Important Things That People Should Know About Hearing Protection Devices

Noise exposure can be continuous, impulsive or intermittent. It can cause hearing loss. Thus, where administrative and engineering controls aren't successful in lowering the noise exposure, hearing protection devices are to be used. OH&S needs that employees be offered a variety of hearing protection devices, including ear plugs and ear muffs. If your profession demands you to work in a place where you will be exposed to too much of noise, then it is a must for you to opt for these kinds of devices. So, before you damage your ear, make sure you wear one. 

There are actually many people in Bulleen who come to an audiologist after damaging their ears. When conducting the hearing tests in Bulleen, these audiologists come to know that they were often exposed to noise when working in industrial environments and that caused hearing impairment. People who are work in industrial environments or are musicians who perform rock music should make sure to use hearing protection devices for their safety. This is very important. 

Different kinds of hearing protectors are available like ear plugs, semi insert ear plugs and ear muffs. Ear plugs are basically inserted for blocking the ear canal. They can be premolded or moldable and are often sold as reusable plugs or disposable products. Custom molded ear plugs are even available. The semi-insert ear plugs on the other hand basically consist of two ear plugs that are held over ends of ear canal by a stiff headband. And last but not the least are the ear muffs that consist of sound attenuating substance and soft ear cushions that fit around the hard outer cups and ear. These products are basically held together by a head band. 

Before selecting the protection devices, these people should however know about a few important things, which they are usually not aware of. If they think that they need a hearing protection device, then a hearing conservation programme must first be instituted. The program basically includes assessment of the noise, selection of the hearing protector, employee education and training, audiometric testing, inspection, maintenance, program evaluation and record keeping. 

It is also important to note that a person must wear a hearing protector if the sound or noise level at the workplace exceeds 85 decibels. But this is also true that the effectiveness of the device would be greatly reduced if they are not fit properly or worn only during noise exposure. For maintaining their effectiveness, they must never be modified. One should even remember that radio headsets are actually not a substitute for these devices and must never be worn where these protectors are needed for protecting against noise exposure. The device that's chosen must be comfortable enough to be worn and accepted. It must offer adequate protection and shouldn't make communication difficult. 

Paediatric Hearing Assessment

Hearing loss does not always mean you cannot hear at all or that the sounds are not loud enough. You may see that your child does not answer from a distance or that the words do not seem quite clear. Delays in language and speech development and educational progress may also be indications of hearing loss.

The effect of a hearing loss on a child is very much different from the impacts of hearing loss, which takes place in adulthood. Children basically use their hearing for learing about everything that is happening around them and develop the communication skills.

If you are concerned about the hearing ability of your child, then first call your general physician to check for ear infection or any other medical condition. When that is been ruled out, a paediatric hearing test shall be in order. There is no need for you to panic. But it is always better to have the hearing of your child assessed quickly so that they can get any support, which they need early on.

How is paediatric hearing test conducted?

The audiologist chooses the tests, which best suits your child’s ability, age and overall circumstances. But that usually involves a combination of physiological and behavioral tests. For example, with older children, audiologists generally conduct a hearing test and check the function of the middle ear to see whether ears are congested. The test is also done to see how clearly the child can understand the speech by listening to the words that comes through headphones. The audiologist always confirms the result when the test shows there is a hearing impairment. Retest is done by most of the audiologists to ensure that the results were consistent before dicing the course of action.

The common hearing tests for younger children include:

·         Behavioral observation audiometry (BOA)

·         Visual reinforcement orientation audiometry (VROA)

·         Play audiometry

·         Oto-acoustic emission testing (OAE)

·         Brainstem evoked response audiometry (BERA)

·         Electro-cochleography (ECochG or EcoG)

·         Tympanometry and acoustic reflex

Hearing Tests For Children and Adults

Hearing Tests for Children and Adults

More presentations from Amelia White

Checklist to Monitor the Hearing Development of a Child

Newborn babies as well as children are checked routinely for problems with their hearing for identifying problems early on in their stage of development. Although severe hearing problems during infancy stage are rare, early testing makes certain that any problem are picked up and managed as soon as possible.

