Parent Resources
Getting Started	Welcome Parents
Why your child needs assessments?	Parent Testimony about Assessment
Unilateral Hearing Loss	F.A.M.I.L.Y Assessment
Terms and Definitions	An Open Letter to Parents

Terms and Definitions

ABR/AUDITORY BRAINSTEM RESPONSE: A non-invasive test that measures responses in the brain waves to auditory stimulus. This test can indicate whether or not sound is being detected, even in an infant. This test may also be referred to as BAER, BSEP, and BSER. ALGO 2 automated ABR screening device used in many hospitals for universal newborn hearing screening.

ACOUSTICS: Pertaining to sound, the sense of hearing or the science of sound. Often used to refer to the quality of the sound environment.

ACQUIRED HEARING LOSS: Hearing loss, which is not present at birth. Sometimes referred to as adventitious loss.

AUDITORY NEUROPATHY: (also known as Auditory Dys-synchrony): This hearing disorder is characterized by an absent or severely abnormal auditory brainstem response (ABR) with preservation of the cochlear microphonics and otoacoustic emissions (OAEs). Clinically, AN is defined as hearing loss, usually bilateral, of any degree and poor speech perception

ADVOCACY: This term refers to the role parents or guardians play in developing and monitoring their child's educational program. Advocating for your child means knowing what rights are assured you by the law and actively participating in the decision-making process to ensure that the services are delivered in line with your goals for your child's development and education.

AMBIENT NOISE: Background noise, which competes with the main speech signal.

AMPLIFICATION: The use of hearing aids and other electronic devices to increase the loudness of a sound so that it may be more easily received and understood

ASSISTIVE COMMUNICATION DEVICES: Devices and systems which are available to help deaf and hard of hearing people improve communication, adapt to their environment, and function in society more effectively.

ATONAL: Refers to voice quality that lacks traditional musical tonality or harmonics.

AUDIOGRAM: A graph on which a person's ability to hear different pitches (frequencies) at different volumes (intensities) of sound is recorded.

AUDIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT: A hearing test comprised of identifying pure-tone thresholds, impedance testing, speech recognition, and speech discrimination measurements, which shows the type and degree of hearing loss. The test can also assess how well the child is hearing with amplification.

AUDIOLOGIST: A person who holds a degree in audiology and is a specialist in testing hearing and /or hearing loss. The American Speech-Language hearing Association is the only organization, which currently certifies audiologists although the American Academy of Audiology may also certify audiologists in the future. A certified audiologist will have the letters CCC-A or FAAA behind their name.

AUDITORY TRAINING: The process of training a person's residual hearing in the awareness, identification, and interpretation of sound. Usually works with speech language therapist or Audiologist.

AURAL HABILITATION: Training designed to help a person with hearing loss to make productive use of residual hearing. Sometimes includes training in speech reading.

BEHAVIORAL OBSERVATION AUDIOMETRY: An audiologist assesses a young child's behavioral response to sound by observation.

BILINGUAL / BICULTURAL: Being fluent in two languages and membership in two cultures. Such as hearing (spoken language) and the Deaf culture (sign language)

BILATERAL HEARING LOSS: A mild to profound hearing loss in both ears.

BINAURAL HEARING AIDS: Hearing aids worn on both ears.

BODY AIDS: An amplification unit that is worn on the body Provides increased gain (power) and less feedback for individuals with a severe hearing loss. Primarily used only in special situations where ear-level hearing aids cannot be used.

BONE CONDUCTION: Sound received through the bones of the skull.

CHRONOLOGICAL AGE/ADJUSTED AGE: Chronological is how old the infant or child is based on his/her date of birth. It is referred to when comparing him or her to other children born at that same time. If a baby was born prematurely, however, his/her development may be measured at his/her adjusted age. Adjusted age takes into account the time between premature birth and the actual due date of a full term pregnancy Doing this gives a truer reflection of what the baby's developmental progress should be.

COCHLEAR IMPLANT: An electronic device surgically implanted to stimulate nerve endings in the inner ear (cochlea) in order to receive and process sound and speech. For profoundly hearing impaired children ages two years or older.

