Glossary

Abbreviations, words, and phrases are included in the glossary. Some of the words may have multiple meanings. The words in this glossary are defined based on the meaning used in the context of this program.

A - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

ABAER: Automated Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response.

ABG: Air-Bone Gap.

ABR: Auditory Brainstem Response.

AC: Air Conduction.

Acetylsalicylic Acid (Aspirin): Medication that is potentially ototoxic (can cause hearing loss).

Acoustic neuroma: Tumor of the nerve that leads from the ears to the brain; a tumor on the eighth cranial nerve; a tumor on this nerve can cause hearing loss; sometimes caused by an inherited condition such as neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2).

Acquired Hearing Loss: An acquired hearing loss is a loss of hearing that appears after birth. It can occur at any time in one's life, perhaps as a result of a disease, a condition, or an injury.

Activation: The act of turning on a cochlear implant.

Activities of daily living (ADL): Actions to maintain health and well-being, such as bathing, brushing hair and teeth, dressing, eating, keeping house and toileting.

ADA: Americans with Disabilities Act.

Advocacy: Actively supporting a position that you believe in by working cooperatively with educational programs and other agencies.

AEP: Auditory Evoked Potentials.

Air Conduction (AC): Sound transmitted to the inner ear .

Air-Bone Gap (ABG): The difference between an air conducted response and a bone conducted response at corresponding frequencies on an audiogram. An air-bone gap suggests a conductive hearing loss. Conductive hearing loss is typically caused by external or middle ear problems. A conductive hearing loss can occur in addition to a sensorineural hearing loss.

ALD: Assistive Listening Device.

American Sign Language (ASL): ASL is a visual language. It is a complete language. It is much more than making gestures or "pictures in the air." ASL has its own vocabulary and grammar that is different from English. Signs and sentences in ASL are made using handshapes (for example, a pointing handshape, or the fingers spread out to show the number 5), moving the hands and arms (for example, in a straight line, or bouncing), and different facial expressions (for example, frowning or raising your eyebrows). You can share feelings, abstract ideas, and make jokes using ASL. You can take ASL classes and start teaching.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): A United States ‘civil rights act’ signed into law in 1990. The purpose of the law is to protect persons with disabilities from discrimination. This law requires public services and buildings to make reasonable accommodations to allow access to persons with disabilities.

Aminoglycoside: A medication (antibiotic) that is potentially ototoxic (can cause hearing loss).

Amplification: The act of increasing the strength or gain of an electrical signal.

Amplifier: An electronic device for increasing the strength or intensity of an electrical signal.

Analog: Of or relating to a method or device used in hearing instruments to amplify sound.

Anomaly: A condition that varies from the typical or expected condition.

Antibiotic: A group of medications used to treat bacterial infections.

APD: Auditory Processing Disorder.

ASL: American Sign Language.

Assistive Listening Device (ALD): A group of devices or amplification systems used with or instead of hearing aids to improve the listening ability of individuals with hearing loss. Typically, the device improves hearing in noisy situations by positioning the microphone closer to the sound source. This group of devices includes FM systems, infrared systems, and induction loop systems.

Atresia (aural): An ear malformation in which there is an absence of the external ear canal, usually with abnormalities of the outer ear, and/or middle ear space.

Attenuation: Lowering volume.

Audiogram: A graph showing the degree of hearing loss (in decibels or dB) at different frequencies (125 Hz to 8000 Hertz or Hz). The graph also shows the shape (configuration) of the hearing loss (e.g., cookie bite, flat, sloping, reverse slope). The audiogram shows which speech sounds if any can be heard without amplification.

Audiologist: A health care professional who is trained to evaluate and treat hearing loss and related disorders. An audiologist uses different procedures to evaluate the ability to hear. An audiologist also fits and dispenses hearing aids and other assistive devices. The minimum academic degree is a Master's or a Doctorate in Audiology. State licensure is required to practice audiology in most states.

Audiology Evaluation or Audiological Evaluation: A complete hearing evaluation performed by an Audiologist. The evaluation includes a test that will tell the audiologist how your baby's outer and middle ear are working (tympanogram), a test that measures how your baby reacts to sounds (behavioral evaluation), a test that checks the ears' response to sound (otoacoustic emissions), and a test that checks the brain's response to sound (auditory brainstem response). The audiologist will ask you questions about your baby's health, hearing loss in your family, and how well you think your baby hears.

Audiology: The study of hearing, especially hearing loss and treatment for hearing loss and the resulting communication problems.

Audiometer: A device for presenting puretones at specific frequencies (pitches) and intensities (loudness) in order to obtain an audiogram. An audiometer is also used to present speech or other types of signals.

Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR): A test used to evaluate auditory function in infants and young children. Responses to sound are recorded using electrodes on the head or behind the ears. Other similar terms that may be used include: Automated Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response (ABAER), Auditory Evoked Potentials (AEP), Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potential (BAEP), and Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response (BAER).

Auditory Cortex: The part of the brain that interprets what is heard.

Auditory Evoked Potential (AEP): A test used to evaluate auditory function in infants and young children. Responses to sound are recorded using electrodes on the head or behind the ears. Other terms are: Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR), Automated Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response (ABAER), Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potential (BAEP), and Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response (BAER).

