Do You Need A Hearing Test?
Ten ways to recognize hearing loss.
The following questions will help you determine if you need to have
your hearing evaluated by a medical professional:
-Do you have a problem hearing over the telephone?
-Do you have trouble following the conversation when
two or more people are talking at the same time?
-Do people complain that you turn the tv volume up
too high?
-Do you have to strain to understand conversations?
-Do you have trouble hearing in a noisy background?
-Do you find yourself asking people to repeat themselves?
-Do many people you talk to seem to mumble (or not
speak clearly)?
-Do you misunderstand what others are saying and respond
inappropriately?
-Do you have trouble understanding the speech of women
and children?
-Do people get annoyed because you misunderstand what
they say?
If you answered "yes" to three or more of these questions,
it is recommended that you see an audiologist for a hearing evaluation.
Does
My Child Need Speech Therapy?
Your child's speech begins
with vocalizations at 2 or 3 months, followed by babbling (playful,
vocal sound) at 5 to 7 months, and then jargon (strings of sounds
or syllables produced with a variety of stress and intonation) from
8 to 24 months. These various types of vocalizations usually continue
through the child's first 50 words. By 12 months, the child is starting
to string the sounds together to form 'true' words.
According to a number of
experts, the following sounds can be expected to be produced correctly
at these ages:
| By
age 3 |
h,
w, m, n, b, p, f
|
| By age 4 |
d,
t, y (as in yes), k, g, ng
|
| By age 6 |
l,
j (as in jump), ch (as in chair),
sh (as in shoe), v
Errors with r, s, z, th (as in thing or father) or
zh (as in garage) may persist
|
| By age 8 to
9 |
Child
matches adult standard for the production of all consonant
sounds.
|
You should take your child
to a speech-language pathologist if:
- your child does not produce
speech sounds appropriate for his or her age
- strangers have difficulty
understanding your child's speech if he or she is 3 years or older
- you child's teacher reports
that other children make fun of your child's speech
- your child shows frustration
with his or her speech
If you have any questions
about your child's speech, or speech-language pathology options,
call the Warren Center at 941-2850.
Information
from "If you think your child has a speech problem" by
Mary Brooks and Deedra Hartung,
Pro-Ed publishers, copyright 1972, 2002
How Loud is Too Loud?
163 Decibels - Hunting Rifle
120 Decibels - Snowmobile
110 Decibels - Chainsaw
105 Decibels - Snowblower
90 Decibels - Lawnmower
80 Decibels - Traffic Noise
60 Decibels - Normal Conversation
40 Decibels - Refrigerator Humming
20 Decibels - Whispered Voice
Prolonged exposure to any noise above 85 decibels (dB) can cause gradual
hearing loss.
At higher decibel
levels, hearing protection is strongly recommended.
100 decibels - no more than 15 minutes prolonged exposure recommended
110 decibels - regular exposure of more than one minute risks permanent
hearing loss without hearing protection.
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