Ears and Hearing
It's back to school. In addition to buying new binders, pencils, and gym shoes, have you scheduled your student's wellness visit? Doctors recommend that all pre-teens ages 11 and 12 years get important vaccines to protect against serious diseases such as meningitis, which can cause hearing problems. (Get Your Pre‑teen’s Vaccines on Schedule - MyHealthfinder | health.gov) Children ages 5 to 10 should visit a health provider for an annual well-child exam, which includes a hearing test. But even before your child starts school, it's recommended that all infants be screened before they are six months old. If your baby, child, or teen has a hearing loss, early detection can help prevent problems with speech, language and social development.
And did you know that the chance for hearing loss increases as you age?
It is estimated that approximately 37.5 million people in the United States ages 18 years or older have hearing loss.
One-third of persons ages 65 to 74 and one-half of persons age 75 and older experience hearing loss. If you are an adult and notice a problem, get checked by an audiologist who may recommend treatment and services to restore or assist with hearing loss.
Discover MedlinePlus
MedlinePlus is a service of the National Library of Medicine, the largest biomedical library in the world. Use Medlineplus.gov anywhere, anytime, on any device - for free - to discover high-quality health and wellness information that is reliable, easy to understand, and free of advertising, in both English and Spanish. Discover topics such as:
Discover NIH
The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the nation’s medical research agency — making important discoveries that improve health and save lives. NIH is made up of 27 Institutes and Centers, each with a specific research agenda, often focusing on particular diseases or body systems.
The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NICDC) conducts and supports research in the normal and disordered processes of hearing, balance, taste, smell, voice, speech, and language. Discover information in English and Spanish for topics such as:
- American Sign Language (ASL)
- Your Baby's Hearing Screening and Next Steps
- Hearing, Ear Infections, and Deafness
- Clinical Studies
This animated video illustrates how sounds travel from the ear to the brain, where they are interpreted and understood. Also available: How Do We Hear?, a step-by-step explanation.
Discover More
Treatment and Intervention for Hearing Loss (CDC)
Hearing Disorders and Deafness (NIH MedlinePlus Magazine)
Providing Health Info to People Who are Deaf and the Hard of Hearing (NNLM Region 4: Connections, January 2023)
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for audiologists; speech-language pathologists; speech, language, and hearing scientists; audiology and speech-language pathology assistants; and students. ASHA Position statement for American Sign Language (ASL)
National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA) provides leadership, expertise, and education on hearing loss prevention strategies and services to the broader professional community and empowers and supports members through networking and advocacy. Watch Hearing is Quality of Life videos.
SoundCheck is a collaborative research and communications project led by NORC at the University of Chicago to identify the extent of hearing loss in the United States by state and county. Explore the map.
It's a Noisy Planet. Protect Their Hearing® is a national public education campaign designed to increase awareness among parents of children ages 8 to 12 about the causes and prevention of noise-induced hearing loss.
Deaf U | Official Trailer | Netflix
Sound of Metal | Official Trailer | WorldCat
Featured Books
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Title: HabenPublisher Twelve; Illustrated editionYear published 2019Book image
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Title: Mom Dad Not HearPublisher Third Culture BooksYear published 2024Book image
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Title: The Butterfly CagePublisher Unruly VoicesYear published 2023Book image
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Title: True BizPublisher Penguin Random HouseYear published 2022Book image
Terms of use: Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) staff offer these health discussion resources for educational use. The materials included do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the author, publisher, or the sponsoring agencies of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).