COGNITIVE: Refers to the ability to think, learn and remember.

CONDITION PLAY AUDIOMETRY- (CPA): In play audiometry the audiologist helps the child understand the rules for playing a game. For example, when the child is presented with a sound he or she is to drop a block into a container, indicating that the sound was heard. Play audiometry is generally used when the child is at least 18 months old

CONDUCTIVE HEARING LOSS: Impairment of hearing due to failure of sound waves to reach the inner ear through the normal air conduction channels of the outer and middle ear. In children, conductive loss is typically medically correctable, and is most often associated with Otitis Media.

CONGENITAL HEARING LOSS: Hearing loss present at birth or associated with the birth process, or which develops in the first few days of life.

DEAF: Medically and clinically speaking a hearing loss which is so severe that the child is unable to process linguistic information through hearing alone. Socially when used with a capital letter "D," Deaf refers to the cultural heritage and community of deaf individuals, i.e., the Deaf culture or community. In this context, it applies to those whose primary receptive channel of communication is visual.

DEAF COMMUNITY: A group of people who share common interests and a common heritage. Their mode of communication is American Sign Language (ASL). The Deaf community is comprised of individuals, both deaf and hearing, who respond with varying intensity to particular community goals which derive from Deaf cultural influences. The Deaf community in the United States may have a wide range of perspectives on issues, but emphasis remains on Deafness as a positive state of being.

DEAF CULTURE: A view of life manifested by the mores, beliefs, artistic expression, understandings and language (ASL) particular to Deaf people. A capital "D" is often used in the word Deaf when it refers to community or cultural aspects of Deafness.

DEAF BLINDNESS: Educationally significant combined loss of vision and hearing

DECIBEL: (dB): The unit of measurement for the loudness of a sound. The higher the dB, the louder the sound and the worse the hearing loss.

DECODER: An electronic device or computer chip that can display closed captions encoded in television programs or videocassettes. Also called a telecaption adapter.

EAR MOLD: A custom made plastic or vinyl piece which fits into the outer ear to connect with a hearing aid.

EDUCATIONAL INTERPRETER: A person who is able to perform conventional interpreting, together with special skills for working in the educational environment.

ELIGIBILITY: A child must be determined eligible for special education services, based on specific disabling conditions and an exhibited delay (see Part B & Part C) in one or more of the following areas: cognitive ability, motor skills, social/adaptive behavior, perceptual skills, communication skills.

ENT: A medical doctor, who specializes in the ears, nose and throat. Sometimes referred to as an otolaryngologist, otologist.

FINGERSPELLING: Finger spelling is a standardized series of handshapes to form word. Each letter has its own particular word. Usually it is used when there is no sign for a particular word.

FM SYSTEM: An assistive listening device worn by the speaker to amplify his/her voice and transmit it directly to the listener's ears via an electronic receiver and special earphones or the listener's own hearing aids. The device reduces the problem of background noise interference and the problem of distance between speaker and hearing-impaired listener.

FREQUENCY: The number of vibrations per second of a sound. Frequency, expressed in Hertz (Hz), determines the pitch of the sound.

GAIN: The range that describes how well the amplification is performing mg. For example, a child with unaided hearing at 70 dB who, when amplified, hears at 30dB, is experiencing a gain of40 dB.

GENETIC COUNSELING: Provides genetic diagnosis and counseling for individuals with birth defect/genetic disorders, which may involve hearing loss and genetic counseling including recurrence risk information for individuals with hearing loss and their families.

HARD OF HEARING: 1.) A hearing loss, whether permanent or fluctuating, which adversely affects and individual's ability to detect and decipher some sounds. 2) The term preferred over "hearing impaired" by the Deaf and hard of hearing community to refer to individuals who have hearing loss, but also have and use residual hearing.

HEARING SCREENING: Audiometric testing of the ability to hear selected frequencies at intensities above normal hearing. The purpose is to identify individuals with hearing loss, with minimal time expenditure, and to refer them for further testing.

