Jacksonville Speech & Hearing Center News

Joins us at our Party for a Purpose!

Jacksonville Speech and Hearing Center — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 12:42:28 +0000

Click on the flyer below for more information!

Save the Date Flyer -FINFEST ON THE RIVER Publication1

What Is an Audiologist Able to Do?

Jacksonville Speech and Hearing Center — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 15:07:06 +0000

*Evaluate your hearing to determine how well you hear different frequencies.
*Recommend and fit hearing aids
*Monitor the success of your hearing aid fitting and make adjustments as needed.
*Rehabilitate and provide strategies and devices to improve listening and understanding of speech.
*Refer you to a physician if medical evaluation or treatment is needed.
*Provide council regarding hearing loss and how to prevent further hearing loss.

Interesting Hearing Loss Statistics:

Hearing loss affects 10% of the population
Hearing loss affects 35-40% of people at age 65
Hearing loss affects nearly 50% of people at age 75
28 million Americans have hearing loss
22.5 million have never been treated (over 80%)
There are 78 million baby-boomers approaching senior status
Total number of Americans with hearing loss will grow significantly as the 65+ age bracket becomes the largest segment of the population
90% of all cases of hearing loss are sensorineural and amplification is the only effective treatment in most of these cases

Contact the Jacksonville Speech and Hearing Center for more information.

New and Improved Hearing Aid Technology? Are New Digital Hearing Aids Really Better?

Jacksonville Speech and Hearing Center — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 14:58:38 +0000

By Dr. Rita Newby
Have you stuck your old hearing aid in a drawer, never to be seen or worn again? Can you not stand to wear that old hearing aid because of the high pitch squeal they put off in your ears or because of how loud and irritating background noise is when you wear them? If so, there is good news. In the past few years hearing aid technology has improved tremendously and an answer has been found to remedy most of the problems that past hearing aid users had with their hearing aids. New advances in hearing aid technology include:
Improved Gain Processing – Allows for increased audibility of the sounds that you want to hear, including speech stimuli, without the discomfort of high intensity sounds. This processing improves listening satisfaction by reducing the intensity of background and microphone noise that many users find annoying.
Digital Feedback Reduction – Hearing aids can now monitor for feedback (high-pitch whistling) while the listener is wearing the hearing aid. Moderate feedback is then reduced or eliminated through the use of a cancellation system or notch filtering. This greatly benefits users who experience occasional feedback, such as that associated with jaw movement and close proximity to objects.
Digital Noise Reduction (DNR) – DNR reduces the annoyance of background noise by improving the signal to noise ratio, allowing patients to have optimal speech understanding even in noisy situations.
Digital Speech Enhancement (DSE) – Helps to identify and enhance speech stimuli.
Directional Microphones and DSE – Directional microphones refers to either two microphones or one microphone with two ports. In either situation, one of the microphones enhances the speech signal while the other microphone reduces background noise. The ability of directional hearing aids to improve speech understanding in the presence of background noise is incredible. In some cases, however, combining digital speech enhancement with directional microphones can further enhance this benefit.

Programmable – Each hearing aid is programmed to the degree and configuration of the ear to which it is being fit. Hearing aids can have multiple programs added for your individual needs in specific listening situations. Programs can include but are not limited too: television, phone, music, outdoors, noisy environments and the car. Clinicians have the ability to make countless detailed changes to adjust to the wearer’s preferences for maximum hearing clarity and comfort. However, in higher technology devices, the initial programming is usually so well done that a large percentage of patients do not need to return for adjustments.
Bluetooth Capability – Allows a hearing aid to transform into a personal wireless headset, connecting you to all of today’s most popular audio devices including: an MP3 player, your cell phone, your home phone, the television, the stereo, and your computer.
Rechargeable Hearing Aids – Rechargeable batteries along with a battery charger can eliminate the hassles of constantly having to change a battery.
Remote Controls – Allows you to control the volume and change between listening programs with ease.
The advancements in hearing aid technology are exciting. They allow hearing aid wearers to experience sound / speech more naturally and with greater clarity. The possibility of future technology advancements seems endless. Patients, however, should be informed and educated on realistic expectations of hearing aid benefits. Patients should be aware that a lot of factors contribute to the amount of benefit one will receive from a hearing aid including but not limited to the degree and configuration of hearing loss, the ability to understand speech with added gain, and most of all their motivation to succeed as a hearing aid user.

Realistic Expectations Regarding Hearing Aids

Jacksonville Speech and Hearing Center — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 16:38:36 +0000

When wearing hearing aids

 In quiet environments, your hearing should improve.

 Your hearing in moderate background noise should improve.

 Your hearing with background noise is NOT going to be as good as your hearing in a quiet environment.

 Your hearing with loud background noise is NOT WORSE than without the hearing aids.

 Soft speech should be audible, average speech should be comfortable, and loud speech should not be uncomfortable.

 Your ear molds should not hurt.

 Your voice should be “acceptable’’ to you.

 There should be no feedback when the hearing aids are properly seated in your ears.

 Your hearing aids should allow you to listen with less effort.

 Your hearing aids require time to get used to. Performance will improve as you gradually become accustomed to amplification.

 Your hearing aids WILL NOT restore your hearing capabilities to “normal’’ or pre-existing levels.

 Hearing aids DO NOT eliminate background noise.

 You may be aware of soft sounds that were previously not audible. Examples include: footsteps, refrigerator, noise, etc.

Contact Jacksonville Speech and Hearing Center for more information at 904.355.3403.

