Deaf & Hard of Hearing Assistive Technology

1. Deaf & Hard of Hearing Assistive Technology

2. Welcome Your presenter today is: • Julianne Gillen, Community Resource Officer Julianne.gillen@deafhear.ie Please switch off all mobile phones

3. DeafHear.ie • DeafHear.ie is a voluntary non-profit organisation and is registered charity • We have 12 Resource Centres throughout the country • Outreach clinics in a number of different locations.

4. Support Network DeafHear.ie Services

5. Under the Umbrella of DeafHear.ie • Irish Hard of Hearing Association • Irish Tinnitus Association • Irish Society for Mental Health & Deafness

6. Statistics • 14% of population have a hearing loss* • Of that 14%: • 1% is culturally deaf • 5% require amplification • 4% can not use amplification • 4% may not be aware of their hearing loss *NDA official figure, DeafHear 17%

7. Talking Numbers

8. How We Hear

9. Conductive Hearing Loss • This is when sound cannot be conducted (pass through) the outer and middle ear. The causes include: • collection of fluid in the middle ear ('glue ear' in children) • damage to the eardrum by infection or trauma • blockage of the outer ear (by wax) • middle ear infections

10. Sensorineural Hearing Loss This happens when the tiny hair cells in the cochlea are damaged and so do not convert sound into electrical impulses. The causes include: • age related hearing loss (a natural part of the aging process) • acoustic trauma (such as a loud noise) to the hair cells • viral infections of the inner ear (measles, mumps, chickenpox)

11. 8 4 0.25 0.5 1 2 0 Rustling leaves Ocean 20 Library 30 40 Conversation 60 Telephone 80 Lawn mower Personal stereo (max) 100 Chain Saw Truck Rock band 120 Pain threshold Jet aircraft (100m) Frequency and Intensity of familiar sounds Frequency (Kilohertz) Sound pressure level (dBA) Hearing damage

13. Different Levels of Hearing Loss Mild - Dave Browne (32) - secondary school teacher Normal Mild Moderate Severe Profound

14. Speech Audiogram Mild - Dave Browne (32) - secondary school teacher

15. Different Levels of Hearing Loss Profoundly deaf - Carol Casey (28) - civil servant Normal Mild Moderate Severe Profound

16. Speech Audiogram Profoundly deaf - Carol Casey (28) - civil servant

17. Half Shell In The Ear (ITE) Canal Behind The Ear What is a Hearing Aid

18. Behind the Ear Behind the Ear (BTE) hearing aid and attached earmould

19. In the Ear (ITE) Hearing Aid

20. Cochlear Implant

21. Hearing Aid Batteries

22. Aids & Appliances • Make it shake • Make it flash • Make it loud

23. Telecoil or ‘T’ Switch Telecoil on the Behind The Ear Telecoil switch on ITE

24. Loop System

25. Portable Loop Systems

26. Counter Loop

27. Using the loop with Telephone

28. Assistive Telephone Equipment

29. When a Phone Rings…

30. When the doorbell goes…

31. When the baby cries at night….

32. When the Fire Alarm activates…

33. Bellman System

34. Silent Alert System

35. TV/Audio listening devices

36. Personal Listening Devices

37. Tinnitus Assistive Technology • Tinnitus Pillow • Tinnitus Pillow Speaker • Tinnitus Alarm Clock • Tinnitus CD’s • Sounds and Aroma Tinnitus Relaxer • Naturcare Tinnitus Masker • Sound Oasis Tinnitus Relaxer

38. Guidelines • Getting Deaf/hard of hearing person’s attention • Topic of discussion • Face the person • Maintain eye contact • Speak slowly and clearly • Facial expression • Mouth free of obstruction • Avoid standing in front of a light source • Level of noise in the room

39. Any Questions? Thank you for listening!