No, I'm Not Deaf, Just Hard of Hearing...

There is a difference. According to the tests the doctors have done, they say I have a problem hearing low tones. Mommy and I met a really nice teacher that came to the house yesterday from Early Intervention. She is supposed to help teach Mommy and Daddy how to help me learn how to talk better than I already do. I mean I understand what I am saying, it is just that no one else does LOL. Well I was scoring off the charts in some things and right at my level or a little above in others, Mommy calls them "Developmental Skills". She seems nice and will be coming over like every other week, Mommy thinks. And then we will see how much help I need.

So, Mommy thought it would be a good idea to put this information up for everyone to read and can understand a little of what we are dealing with right now. I have a mild to moderate hearing loss. Believe me I can hear Mommy and Daddy call me and talking to me. I love to talk back and respond. I love my music and dancing, so all this stuff and my hearing aids should help me with learning how to talk PERFECTLY!!

Description of Hearing Loss

Hearing loss can be conductive (due to faulty transmission of sound waves) or sensorineural (faulty sound reception by nerve cells), or both.

Common causes of conductive hearing loss are wax blocking the ear, a perforated eardrum, or fluid in the ears.

Common reasons for sensorineural deafness are noise exposure, age-related changes, and ototoxic drugs (that damage hearing).

Hearing loss can be:

• mild (a loss up to 40 dB) - with trouble in hearing ordinary conversation

• moderate (40-60 dB) - where voices must be raised to be heard

• severe (over 60 dB loss) - where people must shout to be heard.

According to the World Health Organization, the term "deaf" should only be applied to individuals with hearing impairment so severe that they cannot benefit from sound amplification or hearing aid assistance.

The most common cause of sensorineural deafness is aging which produces presbycusis - literally, "old hearing." Those with presbycusis often complain not only of hearing loss - usually in both ears - but also of associated tinnitus or ringing in the ears, and sometimes dizziness.

It takes only a slight loss of hearing to make life difficult because although conversation is audible at low frequencies (deeper voices), it is not as easy to hear higher pitched voices.

Typically, with hearing loss, the ability to hear high sounds goes first so that there is trouble hearing birds or women's voices, followed by the loss of low-tone reception.

The elderly may have trouble hearing the phone ring or distinguishing consonants. The problem is particularly acute when there is a lot of background noise, as on a bus, at the dinner table, or when standing next to an open window facing traffic.

Hearing impairment is measured by the amount of level of loss in what are called decibels (dB) hearing level (HL). Decibels are like degrees of a thermometer. As temperature increases, so do the number of degrees. As the volume of sound increases, so do the number of decibels.

Normal conversation is usually between 45 to 55 dB. A baby crying hovers around 60 dB and downtown traffic can blister the ear at 90 dB.

If you can hear sounds between 0 and 25 dB HL most of the time, your hearing is normal or near normal and you probably do not need a hearing aid, although it may enhance your abilities in some situations.

If you only hear sounds above 25 dB HL, your hearing loss may be mild, moderate, severe, or profound. Hearing aids are designed in part to compensate for the level of loss.