Language, Speech and Hearing in Children Who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing

1456L - Audibility for Non-Audiologists

Friday, November 18, 2022

1:15 PM – 2:15 PM CT

Format: 1-Hour Seminar (In-Person)

Audience: Students, Related Professionals, Early Career Professionals (under 5 years)

Keywords: audibility, children, hearing loss, intervention, hearing aids

Presenting Author(s)

Meredith Spratford, AuD, CCC A

Senior research audiologist
Boys Town National Research Hospital
Ryan McCreery

Boys Town National Research Hospital
Kristina Blaiser

Idaho State University

Author Only (Not Presenting)(s)

Elizabeth Walker

University of Iowa
Caitlin Sapp, AuD, PhD

Supervisor of Pediatric Audiology
UNC Medical Center

Has it been a while since your introduction to audiology or aural rehabilitation undergraduate courses? Join us for a refresher on how to use audibility, a measurement of a listener’s access to speech with and without hearing aids, in your clinical practice. Research shows that audibility is a strong predictor of developmental speech and language outcomes in children who are hard of hearing. In this session, we will discuss why audibility is important and considered best practice, how it is measured, and its limitations. We will provide practical examples of how audibility can inform your assessment and intervention planning (Is that phonological speech pattern due to hearing loss?), as well as setting realistic goals and expectations with parents.

Learning Objectives:

Compare the benefits of best-practice audibility measures to aided soundfield thresholds when considering access to speech
Describe how you will incorporate aided audibility when planning intervention
Decide if a child is performing as expected on assessments based on their access to speech