A Career in Audiology

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An Audiologist Is

• An audiologist is a state licensed health-care
  professional who 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

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Over 36 million Americans Suffer from Hearing
Loss!
That is over 4 times the amount of people living
in New York City!
Over 18 million are under the age of 65
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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.

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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
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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
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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
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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
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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 then work with you
  to determine the best treatment option for your
  hearing loss.

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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 healthcare
  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.

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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
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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).

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Tinnitus

• Is an internal sound often accompanying hearing
  loss that is often described as a
• Ringing, buzzing, hissing, crickets, roaring,
  shower-like noise, shhhh sound, or humming.
• It can be constant or intermittent.
• Many people who suffer from tinnitus report that
  it is bothersome and say that it causes a
  decrease in quality of life. 

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Conductive Hearing Loss

• Possible Causes
• Blockage in the ear canal from
• A foreign object.
• Ear wax (cerumen) build-up.
• Fluid occupying the middle ear space (often due
  to ear infections, otitis media)
• Poor movement of the ossicles resulting from
• Otosclerosis.
• Trauma separating the ossicles from one another
• Atresia or Stenosis
• A condition where people are born with very small
  ear canals or a malformed/absent pinna and ear
  canal. 

• Conductive losses occur when
• sound waves are prevented
• from reaching the inner ear.

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Mixed Hearing Loss

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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
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If you think you or someone you know might have
a hearing problem, visit www.HowsYourHearing.orgt
o find an audiologist near you.Questions???