Hearing Loss Statistics

Jacksonville Speech and Hearing Center — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 12:46:32 +0000

•Hearing loss affects 10% of the population
•Hearing loss affects 35-40% of people at age 65
•Hearing loss affects nearly 50% of people at age 75
•28 million Americans have hearing loss
•22.5 million have never been treated (over 80%)
•There are 78 million baby-boomers approaching senior status
•Total number of Americans with hearing loss will grow significantly as the 65+ age bracket becomes the largest segment of the population
•90% of all cases of hearing loss are sensorineural and amplification is the only effective treatment in most of these cases

Call Jacksonville Speech and Hearing Center for more information at (904)355-3403.

New Hearing Aid Concepts

Jacksonville Speech and Hearing Center — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 15:51:17 +0000

New audiological concepts in Agil by Oticon are designed to preserve the natural characteristics of speech, while enriching the sound quality to enable the brain to use fewer of its resources for listening purposes. As a result, the end-user should have more residual energy for other important tasks such as full social interaction. Call Jacksonville Speech and Hearing Center for more information at (904) 355-3403.

Speech & Language Development – 3 years (36 months)

Jacksonville Speech and Hearing Center — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 14:04:22 +0000

Uses approximately 400 – 450 words
Combines three to four words (e.g. “go bye-bye car”)
Uses action words (e.g. “fall”, “eat”)
Uses plurals
Uses some possessives
Uses Verb + ing endings (e.g. “eating”)
Uses nouns, verbs, some pronouns and modifiers (e.g. “big book”)
Uses some negatives (no, don’t, none, not)
Can tell about something in the past
Asks “why” questions
Identifies objects or objects in pictures by their functions (e.g. “What do you sit on?”)
Understands “who”, “what”, “where” questions
Understands descriptive words (big/little)
Answers simple yes/no questions
Understands number concepts “more” and “one”
Can pretend play with others
Speech is understood approximately 75% by adults and peers

Red Flags

Speech is unintelligible
Limited variety of consonant sounds used
Vowel distortions
Limited expressive vocabulary
Uses mainly one or two word combinations
Does not readily respond to name, directions, or questions
Poor or no eye contact
No joint attention
Regression in speech or language reported or noted

Jacksonville Speech and Hearing Center

Speech & Language Development – 2 years (24 months)

Jacksonville Speech and Hearing Center — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 13:50:20 +0000

Uses approximately 50 words
Jargon (unintelligible speech) may still be present
Begins combining two words (e.g. “more cookie”)
Uses at least two pronouns (I, me, mine, you)
Imitates other children’s actions and words
Uses some one or two word questions (e.g.. “What’s that?”)
Answers “What’s that?” questions
Follows simple commands (e.g. “Go get your shoes.”)
When asked, brings object from another room
Can look at books for a few minutes at a time and point to familiar objects named
Listens to simple songs and rhymes
Identifies some basic body parts (e.g. eyes, nose, mouth, ears, hands, feet, tummy)
Understands simple verbs in context (e.g. The baby is hungry. She wants “to eat”.)
Some pretend play (e.g. Feeds teddy bear with spoon.)
Eye contact with speaker
Points and/or looks at object to show adult then looks back at adult (joint attention)
Begins to offer toys to peers
Uses consonant sounds at the beginning of words (m, b, p, n, h, w emerging)
Speech is understood approximately 50% by adults and peers

2½ Years (30 Months)

Uses approximately 100 to 250+ words
Can point to some familiar clothing items
Understands some basic spatial prepositions (in, on, out, off)
Follows two-step related commands (e.g. “Get your cup and put it on the table.”)
Can point to some familiar actions named in pictures
Uses consonant sounds at the beginning of words (d, t, k, g, consonant sounds emerging)
Most vowel sounds are used
Uses own name
Uses negation (no, don’t)
Red Flags

Parent reports little to no babbling or jargoning
Limited variety of consonant sounds used
Vowel distortions
Using only a few words
Limited sound imitation
Does not readily respond to name, directions, or questions
Poor or no eye contact
No joint attention
Regression in speech or language reported or noted

Jacksonville Speech and Hearing Center

Communication Matters

Jacksonville Speech and Hearing Center — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 15:31:56 +0000

What happens when that three-year-old with delayed or disordered speech and language goes to school? We know what is likely to happen – poor self- esteem, frustration, behavior problems and poor reading skills by third grade.
What happens to this child (67% are male) as a teenager? You might find him (or her) dealing with the juvenile justice system.
Jacksonville Speech and Hearing Center (JSHC) is here to help. JSHC is a non-profit agency and one of very few agencies that will provide care to underprivileged children and families in our community. For the past sixty years the JSHC has provided the highest quality professional care to anyone with hearing, speech and/or language disorders.

Realistic Expectations Regarding Hearing Aids

Jacksonville Speech and Hearing Center — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:16:27 +0000

When wearing hearing aids

 In quiet environments, your hearing should improve.

 Your hearing in moderate background noise should improve.

 Your hearing with background noise is NOT going to be as good as your hearing in a quiet environment.

 Your hearing with loud background noise is NOT WORSE than without the hearing aids.

 Soft speech should be audible, average speech should be comfortable, and loud speech should not be uncomfortable.

 Your ear molds should not hurt.

 Your voice should be “acceptable’’ to you.

 There should be no feedback when the hearing aids are properly seated in your ears.

 Your hearing aids should allow you to listen with less effort.

 Your hearing aids require time to get used to. Performance will improve as you gradually become accustomed to amplifications.

 Your hearing aids WILL NOT restore your hearing capabilities to “normal’’ or pre-existing levels.

 Hearing aids DO NOT eliminate background noise.

 You may be aware of soft sounds that were previously not audible. Examples include: footsteps, refrigerator, noise, etc.