TELEVISION & KIDS

The new generation is bombarded with all sorts of Electronic Media ( which includes TV,Mobile phones,Tabs). From streaming videos to the latest game apps, kids nowadays are technically advanced than kids of the past.
Adults must assure to say no, or shorten the time period they spend with these items,specially if your child is under 2 years of age. One should know that it is a critical stage when a child's brain & language acquisition takes  place.

Researchers  have found that there is an association with a decrease in the number and length of child vocalization when the number of hours watching television increase.Some of these reductions are likely due to child being left alone in front of the television.

Do you remember how your childhood was? If not ask your parents or your grand parents..However,as our grandparents always say,they lived at a time where they didn't have electronic devices in-front of them.They were happy and full of spirit,creative and energy...

Do you want your child to have good memories like that? I'm sure you will say "Yes,of course"
I believe that parents have a big role in this. Therefore, they should have good parenting skills and be willing to learn more about how technology impacts a child's growth.

Top concerns parents might want to keep in mind.

1. Delay in speaking in most of the children

Remember that communication is always two ways.(When I  speak someone will reply)

But in TV it's always only one way communication, there wont be any input from the child because conversation take place in the television with there dialog.

How to maintain your hearing aid

Hearing aid needs a special daily care to make sure it functions properly, also it's an electronic device and is costly.

Your audiologist will demonstrate and teach you how to maintain your hearing aid before they dispense it to you.

Make sure you will get your,

• Warranty card -which is authorized by the audiologist and the purchase date on it
• Dry box -keep your hearing aid when your not using it 
• Soft dry cloth-to wipe your hearing aid
• Wax remover -used to clean the ear wax from ear tips and tubes 
• Forced air blower (depends on your hearing aid company)

HOW TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR VOICE

This post will help people who use their voice as a means of living ; we call them as professional voice users.
                           

Which occupations are at risk ?

• Teachers 
• Singers
• Lawyers
• Bus conductors
• Salesmen
• Telephone operators
• Politicians
• Army officers
• Monks

Why are only these professionals at high risk?
        Because above professionals use their voice for a living than general population.
For an example teachers: primary and secondary teachers are at high risk than the others, because they frequently have to raise their voice. Reason behind this is that the students are too young to understand a comment/task at first, so the teachers have to keep instructing them and guide them.

What are the causes for vocal disorders?

• Misuse and abuse : singing out of range, frequent coughing, throat clearing, overuse of voice, poor hydration of vocal folds   
• Medical problems: vocal fold surgery, gastritis, allergy, poor diet, infections in the throat, hearing loss, cancer

        Structural anomalies in vocal folds : nodules, polyps, sub-mucous cysts, rinke's edema, scars....

• Environmental factors: performing in dusty, dry, smoky environment
• Emotional factors:anxiety, stress, depression   

Cochlear Implants

What is Cochlear implant ?
Cochlear implant (CI) is a surgically implanted device that helps overcome problems in the inner ear or cochlear.
It provides direct electrical stimulation to auditory nerve,which is responsible for hearing. Patient can't undergo for CI implant suddenly he/she have to undergo for different test before the implant.The age that the implant can be done is still debatable according to FDA the minimum age for a implant was 5 years but now a days we can find out children who undergo for CI less than 2 years. 

Who are the candidates?

• Children and adults with severe to profound hearing loss
• The patient has to have a Functional auditory nerve 
• The patient should not have medical and radiological contradictions to surgery
• Motivation of the family and the patient 

(Please note that above factors are basic factors.When it comes to children there are many more factors which we have to consider before the implant takes place.)

It consists of 

1. Implant package ( which is inside the skull )

                                                           -Receiver  and electrode -

COMMUNICATION CHALLENGES AFTER STROKE

               Aphasia is one of the communication disorders that a person can have after a stroke.
It affects comprehension,production of speech sounds,reading and writing.
Damage to left hemisphere can lead to aphasia.(depends on the dominant hemisphere)
                          It can be associated with dysathria,apraxia or dysphagia(difficulty in swallowing)

What cause aphasia?
                          Any damage to the brain can lead to aphasia

• Stroke (most common)
• Brain tumors
• Traumatic bran injuries (cause by road traffic accident,gun shot...)
• Infection 

What are the clinical features and symptoms ?

Patient will have difficulty to produce the next coming up word ,some of them answer with no connection to the question.
Unintened words or sound substitution ( Paraphaisa)
         it can be similar to the target word in terms of meaning  Ex: Chair for sofa, sister for wife  or can be a word from any of the person's known language (Neologism)

• Naming/word finding difficulty
• Fluency can be effected  (depend on the type of aphasia)
• Repetition ( depend on the type of aphasia)
• Memory,cognition and perceptual problems
• Psychological problems

DO YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW SUFFER FROM CONTINUOUS "RINGING IN THE EARS"?

          Tinnitus is the medical term for ringing in the ear.May be it's not ringing exactly it can be a buzzing,hissing,whistling... It can be different from  person to person.This ringing sound can be a continuous or intermittent

 Most people with tinnitus also have some degree of hearing loss and also it can be occur in one or both ears

Causes

• Noise  exposure such as Loud music,Explosion (Above 85db)
• Ageing 
• Head injury
• Side effects from medication

Effects

• Long term sleep disruption
• Inability to concentrate
• Anxiety/ Depression

Management 

 There is no known cure for tinnitus but there are methods to be relieved from it .As long as you ignore the sound,busy your self or mask the tinnitus sound till then  you can avoid tinnitus that is a psychological fact. As much as you think about it you will feel it increase.

WHAT ARE COMMUNICATION AIDS?

Communication aids are also known as Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC).The main aim of using an ACC is to communicate his/her needs,wants,ideas... 

ACC feather divided in to 2 types
1) Aided 
2) Un- Aided 

Aided ACC require tools,equipment,circuit, aided Aided communication method can range from paper & pencil to a Voice out put device
Again we can divided in to

• Low tech ACC : Defined as those that do not need batteries,electricity or electronics

          Letters,Words,Picture,Symbols,communication board......

                                                                    -Communication board-

• High tech AAC : Use electronic devices

          Speech generating devices (SGD) or Voice output communication aids (VOCA)

                                                        - Stephen Hawking the with his ACC-

Un-Aided systems are those that don't need an external tool. It can be a gesture,facial expression,Vocalization or a sign language

                                                           -using sign language-

Who are the candidate for using an AAC?

Any person who have, 

• Speech and Language impairment.
• It includes patient with Aphasia, Cerebral palsy,Autism ,Acquired condition such as   amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Parkinson's disease