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a student struggling to hear in a classroom

How Can Hearing Difficulties Affect a Child at School

A child may follow conversations easily at home but struggle to understand a teacher in a busy classroom. They might copy what another student is doing, miss part of an assignment, or give an answer that doesn’t match the question. These moments can look like distraction or confusion, even when the child is trying hard to keep up. Hearing difficulties at school can affect much more than a child’s ability to notice sounds. They may influence learning, classroom participation, friendships, confidence, and energy levels. Because the signs aren’t always obvious, parents and teachers may not immediately realize that hearing could be

a hearing aid fitting appointment with a audiologist showing the patient how to put in his hearing aid

What Happens During a Hearing Aid Fitting and Follow Up

Choosing hearing aids can feel like the biggest step in improving your hearing. Once you’ve selected the devices, you may expect to put them on, turn them on and head home. Hearing aids need more preparation than that. They have to be programmed for your hearing, checked while you’re wearing them and adjusted so they feel comfortable. A hearing aid fitting is the appointment where those pieces come together. Your audiologist sets up the devices, verifies how they’re performing and teaches you how to use them. You’ll then try them during your regular activities and return for follow up care based

The Ontario Infant Hearing Program: A Parent’s Guide to Newborn Hearing Screening

Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash Few things matter more to new parents than knowing their baby is healthy. Among the screening tests offered shortly after birth, the newborn hearing screening is one of the most important yet often overlooked. Hearing plays a critical role in a child’s early development, supporting speech and language acquisition, communication, learning, and social interaction. Identifying any hearing differences as early as possible gives families and healthcare professionals the best opportunity to provide timely support. Ontario has had a universal newborn hearing screening program in place since the early 2000s, delivered through the Infant Hearing Program

What Your Audiologist Needs to Know About Your Health and Daily Life

A hearing test is an important part of understanding your hearing, but it doesn’t tell your audiologist everything. Your health, daily routine, listening environments, and personal goals can all influence the type of hearing care that may work best for you. Knowing what to tell your audiologist helps them see the full picture. A recent health change, a new challenge at work, or difficulty following conversations in restaurants may seem unrelated to your appointment, but these details can provide useful context. The more specific you can be, the easier it is to build a hearing care plan around your real life.

A man holding his ear, showing signs of Tinnitus pain

Understanding Tinnitus And Why It Happens

Tinnitus is often described as ringing in the ears, but it can sound different from person to person. Some people hear buzzing, humming, hissing, clicking, or even a whooshing sound, even when there is no outside noise causing it. For some, it comes and goes. For others, it can become a constant background sound. Tinnitus is also more common than many people realize. More than 40% of Canadians will experience tinnitus at some point in their lives, and for some, it can become bothersome enough to affect sleep, concentration, mood, and daily comfort. Understanding tinnitus means looking at what it is,

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PREPARE FOR THE WORST

You never know when you are going to find yourself in a situation where exposure to loud noise is going to pose a threat to your hearing. It is generally recommended that you take steps to safeguard your hearing from prolonged exposure to noise levels of 85 decibels and above. For example, lawnmowers and shop tools generally register about 90 decibels, while chainsaws and drills reach 100 decibels, power saws reach 110 decibels, loud rock concerts regularly hit 115 decibels, race cars come in at 130 decibels, and fireworks/jet engine takeoffs measure 150 decibels. Fortunately, it only takes a pair of

DON’T DENY YOURSELF

Hearing-impaired individuals often lose the threads of important conversations. if not addressed, this problem can have serious consequences in terms of broken social ties and impeded career opportunities. Data confirms that failure to tackle hearing problems results in lower salaries and high rates of unemployment. For example, a hearing-impaired employee might attend a meeting and fail to fully grasp what was being said. So as not to appear obtuse, the worker might pretend to understand, but still remain in the dark. Further denial can lead to missed announcements and office banter, which leaves hearing-impaired individuals with blocked career paths. Avoiding these

LESS SLIPPERY SLOPE

Individuals with problems hearing high-frequency sounds generally have a hearing curve on an audiogram that looks like a ski slope. This type of hearing loss, the most common configuration seen by audiologists, is quite prevalent among those suffering from “presbycusis” (age-related hearing loss) and noise-induced hearing loss. Fortunately, it is also very responsive to treatment with an “open-fit” hearing instrument. This type of hearing instrument has become wildly popular among hearing-instrument users for its comfort and non-occlusive design. Unlike in-the-ear and in-the-canal hearing instruments, open-fit hearing instruments do not require the use of an ear mold. Instead, sound coming from the

TAPPING INNER STRENGTH

While most people suffering from hearing loss can be helped by a hearing instrument, those with severe-to-profound “sensorineural hearing loss” (or “nerve deafness”) may need a “cochlear implant.” this device, which counteracts damage to the “cochlea” (inner ear), has an internal and external component. The internal segment is surgically implanted under the skin behind the ear, and a narrow wire is threaded into the inner ear. The external component, which resembles a behind-the-ear hearing instrument, is connected to the internal one through the skin by means of an external magnetic disk. This arrangement of modules converts incoming sounds into electrical currents,

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