HEARING AID: An electronic device that conducts and amplifies sound to the ear.

HEARING IMPAIRED: Applies to those who are acoustically disabled / auditorially deficient for whom the primary receptive channel of communication is, even with deficits, hearing.

HEARING LOSS: The following hearing levels are typically characterized as follows: See the Amplification page.

· Normal Hearing 0 dB to 15 dB

· Mild Loss 16 dB to 35 dB
· Moderate 36 dB to 50 dB
· Moderate/Severe 51 dB to 70 dB
· Severe Loss 71 dB to 90 dB
· Profound 91 dB or more

HUGGIES: The brand name of a plastic-ringed device designed to "hug" the hearing aid to the ear. Popular for infants and toddlers whose ears may be too small to hold the hearing aid snugly in place.

I.D.E.A.: The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Public Law PL 105-17; formerly known as 101-476, PL 94-142 and PL 99- 457. Part C (See "Part C") provides services to children birth to three years of age with disabilities.

INCLUSION: Often used synonymously with the term "mainstreaming," this term refers to the concept that students with disabilities should be integrated and included to the maximum extent possible with their (typically developing) peers in the educational setting.

INDIVIDUAL FAMILY SERVICE PLAN (IFSP): The IFSP addresses 1) The family's strengths, needs, concerns and priorities; 2) identifies support services available to meet those needs; and 3) empowers the family to meet the developmental needs of their infant or toddler with a disability. The IFSP is a written plan developed by parents or guardians with input from a multi disciplinary team. (Reference Part C).

INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PLAN (IEP): A team-developed, written program, which identifies therapeutic and educational goals and objectives, needed to appropriately address the educational needs of a school-aged student with a disability. An IEP for a child with hearing loss should take into account such factors as 1) communication needs and the child's and family's preferred mode of communication 2) linguistic needs; 3) severity of hearing loss; 4) academic progress; 5) social, emotional needs, including opportunities for peer interactions and communication; and 6) appropriate accommodations to facilitate learning.

INTENSITY: The loudness of a sound, measured in decibels (dB)

INTERPRETER: A person who facilitates communication between hearing and deaf or hard of hearing persons through interpretation into a signed language, or transliteration of a language into a visual and/or phonemic code by an oral interpreter, a signed language interpreter or cued speech interpreter.

INTONATION: The aspect of speech made up of changes in stress and pitch in the voice.

LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT: A basic principle of Public Law 101-476 (IDEA) which requires public agencies to establish procedures to ensure that to the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities, including children in public or private institutions or other care facilities, are educated with children who are not disabled, and that special classes, separate schooling, or other removal of children with disabilities from the regular educational environment occurs only when the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.

MAINSTREAMING: The concept that students with disabilities should be integrated with their non-disabled peers to the maximum extent possible, when appropriate to the needs of the child with a disability. Mainstreaming is one point on a continuum of educational options. The term is sometimes used synonymously with "inclusion."

MONAURAL AMPLIFICATION: The use of one hearing aid instead of two.

MORPHEME: A linguistic unit of relatively stable meaning that cannot be divided into smaller meaningful parts.

MULTI-DISCIPLINARY ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION: Qualified persons representing two or more disciplines or professions, i.e.; a speech therapist and an audiologist make this assessment and evaluation of the child The child's development is evaluated to determine if there are any delays or conditions that would indicate the need for special services.

NATIVE LANGUAGE: The language of the home, i.e. the native language of children who are deaf with deaf parents is often American Sign Language.

ORAL: An unspecific term that is sometimes used when referring to individuals with hearing loss and deafness who talk but don't necessarily use sign language. Emphasis is placed on use of residual hearing, lip reading and contextual cues to communicate using spoken language.

OTITIS MEDIA: A middle ear infection. Children with recurring episodes may experience fluctuating hearing loss and may be at risk for speech language delays. Fluid can be present with or without infection, and may cause temporary hearing loss, which can evolve into permanent loss.

