went to class with him, that took notes for him. he also relied heavily on reading lips, since he wanted to be considered "normal" and fit in with other kids, but it only made him louder when he spoke, and it came off pretty obnoxious, i just couldn't make him wear his hearing aids to save my life. he missed out a lot on what people said, especially if they weren't facing him. he would pretend to understand, but you could tell he couldn't at times, and was too embarrassed to ask someone to repeat something. hope this helped.

Question: Do you think we should raise awareness about hearing impairment/Deafness and Cochlear Implant? To all of the hearing impaired/Deaf people, we get so frustrated by this society. I mean no closed captioning, people treating each other differently, lack of communication, etc...but if we raise awareness of hearing impairment/Deafness, then people would know what Cochlear Implant is about and they will know how to treat each other and we, as hearing impaired are just like them. Your opinions? No rude answers, please. People with Disabilities---PWD----I am sorry but can you please use easy words and I don't understand the part 'like other minded people'. Oh I get it. Actually, people. I educate my classmates about my Cochlear Implant/Deafness and now they understand. But I mean the WHOLE WORLD.

Answer: Not all people who are deaf want the same thing. That makes it complicated. Some people who are deaf and hard of hearing want desperately to be able to hear. Other people who are Deaf believe it is OK that they are Deaf. Some people who are Deaf use sign language and others read lips. Some people who are deaf speak fluently and others do not speak at all. Most people who do not know more than one person who is deaf think that being deaf means only one thing. Cochlear implants are very controversial. Some Deaf people believe it takes away their identity and do not believe it is ethical to implant them - especially in children.

Question: Do you know anything about hearing loss/deafness caused by Meniere's Disease? Over the last two years or so, I've been very gradually losing my hearing. As it stands now, I will probably be completely deaf within the next six months. I have been going to doctors, of course, and have ruled out brain tumor just recently. I am going back in a couple weeks, but in the meantime, I've been doing some of my own research and my symptoms sound, to me, like Mienere's. (Vertigo, oscillating hearing loss, over-all balancing issues). My question is, if you have been diagnosed with Meneire's (or know something about it), does it seem likely that this is what I have, and is there anything that can be done to at least save what little hearing I have left? I've had all kinds of blood-tests and such and I really can't imagine what else it would be. I'm a little scared and lonely, having never been around many hearing-impaired people. I have a five month old daughter and I worry about being able to take care of her. Do you have any insight or suggestions? To the two people who already answered this once, I couldn't get online fore several days because of a storm and so it went into voting...which means that I can't see who you are to personally thank you for answering! Please let me know who you are, I want to say thanks...

Answer: I had my first bout of the triad (vertigo, tinnitus, hearing loss) in the early 70's. It was diagnosed (by GP) as "viral infection". Prescribed Antivert (which did nothing). The symptoms left in about six weeks and I gave it no more thought. In or about 80 or 81, I noticed intermittent tinnitis. No big deal. Long story short: in 84 or 85, I was working with a really astute doc in an emergency department. She and I discovered, simutaneously, that I had been reading lips without knowing it. I was about 50 years old at the tme. I immediately (that day) saw an ENT doc and had subsequent testing for everything from allergies to brain disorder. At that time, I had 40% loss in one ear and 60% in the other. It scared me enough that I took sign language classes for a couple years. Well, I had those tubes put in my ears and the hearing improved significantly. It was at that time that I was given the diagnosis of Menier's. The tinnitus came and went, but the vertigo never returned until 1993. At that time I was a new widow and having other symtoms that made my phyician consider that I might be having"mini strokes". I was 58 at the time. About 400 tests later, it was decided I had a "virus' and stress reaction (no shit - widowhood sucks). The vertigo left, but the tinnitis returned and has never totally left. In 1999 I realized I could hear very little . I was tested, etc. and recieved a hearing aid for each ear. Last year I had to get new ones as the initial ones just weren't doing the job. I continue to have tinnitis intermittently. I have grown so accustomed, I almost never notice it. I function very well for an old lady (71.5 years). Now, aren't you sorry you asked ???

