...view it as a distinct culture that is not in need of rehabilitation; however, cochlear implants allow a deaf child to grow up in a hearing world. Allowing a child the opportunity to hear will allow them to have several benefits compared to a life without having the opportunity to hear (McKee, Schlehofer, & Thew, 2013). Such benefits include having an increase in the child’s language development (Dettman, Pinder, Briggs, Dowell & Leigh, 2007), having an improvement in peer relationships (Martin, Bat-Chava, Lalwani, & Waltzman, 2011), and having an improvement in the child’s overall quality of life (Schorr, Roth, & Fox, 2009). The first benefit a child could experience with the use of cochlear...
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...report will examine Cochlear Limited, an Australian company trading on the ASX (COH). The most recent annual report available is for financial year 2010-2011, which ended on 31 July 2011. Questions Q 1. a. Provide a description of your company and its core business activity. Cochlear Limited (COH) is a manufacturer and marketer of cochlear implants which offer solutions to address different types of hearing impairment. Cochlear is the global leader in implantable hearing solutions. Cochlear has a global team of more than 2,500 people who deliver the gift of sound to the hearing impaired in over 100 countries around the world. b. What industry does your company operate in? Operating in the Health Care sector of the Health Care Equipment & Services industry, c. Name one competitor of your company. COH has approximately 70% market share for cochlear implants, which are funded by government health authorities and charities. Currently the major competitors of COH are Swiss hearing aid company Sonova and Med El is another competitor in European and US markets. d. List the countries/areas in which your firm operates. With direct operations in more than 20 countries, COH distributes into over 100 countries with a focus on the Americas, Asia Pacific, and Europe, Middle East and Africa. e. In which country/area does your company make most of its profit? The majority of Cochlear profits are made in...
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...Students & Hearing Impairment Humans are fortunate to have 5 physical senses and also have the knowledge to use and verbally express our perceptions about our environment using each one. Of course we know these to be taste, smell, touch, see, and hear. From the moment we wake up until the moment we fall asleep, we use each of these senses. Some of these senses are considered more vital than the others. But, with these senses, we are capable of living in this on-the-go, ease-of-access society. Every day we have an agenda whether it is work, school, children, or even just to lounge and be a couch potato. Each of those tasks requires our senses. What happens to a person when one sense or even multiple senses become impaired or is extinguished? We all love to feel the rain on our skin, smell the fresh forest air, taste great home cooking, and see the newborn baby first open their eyes. But, what if you’re crossing the street and you can’t hear the drunk driver and the sirens turning the corner behind you? What do you do when you’re struggling to hear your teacher’s very important review about your final? What happens if you were living in New York City, sitting in your apartment, and you couldn’t hear the bombs collide with the World Trade Center? People who are deaf or hearing impaired are very unfortunate in these situations and have to exert more effort to cope with their everyday life. Hearing loss makes even routine communication difficult. (“Slowik”) Students, especially...
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...October 15th 2008 “Arriana, you will be more profoundly deaf as you get older. Your hearing is in the spot where the hearing aids aren’t benefiting you anymore.” The audiologist said. The voice I remember hearing was heartless. “Would you rather be deaf and mute and signing the whole time? Not being aware of your surrounding? Or would you rather be able to hear and talk in the normal world?” The audiologist says it with no emotions. I thought my world died when Cincinnati Children’s audiologist told my Father and me. My diagnosis at the age of two revealed a profound and unexplainable hearing loss; however, I continued to function normally as I still do today. My hearing loss is severe to profound, so I was fitted with my first hearing aids. When I heard my first sound, I was amazed at the difference between my silence world and my new hearing world. I see that people take so much for granted because hearing is so natural, but I understand the challenge of matching words to sounds to communication which wasn’t fun at all. I was “muted” for a really long time. My mother would tell me that people would get in my face talking loudly, and I would get upset. I was just starting to talk at the age of 5. English is not my first language; American Sign Language is. I attended St. Rita’s School for The Deaf for about three years and is where I became fluent in ASL. As a Kindergartener, I went to a mainstream school, Clifton Elementary. I couldn’t understand the fact that all my friends...
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...One study compared fixed and Dynamic FM performance for hearing aid users, while the other made the same comparison with cochlear implant recipients. In the hearing aid study, conducted by Dr. Linda Thibodeau, both adults and children (ages 11 tol5) were used as subjects, and both objective and subjective measures were taken. The objective comparisons were conducted in a large classroom, with the interfering noises - ranging from 54 dB to 80 dB - emanating from four speakers located in the corners of the room. The FM microphone was placed six inches from another loudspeaker located in the center of the room. The goal was to create a situation where someone would talk into an FM microphone while the listener was surrounded by changing levels of ambient noises. For the subjective comparisons, the subjects tried both the fixed and the adaptive systems at home and during activities in a public aquarium. As expected, the objective results show no difference between the two systems at low noise levels. This is because the adaptive feature is not triggered until the background noise level exceeds 57 dB. But as the noise level increased, the speech perception scores increased with the adaptive system only, reaching a maximum difference of about 50 percent at the higher noise levels. Across all noise levels, the average difference between the fixed and the adaptive systems was about 25 percent. Subjectively, too, most or all (depending upon the activity) of the subjects preferred the...
