Hearing loss is a common chronic condition which is often poorly recognized but can have multiple negative impacts, not just on the lives of those directly affected, but also those living with them. People with impaired hearing may begin a long and uncertain journey involving a number of key stages, from emerging awareness and help-seeking, to diagnosis, adjustment, and self-evaluation. Based on a model of person-centered audiological rehabilitation, this book explains why it is important to understand both patients’ own experiences, and those of their communication partners, over time. It focuses particularly on the human dynamics of hearing loss, exploring the broader consequences of hearing loss for the individual, family members, and wider society. In particular the book: gives insight into the patients' and their communication partners’ experiences and perspectives through clear and telling first-hand narrative accounts; examines how people understand their own hearing loss, reflect on their experiences with hearing aids – both positive and negative – and evaluate treatment options; considers the changes needed to conversations in order to include all communication partners, whether with impaired hearing or not; and discusses consequences of hearing loss using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). With its explicit aim to increase awareness of the need to include the patient and close relatives in the process of rehabilitation, this new text makes an important contribution to further improve evidence-based practice in the field of audiological rehabilitation. An ideal text for audiology, ENT, and nursing students of all levels.

This book looks at how hearing loss among adults was experienced, viewed and treated in Britain before the National Health Service. We explore the changing status of ‘hard of hearing’ people during the nineteenth century as categorized among diverse and changing categories of ‘deafness’. Then we explore the advisory literature for managing hearing loss, and techniques for communicating with hearing aids, lip-reading and correspondence networks. From surveying the commercial selling and daily use of hearing aids, we see how adverse developments in eugenics prompted otologists to focus primarily on the prevention of deafness. The final chapter shows how hearing loss among First World War combatants prompted hearing specialists to take a more supportive approach, while it fell to the National Institute for the Deaf, formed in 1924, to defend hard of hearing people against unscrupulous hearing aid vendors. This book is suitable for both academic audiences and the general reading public. All royalties from sale of this book will be given to Action on Hearing Loss and the National Deaf Children’s Society.

Having vision and hearing loss, or difficulties learning, remembering or getting around needn’t stop us enjoying vacations to cultural places, either in our local cities or someone else’s. Accessible Vacations is a problem-solving guide book on the most accessible museums, monuments and theaters for vacation visits or day-trips in twelve of the US’s most visited cities. It describes accessible outings, activities, courses and exhibitions you may want to try out, and places to go and see great shows or movies using a simple five-step plan. Accessible Vacations is not exhaustive and won’t sell you a hotel room or flight. It also won’t tell you about diners in the local area, or the best souvenirs. It’s written in the hope of making your life easier and more interesting in your leisure time, or to help in getting a cultural education. It also gives you a realistic, accessible picture of what’s available in the US when you choose your destinations. Whether it’s viewing paintings, watching musicals or walking trails, Accessible Vacations will show you that you can learn, find pleasure, develop personal interests, or build a life journey in the US’s biggest cities. You just need to know where to go to make these activities possible, or how cultural places can help support you as elderly and frail folk. If you are a museum or theater professional, it will also let you know the state of the art in the US, and which cities have the most accessible places. Accessible Vacations is in two main sections: •Section 1 includes ways you can get access to museums and theaters if you have problems with vision or hearing loss or difficulties with memory or learning, and includes information on: technologies, audio description, captions, special classes and performances, sign language, accessible mobile technologies. •Section 2 has a chapter each for a dozen big, accessible US cities, with listings of facilities for museums and theaters using this book’s five-step plan. These cities were chosen because they are amongst the most visited in the US, they are spread throughout the country and they are the home of important cultural places that represent this country so well. They are also a mix of young and old cities, centres of the arts, different forms of art and centres of business. They include the east and west seaboards and the states of the north and south as well as the Mid-West.

Efficient auditory processing requires the rapid integration of transient sensory inputs. This is exemplified in human speech perception, in which long stretches of a complex acoustic signal are typically processed accurately and essentially in real-time. Spoken language thus presents listeners’ auditory systems with a considerable challenge even when acoustic input is clear. However, auditory processing ability is frequently compromised due to congenital or acquired hearing loss, or altered through background noise or assistive devices such as cochlear implants. How does loss of sensory fidelity impact neural processing, efficiency, and health? How does this ultimately influence behavior? This Research Topic explores the neural consequences of hearing loss, including basic processing carried out in the auditory periphery, computations in subcortical nuclei and primary auditory cortex, and higher-level cognitive processes such as those involved in human speech perception. By pulling together data from a variety of disciplines and perspectives, we gain a more complete picture of the acute and chronic consequences of hearing loss for neural functioning.

Hearing Loss: New Insights for the Healthcare Professional: 2013 Edition is a ScholarlyEditions™ book that delivers timely, authoritative, and comprehensive information about Diagnosis and Screening. The editors have built Hearing Loss: New Insights for the Healthcare Professional: 2013 Edition on the vast information databases of ScholarlyNews.™ You can expect the information about Diagnosis and Screening in this book to be deeper than what you can access anywhere else, as well as consistently reliable, authoritative, informed, and relevant. The content of Hearing Loss: New Insights for the Healthcare Professional: 2013 Edition has been produced by the world’s leading scientists, engineers, analysts, research institutions, and companies. All of the content is from peer-reviewed sources, and all of it is written, assembled, and edited by the editors at ScholarlyEditions™ and available exclusively from us. You now have a source you can cite with authority, confidence, and credibility. More information is available at http://www.ScholarlyEditions.com/.

People who are hard of hearing and their friends and relatives now can learn all they need to know about hearing loss in this easy to read guide. Newly updated and revised, Living with Hearing Loss takes the reader from A to Z on the kinds and causes of hearing loss and its common early signs. Written by Marcia B. Dugan, past president of Self Help for Hard of Hearing People (SHHH), this straightforward book provides thorough information on seeking professional evaluations and complete descriptions of hearing aids and other assistive technologies. Enhanced sections on the potential of cochlear implants and dealing with tinnitus distinguishes this very useful handbook. Readers also can take advantage of updated information on relevant Internet sites and a new list of resources on dealing with hearing loss. Living with Hearing Loss also suggests strategies for everyday situations and times of emergency. Chapters on speechreading, oral interpreters, assertive communication, and other tips for improving communication can enable people with hearing loss to make changes at work, home, and while traveling to cope with most situations. It can raise significantly the quality of the lives of hard of hearing people while also helping them to avoid dependency upon others.

Modern Hearing Aids: Verification, Outcome Measures, and Follow-Up focuses on the selection and fitting of hearing aids and the outcome procedures and measures that follow. The world-renowned authors provide guidance for selecting prescriptive fitting approaches and detailed protocols for the use of behavioral measures and real-ear speech mapping to both verify the fitting and assess special hearing aid features. Extensive discussion is included regarding the techniques, procedures, and test protocols for probe-microphone measures. The authors have included numerous postfitting tests that can be conducted along with step-by-step protocols for their administration and scoring. Follow-up care and auditory training options also are reviewed. Written in an accessible and easy-to-read style, this text includes not only reference information, but also tools supported by research and clinical experience. The information is presented in a way that is both accessible to clinical students with little experience in the field and with enough depth for even the serious hearing aid researcher. Key features include Brief paragraphs identified as "Technical Tips," "Key Concepts," "Things to Remember," "Points to Ponder," and "Soapbox" for quick reference"Endnotes" at the back of the book--interesting tidbits of information not quite relevant enough to include in the chapters, but too good to toss asideHumor infused throughout