Auditory Nerve (Hearing Nerve or VIIIth Nerve): The eighth (VIII) cranial nerve carries nerve impulses (delivers sound) from the inner ear (cochlea) to the brain (auditory cortex).

Auditory Neuropathy/Dysyncrony: A term that describes a pattern of abnormal findings for a number of audiometric tests. Specifically, these tests may include Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR), Puretone and Speech Audiometry, and/or Acoustic Reflexes, and Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE). The most common pattern is the absence of an ABR with normal OAE. Auditory Neuropathy is hearing loss caused by changes in the connections to the hearing nerve, and/or the nerve pathways leading to the brain. The outer ear, middle ear and cochlea may work normally. People with this type of hearing loss may have limited success with hearing aids, also referred to as dysynchrony.

Auditory Processing Disorder (APD): APD is a language disorder that involves the perception and processing of information that has been heard. Children with APD have problems following spoken instructions and usually show other language-learning problems, even though the inner ear is functioning normally. The term APD has replaced the use of Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) to describe these characteristics.

Auditory Steady State Response (ASSR) Test: The ASSR can be used to estimate the audiogram of subjects who cannot respond accurately on behavioral testing, such as newborn babies. With the ASSR, 4 stimuli per ear are presented at a time (using different rates), so the test is quick.

Auditory Training: Exercises and practice in listening to sounds such as environmental sounds, music and speech. The purpose of auditory training is to learn to recognize and understand what has been heard.

Auditory/Oral: The auditory-oral program teaches babies and young children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing to use whatever hearing they have. They also use lipreading (speechreading) and gestures to understand and use spoken language. This program includes the use of natural gestures, listening, auditory training, and speech.

Auditory/Verbal: The auditory-verbal program teaches babies and young children who are deaf or hard of hearing to use their amplified residual hearing or hearing through electrical stimulation (cochlear implants) to listen, to understand spoken language, and to speak.

Aural Habilitation: Specialized training for children born with hearing loss to help them learn spoken communication skills through speechreading and auditory training.

Aural Rehabilitation: Specialized training for children or adults with acquired hearing loss to help them learn spoken communication skills through speechreading and auditory training.

Aural: A term used in reference to the ear.

Automated Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response (ABAER): This test measures the brain's response to sound using electrodes on the head to record electrical activity from the hearing nerve. This automated test is used for screening the hearing of babies.

AV: Auditory/Verbal.

Back to Top

B - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

BAHA: Bone Anchored Hearing Aid (now called Osseotympanic Integration).

Battery Tester: A device used to test the battery to see if it is working properly.

Battery: The part of the hearing aid that provides power.

BC: Bone Conduction.

Behavioral Observation Audiometry (BOA): An audiometric procedure in which behavioral responses to sound (eye opening, head turning) are observed and recorded. This type of procedure has been shown to be unreliable and affected by observer bias. It has been replaced by newer test methods such as Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) and Visual Reinforcement Audiometry (VRA).

Behind-the-Ear (BTE): A hearing aid that is worn behind the ear.

Benign: A growth that is not cancerous.

BiBi: Bilingual/Bicultural.

Bilateral Hearing Loss: A hearing loss in both ears.

Bilingual/Bicultural (BiBi): This program teaches babies and young children who are deaf or hard of hearing two languages, American Sign Language and the family's native language, (for example, English or Spanish). ASL is usually taught as the child's first language and English (or the family's native language) is taught as the child's second language through reading, writing, speech, and use of residual hearing. This program also teaches respect for Deaf and hearing cultures and includes the use of natural gestures and finger spelling.

Bilirubin: An orange-yellow pigment in the bile that forms as a product of hemoglobin; excess amounts in the blood produce the yellow appearance observed in jaundice.

Binaural: Both ears.

BOA: Behavioral Response Audiometry.

Bone Conduction (BC): Sound (mechanical vibrations) transmitted through the bones of the skull to the inner ear. Bone conduction testing is completed using a bone oscillator (vibrator) that is placed on the mastoid bone behind the ear or on the forehead.

Bone Conduction Hearing Aid: A hearing aid in which the amplified signal directly stimulates the inner ear via a bone vibrator placed on the mastoid bone behind the ear. This type of hearing aid typically is used for individuals with atresia or chronic ear drainage.

Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response (BAER): See Auditory Brainstem Response.

Brainwave: The electrical activity of the brain that occurs in response to a stimulus such as sound and can be recorded by the use of scalp electrodes.

BTE: Behind-the-Ear hearing aid.

Bulb Syringe: A tool used to blow the moisture out of the tubing after cleaning the earmold.

Back to Top

C - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

CAPD: Central Auditory Processing Disorders (This term is no longer used. The current term is Auditory Processing Disorders).

Captioning: Captioning is a display of text or written words presented on a television or a movie screen. The text allows a Deaf or hard-of-hearing viewer to read the dialogue and follow the action of a program at the same time.

CDC: Centers for Disease Control.