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...Observation Tuesday, June 16, 2015 Tricia’s Sunflowers, Perry, UT (In-Home Daycare) 9:30 – 11am In this observation, I will refer to the child with a hearing impairment as B. When I first stepped into the room where the child with the hearing impairment was, I immediately noticed a few things around the room that were put there specifically for her. There were flashing lights right next to a clock and there were pictures of ASL signs next to written signs in the room. Right away, I could tell the teacher in this room really took the time to see what she could do to assist in communication. This room has six children, all between the ages of 3-5, and B is the only child who has a hearing deficiency. B wears a hearing device, a cochlear implant, to help her hear better and understand the other children. Although she is encouraged to keep the device on at all times during school, aside from nap time, B will take off her device if she is upset, needs quiet time, or is not feeling well. I arrived just as the children are beginning their morning group session. The teacher in this classroom, Ms. Tricia, knows ASL because she taught her children ASL when they were babies and toddlers to assist in communication. During morning group, as the teacher is talking, she is also signing to B who is sitting in the front and center of the group. It is interesting and heartwarming to see the other five children attempt to sign along with B and the teacher as they sing their morning songs...
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...24th October 2013 Reflective Practise Piece Description The patient was attending, on her own, a 60 minute consultation with the resident Hearing Aid Audiologist. The lady came to us having been recommended by word of mouth by family and friends. She had been tested 6 months ago by another Specsavers Hearing practice, so access to a previous audiogram revealed a mild to moderate sensorineural hearing loss. No other case notes were available at the time of the consultation. Key Issues The key issues I found particularly interesting were: 1 Communication between the patient and the audiologist 2 Impact of case history forms 3 Hearing loss stigma Reflection and Influencing Factors According to Maltby (2009) client –centred problems solving is the most widely used approach to adult aural rehabilitation. I was keen to observe the rehabilitative process and reflect on its benefits. The audiologist was informed of the arrival of the patient and called the patient through to the consultation room. Formal introductions were made. Although the patient had previously had a hearing test, she seemed uneasy and a little tense. The audiologist explained the consultation process so the patient would feel more relaxed about the test. The standard questions from the case history forms were asked and during the case history the patient started to relax and made much more eye contact with the audiologist. When asked if she felt she had a hearing problem she...
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...A cochlear implant is a medical device that is implanted into the head behind the ear of a deaf person. It is very different from a hearing aid. Hearing aids magnify sounds so damaged ears may identify them. Cochlear implants escape damaged areas of the ear and activate the auditory nerve directly. Signals made by the implant are sent from the auditory nerve to the brain, which recognizes the signals as sound. Hearing through a cochlear implant is not the same as normal hearing and takes time and practice to learn or relearn. On the other hand, it allows many people to identify warning signals, recognize other noises in the surroundings, and enjoy a talk in person or by phone.(National Institute on Deafness, 1) When the device was first developed...
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...Cochlear implants are one of the many topics included in the vast collection of things arguable in today's media and social setting. There are endless accounts of opinions and views that go on inevitably, unfortunately. And the bickering throughout the hearing community, as well as the deaf community, continues. Some people think cochlear implants are substantially terrific and that the heavens must have graciously blessed them so that their particular child could "be normal". But others refuse the whole idea of cochlear implants being an acceptable notion. But, I propose a question: since when is it a bad thing to be deaf? The deaf people I have encountered are glorified and everybody wants to know them and learn sign language just to interact...
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...occurs when very loud sounds damage hair cells. One example of this is listening to loud music. These hair cells are very small, and also very fragile. Dead hair cells can never be replaced. Once they are gone, they can never be replaced. A study showed that was you are sixty-five years old, more than forty precent will be gone. Emily can not get a hearing aid because, hearing aids are no help in case of sensorineural hearing loss because auditory messages are blocked from reaching the brain, as of yet there is no cure for high frequency hearing loss. Emily can receive treatment, which focuses on improving hearing rather then restoring it. Many cases the auditory nerve is actually intact. Emily can act on her hearing loss by getting a Cochlear Implants. Its job is to bypass hair cells and stimulate the auditory nerves directly. I think that this will help Emily because if the auditory nerved is intact, it is possible for Emily to still hear and will not be forced into deep anxiety. But if in fact its not, then its nothing she can do to help herself. When Emily hears the strange noise, because of her hearing problem, it reminds her of her mother. Many people are driven into compulsive behavior because of events in their lives. Emily event in her live that causes compulsive behavior is when her mother was fighting cancer and makes a little groans noise. When she was little she heard this groan from her mother all the time, and that was something she...
