Hearing Equipment
When children are unable to hear in one or both ears, their speech, learning and social development will be affected, especially if they live in a hearing community.
Many U.S. states require a newborn hearing test before a child leaves the hospital. Children who do not pass a newborn hearing screening are referred to a pediatric audiologist to determine their level of hearing loss.
For newborns, the Automated Auditory Brainstem Response (AABR) test or Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE), or both. The AABR test uses electrodes to measure the brain's response to sound; the OAE test focuses on inner ear function through the probes placed in the ear.
For older children, the audiologist performs hearing tests in a sound booth and records the results on a chart called an audiogram. Based on these results, hearing aids or cochlear implants may be recommended if the family chooses listening and spoken language for their child.
The hearing tests determine the severity of the hearing loss, which helps audiologists program hearing devices. Both hearing aids and cochlear implants need to be programmed.
Why speech banana and what does it mean?
The speech banana is a visual tool that shows where speech sounds fall on an audiogram. It highlights the frequencies where those sounds are usually heard and understood.
Plotting them out creates a banana-shaped curve on the graph - that's where the name comes from. Hearing sounds below the banana ONLY means that the child cannot fully hear speech sounds.
Your audiologist can help you set your hearing devices to ensure you are able to hear the speech sounds and develop spoken language.