Center-Based Early Intervention Model: Center-based services may require that the family come once a week to a center for speech and language therapy. Families are taught to carry out the therapy at home. The therapists are available to help the families, answer questions, and provide suggestions. Some centers may offer support groups, speech and language enrichment weekends and sign language classes. Some of the center-based services may be private services selected by the family.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): CDC is a federal agency responsible for protecting the health and safety of United States citizens. CDC's Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) program provides information about children and hearing loss and answers some commonly asked questions. Information about the state EHDI programs is also available.

Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD): (This term is no longer used. The current term is Auditory Processing Disorders). A CAPD is language disorder that involves the perception and processing of information that has been heard. Children with CAPD have problems following spoken instructions and usually show other language-learning problems, even though the inner ear is functioning normally.

Cerebral palsy: Disorder of body movement, muscle tone, and balance resulting from a brain injury. Some people with cerebral palsy also have a hearing loss.

Cerumen: Ear wax.

CI: Cochlear Implant.

Cilia: The sensory cells in the cochlea (hearing organ).

Cis-platinum: A medication (chemo-therapy) used to treat cancer that is potentially ototoxic (can cause hearing loss).

CMV: Cytomegalovirus.

Cochlea: The cochlea is in the inner ear. It's a snail-shaped tube that is filled with fluid and has tiny hair cells. Sound that comes into the cochlea moves the hair cells back and forth. This turns sounds into electrical signals that are sent to the brain through the auditory (hearing) nerve.

Cochlear Implant (CI): A cochlear implant is a surgically placed device that can help a person with severe to profound hearing loss. It gives that person a way to hear when a hearing aid is not enough. A cochlear implant sends sound signals directly to the hearing (auditory) nerve.

Cochlear Implant Orientation: A treatment session designed to teach the parents of cochlear implant use and how to take care of the device.

Cognitive Development: Your baby’s ability to learn, create and problem solve are important to communication development. A baby’s thinking skills are directly related to his or her communication skills.

Computerized Tomography (CT) Scan: The CT scan uses a computer to generate multiple x-rays in small slices. This special x-ray shows soft tissue structures that cannot be shown using other x-ray techniques.

Conditioned Play Audiometry (CPA): Conditioned play audiometry is a type of hearing test used with children in which the audiologist teaches the child to respond when a sound is heard by playing some type of game. The child may be taught to put a peg in a hole or a block in a bucket every time a sound is heard.

Conductive Hearing Loss: Conductive hearing loss is a loss of hearing resulting from a problem in the outer or middle ear. 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.

Congenital Fistula: A type of disorder in the inner ear that is present at birth.

Congenital Hearing Loss: A hearing loss that is present from birth and which may or may not be hereditary.

Congenital: Present at birth.

Connexin 26 (CX 26): A special blood test used to diagnose genetic hearing loss.

CPA: Conditioned Play Audiometry.

Critter Clip: A clip on a cord that is attached to the infant’s hearing aid to help keep it from getting lost.

Chronic condition: Disease or disability that affects a person for a long time; sometimes lasts a lifetime.

Closed caption television (CC): Television programming which presents the printed word on the screen; by law, all televisions sold with screens of 13 inches or larger must allow for closed caption (CC) viewing.

Cognitive: Thinking skills and abilities including understanding and reasoning.

Community-based: Available as close to home as possible; within the community as defined by the family; includes the local doctor, clinic, outreach specialty clinics, the public health nurse, school, county, and public and private agencies.

CT: Computerized Tomography.

Cued Speech: Cued speech is a program that helps children who are Deaf or hard-of-hearing better understand spoken languages. Many speech sounds look the same on the face even though the sounds are different. When using cued speech for English, the person communicating uses eight hand shapes. The hand shapes are formed in four different places near the mouth to help the person looking tell the difference between speech sounds.

Culturally-sensitive: Care that respects and is responsive to the values, beliefs, social norms and behaviors of individuals or populations being served; recognition of the values of different groups of people.

Culture: The customary beliefs, social forms, behavior, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV): Cytomegalovirus is one type of herpes viruses that cause infections in humans. This virus can cause a variety of symptoms, including deafness or hearing impairment. Infection with the virus may be before, at or after birth.

Back to Top

D - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

DAI: Direct Audio Input.

dB: Decibel.

Deaf Culture: The beliefs, social forms, behavior, and material traits of individuals who are Deaf.

Deaf: A term used to describe persons who have a hearing loss greater than 90 dB HL. It also may be used to refer to those who consider themselves part of the Deaf community or culture and choose to communicate using American Sign Language instead of spoken communication.

Decibel (dB): A decibel is the unit that measures the intensity or loudness of sound.

Decoder: Special device that allows printed words to appear on the screen for closed caption television (CC) viewing; televisions sold in the United States with screens 13 inches or larger have built-in decoders.

Degree of Hearing Loss: The degree of hearing loss is described by terms such as mild, moderate, severe, and profound. These terms provide an indication of a person’s ability to use their hearing in communication without amplification.

Dehydration: Excessive loss of water from the body or from an organ or body part, as from illness or fluid deprivation.

Desired Sensation Level (DSL) [i/o]: A hearing aid fitting method designed specifically for infants and young children.

Developmental delay: When children do not begin certain activities by the age that most children can perform the same activity; they may be slow to learn to talk, walk, feed or dress themselves, read, write or perform other activities; children can show a delay in one or more areas or may have general overall delays.

