The Effects of Otitis Media with Effusion on Hearing
Millions of children visit their doctor each year for a problem that is commonly known as an ear infection, and countless others suffer silently because their symptoms are not recognized (Hemmer & Ratner, 1994). An inflammation of the middle ear and often the mastoid process and Eustachian tube is termed otitis media and is second only to the common cold as the most common illness of early childhood (Medley, Roberts, & Zeisel, 1995). Unlike the common cold, however, incidents of otitis media are often accompanied by temporary mild to moderate hearing loss and auditory deprivation (Finitzo, Gunnarson, & Clark, 1990). The American Academy of Pediatrics (as cited in Stewart, Anae, & Gipe, 1989) reports that growing evidence indicates a correlation between middle-ear disease with hearing impairment and delays in the development of speech and cognitive skills. These issues are of concern to physicians, educators, and parents of children who suffer regular occurrences of otitis media because the disease is most common during the period of early childhood when speech and language skills are developing (Roberts, Burchinal, Koch, Footo, & Henderson, 1988).
One aspect of the illness that should be of particular concern is that some children suffer from otitis media without experiencing recognizable symptoms (Paden, 1994). These children may, therefore, never see a physician and may never receive the medical interventions necessary to clear the infection and restore normal hearing. Although the fluctuating hearing loss that accompanies the illness has long been recognized by researchers and other professionals in the field, recent research has indicated that the relationship betwe...
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...es for the early childhood special educator. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 15(1), 44-64.
Paden, E.P. (1994). Otitis media and disordered phonologies: Some concerns and cautions. Topics in Language Disorders, 14(2), 72-83.
Peters, S.A., Grievink, E.H., van Bon, W.H., & Schilder, A.G. (1994). The effects of early bilateral otitis media with effusion on educational attainment: A prospective cohort study. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 27(2), 111-121.
Roberts, J.E., Burchinal, M.R., Koch, M.A., Footo, M.M., & Henderson, F.W. (1988). Otitis media in early childhood and its relationship to later phonological development. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 53(4), 424-432.
Stewart, J.L., Anae, A.P., & Gipe, P.N. (1989). Pacific Islander children: Prevalence of hearing loss and middle ear disease. Topics in Language Disorders, 9(3), 76-83.
For years now, the healthcare system in the United States have managed patient’s health records through paper charting, this has since changed for the better with the introduction of an electronic medical record (EMR) system. This type of system has helped healthcare providers, hospitals and other ambulatory institutions extract data from a patient’s chart to help expedite clinical diagnosis and providing necessary care. Although this form of technology shows great promise, studies have shown that this system is just a foundation to the next evolution of health technology. The transformation of EMR to electronic heath record system (EHR) is the ultimate goal of the federal government.
Especially for infants and children, loss of hearing at such a young age can be detrimental for a developing child (Williams & Jacobs, 2009). The first two years of life are the most important as they hold critical milestones of language acquisition (Zumach, Chenault, Anteunis, and Gerrits, 2011). If these milestones are not met, then the subsequent ones will be harder and take longer to learn. The loss of hearing in young individuals can alter the perception of words and sounds, and this can lead to a difficulty in learning language (Williams & Jacobs, 2009). For example, the child will not be able to determine the difference between similar sounds, which negatively affects speech perception, which then leads to the inability to interpret and acquire language later on (Williams & Jacobs,
Audiologists, C. A.-L. (2012, October). Early Identifacation of Speech adn Language Disorders. Retrieved from CASLPA: http://www.caslpa.ca
There is no denying that hearing loss can have significant psychosocial impacts on those who experience it. The most negatively impacted group, however, is young children, for whom hearing loss can impede early learning and development (Connor et al., 2006). One viable solution to this problem takes the form of cochlear implants. An artificial cochlear unit is surgically implanted in the ear and functions by translating sounds directly into electrical impulses and sending them to the brain (Roland & Tobey, 2013, p. 1175). Despite the high success rates that they have produced, critics contend that cochlear implants should not be carried out on very young children. They cite certain physiological concerns as well as doubts about long-term effectiveness (Hehar et al., 2002, p. 11). Some have even expressed worries that cochlear implants will negatively impact young children’s social development by making them feel different or out of place (Ketelaar, 2012, pp. 518-519). Certainly, not every child with hearing loss is a viable candidate for an implant procedure. However, when a candidate has been positively identified, the procedure should take place as early as possible, in order to guarantee maximum educational and developmental benefits.
Over the years, healthcare facilities have acted like a storehouse for patients’ medical records, uninterested and unable to distribute clinical data to anyone beyond their organization. The EHR, started in the 1960s under the name of "computerized-based patient record" (CPR), became known as "electronic medical records" (EMR) in the 1990s and today it is known as electronic health record (EHR).The target of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is to incorporate the EHR and use it in a "meaningful" way to improve the quality, efficiency, and safety of patient care delivery; to engage patients in their personal health record; and to improve care coordination. Equally important, the "meaningful use" of the EHR system intends to build a bridge to other systems by creating an interoperability of health information while implementing quality care throughout. However, this interoperability can only be accomplished when the receiving system and the user fully understand how to apply these exchanges.
