This is a short list of beginning words for parents of children newly diagnosed with hearing loss. It is meant to be simple not comprehensive. Many other terms are discussed in publications, explained on the Internet or defined in depth in dictionaries. Use can vary from country to country and even within the communities in one country. To understand these new words and begin to use this unfamiliar vocabulary parents will need to keep asking about the meaning and correct use of terms.
Parents want their children to be seen for what they can do, who they are and what wonderful people they will become. Children are not defined by their hearing. Families wish to obtain for their young children with hearing loss what is needed for success. Parents can begin assisting their children by learning about the words used in reports, meetings and appointments. Understanding terms helps parents to ask better questions and make informed decisions.
Amplification: increased loudness of sound, or hearing devices that change sound levels
Articulation: production of speech sounds
ASL: American Sign Language, a complete language used by many Deaf North Americans with its own grammar and sentence order separate from English. Meanings are conveyed by hand shapes, finger, hand and body movements as well as facial expressions. Each country’s sign language is different and there is no universal sign language.
Audiogram: graph showing an individual’s responses to sounds during a hearing test
Audiologist/Doctor of Audiology: a specialist in hearing and balance who does evaluations, diagnosis and selection and managing of listening devices
Audition: sense of hearing or act of listening
Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR): a test used to measure how the auditory nerve and brainstem respond to sound
Air-Conduction Testing: hearing evaluation using head phones or insert earphones
Auditory Neuropathy (dys-synchrony): hearing disorders characterized by the inability of the auditory nerve to transmit sound clearly to the brain
Auditory Nerve: the VIII cranial nerve which carries sound from the cochlea to the brain
Auditory-Verbal Therapy: intervention that emphasizes guiding parents in teaching their children to listen, understand spoken language and speak
Behavioral Observation Audiometry (BOA): hearing test that documents observable responses to sound such as facial expressions, eyebrow furrowing and eye movements
Bilingualism: fluent in two languages
Bilateral Hearing Loss: occurring in both ears.
Binaural hearing: hearing with both ears
Bone Conduction Testing: measuring hearing through a small vibrator on the skull which stimulates the inner ear (cochlea)
LSLS Cert. AVT: Listening and Spoken Language Specialists include Certified Auditory Verbal Therapists and Educators, professionals trained in coaching parents to help their children use hearing to develop spoken language.
Cochlea: inner ear that contains the sense organ for hearing
Cochlear Implant (CI): a device implanted in the inner ear that provides electrical stimulation to the auditory nerve which the brain perceives as hearing
Combined Approaches: using more than one language or method to encourage communication development
Conductive Hearing Loss: occurs in the outer or middle ear, is often temporary and may be medically or surgically correctable
Consonants: sound in spoken language formed by stopping the flow of air through the mouth; in English all the letters except /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, and /u/
Cued Speech: system of eight handshapes and four hand positions used to make speech visible in any spoken language
Decibel: a unit of sound loudness (see Intensity)
DIP: patterns or rhythm in spoken languages expressed in duration (long and short), intensity (loud and quiet), and pitch (high and low)
Discrimination: ability to distinguish between sounds
Ear:
Outer ear: the auricle or pinna (the part of the ear on the outside of the head) and the ear canal
Middle ear: the eardrum and air filled space containing three small bones (the ossicles) that transfer sound vibrations to the inner ear
Inner ear: the cochlea (organ of hearing) and semi-circular canals (the balance organs)
Eardrum: tympanic membrane which separates the outer ear from the middle ear
Earmold: small part of a listening device inserted in the outer ear that helps keep the device in place and/or transmits sounds
Expressive Language: conveying feelings, ideas and experiences to others through a formal communication system
Feedback: whistling sound caused by amplification when an object is too close to the microphone of the hearing aid or when the earmold is not inserted fully, does not fit or is damaged
FM System: wireless device that allows a person to speak into a microphone and the signal is sent to an individual’s hearing aids or cochlear implants