Diagnostic Testing: A complete hearing evaluation performed by an Audiologist. The evaluations include a test that will tell the audiologist how your baby's outer and middle ear are working (tympanogram), a test that measures how your baby reacts to sounds (behavioral evaluation), a test that checks the ears' response to sound (otoacoustic emissions), and a test that checks the brain's response to sound (auditory brainstem response). The audiologist will ask you questions about your baby's health, hearing loss in your family, and how well you think your baby hears.

Digital: A type of circuit used in a hearing aid that uses a numerical code to manipulate and amplify sound.

Direct Audio Input (DAI): Direct audio input is a way to connect the child’s hearing aid to other sound sources such as a TV or tape recorder. An FM system can also be connected to a hearing aid via direct audio input.

Disease: A pathological condition of a part, organ, or system of an organism resulting from various causes, such as infection, genetic defect, or environmental stress, and characterized by an identifiable group of signs or symptoms.

Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions (DPOAEs): A low-level sound occurring in response to a stimulus that can be recorded from a probe microphone place in the ear canal when an individual’s hearing sensitivity is normal.

DNA: Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid.

Dopamine: A type of medication that is potentially ototoxic (can cause hearing loss).

Down syndrome: Genetic disorder that results in a combination of birth defects; includes developmental delays, mental retardation and sometimes other health problems including hearing loss; the hearing loss may be conductive or sensorineural; children with Down syndrome tend to have narrow ear canals and have a high incidence of ear infections.

DPOAE: Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions.

Dry Aid Kit: An air tight container that contains pellets or crystals that absorb moisture. Hearing aids are kept in ‘dry aid’ kits at night to maintain good working condition.

DSL: Desired Sensation Level.

Dynamic Range: The dynamic range is the range of useable hearing. It is the difference between the softest sounds one can hear and the loudest sound tolerated.

Back to Top

E - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Ear Canal: The external passageway from the outer ear to the eardrum.

Ear Hook: An ear hook is the plastic piece that fits between the body of the hearing aid and the earmold tubing.

Ear Infection: The presence and growth of bacteria or viruses in the ear. 

Ear Wax (Cerumen): A normal secretion from glands in the outer ear that keeps the skin of the ear dry and protected from infection.

Eardrum: Also called the tympanic membrane. The eardrum separates the outer ear from the middle ear and is important in conducting sound to the middle ear and inner ear.

Early Intervention (EI): Services provided to an infant or toddler identified with a hearing loss.

Early Intervention Providers: Any professional or service provider who provides services to an infant or toddler.

Early Intervention Specialist: A professional with expertise in early childhood education and intervention.

Early Intervention Team: Members of an early intervention team frequently include the audiologist, speech pathologist, early interventionist, Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, ENT physician, and family service coordinator. Other team members may include an occupational or physical therapist when needed.

Earmold Impression: Soft material is inserted into the ear canal and rests against a cotton block. It takes about five minutes for the impression to set up. When the material has set up, it is removed from the ear and sent to a manufacturer who makes an earmold.

Earmold Tubing: Plastic tubing that fits into the earmold and connects the earmold to the hearing aid.

Earmold: An earmold is a plastic or silicone piece that is made to fit to a child's ear. The earmold has a short tube that is attached to the part of the behind-the-ear that sits behind the child's ear. The earmold sends sound from the hearing aid into the ear.

Earphone: A device for presenting sounds to the ear. Earphones may fit over the external ear or fit into the ear canal.

ECMO: Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation.

Educational Audiologist: An audiologist with special training and experience to provide hearing testing and auditory rehabilitation services to children in school settings.

EHDI: Early Hearing Detection and Intervention.

EI: Early Intervention.

Eighth (VIIIth) Cranial Nerve: The hearing nerve that extends from the cochlea in the ear to the brain.

Electrical Impulses: The method by which a cochlear implant stimulates the VIIIth nerve.

Electrode Array: The portion of the cochlear implant that stimulates the VIII nerve after being implanted in the cochlea.

Electrodes: Sensors made of small patches or pins that are attached with a special paste to the head; these are connected to a machine that records brain waves.

Electronystagmography (ENG): A test of vestibular function that uses cool and warm water or air to stimulate the vestibular system of each ear.

Electroretinography (ERG): Vision test that measures changes in how the eye reacts to light; used to screen for Usher syndrome.

Enlarged Vestibular Aqueduct: This is a condition that can cause a progressive hearing loss. The channel connecting the inner ear and a cranial space has become larger than normal. In this condition, the endolymphatic duct is much larger than normal, and hearing loss is associated with this abnormal size.

ENT: Otolaryngologist. Medical specialist in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the ear, nose, and throat.

Epilepsy: The most common seizure disorder; disturbance of brain function that may result in a sudden break in thought or activities; sometimes includes a loss of consciousness.

Eustachian Tube: A small passageway from the back of the throat to the middle ear that allows air into the middle ear.

External Ear: The outer portion of the ear that is normally visible. Components of the external or outer ear include the pinna and the external ear canal.

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO): Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a special procedure that uses an artificial heart-lung machine to take over the work of the lungs (and sometimes also the heart). ECMO is used most often in newborns and young children, but it also can be used as a last resort for adults whose heart or lungs are failing.

