20Q: A Comprehensive Pre-assessment Process for Differentiating Language Difference from Language Impairment in English Learners in Schools - Part 1

From the Desk of Ann KummerAccording to the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), approximately 15% of American adults (about 37.5 million) report some difficulty hearing and about 28.8 million of those adults could benefit from wearing hearing aids. Presbycusis (an age-related form of sensorineural hearing loss) is particularly common in individuals over the age of 60.  Unfortunately for me, I am one of those individuals! As I was recently being fitted for hearing aids by my audiologist colleague, it was clear to me how little I know about hearing aids, despite my audiology training several decades ago (LOL!). Actually, I suspect that most speech-language pathologists, particularly those who graduated a few years ago, could benefit from a tutorial on hearing aids as well. Therefore, I am particularly excited about this 20Q from Dr. Gustav (“Gus”) Mueller!Dr. H. Gustav Mueller holds faculty positions with Vanderbilt University, the University of Northern Colorado, and Rush University. Dr. Mueller is a Founder of the American Academy of Audiology and a Fellow of the American Speech and Hearing Association.  He has co-authored over ten books on hearing aids and hearing aid fitting, including the recent Hearing Aids for Speech-Language Pathologists.  Gus is the co-founder of the popular website www.earTunes.com.  Gus is my audiology counterpart as he is the Contributing Editor for AudiologyOnline, where he has the monthly column “20Q With Gus.” (He taught me all the tricks to this trade.) Finally, he has a private consulting practice on the tropic (his description) North Dakota island, just outside the city of Bismarck. Check it out at http://www.gusmueller.net/fox-island-audiology-north-dakota-nd.htmIn this 20Q article, Dr. Mueller will answer common questions about modern hearing aids and provides a description of new and innovative technology. In addition, he discusses strategies that are used to obtain an optimum fitting.Now…read on, learn, and enjoy!Ann W. Kummer, PhD, CCC-SLP, FASHA, 2017 ASHA HonorsContributing Editor Browse the complete collection of 20Q with Ann Kummer CEU articles at www.speechpathology.com/20Q20Q: A Comprehensive Pre-assessment Process for Differentiating Language Difference from Language Impairment in English Learners in Schools - Part 1Learning OutcomesAfter this course, readers will be able to: Describe clinical tests that are used to evaluate the hearing aid candidate.Describe the patient benefit expected from advanced hearing aid technology.Describe the evaluation and verification process for the fitting of modern hearing aids.Celeste Roseberry-McKibben1. I recently saw that you wrote a book on hearing aids that is geared toward speech-language pathologists?Right, along with my colleague Lindsey Jorgensen.  To be honest, we weren’t too sure what you all need to know about hearing aids, or what you want to know about hearing aids, so we included a little bit of everything.  To make it a more general audiology reference, we even added chapters on diagnostic testing, auditory pathologies, implantable devices, and rehabilitative audiology.I know your interest at the moment lies with hearing aids, so we’ll stick with that.  It’s always fun to talk about the latest technology, but I do need to emphasize that there is a systematic fitting process entailing several steps—it’s a lot more than the instruments themselves.  Both the ASHA and the AAA have detailed step-by-step guidelines regarding the selection and fitting of hearing aids.  In general, they go something like this:...