Speech Language Pathologist

Hearing is such a vital factor of one’s life, where without it, communication and understanding of the world around us can become very difficult. As humans, we are able to hear from within the womb before we are even born into the world. To then loose this ability at any age in life, could be very troubling to an individual. An audiologist’s responsibility is to assess and treat all types of patients who may have a hearing loss or even a balancing issue. Speech-language pathologists will also work along side with audiologists when necessary to ensure the best treatment possible.
When children begin to loose their hearing, it is most likely due to an inflammation or infection within the ear that eventually could cause the eardrum, bones, or nerves to be permanently damaged. Because children learn speech and language by listening to the world around them, it is crucial that an audiologist or speech-language pathologist catch a hearing loss early
Just because an adult may be hard of hearing, does not mean that they are not cognitively aware of what is going on around them. Not talking down to the adults who are hard of hearing is essential to not belittling them; we must treat the individual, not the disorder. If an adult had recently begun to loose their hearing, a therapy technique would be more face-to-face communication. Having this type of communication allows for the client to look at the clinician’s face to try to gather information this way and speech read if they are still having trouble understanding. When providing therapy to a client with aphasia who was also hard of hearing, writing things down on a notepad or whiteboard had proven to help when conducting therapy and trying to have the client increase their MLU. It is always very important to try and find the best type of therapy approach that works the best for each