Back to Top

F - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Family-centered health care: Health care that is flexible, accessible and responsive to family needs and recognizes the family as the constant in the child's life.

Family-centered health care team: Health professionals who work together with the family to provide the best care for each child with special health care needs.

Family Culture: The beliefs, rules, traditions, behaviors, and material traits of one or more generations of a family unit.

Family Service Coordinator: The member of the Early Intervention team who shares responsibility with the family in coordinating services. This is a professional that is assigned to help a family work through the IFSP (Individualized Family Service Plan). Every family that takes part in this program is assigned a service coordinator. This professional works closely with the family to set up the services in the Part C program. The service coordinator talks with the family to learn about their concerns, resources, and priorities.

Family Support: Family support is anything that helps a family. This help may include advice, information, helping a parent understand the options available, having the chance to get to know other parents that have a child with hearing loss, finding childcare or transportation, giving parents’ time for personal relaxation, or just a supportive listener.

FAPE: Free and Appropriate Education.

FAS: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

FDA: Food and Drug Administration.

Feedback: The shrill whistling sound made when something is too close to the hearing aid. It is caused by amplified sound from the hearing aid receiver going back into the microphone of the hearing aid. Feedback can be caused by an earmold that does not fit properly or a damaged hearing aid.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS): Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is a pattern of mental and physical defects which develops in some unborn babies when the mother drinks too much alcohol during pregnancy.

Finger Spelling: Finger spelling is the use of hands and fingers to spell out words. Hand shapes stand for the letters in the alphabet.

FM Systems: An FM system is a type of device that helps a person who is deaf or hard-of-hearing. It uses the same type of signal to transmit sound as that used for radios. FM systems send sound from a microphone used by the person speaking to a baby wearing the device. This system is sometimes used with hearing aids. An extra piece is attached to the hearing aid that works with the FM system. This extra piece is called an "audio input boot".

FM: Frequency Modulated.

Follow-up Testing: A complete hearing evaluation performed by an Audiologist. The evaluations include a test that will tell the audiologist how your baby's outer and middle ear are working (tympanogram), a test that measures how your baby reacts to sounds (behavioral evaluation), a test that checks the ears' response to sound (otoacoustic emissions), and a test that checks the brain's response to sound (auditory brainstem response). The audiologist will ask you questions about your baby's health, hearing loss in your family, and how well you think your baby hears.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA): An agency supported by the federal government that oversees food and drug safety.

Frequency: The unit of measurement related to the pitch of a sound. Frequency is expressed in Hz (Hertz) or cps (cycles per second). The more cycles per second the higher the pitch.

Furosemide: A medication (diuretic) that is potentially ototoxic (can cause hearing loss).

Back to Top

G - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Gene: A hereditary unit consisting of a sequence of DNA that occupies a specific location on a chromosome and determines a particular characteristic in an organism. Genes undergo mutation when their DNA sequence changes.

Genetic: Tending to occur among members of a family usually by heredity; "an inherited disease"; "familial traits"; "genetically transmitted features".

Geneticist: A professional that is trained to know about genes and the medical conditions that might be related to genetics. This includes hearing loss.

Gentamycin: A type of medication (antibiotic) that can potentially be ototoxic (can cause hearing loss).

Back to Top

H - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

HA: Hearing Aid.

HAE: Hearing Aid Evaluation.

HAF: Hearing Aid Fitting.

Hair Cells: The hair-like structures in the inner ear that transform the mechanical energy of sound waves into nerve impulses.

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

HATs or Hearing Assistance Technologies: Devices used to enhance hearing such as hearing aids and cochlear implants.

Head trauma: An injury to the head that may affect the brain.

Hearing Aid Evaluation (HAE): The process of selecting an appropriate hearing aid. The audiologist will evaluate different types of hearing aids to determine which is best suited to a particular hearing loss.

Hearing Aid Fitting (HAF): The process of making sure that the earmold and hearing aid fit well, adjusting the hearing aid to meet the unique needs of the patient, and teaching the parents/guardians to care for and maintain the hearing aid.

Hearing Aid Programming: The process of hooking the hearing aid up to a computer and adjusting the parameters of the hearing aid to meet the needs of the hearing aid user.

Hearing Aid: A device that amplifies sound and fits in or behind the ear. A hearing aid consists of a microphone, amplifier, and receiver. Hearing aids make sounds louder and clearer. Young babies with hearing loss can better understand sounds using hearing aids. Hearing aids give babies the chance to learn speech skills beginning at birth or soon after the hearing loss is identified. There are many styles of hearing aids. They can help many types of hearing losses: mild, moderate, severe, and profound. Your baby's audiologist will help you pick the best type for your baby's hearing loss. A young child is usually fitted with behind-the-ear (BTE) style hearing aids because they adjust better on growing ears. BTE hearing aids come in skin tone as well as many bright colors.

Hearing Assistive Technology (HAT): There are many devices other than hearing aids or assistive listening devices that can help children and adults with hearing loss. You can talk to your audiologist about which one (or ones) is best for your child. Some of these devices include: captioning, telephone amplifiers, flashing and vibrating alarms, portable sound amplifiers, and TTY or TDD (Text Telephone or Telecommunications Device for the Deaf).

