According to Judith Creuz, instructor and clinician, only 25 percent of people who could benefit from wearing hearing aids actually get them.
Many people try them but abandon them for various reasons, many of which could be fixed if they get the proper attention from an audiologist in fitting and adjusting them.
"Hearing aids are nothing like normal hearing, but they have come a long way in recent years," said Creuz. "They now work with a device called a streamer that can interface via Bluetooth with a cellphone or mp3 player or television. This streamer, for example, can help people with hearing loss to watch television with the rest of the family without having to increase the volume beyond the comfort level of others."
Creuz, herself, has worn a hearing aid in one ear since she was a child and lost part of her hearing after contracting mumps.
"As I learn more about hearing loss, I have realized that it affects me socially," she said. "I talk too much about myself which I've learned is a common characteristic of hearing impaired people. It's because when you talk about yourself you're controlling the conversation, so it's easier for you. I get annoyed with myself and think, 'Why didn't I listen more?' But now I know that it's a trait of hearing-impaired people."
Real-world experiences for students
Like Creuz, whose hearing impairment has influenced the way she interacts with others in social situations, Kyra Englert was beginning to alter her behavior as a result of her communication challenges. When Kyra started kindergarten at Sugar Valley Rural Charter School in Loganton, Pa., she had difficulty pronouncing many of the letters in the alphabet — so much so that no one, other than her parents, could understand what she was saying.
"She didn't talk much at school because she was afraid people wouldn't understand her; I felt so bad for her," said Misty Snook, Kyra's mother.
Following a speech/language assessment and consultation with Kyra's mother and teacher, Kyra began receiving speech/language therapy at school. Speech/language services at Sugar Valley — organized and supervised by Barbara Roberts, instructor of communication sciences and disorders — have been provided on a contract basis to the school since 2000 as a result of a law mandating that public schools provide support for children with disabilities.
According to Roberts, the clinic at Sugar Valley not only helps children, but it also helps graduate students in communication sciences and disorders (CSD).
"All graduate students are required to accrue clinical hours as mandated by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association," said Roberts. "Most of our graduate students get some school experience at Sugar Valley before they go off campus. It fulfills their obligation of getting practical experience, and overwhelmingly I hear that they have enjoyed the experience."
Miranda Padilla, a second-year master's student, spent the spring 2013 semester working with children at Sugar Valley.
"I had only ever had the opportunity to work in an urban school setting and after working in a rural setting, I saw that many of the same issues in education and communication exist across so many different settings of diverse populations," Padilla said. "The experience has taught me that communication, speech and language services know no boundaries. Each student and his or her needs are so different; it is about connecting with that individual student and it is in working with his or her strengths that you achieve success."
Padilla worked closely with Kyra during her time at Sugar Valley.
"Kyra had such a unique and individual personality," she said. "When we first met, she was shy and extremely quiet, but by the end of the semester I had the opportunity to experience her sweet sense of humor and incredible work ethic. She was constantly driven to succeed and each week she improved. I saw how proud she was with how far she had come. By the end of the semester, her speaking was clearer and she was much more conversational."
"Barb and the students worked so hard with Kyra," Snook said. "Now you can pretty much understand everything she says. I've noticed she's way more comfortable. She'll talk all the time, even around people she doesn't know. And she doesn't have behavior issues anymore, whereas before she would get mad and upset when we couldn't understand her."
At Sugar Valley, Roberts and the students screen all incoming kindergartners for speech issues. "By age 3-1/2, kids should be reasonably well understood by people outside the family," said Roberts. "If they aren't, they could benefit from therapy." Currently, Roberts and the graduate students work with some 60 children at the school.
Back on campus, undergraduate students also gain experience from the clinic.