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. (November 2002). Retrieved October 17, 2004, from http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/coch.asp
... goals for e-Health, EHR's and PCEHR’s. They give different visions for the consumer, the provider and health care managers. For the consumer they hope to give them the capability to better manage their own health through dependable and accredited sources of health information, technology enabled access to a broader range of health services from rural and remote communities and to be able to rely on the health system to effectively organize their care and treatment activities. For the provider, they will have a complete view of consumer health information at point of care, they will be able to share information electronically in a timely and secure way, be able to transfer information to different locations and to be able to effective monitor information about patients and having the ease of interacting with patients and other professionals, no matter where they are.
EHRs are “a real-time, patient-centered” records that make health information available promptly and bring any patients’ health information together in one place such as medical history, medications, diagnosis, laboratory test results, immunization records, allergies and even medical images, and many others. The use of electronic health records (EHRs) continuously increases. An ability to collect secure patient data electronically, and supplies the information to the providers upon a request is one of the features in EHR. The system can also bring together information from more than one health care organization and any past and current clinical services of the patient that helps the health care professionals in providing quality services. Within this scope, EHR benefits health care providers to enter orders directly into a computerized provider order entry (CPOE) system, provides tools in decision making like, alerts, reminders, and provides access to the new research findings and evidence-based guidelines (Wager, Lee, & Glaser, 2013, pp. 134-37). The United States is creating large investments to boost the adoption and use of interoperable electronic health records (EHRs)
“Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (B.S.)” Bloomu.edu. Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, 2014. Web. 28 April 2014.
Gambling has become an important part of several people’s daily lives, so much so that some people are willing to put their lives savings at risk just for the win. Gambling is something that can start out as something very small, with trips to the casino here and there, or maybe just buying a couple lottery tickets. These small things can start slowly and sooner or later, sometimes even many years later, they can add up and become necessary in life. Then without even noticing it, these issues slowly turn in to a habit and begin to take over the individuals entire life despite it being so innocent and carefree in the beginning. While the numbers of people addicted to gambling is rising, many people in the United States
Hearing loss is a major global public health issue. Hearnet (2017) defines hearing loss as “a disability that occurs when one or more parts of the ear and/or the parts of the brain that make up the hearing pathway do not function normally” (para. 1). There are many different types of hearing loss, which can have multiple causes, giving each individual experiencing the issue a unique hearing loss case. These types include Auditory Processing Disorders, when the brain has problems processing sound information; Conductive Hearing Loss, a problem with the outer or middle ear which prevents sound making its way to the inner ear; and Sensorineural Hearing Loss, when the Cochlea or auditory nerve is damaged and cannot
Auditory processing is the process of taking in sound through the ear and having it travel to the language portion of the brain to be interpreted. In simpler terms, “What the brain does with what the ear hears”(Katz and Wilde, 1994). Problems with auditory processing can affect a student’s ability to develop language skills and communicate effectively. “If the sounds of speech are not delivered to the language system accurately and quickly, then surely the language ability would be compromised” (Miller, 2011). There are many skills involved in auditory processing which are required for basic listening and communication processes. These include, sensation, discrimination, localization, auditory attention, auditory figure-ground, auditory discrimination, auditory closure, auditory synthesis, auditory analysis, auditory association, and auditory memory. (Florida Department of Education, 2001) A person can undergo a variety of problems if there is damage in auditory processing . An auditory decoding deficit is when the language dominant hemisphere does not function properly, which affects speech sound encoding. (ACENTA,2003) Some indicators of a person struggling with an auditory decoding deficit would be weakness in semantics, difficulty with reading and spelling, and frequently mishearing information. Another problem associated with auditory processing is binaural integration/separation deficit. This occurs in the corpus callosum and is a result of poor communication between the two hemispheres of the brain. (ACENTA,2003) A person with this will have difficulty performing tasks that require intersensory and/or multi-sensory communication. They may have trouble with reading, spelling, writi...
Living in a world with no sound whatsoever is a reality to millions of people worldwide, regardless of age, race, gender, and socioeconomic status. Approximately 5% or 360 million people of the world’s population have deafness or hearing loss, according to the World Health Organization. Deafness can be either acquired or congenital depending on several factors, including genetics and health of the individual. Congenital deafness is the loss of hearing present at birth. Being born deaf has many consequences, both positive and negative. According to the American Speech-Language Hearing Association, over 50% of congenital deafness is due to hereditary and genetic issues. However, non-genetic factors can cause deafness in an individual at birth as well. Disease and illness while in utero of either the mother or child can cause the child to become deaf...
The purpose of the Electronic Health Record is to provide a comprehensive, standardized and universal digital version of a patient 's health records. The availability of a patient 's digital health record provides health information and data for critical thinking and evidence based decision-making, aggregates patient data for quality assurance and research. The Electronic Health Record has been, "identified as a strategy for effectively and efficiently coordinating and maintaining documentation of patients health histories and as a secure method of providing more informed clinical decision making" (MNA, 2006).
Around thirty-two million people in the United States have hearing losses of some degree. Of this number, approximately two million people have hearing losses severe enough to be considered deaf. We define the word “deaf,” as either partially or completely lacking in the sense of hearing (Lytle & Rovins). Throughout history, there have been many technological advances invented to aid the deaf, such as assistive devices, sign language, hearing aids and cochlear plants and mainstreaming.