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...The Silent Society: Being Deaf Deafhood and Epistemology When considering the epistemology of deafness, one must consider the history of how deafness has evolved. The history of deafness comes from the ignorance of those who could not understand how people who had a disability were different from them. It was easier to place these types of “folks” in intuitions and not deal with their needs. Understanding the deaf community comes through understanding the culture and the history that allows the deaf to have a “voice” and provide them with the necessary services that make the deaf more human. Through mental health, hearing assessments, and trauma, there is an understanding that even though they may not live in the hearing world, there are still apart of society. How they function as a community is important, as they too have a voice. Deafhood is described as “static”, not a medical condition; however, it is a process-a struggle that is endured by every child, adult, and family to explain themselves, and each other their own existence within their world (Hauser, O’Hearn, Steider, &Thew, 2010). Epistemology can be defined as the philosophy that investigates the origin, nature, methods, and limits to human knowledge. When dealing with deaf epistemology, there are many facets to which it can be understood and misunderstood. The authors discuss the visual learning process that a Deaf child goes through by being raised by either a Deaf parent or a hearing parent....
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...Mixed hearing loss is a combination of conductive and sensorineural. Central hearing loss is a problem in the central nervous system involving the inability to interpret sound. Functional hearing loss is caused by an emotional or psychological factor in which there is no physical finding of hearing loss (Lewis et al., 2011) Mosby and Elsevier (2009) (Crusse & Kent, 2013). To determine the type of hearing loss, type of hearing device needed and proper fit, there are different doctors with different levels of education a person can see. Choosing a correct hearing specialist is important. An Audiologist can identify and access hearing disorders. They can also select and correctly fit hearing aids. Audiologists can also program cochlear implants and provide counseling services, rehab and instruction on device usage. An Audiologist is required to have a doctorate or masters degree. A Hearing Aid Specialist can access, select, fit and dispense hearing aids. The can also instruct rehabilitation and counsel in use and care of hearing aids. A certification by the National Board of Certification in Hearing Aid Sciences is...
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...neuromuscular dis- orders, and amputees. These are patients for whom, until now, the field of neurosurgery has not been able to offer any substantive intervention. Moreover, these populations are increasing in size and relevance because of the aging population and improved survival after stroke and trauma. It is important to distinguish the emerging nature of these output BCIs, or devices that convert human intentions to overt device con- trol, from those that translate external stimuli such as light or sound into internally per- ceived visual or auditory perceptions (i.e., in- put BCIs). There has been a rich and extensive experience in the sensory prosthetic field. To date, the most successful example of a sensory prosthetic is the cochlear implant....
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...Cochlear Limited Analysis Introduction This report will examine Cochlear Limited, an Australian company trading on the ASX (COH). The most recent annual report available is for financial year 2010-2011, which ended on 31 July 2011. Questions Q 1. a. Provide a description of your company and its core business activity. Cochlear Limited (COH) is a manufacturer and marketer of cochlear implants which offer solutions to address different types of hearing impairment. Cochlear is the global leader in implantable hearing solutions. Cochlear has a global team of more than 2,500 people who deliver the gift of sound to the hearing impaired in over 100 countries around the world. b. What industry does your company operate in? Operating in the Health Care sector of the Health Care Equipment & Services industry, c. Name one competitor of your company. COH has approximately 70% market share for cochlear implants, which are funded by government health authorities and charities. Currently the major competitors of COH are Swiss hearing aid company Sonova and Med El is another competitor in European and US markets. d. List the countries/areas in which your firm operates. With direct operations in more than 20 countries, COH distributes into over 100 countries with a focus on the Americas, Asia Pacific, and Europe, Middle East and Africa. e. In which country/area does your company make most of its profit? The majority...
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...Cochlear Implant Essay Jeanie Partlow HCA/COMM 270A The Context and Language of Health Care Randi White Warner Pacific College April 30, 2012 Cochlear Implant Essay A cochlear implant is a surgically implanted device that provides electrical stimulation to the auditory nerve in the inner ear. The device has internal and external components. The external parts consist of a microphone, a speech processor, and a transmitter. The internal parts include a receiver and electrodes. The external speech processor captures sound, converts it to digital code that is transmitted to the internal electrodes, and finally, communicated to the brain for interpretation as sound. Good candidates for the cochlear implant have profound bilateral sensorineural hearing impairment and functional auditory nerves. Three groups of patients that have the greatest potential success include post-lingually deaf adults, pre-lingually deaf children, and post-lingually impaired people (usually children) who have lost hearing due to diseases such as meningitis. Tyler, Fryauf-Bertschy, Kelsay, Gantz, Woodworth, Parkinson (1997) confirm pre-lingually deaf children are excellent candidates as they obtain the implant during the time that the brain is developing and highly functional in adapting to sensory input. The cochlear device is implanted behind the ear where the surgeon will create a pocket in the mastoid bone for the receiver. The electrode array is then placed through the inner ear into the cochlea...
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