Analyse And Compare The Various Forms Of Audiological Support For Deaf People Of All Ages.
Individuals who are hard of hearing or deaf can use a number of technologies that offer them with better accessibility in several environments. The majority of devices either correct hearing, give amplified sound or others means to access information via vibration and/or vision. But the first step is to try to find the services of an audiologist.
What Kind Of Services Do The Audiologists Offer?
An audiologist is a professional specializing in providing services related to vestibular and auditory system of the ear. He identifies, diagnoses, monitors and treats disorders linked to these segments of the ear (Berger, 1976).
Diagnose And Identify Cause Of Hearing Loss: The audiologist is the expert most competent by experience, education and training to evaluate and diagnose certain types of hearing loss, even non-medical. Audiologists present a variety of treatment options to patients with hearing impairment
Work For All Age Groups: Audiologists have extensive education and skills to assess the hearing of people of all age group from adults, children to infants.
Counselling And Hearing Services: Audiologists also offer counselling services to people with hearing loss as well as their families and construct a care plan that often comprises hearing aids and assistive devices. It is vital to understand that hearing aids alone cannot solve hearing loss problem (Schwartz, 2007).
Hearing Testing: They carry out a wide range of tests to find out the accurate cause of a person's hearing problem. Audiologists also examine the eardrum by using otoscope, remove ear wax, perform diagnostic audiologic tests, and test out medically related problems of hearing. They also hand out and set hearing aids, do tests of balance to test dizziness, and offer hearing rehabilitation education.
Referral Patients To Pertinent Expert: When the problem of hearing requires surgical or medical consultation, Audiologists refer their patients to surgeon or physicians, respectively (Berger, 1976)..
Education And Training: Even they conduct clinical research activities with real patients and also teach at medical schools and universities. Audiologists offer training and education so that individuals with hearing impairment can gain from communication and amplification devices.
Hearing Protection Programs: Long-standing exposure to loud noise leads to permanent loss of hearing. Audiologists are often concerned for this problem; therefore work for the prevention of hearing loss by involving themselves in implementing certain programs helpful for protection of the hearing. This protection is especially important for individuals who are exposed to loud recreational and industrial situations or occupation (Berger, 1976). They also work closely with the agencies of the government, practicing medical doctors and hearing aid makers for prevention as well as management of hearing loss causes and diseases.
Different Types Of Aids For Deaf Children And Adults
The aids for deaf people either children or an adult are grouped as follow.
Hearing aid
There are further of various types such as:
· Behind the Ear (BTE)
· In the Canal (ITC)
· In the Ear (ITE)
Hearing Protection Devices
Hearing protection devices (HPD) such as earplugs and earmuffs can be a useful measure to keep ears protected in noisy environment (Schwartz, 2007).
Cochlear Implant
A cochlear implant (CI) is an implanted surgically and is basically an electronic device that can aid in providing a sense of sound to an individual who is intensely deaf.
Aural Rehabilitation
Aural rehabilitation is the practice of recognizing a hearing loss, and then providing diverse sorts of therapies to patients who are Hard of Hearing. It also involves implementation of different amplification devices to help the patients’ hearing skills.
Varieties Of Aural Rehabilitation Therapies
There are numerous such therapies, such as:
· Listening strategies
· Unisensory
· Manual communication
· Cued speech
· Auditory Training
· Hearing aid orientation
· Speechreading
Assistive Listening Device (ALD)
These technologies can be classified into three broad categories; namely,
· Alerting devices
· Hearing technology
· Communication supports
Alerting Devices comprises clock, watch fire detection, carbon monoxide detector telephone door bell baby monitor, computer etc.
Communication supports include a range of products such as computer, video, phone, web camera, video relay service, interactive whiteboards, digital pens, caption mic communication access, real time captioning, dragon naturally speaking and many more.
Hearing technology devices are further classified into Assistive Listening Device (such as Induction Loop, FM, 1:1 Communicators and Infrared) and Personal Amplification (including Hearing Aid).
The overall purpose of all of these devices or therapies is enhanced hearing as well as convenience to people regarding their hearing problems.
Types Of Hearing Loss
There are three major types of hearing loss, such as
1. Sensorineural hearing loss
2. Conductive hearing loss
3. Mixed hearing loss
Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Sensorineural deafness is that type in which hearing loss is the result of problem at the level of nerves supplying the cochlea (Arts, 2010). This type of hearing makes sounds feel hazy or quieter. It has an effect on all sound frequencies.
Conductive Hearing Loss
Conductive hearing loss is the result of problems within the sound conduction in which sound waves can’t reach to the cochlea (Baloh and Jen, 2011). Here nerve is intact and functioning normally.
Mixed Hearing Loss
Mixed hearing loss involves sensorineural as well as conductive hearing losses (Baloh and Jen, 2011). There may be problem in anywhere within the ear, in outer, inner or middle ear in addition auditory nerve.