It’s essential that hearing problems are identified early because any problem may affect language and speech development, education development and social skills.

Read more about Importance of Conducting Hearing Tests in Newborns

Routine hearing tests

Shortly after the baby is born, they have their hearing tested. The screening is carried out before the mother leaves the maternity unit. However, in some areas it is carried out at home. If the baby doesn’t pass through the hearing screen, he/she is referred to a reputed audiologist for more tests. If there isn’t any reason to get bothered about after the paediatric hearing test has been conducted, the parents will be given a checklist to monitor the hearing development of their child. The checklist usually outlines the sounds, which babies make and the sounds, which they must respond to as they become older. 

A baby’s hearing must develop in the following way over the 1st year of life:

• Right from birth-should jump hearing loud noises
• One month of age-must start noticing sudden as well as prolonged sounds 
• Four months old-must show excitement at sounds and smile in response to the sound of a known voice 
• Seven to nine months-should babble, gurgle and coo and turn to a known voice across the room or to quiet noises made on each of the sides
• One year old-should respond to a few words like their name 

When the child is between 2 and 21/2 years old, parents usually take their child to a doctor again for reviewing their general health and development. The review includes checking the child’s hearing as well as speech development in this stage.

Most of the children also have another routine paediatric hearing test when they start school at around 4-5 years old.

However, if your baby’s hearing hasn’t been tested after he or she was born, arrange for an appointment with a reputed audiologist in your area now! 

Different Kinds of Hearing Tests for Children and Adults

There are different kinds of hearing tests for evaluating different portions of the ear. Different tests are used for people of different age groups. Here I have discussed about the different kinds of tests that are used for newborns, infants, toddlers, older children and adults.

Tests for newborns

There are two main kinds of hearing screening procedures for newborns-EOAE and ABR.  In the first one, a flexible and tiny plug is usually inserted into the ear. Sounds are sent via the plug. The microphone in the plug records the responses of the ear in reaction to the sounds. The screening procedure generally takes a few minutes and is a painless affair. In the ABR test, electrodes are used. They are attached with adhesive to the scalp of the baby. When the baby sleeps, some clicking sounds are made via earphones in the ears of the baby. The activity of the brain is measured in response to sounds in the test. This test too takes only a few minutes and is a painless affair.

Tests for infants

The behavioral audiometry is a paediatric hearing test, which is used for observing the behavior of infants in response to some particular sounds.

Tests for toddlers

Play audiometry and VRA are the two different hearing screening methods that are used for toddlers. In play audiometry, an electrical device is used for transmitting sounds at varying pitches and volumes into the child’s ears. The child wears some kind of earphones. The test is made into a form of game. The toddler is basically asked to perform something with the toy that he or she is given every time the sound is heard. The analysis depends upon the child’s cooperation, which is not always given. In VRA, the toddler is trained to look toward a source of sound. When the child gives the right response, he or she is rewarded through a visual reinforcement like a toy which moves.

Tests for older children

Evaluation of hearing for children over 3-4 years of age may include pure tone audiometry. This is a test that requires your child to respond to the sound by pressing a button or raising a hand. Sounds at different pitches and volumes are presented through the headphones.

Tests for adults

The hearing screening tests for adults are quite different from the one’s mentioned above.

Tympanometry-This is a test which determines how the middle ear is performing. It doesn’t tell whether the adult is hearing but helps in detecting any change in pressure in mid-ear. It is a difficult test to do in children because they need to sit still without moving, talking or crying.

Speech perception-It involves testing your skill to hear words without the use of any visual information. The words are generally played through headphones or a speaker. Sometimes, people are even asked to listen to the words while there is some level of background noise.

Whispered voice test-It involves the tester blocking one of your ears and testing your hearing ability by whispering the words at different volumes. You will actually be asked to repeat the words loud as you hear them.