Hearing Loss

One of the very first determinations that an audiologist or other clinician must make when presented with someone who believes that he or she is suffering hearing loss is to determine what degree of hearing loss may be present. Hearing loss may range from non-existent to mild (27-40dB) to profound (above 90 dB) (Van Hattum 113). Once an audiologist has determined that hearing loss has occurred, she or he must next determine whether the condition is due to conductive or sensorineural conditions, the two most common forms of hearing loss. To assess which condition affects the patient in this question – Mr. Brown – several factors must be determined.

Conductive hearing loss is diagnosed when there is a problem in the outer or middle ear. Common reasons for conductive hearing loss are a build-up of ear wax, a foreign object stuck in the outer part of the ear, or the hereditary disease of otosclerosis in which two inner-ear bones are locked together preventing vibrations from reaching the fluid in the inner ear (Emerick

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bout the existence of a problem. This is especially true in the case of stuttering, for it is far easier to treat a young stutterer than it is to treat chronic adult stutterers. (Emerick and Hatten 215). This may be because young children seem unaware of their tendency to repeat initial sounds, and this state of blissful ignorance allows them to avoid the stress that aggravates the condition of adult stutterers. A number of systems have been developed for testing the speech of young children that help distinguish between what might be called "normal disfluencies" – or the kind of mistake that all children might be expected to make as they work on the multi-year, intricate process of acquiring language – and more serious problems – such as stuttering – that are not considered to be a normal part of the language-acquisition process. These testing or diagnostic systems in general look at what parts of language are affected. While a stutterer has problems in speech production only, those suffering from other conditions will exhibit additional symptoms that will guide teachers and clinicians to a proper diagnosis other than stuttering. All speakers – from the child first beginning to acquire language to the most fluent and articulat
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