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A Career in Audiology

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perform ear- or hearing-related surgical monitoring ... Tips to help protect you hearing: ... Turn down the volume on your car stereos, MP3 players, and home stereos. ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: A Career in Audiology


1
(No Transcript)
2
An Audiologist Is
  • An audiologist is a state licensed health-care
    professional that holds either a doctoral degree
    or a masters degree in audiology from an
    accredited university.
  • Audiologists perform any of the following
    functions
  • prescribe and fit hearing aids
  • assist in cochlear implant programs
  • perform ear- or hearing-related surgical
    monitoring
  • design and implement hearing conservation
    programs and newborn hearing screening programs
  • provide hearing rehabilitation training such as
  • auditory training
  • speech reading
  • listening skills improvement

3
Want to Be an Audiologist?
  • Audiology is a highly recognized profession and
    has been ranked by U.S. News and World Report as
    one of the Best Careers in 2006, 2007, and 2008.
  • Audiologists work in a variety of settings, such
    as
  • Hospitals, clinics, private practice, ENT
    offices, universities, K-12 schools, government,
    military, and VA hospitals.

4
Over 36 million Americans Suffer from Hearing
Loss!
That is over 4 times the amount of people living
in New York City!
Over 5 million children and young adults under
the age of 18 suffer from Noise-Induced Hearing
Loss.
5
How We Hear Outer Ear
  • The outermost part of the ear is called the
    pinna. The pinna acts like a funnel directing
    sound waves into the ear canal.
  • The sound waves then travel through the ear canal
    to the ear drum.
  • The sound waves vibrate the ear drum and the
    vibrations are transmitted to the middle ear.

6
How We Hear Middle Ear
  • The middle ear is made up of the hammer, anvil,
    and stirrup bones.
  • These three bones are the smallest in the body
    and are collectively known as the ossicles.
  •  
  • The ossicles amplify and transfer the sound
    vibrations from the ear drum to the inner ear.

stirrup
anvil
hammer
7
How We Hear Inner Ear
  • The inner ear is made up of the
  • semicircular canals and the
  • cochlea.
  • Each part of the inner ear is very different in
    form and function to the human body.

semicircular canals
cochlea
8
Inner Ear Semicircular Canals
  • The semicircular canals are the portion of the
    ear that helps detect movement and maintain
    balance.
  • The semicircular canals are filled with fluid,
    and as we move, it is that fluid that allows us
    to detect the
  • movement and maintain our balance.

semicircular canals
9
Inner Ear The Cochlea
  • The cochlea houses the organ of Corti.
  • As sound vibrations move
  • through the cochlea, they vibrate the microscopic
    hair cells found within the organ of Corti.
  • The vibrations of these hair cells trigger the
    electrical impulses sent to the brain from the
    auditory nerve, allowing us to hear.

auditory nerve
cochlea
From David J. Lim. Functional Structure of the
Organ of Corti A Review. Hearing Research, 22
(1986) 117-146 Elsevier
10
Types of Hearing Loss
  • Sensorineural Hearing Loss
  • Conductive Hearing Loss
  • Mixed Hearing Loss
  • The safest way to determine if you have a hearing
    loss is to visit your audiologist for a hearing
    evaluation. An audiologist can work with you to
    determine the best treatment option for your
    hearing loss.

11
Sensorineural Hearing Loss
  • Is permanent and sometimes preventable.
  • Is the most common form of hearing loss.
  • Can affect people of all ages.
  • A high frequency hearing loss, of this type can
    indicate aging and/or noise exposure
    (Noise-Induced Hearing Loss).
  • Does not have any medical or surgical treatment
    options, in most cases.
  • Hearing aids are the primary treatment (an
    audiologist should be your primary health-care
    provider for testing and fitting hearing aids).
  • A cochlear implant may be considered for patients
    with severe or profound cases of this form of
    hearing loss.

12
Sensorineural Hearing Loss
  • Sensorineural hearing loss occurs when the
    microscopic hair cells within the organ of Corti
    are damaged.
  • Once the hair cells are damaged, they do not
    regenerate.

From David J. Lim. Functional Structure of the
Organ of Corti A Review. Hearing Research, 22
(1986) 117-146 Elsevier
13
Do You HaveSensorineural Hearing Loss?
  • High-frequency hearing loss may be difficult to
  • self-diagnose because it occurs slowly over
    time.
  • People with this form of hearing loss often can
    still
  • hear, but they cannot hear clearly.
  • KNOW THE SIGNS
  • Trouble hearing conversation in a noisy
    environment such as
  • restaurants.
  • Difficulty or inability to hear people talking to
    you without looking at
  • them.
  • A constant buzzing or ringing in your ears
    (tinnitus).

14
Conductive Hearing Loss
Happens when the sound waves are not able to
reach the inner ear.
  • Some causes of conductive
  • hearing loss are
  • Blockage in the ear canal from
  • Ear wax (cerumen) build-up.
  • A foreign object.
  • Fluid occupying the middle ear space, often due
    to an ear infection, also called otitis media.

15
Mixed Hearing Loss
  • Hearing loss that involves both sensorineural and
    conductive hearing loss components.

16
People with untreated hearing loss (people with
hearing loss who do not wear hearing aids) can
experience a decreased quality of life.
SadnessDepressionAnxietyParanoiaPoor Social
Relationships
17
Degrees of Hearing Loss
  • Audiologists use general terms to characterize
    the degree of hearing loss.
  • Normal
  • Mild
  • Moderate
  • Severe
  • Profound
  • The category of hearing loss represents the
    softest level of sound (decibels) you can hear at
    different pitches.

18
The Hearing Evaluation
  • Audiologists perform a hearing evaluation to
    determine the type and severity of the hearing
    problem.
  • There are three parts to a hearing evaluation
  • Review of your medical and hearing history.
  • Visual examination of the eardrums and ear
    canals.
  • Testing the hearing.

19
The Hearing Test
  • An audiologist will place you in a sound booth to
    test your hearing at different pitches
    (frequency) and decibel levels.
  • You will be asked to listen to a series of
    specific sounds and indicate which ones you
    hear. 
  • The results are noted on an audiogram that your
    audiologist will review with you.

20
Protecting your hearing is just as important as
protecting your eyes or teeth.
  • Tips to help protect you hearing
  • Wear hearing protection in noisy environments
    (marching band, concerts, sporting events,
    industrial classes)
  • Ear plugs
  • Take breaks from noisy environments, walk away
    from the noise and give your ears a break.
  • Turn down the volume on your car stereos, MP3
    players, and home stereos.

21
Do you or someone you know have a hearing
problem?Do you want to learn more about a career
in audiology?Visit www.HowsYourHearing.orgto
find an audiologist near you.Questions???
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