Question: how much compensation will i receive for my car accident? I suffered whiplash and hearing loss deafness? In Feb I had car accident that wasn't my fault.I was stationary waiting to turn into a side road,wearing my seat belt&began turning right into the smaller road as I did this a car turned into the main road and hit the driver's door.2 airbags activated, however the side curtain airbag exploded.I had whiplash that required approx 10 physio sessions and it took approx 10 -12 weeks to recover.I also suffered tinnitus and headaches for approx a month & was instantly aware of some hearing loss following the loud bang from my airbag.The hospital&medical report from the insurance have confirmed I have suffered otological injuries as a result of RTA (approx 30dB sebsiri-neutral hearing loss in Right ear)The buzzings gone but I still struggle to hear normally esp when there's background noise, hearing is muffled.I have been told this is permenant & only thing I could do is get a hearing aid costing somewhere between £600&£6000(this is in medical report) How much compensation can i expect?? not going mad on compensation culture, just need to know coz on nhs waiting list for hearing aid and its affecting me going out socially as can't have conversations when there is backgroung noise. I need the £ for a hearing aid!

Answer: Why does everyone always want compensation - no disrespect if you suffered really then I'm sorry, just people seem to jump on the band waggon over everything. i recently had an accident and everyone said did you not go to the hospital you wont get anything if you didn't go, in which i relayed there was nothing wrong there response was yes but you could have claimed and just lied!

Question: as vision is to blindness and hearing is to deafness, what is the name for lack of the sense of smell?

Answer: Anosmia "Definition The term anosmia means lack of the sense of smell. It may also refer to a decreased sense of smell. Ageusia, a companion word, refers to a lack of taste sensation. Patients who actually have anosmia may complain wrongly of ageusia, although they retain the ability to distinguish salt, sweet, sour, and bitter--humans' only taste sensations. Description Of the five senses, smell ranks fourth in importance for humans, although it is much more pronounced in other animals. Bloodhounds, for example, can smell an odor a thousand times weaker than humans. Taste, considered the fifth sense, is mostly the smell of food in the mouth. The sense of smell originates from the first cranial nerves (the olfactory nerves), which sit at the base of the brain's frontal lobes, right behind the eyes and above the nose. Inhaled airborne chemicals stimulate these nerves. There are other aberrations of smell beside a decrease. Smells can be distorted, intensified, or hallucinated. These changes usually indicate a malfunction of the brain. Causes and symptoms The most common cause of anosmia is nasal occlusion caused by rhinitis (inflammation of the nasal membranes). If no air gets to the olfactory nerves, smell will not happen. In turn, rhinitis and nasal polyps (growths on nasal membranes) are caused by irritants such as allergens, infections, cigarette smoke, and other air pollutants. Tumors such as nasal polyps can also block the nasal passages and the olfactory nerves and cause anosmia. Head injury or, rarely, certain viral infections can damage or destroy the olfactory nerves..."

Question: Are there words for losses of all our senses? I mean individually not altgother, e.g. Loss of sight = blindness Loss of hearing = deafness Loss of taste, smell and touch?

Answer: Anosmia: Loss of smell. Hyposmia: Partial loss of smell. Dysosmia: Disagreeable or distorted sense of smell Hypogeusia: Diminished sense of taste Dysgeusia: Distorted sense of taste I am not sure about the sense of touch. I do know that you can have no sense of touch but still feel the pleasure of cuddling. A separate network of nerves was discovered that is involved in cuddling, so people that can't feel you pressing on them, feel a pleasing sensation if stroked.

Question: Newborns, hearing screening, and deafness? Does anyone have any knowledge about whether or not a newborn can pass their newborn hearing screening that is done in the hospital, but still be deaf? My newborn daughter (she's 1 month old today) seems to be very unresponsive to sound, however, she passed her hearing screening on both sides. Do you think this is because she is just used to noise, or am I just being a worry wart mother?? Does anyone know of any instances where a newborn WAS deaf even though they passed their screenings?

Answer: Hi Kristin B ! You are probably being a worry wort like all of us mothers but.....as with everything, best to be sure. Bring up all your concerns, including this one, at your munchkin's next pediatrician visit.