Hearing Disorder: A hearing disorder is a disruption in the normal hearing process that may occur in the outer, middle, or inner ear or the nerves to the brain. A hearing loss is a symptom of a hearing disorder.

Hearing Level (HL): The faintest intensity level (in dB hearing level) that a person can hear a sound of a particular test frequency. A completely normal HL is 0 dB. This is also known as hearing threshold level HTL.

Hearing Loss: A problem hearing sensitivity that is characterized by a decrease in the ability to hear sound in comparison to normal hearing. See conductive, sensorineural, and mixed hearing loss.

Hereditary Hearing Impairment: Hearing loss passed down through generations of a family.

Herpes Simplex: A recurrent viral disease caused by the herpes simplex virus, type one, and marked by the eruption of fluid-containing vesicles on the mouth, lips, or face.

Hertz (Hz): Cycles per second. Frequency is denoted in Hz.

High-intensity: Refers to loud sound; greater than 80-90 decibels.

HH: Hard of Hearing.

HL: Hearing Level.

Home-Based Early Intervention Model: In the home-based model, team members such as an early childhood teacher or speech language pathologist come to your home for therapy sessions. Sessions may include language activities like eating, dressing, brushing teeth, or taking a nap. These are known as family routines. Therapy lessons include parents, brothers and sisters so that the activities can be repeated throughout the day.

HTL: Hearing Threshold Level.

Huggie Aids: A circular band that fits around the pinna and the hearing aid to help keep the hearing aid in place.

Hyperbilirubinemia: An abnormally high concentration of bilirubin in the blood.

Hz: Hertz.

Back to Top

I - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

IDEA: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

IEP: Individualized Education Plan.

IFSP: Individualized Family Service Plan.

Implant: A device surgically inserted into the ear or nearby structures to improve hearing ability.

Incus: The central one of the three bones in the middle ear; it is shaped somewhat like an anvil.

Individualized Education Plan (IEP): The IEP is focused on the education needs that your child may have and outlines how those educational needs will be met. The IEP includes measurable goals with the specific benchmarks that will be used to meet the goals. This plan is revised on an annual basis and follows your child throughout their school years. The IEP is a legal document and must be developed within the framework of a multidisciplinary team. You are a critical member of this team and must participate in the IEP process before the plan is finalized.

Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP): An IFSP is a plan made for children aged birth to three who are Deaf or hard-of-hearing. This plan is made by a child's parents and the family service coordinator. The plan outlines all of the services, programs, and equipment that a family and child will need for the child and his or her hearing loss. This plan will also outline how the family will get these services and equipment. This plan is family focused on building on family strengths and on meeting the child’s need. The strengths and needs of the child and family are very important when making this plan. Because each child has his or her own plan, no two plans will be the same. It is very important that the family work closely with the service coordinator and others to learn as much about their child and the interventions available to them in order to get the most out of the IFSP process.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): Public Law 105-917 guarantees a free and appropriate education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE) for children with disabilities.

Infection: Occurs when a virus, bacteria, fungi or parasite multiplies in the body faster than it can be destroyed.

Inherited: Traits transmitted in the genes from parent to child.

Inner Ear: The inner ear is made up of the snail shaped organ for hearing (called the cochlea) and the nerves that go to the brain. The inner ear contains both the organ of hearing (the cochlea) and the organ of balance (the labyrinth).

In-service: Education and training to obtain, maintain, or update knowledge and skills about a condition.

Intensity: The loudness of sound measured in decibels (dB).

Interventions: Interventions are types of services and programs available for children and their families. An intervention could include meeting with a professional (or team) who is trained to work with children that have a hearing loss, and their families. It could also be working with a professional (or team) that can help a family and child learn to communicate or fitting a baby with a hearing device, such as a hearing aid.

In-The-Canal (ITC): A hearing aid that fits in the ear canal.

In-The-Ear (ITE): A hearing aid that fits within the bowl of the ear.

Intubation: To insert a tube into (a hollow organ or body passage).

ITC: In-the-Canal hearing aid.

ITE: In-the-Ear hearing aid.

Back to Top

J - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Jaundice: Yellowish discoloration of the whites of the eyes, skin, and mucous membranes caused by deposition of bile salts in these tissues. It occurs as a symptom of various diseases, such as hepatitis, that affect the processing of bile.

Back to Top

K - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Kanamycin: A type of medication (antibiotic) that is potentially ototoxic (can cause hearing loss).

Back to Top

L - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Language Development: Language development refers to both ‘talking’ and ‘signing’ for babies who are learning to communicate. These are stages that babies go through when they learn to communicate. Babies learning to talk and sign will have meaningful cries, babble, use word approximations, use one word and two word phrases and eventually make up sentences.

Language Facilitator: Person who interacts with young children who are deaf or hard of hearing; uses sign language to stimulate language development.

Lead Poisoning: Acute or chronic poisoning by lead or any of its salts, with the acute form causing severe gastroenteritis and encephalopathy and the chronic form causing anemia and damage to the gastrointestinal tract and nervous system.

Least Restrictive Environment (LRE): Placement in the school system that is most appropriate for the child. The least restrictive environment placement allows the child to work up to their fullest potential.

