Tag Archives: Hearing Technology

Borderline Cochlear Implant Candidates

For many who receive a CI, the choice is clear-cut: hearing aids simply do not provide sufficient benefit for language and listening to people with profound hearing loss when compared to the performance of a cochlear implant.  But what about hearing aid users who are doing “well enough” with their current technology, but are onContinue reading “Borderline Cochlear Implant Candidates”

What to Expect In the First Weeks After a Child’s Cochlear Implant Activation

WHAT TO EXPECT In the first weeks after your child’s cochlear implant is activated The big day has finally arrived!  Your child’s cochlear implant(s) are finally going to be turned on.  After months of appointments and waiting, you may feel as if you’ve made it to the finish line, but you are really at theContinue reading “What to Expect In the First Weeks After a Child’s Cochlear Implant Activation”

What Is a Decibel?

The decibel is a measure of the intensity (loudness) of sound.  It is named for Alexander Graham Bell.  Decibel is abbreviated dB.  Humans with intact hearing systems can typically detect sounds between 0 and 140 (the point at which sound starts to hurt and becomes more “feeling” than “hearing”) decibels.

What Is an Audiologist?

AUDIOLOGIST:   An audiologist is a professional trained to diagnose and treat non-medical problems of hearing and balance.  The entry degree for audiologists is either a clinical doctorate (AuD) or research doctorate (PhD), though audiologists used to be able to practice with a Master’s Degree, so some have been grandfathered in.

Mapping a Cochlear Implant

Mapping (or MAPping) is the term for programming a cochlear implant to the specifications and needs of its user.  While any cochlear implant user, or parent, caregiver, or family member of a CI user, has probably attended countless mapping appointments with an audiologist, the process is often confusing or poorly understood.

How to Read an Audiogram

I often say that becoming a parent of a child with hearing loss is like being drafted onto a team for a sport you’ve never played and expected to be the MVP.  Almost overnight, you’re bombarded with technical jargon, communication options, opinions, appointments, and waves of emotion.  Who wouldn’t be overwhelmed?

Too Much of a Good Thing: Technology, Apps, and Auditory Verbal Therapy

I love technology.  I love the ability it gives me to communicate with people around the world about the miracle of cochlear implants and listening and spoken language.  I love that, though Facebook, Twitter, and teletherapy services I am able to reach out to people with hearing loss, parents, and professionals to share information, advice, ideas, and support.  When usedContinue reading “Too Much of a Good Thing: Technology, Apps, and Auditory Verbal Therapy”