Glossary

Access/Accessibility: is the creation of an environment where people, regardless of their abilities, can communicate clearly and participate actively. (source: Canadian Hearing Services) 

Accommodations: are changes in teaching and assessment strategies and in human or equipment supports, that help a student learn without changing the knowledge and skills the student is expected to demonstrate 

American Sign Language (ASL): American Sign Language is the language of most culturally Deaf Canadians. It is a visual language made up of specific gestures (signs), hand shapes and facial expressions. It has its own unique grammatical rules and sentence structure. (source: Canadian Hearing Services)

Auditory Verbal Therapy: specially trained therapists who help you to teach your child to listen and speak by working with their residual hearing as well as amplifying it with the help of a hearing device (source: Auditory-Verbal)

Audiogram: an audiogram is a graph that shows responses to sounds at different frequencies (250 - 8000 Hertz or Hz) and loudness levels (in decibels or dB). The audiogram gives information used to determine if an hearing assistive device individual is needed.

Audiologist in Education: an audiologist with special training and experience to manage audiological issues for children and youth in schools.  Educational audiology is an important sub-specialty in the field of audiology.   

Bilateral Hearing Loss: a hearing difference in both ears.

Captioning: a text display of spoken words, presented on a television, movie screen or online video that allows a deaf or hard of hearing viewer to follow the dialogue and the action of a program simultaneously.

Clinical Audiologist: a health care professional who is trained to evaluate hearing loss and related disorders, and to recommend the best match of hearing assistive technology to access sound. 

Cochlear Implant (CI): a medical device that is surgically implanted and bypasses damaged inner ear structures to directly stimulate the auditory nerve. Cochlear Implants are typically recommended for individuals with severe to profound hearing loss to help them access sounds and speech.

Conductive Hearing Loss: a loss of sensitivity to sound, resulting from a blockage or abnormality of the outer ear or the middle ear. In children, the most common cause of conductive hearing loss is middle ear fluid or infection. Other causes include wax buildup in the ear canal, a hole in the eardrum, or damage to the tiny bones of the middle ear.

deaf: a term used to describe individuals who have a hearing loss greater than 90 decibels (considered profound).

Deaf: the term "Deaf" when capitalized refers to individuals who consider themselves part of the Deaf community and choose to communicate using American Sign Language.

Decibel (dB): the unit that measures the loudness or intensity level of sound.

Earmold: a custom-made mold, used with a behind-the-ear hearing device, which delivers amplified sounds into the ear.

FM System: this is an historic term often used to refer to Remote Microphone Technology. In the past, signals from the teacher's microphones were transmitted to the student by FM radio waves to improve listening in noise and distance.

Hard of Hearing: the term to describe those with mild to severe hearing loss.

Hearing Aid: an electronic device that brings amplified sound to the ear. A hearing aid usually consists of a microphone, amplifier, and speaker.

Integrated Receivers: these receivers are integrated into the design of the hearing aid and therefore can stay on for longer periods of time.

Otolaryngologist (ENT - Ear, Nose, & Throat doctor): a physician/surgeon who specializes in diseases of the ear, nose, throat, head, and neck.

Otologist: a physician/surgeon who specializes in the treatment of ear problems.

Receivers / RM Receivers: a small device that is part of a remote microphone system. The receiver is attached to a hearing aid, cochlear implant speech processor, or streaming device to receive the sound from the microphone transmitter.

Remote Microphone Technology (RMT): devices, other than hearing aids or cochlear implants, that improve listening for individuals with hearing loss. Some systems improve hearing in noisy situations by positioning the microphone closer to the sound source, or improve the quality of amplified speech or music. Includes FM systems, infrared systems, and neckloop systems.

Residual hearing: the amount of measurable, usable hearing.

Sensorineural Hearing Loss: a hearing difference caused by damage to the inner ear (cochlea) and/or the hearing nerve.

Speech-Language Pathologist: a professional who evaluates and provides treatment for speech, language, cognitive-communication, and swallowing problems of children and adults. Speech and language delays are frequently seen in children with hearing differences. Minimum academic degree is a Master's degree.

Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (ToDHH): an educator who is specially trained to support students who are Deaf and/or Hard of Hearing students in a variety of settings.

* Sources: www.babyhearing.org, www.agbell.org http://www.clarkeschools.org/