Frequency: the pitch or tone of sounds, measured in Hertz (Hz); most speech sounds fall within the range of 250 (low pitch) to 4000 (high pitch) Hz
Gain: measurement of sound increased by a listening device
Hearing Age: extent of time usually measured in months or years that a young child has consistently used and benefitted from a listening device
Hearing Aid: an electronic device that amplifies sound
Hertz: (see Frequency)
Intensity (Loudness): a measurement of sound in decibels (dB) used to categorize hearing loss as mild, moderate, severe or profound in degree
Jargoning: typical pre-language developmental stage where a child imitates the rhythm, inflection, intensity and quality of his family’s language
Language: sharing ideas, experiences and emotions by a formal communication system of speech, signs or writing
Localization: ability to notice the direction of a sound
Mixed Hearing Loss: combination of sensorineural and conductive loss
Motherese: speaking to babies in a sing-song voice, done by parents worldwide in their languages
Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE): a test that measures the responses of the outer hair cells in the cochlea
Otolaryngologist: a medical doctor specializing in the ear, nose and throat (ENT)
Otologist/Neurotologist: a medical doctor specializing in the ear
Conditioned Play Audiometry (CPA): a technique for a hearing test where children use toys to respond to sound
Pragmatics: using appropriate social and verbal communication behaviors
Prelinguistic Communication: vocalizations and gestures used before a baby develops language
Real Ear Measurement (Probe Microphone Measurement): a small microphone in the ear canal that provides information to program hearing aids and verify amplification levels
Receptive Language: understanding the feelings, ideas and experiences conveyed through the formal communication of others
Residual Hearing: the measurable amount of remaining hearing that a person with a hearing loss has without use of a listening device
Semantics: meanings of words
Sign Language: formal system of hand shapes, positions, movements and facial expressions and body movements used to convey meaning in a complete language with its own syntax and sentence structure
Sign Systems: communication methods that often include parts of a formal sign language; Manually Coded English (MCE) and Pidgin Signed English use a mix of ASL signs and English grammar; Baby Sign includes signs for beginning words
Sound Field Testing: using loudspeakers to present signals for testing with or without listening devices
Sensorineural Hearing loss: a permanent hearing loss resulting from problems in the cochlea and/or auditory nerve
Speech: articulation of words, expressing thoughts and feelings through spoken language
Speech Banana: area of an audiogram showing where the sounds of spoken language occur at an average conversation level
Speech-Language Pathologist: a health care professional who provides therapy for speech, language or communication concerns
Threshold: the softest sound an individual can hear
Total Communication (TC): using multiple methods to communicate but primarily defined as the use of speech and signs together
Tympanometry: a test that measures the condition of the middle ear, the mobility of the eardrum, movement of the middle ear bones and middle ear pressure
Unilateral Hearing Loss: hearing loss only in one ear
Vestibular System: balance organ located next to the cochlea
Visual Reinforcement Audiometry (VRA): a technique in a hearing test using objects that light up or move when an individual responds to a sound
Vowels: speech sounds produced by breath from an open mouth, In English these include: a/, e/, i/, o/, u
Words commonly used in English in the USA when a child is identified include “hearing loss,” “deaf,” hard of hearing,” “Deaf,” and “hearing impaired”. There is not one standard definition for each. When Deaf is capitalized it indicates the cultural group sharing values and language (ASL) of the Deaf community. Medical professionals may use terms for the causes or amount of hearing loss. Education or intervention staff may use words connected to eligibility for services. Individuals might be described with the same term but have very different ways of hearing and communicating in addition to varied personal preferences for what words feel acceptable.
Parents can ask other families, persons who are deaf or hard of hearing and professionals working with their family what words are appropriate and respectful. Individuals might sometimes be described as a person using a hearing aid, cochlear implant or listening device. Words are powerful and need to be chosen carefully but labels provide limited information. Children can be best described by the wonderful skills they are learning and the beautiful personal names given to them by their families. As parents become their children’s advocates they will find the words!