Ling Sounds: A group of six sounds that occur at different pitches and represent the ability to hear across a range of frequencies.

Lip Reading: Lip reading (or speech reading) is a skill set that can be used to help a child with hearing loss understand speech. The child watches the movements of a speaker's mouth and face to understand what the speaker is saying. About 40% of the sounds in the English language can be seen on the lips of a speaker in good conditions like a well-lit room where the child can see the speaker's face.

Listening Tube or Listening Stethoscope: A tool that is used to listen to a child’s hearing aid to make sure it is working properly.

Listening/Auditory Training: A deaf or hard-of-hearing child may still have some hearing. This is called residual hearing. Some parents of a child with residual hearing may choose to use a skill called listening (auditory training). Auditory training is often used in combination with other skills to understand speech. Auditory training is used to maximize the benefit a child receives from his or her hearing aids or cochlear implants.

Localization: The ability to determine which direction the sound is coming from.

LRE: Least Restrictive Environment.

Back to Top

M - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): The MRI is a special imaging technique that uses a large magnet to help visualize the soft tissues. MRI images are very good for soft tissues like the brain, spinal cord, and joints.

Magnetic: Of or relating to an object that is surrounded by a magnetic field and that has the property, either natural or induced, of attracting iron or steel. The external processor of a cochlear implant is attached magnetically to the internal component.

Malleus: A tiny bone-shaped like a mallet in the middle ear.  The malleus transmits the sound vibrations from the eardrum to the incus, another of the bones in the middle ear.  Malleus is the Latin word for mallet or hammer.

Mapping: The process of adjusting the cochlear implant to a level that is comfortable for the child to listen to and in such a way that auditory information is delivered to the brain in such a way to maximize understanding of speech.

Mastoid Bone: The part of the temporal bone located behind the external ear. Bone conduction thresholds are obtained with stimulation applied to the mastoid bone. Bone conduction hearing aids provide stimulation to the mastoid bone.

Medical Home: A medical home is not a building, house or hospital.  It is a concept that includes families and doctors working together to coordinate medical care; it is a way to provide high-quality health care services in a cost-effective manner. The medical home is a concept built on the belief that the medical care of infants, children and teens should be accessible, continuous, comprehensive, family-centered, coordinated, compassionate and culturally effective. The medical home should be delivered or directed by well-trained pediatricians and other health care professionals who help manage and facilitate all aspects of care. For care to be effective, the child and family need to know the medical caregiver and develop a partnership of mutual responsibility and trust. This is especially important for children with special needs who often need medical care beyond what other children require. The physical location or structure of a medical home does not matter as much as the services provided there. It can be a physician’s office, a hospital outpatient clinic, a community health center, a school-based clinic, the place of child care, or early childhood education program or school, as long as it provides comprehensive care (this means services 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and referrals to pediatric medical sub-specialists and surgical specialists as needed). Emergency departments (ER) and walk-in clinics are areas not included in the medical home. The medical home improves school readiness for children before they enter primary school.

Meningitis: A disease characterized by inflammation of the meninges of the brain and the spinal cord. This disease is most often caused by a bacterial or viral infection and characterized by fever, vomiting, intense headache, and stiff neck.

Microphone: An instrument that converts sound waves into an electric current, usually fed into an amplifier, a recorder, or a broadcast transmitter.

Middle Ear: The middle ear is made up of the eardrum and three small bones (ossicles) that send the movement of the eardrum to the inner ear.

Middle ear disease: Fluid or infection behind the eardrum generally called otitis media or otitis media with effusion (OME); hearing loss may occur.

Mild Hearing Loss: A person with a mild hearing loss may hear some speech sounds but soft sounds are hard to hear.

Minimum Response Level (MRL): The softest level that your baby responds to sound after being taught the task. Minimum response levels can be obtained on babies as young as six months of age.

Mixed Hearing Loss: A hearing loss with both conductive (middle ear pathology) and sensory (cochlear or VIIIth-nerve pathology) components. The audiogram shows a bone-conduction hearing deficit plus a gap between earphone and bone-conduction responses.

Moderate Hearing Loss: A person with a moderate hearing loss may hear almost no speech when another person is talking at a normal level.

Motor Development: Gross motor skills refer to skills such as balance, sitting, crawling, and walking. Fine motor skills require smaller movements such as picking up cereal with two fingers or using a coloring crayon. Your baby's motor skills may be affected because the hearing and balance systems are connected.

MRI: Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

MRL: Minimum Response Level.

Multi-disciplinary team: Group of professionals and providers from different specialties who work together to provide special services or care to the child and family.

Back to Top

N - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Natural Gestures: Body language includes the use of natural gestures. Natural gestures are actions that parents normally do to help children understand a message. For example, if a parent wants to ask a toddler if he or she wants to be picked up, the parent might stretch out their arms and ask, "Up?" For an older child, a parent might motion with their arms to call him or her to come inside the house. Or, a parent might put their first finger over their mouth and nose to show that the child needs to be quiet.

Neomycin: A type of medication (antibiotic) that is potentially ototoxic (can cause hearing loss).

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU): An intensive care unit designed with special equipment to care for premature or low-birth-weight or seriously ill newborn.

