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(Rockville, MD - May 26, 2009) The barriers and challenges parents face when ensuring their infant uses hearing aids consistently is the focus of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's (ASHA) latest podcast (www.asha.org/podcast).
Researcher and ASHA member Mary Pat Moeller, PhD, and Jennifer Johnson, the mother of a hearing-impaired child, discuss the importance of using hearing aids consistently. The duo offers additional information and tips that can help parents help their baby—and themselves—adjust when the very young wear hearing aids.
Getting the word out is important because the challenges involved have serious potential ramifications and the number of babies who need hearing aids is more than the public may think. Inconsistent use of hearing aids can delay speech and language learning, especially during the first few years of life. Out of every 1,000 babies born, two to three have some degree of hearing loss, equaling 12,000 babies annually. While most will need hearing aids, their parents could be faced with situations that lead to their babies not using the aids as often as they should.
Dr. Moeller has a research paper, "Consistency of Hearing Aid Use in Infants with Early-Identified Hearing Loss" in the June 2009 American Journal of Audiology, ASHA's twice-yearly journal of clinical practice for audiologists and hearing researchers. The paper can be read at http://aja.asha.org. Drawing upon her research findings in the podcast, Dr. Moeller discusses reasons for inconsistency of hearing aid use which amounts to the baby pulling the device out of its ear. They include that the baby realizes he gains parental attention, is curious about the device, has pain from an ear infection, or hears feedback when riding in a car.
Listeners to ASHA's podcast will learn that consistent use of hearing aids is important because infants' brains are wired for learning, and during the first few years of life babies gain auditory experience just by listening in to the conversations that are around them.
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About the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
ASHA is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than 135,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists. Audiologists specialize in preventing and assessing hearing and balance disorders as well as providing audiologic treatment including hearing aids. Speech-language pathologists identify, assess, and treat speech and language problems including swallowing disorders.
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