OTO-ACOUSTIC EMISSIONS (OAE): A passive audiological test that verifies cochlear activity, often is used in testing infants suspected of hearing loss. A probe is placed in the ear canal for this measurement of sensorineural deafness.

OTOLOGIST: A physician who specializes in medical problems of the ear.

OUTPUT: Refers to how much amplification is being put out by a hearing aid

PARENT-INFANT PROGRAM: A program of family-centered education and infant intervention which stresses early exposure to language and attention to developmental processes which enhance the learning language.

PART C: Part C is the section of Public Law PL 105-17 (I.D.E.A.) that refers to early intervention services available to eligible children from birth through two years of age and their families.

PART B: Part B is the section of Public Law PL 105-17 (I.D.E.A.) that refers to early intervention services available to eligible children aged three through twenty-one in the public schools.

PERI-LINGUAL DEAFNESS: Refers to hearing loss acquired while learning a first language.

POST-LINGUAL DEAFNESS: Refers to hearing loss acquired after learning a first language.

PRE-LINGUAL DEAFNESS: Refers to hearing loss, which is congenital or acquired before acquisition of language

REAL-EAR MEASUREMENT: An audiological test that measures the actual output of the hearing aid in the ear canal. This test uses a "probe-microphone" that is placed into the ear canal along with the hearing aid and ear mold fitted in place. It assesses how effectively sound is actually being amplified by the hearing aids in the ear. It is considered a very important measurement because everyone's ear canals are shaped differently and this will effect how a hearing aid functions.

RELAY TELEPHONE SERVICES: Relay Telephone Service/Relay Network. A service which involves an operator "relaying" conversation between a TDD/TTY user (generally a person with a hearing loss and/or speech impairment) and a hearing/speaking individual using an ordinary, non-adapted phone.

RESIDUAL HEARING: The amount of usable hearing that a person with hearing loss has.

SEMANTICS: The use of language in meaningful referents, both in word and sentence structures.

SENSORINEURAL: A type of hearing impairment caused by damage that occurs to the inner ear (cochlea) and or nerve of hearing. Sensorineural damage is usually irreversible.

SPEECH RECEPTION THRESHOLD (SRT): This is the faintest level at which an individual identifies 50% of the simple spoken words presented and repeats them correctly.

SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST: A professional who works with individuals who have specific needs in the areas of speech and language.

SPEECH AWARENESS THRESHOLD (SAT): This is the faintest level at which anyone detects speech fifty percent of the time. This is indicated in an audiological test, with and/or without hearing aids.

SPEECH INTELLIGIBILITY: The ability to be understood when using Speech.

SPEECH ZONE: (SPEECH BANANA) On an audiological graph measured in decibels and frequencies, the area wherein most conversational sounds of spoken language occur. Sometimes called the "speech banana" because of the shape this area depicts on the graph. The purpose of wearing hearing aids is to amplify sound into this zone.

SPEECHREADING: The interpretation of lip and mouth movements, facial expressions, gestures, prosodic and melodic aspects of speech, structural characteristics of language, and topical and contextual clues.

SYNTAX: Defines the word classes of language, i.e., nouns, verbs, etc..and the rules for their combination, i.e., which words can combine and in what order.

TACTILE AIDS: A type of assistive communication device that emits a vibration or "tactile" signal to indicate the presence of sound(s). It is worn on the body and triggers the sense of touch or feeling to draw attention to information that cannot be heard by the individual with hearing loss.

TELECOMMUNICATION DEVICES FOR THE DEAF (TDD'S): Originally and often still called Tty's, these electronic devices allow the deaf and hard of hearing to communicate via a text telephone system. This term appears in ADA regulations and legislation.

TYMPANOGRAM: A pressure or "impedance" test that tells how the ear canal, eardrum, eustachian tube, and middle ear bones are working. It is not a hearing test.

UNILATERAL HEARING LOSS: A mild to profound hearing loss in one ear.

VISUAL REINFORCEMENT AUDIOMETRY (VRA): A method of assessment in which the child is conditioned to look at a toy that lights each time he or she hears a sound; used with young children.