The Technological Changes Over The Past Decades As Well As The Potential For Future Development.
The pace of science is usually excruciatingly sluggish. However, over the past few decades a significant stride has been made in healthcare research, treatment of diseases and the betterment of quality of life of patients (Cutler, David, and Ellen, 1999). Though, there are many factors responsible for this growth, but it has been said by the most analysts that the immensity of the long-standing rise resulted from the technological advances used by the health care system. Major advances in technology have facilitated health care providers to carry out accurate diagnosis and therefore the subsequent treatment. Technological innovation may supposedly have decrease costs and, for numerous varieties of services and goods, often does. A great many advancements in technology has improved lives enormously.
Technological advances have yielded new, innovative and wanted medical services and will likely to continue yielding in the future. The emerging medical technologies in the health care system has provided huge clinical benefits, for instance improved quality of life in addition to prolonged life. Newer, more diagnostic or therapeutic services are now available with latest technologies, offering highly precise and quick services (Cutler, David and Robert, 2003).
The approach of technological improvement has changed all industries. Technology has been increasingly playing great role in all spheres of life. In healthcare, especially it is doing wonders in almost all processes, starting from registration of patient to monitoring of data, from laboratory tests, reports to self-care instruments. Devices like tablets and smartphones are beginning to replace conservative recording and monitoring systems, and patients are now given the choices of undergoing a full evaluation or consultation in the privacy of their own residences (Technological Change in Health Care (TECH) Research Network., 2001). Technological developments in have contributed to healthcare services being extracted out of the confines of walls of the hospital and incorporating them with comprehensible, reachable devices.
These technological changes hold potential for future for fuelling further growth and a wide variety of choices. Tools are being under consideration as well as interventions are being designed and analysed for even more betterment of the humans and ultimately for improvement of their lives and health.
Medical Model And Analyse Whether Deaf People Are In Agreement With The Philosophy Behind The Medical Model Of Deafness
Deafness in the medical model is regarded as an unwanted condition, requiring treatment. Here people who suffer from hearing loss following acquiring an ability of speaking language. The Medical Model lays emphasis on dependency, a spotlight on the medical cause or condition from which the loss of hearing results. It focuses on vulnerability, passivity, and the deaf individual being a sufferer of their unlucky situation. It concentrates on how deafness is a problem and requires to be amended, no doubt, it is a problem or disability, yet by labelling disability, the sentiments of Deaf people cannot be heard, they have a problem yet they are only different than normal human being but not disable (Reagan, 1995).
But if suppose a person in a meeting or anywhere have to intervene a variety of spoken discussions, how would they do it? This would become to be a complete nightmare for them. In this situation, they have a disability, particularly if they do not wear hearing aids. Deaf people at times are in harmony with this model because most of the time they are disable, while the cause of their hearing is medical related and therefore require a medical treatment.
However, the medical model may not be the comprehensive one as compared to the social model. The medical model just sees the helplessness of the people while the social model focused on the Deaf individual’s integrity as well as discrimination he/she is experiencing (Holcomb, 1994). In this contest Deaf people cannot be viewed compatible with the philosophy behind the medical model of deafness. Moreover, there are a great number of people who don’t consider themselves handicapped (Hetu, 1996).
In a nut shell, deafness is a social matter rather than just a disease or disability, hence requires eradication of the stigma of deafness as a disability.
References
Arts, H.A. (2010). Sensorineural hearing loss in adults. In: Cummings CW, Flint PW, Haughey BH, et al, eds. Otolaryngology: Head & Neck Surgery. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby Elsevier:chap 149.
Baloh, R.W, and Jen J. (2011). Hearing and equilibrium. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Cecil Medicine. 24th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; chap 430.
Berger, KW (1976). Genealogy of the words "audiology" and "audiologist". Journal of the American Audiology Society, 2 (2), 38–44
Cambridge, Mass: National Bureau of Economic Research.
Cutler, David M., and Robert S.H. (2003). Technological development and medical productivity: The diffusion of Angioplasty in New York State. Journal of Health Economics, 22, (2) 187–217.
Cutler, David, M., and Ellen, M. (1999). The Technology of Birth: Is It Worth It? Working Paper No. 7390.
Hetu, R. (1996). The stigma attached to hearing impairment. Scand Audiol Suppl, 43, 12–24.
Holcomb, R. (1994). Deaf Culture Our Way.
Ladd, P. (2003). Understanding Deaf Culture. Multilingual Matters
Reagan, T. (1995).A sociocultural understanding of deafness: American sign language and the culture of deaf people. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 19, 239– 51.
Schwartz, S. (2007). Choices In Deafness. Woodbine House; 2 edition
Technological Change in Health Care (TECH) Research Network. (2001). Technological Change Around the World: Evidence from Heart Attack Care. Health Affairs, 20, (3)25–42.
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