Experts Chime in on Kids & Hearing
Effects of hearing loss on the performance of young students and a pressing need to
preserve children’s hearing were hot topics at the annual American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) convention in November.
After reviewing studies completed in the past 20 years, Vanderbilt Univ. researchers reported that children with hearing loss had a higher incidence of academic difficulties, noting that a full one-third repeated grades. A recent study showed that 5.4 percent of children with even minimal hearing loss failed at least one grade or scored significantly lower on psychoeducational tests than those with normal hearing. These findings suggest that class work suffers when a student with hearing loss expends extra effort to simultaneously listen, take notes and process what is heard. Research measuring salivary cortisol levels, which helps to detect stress and fatigue, is already underway in young students with mild hearing loss.
At a public forum during the ASHA meeting, reps from the Centers for Disease Control, National Hearing Conservation Association and Dangerous Decibels, a public health project to prevent noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL), joined their ASHA hosts to discuss a distressing increase of NIHL among kids. They called for hearing conservation programs in elementary schools, hoping to stop or at least slow the trend.
Victorious IDEA
On November 17, federal legislators reauthorized the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The law has reforms recommended by Pres. Bush’s Commission on Excellence in Special Education, including fewer regulations and more flexibility, less paperwork for teachers and expanded choices and more control for parents.
IDEA also prevailed in Florida when the Children's Legal Advocacy Program of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing won a case in October regarding the needs of a preschooler with a cochlear implant. The judge ruled that the school district’s special needs classroom that the child attends does not meet IDEA requirements for a child with hearing loss using spoken language, citing no evidence of specifically designed programs or adequately trained staff. For more on IDEA, www.agbell.org/
Botox for Ringing Ears?
Preliminary research at California Ear Institute and Bridges Medical Clinic indicate that Botox® injections may ease tinnitus. A popular cosmetic fix for wrinkles, Botox also eases several neurological conditions by blocking neural pathways that travel between facial areas and the brain. Tinnitus is believed to be affected by these same autonomic nerves, the rationale for the study. More
investigation is needed but initial results from a small study group are promising. For more, http://audiology.advance-web.com, search Botox.
Terminator Halts Bid for Hearing Aids
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill this fall requiring health insurance companies to help pay for kid's hearing aids. The state’s “safety nets,” Medi-Cal and Healthy Families programs, already cover hearing aids. Proponents say the bill was designed to help middle-class parents, a group currently without assistance. They also say they will be back ... next legislative session.
Put the Focus on Someone You Know
Oticon’s 2005 Focus on People Awards wants nominations now (by January 7) of extraordinary people with hearing loss. Grab a nomination form at www.oticonus.com/ download/FocusonPeople2005.pdf. Champion as many people as you like in the youngster (age 5-12), student, adult, advocate and healthcare professional categories. Monetary prizes go to winners announced in San Diego on February 26.
Safeguarding Access to AT
The Assistive Technology (AT) Act went into effect with Pres. Bush’s signature on November 16, eliminating a sunset provision threatening many AT programs. Revisions require states to use a majority of their federal grant monies on direct aid, meaning dispensing assistive devices, etc. For AT programs in your state, www.ataporg.org/ stateatprojects.asp.