Network: An extended group of people with similar interests or concerns who interact and remain in informal contact for mutual assistance or support.

Newborn Hearing Screening: An initial hearing check for newborn babies is usually performed while the mother and baby are still in the hospital, either in the nursery or in their mother's room. Hearing screening is quick, easy and painless.

NICU: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

NIH: National Institutes of Health.

Noise-induced: Refers to sensorineural or permanent hearing loss caused by listening to very loud noise; may be caused by a steady loud noise or very high intensity noise such as noises produced by a gun shot or explosion; the hearing loss may be slight and in high frequencies at first; repeated exposure to loud noise can cause the hearing loss to increase and spread to other frequencies.

Nonsyndromic Hereditary Hearing Impairment: An inherited hearing loss that is not associated with other inherited physical characteristics.

Nortriptyline: A type of medication (tricyclic antidepressant) that is potentially ototoxic (can cause hearing loss).

Nutritional assessment: Evaluating diet for calories, vitamins, minerals and types of food; considers body size, age, health condition, physical activity and medications.

Nutritional status: Level of nutrition as determined by an assessment; the level may indicate a need to change the diet.

Back to Top

O - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

OAE: Otoacoustic Emission.

OM: Otitis Media.

OME: Otitis Media with Effusion.

Ophthalmologist: A physician that is trained to know about and treat conditions related to the eyes.

Organ of Corti: The inner surface of the cochlea containing hair cells that transmit sound vibrations to the nerve fibers.

Ossicles: The chain of three tiny bones in the middle ear (malleus, incus, stapes).

Otitis Externa: An inflammation of the outer part of the ear extending to the auditory canal.

Otitis Media (OM): An inflammation of the middle ear caused by infection.

Otitis Media with Effusion (OME): Otitis media with fluid present in the middle ear.

Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE): Low-intensity sounds produced by the inner ear that can be measured with a sensitive microphone placed in the ear canal. OAEs refer to a test that measures the ear's response to sound.

Otolaryngologist: A physician/surgeon who specializes in diseases of the ear, nose, throat, head and neck. An otolaryngologist is also called an ENT physician.

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

Otology: The branch of medicine dealing with the ear.

Ototoxic: A medication that can cause or contribute to hearing loss.

Ototoxic: Refers to certain medications that can damage the inner ear. Use of such medications can cause hearing loss.

Outer Ear: The external portion of the ear that collects sound waves and directs them into the ear. The outer ear consists of the pinna and the ear canal.

Back to Top

P - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Part B of IDEA: As your child approaches his or her third birthday, the plan for transitioning to Part B services is initiated. Part B services of IDEA are for children aged three to five. The purpose of transition planning is to make sure that the services that your child needs are not interrupted. Transition planning should begin at least six months prior to your child's third birthday.

Part C Coordinator: Within IDEA is a section known as Part C. This section of the law encourages states to develop coordinated programs of early intervention for children birth up to three years of age. Every state that accepts federal funding has a statewide Part C coordinator.

Part C of IDEA: (Infant and Toddler Services) One way to put together early intervention services is through a program in your state called the "Part C program". This is a program for children from birth to 3 years of age who have or are at risk for a developmental delay (a lag in development). The guidelines are developed by each state. In some states, this program includes children with hearing loss.

PE Tube: Pressure Equalization.

Pediatric Audiologist: An audiologist trained to give audiology evaluations and provide (re)habilitation services to babies and young children.

Pediatric Ear Hook: An earhook that is smaller than a normal earhook, and is made for children to fit behind the ear.

Peer: Children or young adults of the same age who know each other.

Peer pressure: Influence of peers on the person's choices; can be positive or negative peer pressure.

Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension (PPHT): Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) is the result of elevated pulmonary vascular resistance to the point that venous blood is diverted to some degree through fetal channels (i. e. the ductus arteriosus and foramen ovale) into the systemic circulation and bypassing the lungs, resulting in systemic arterial hypoxemia.

Physical Development: Hearing, vision, and nutrition are included in the category of physical development. Your baby’s ability to communicate depends specifically on his or her ability to hear and see.

Pinna: (Auricle): This is the part of the ear that we see on each side of our heads. It is a part of the outer ear. The pinna collects sound and sends it down the ear canal to the rest of the ear.

Pitch: The perception of high frequency and low frequency sounds.

Post-lingual Hearing Loss: Hearing loss that happens after a child learns to talk.

PPHT: Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension.

Pre-lingual Hearing Loss: A hearing loss that occurs before a child learns to talk.

Premature: Occurring before the proper time; refers to an infant who is born early and development is not complete.

Pressure-Equalizing (PE) Tube: A tube that is inserted in the eardrum to equalize the pressure between the middle ear and the ear canal and to permit drainage. A PE tube is also called a tympanostomy tube.

Primary Care Provider (PCP): Refers to a health care professional who provides you with comprehensive medical care. A Primary Care Provider can be a medical doctor physician (MD), a physician’s assistant (PA) or a certified nurse practitioner (CNP). He or she conducts your regular physical exams and takes care of your health care needs. When necessary, your primary care provider refers you to a specialist for further examination and treatment.

Probe Microphone: A tiny microphone attached to a soft, small tube. The probe microphone is placed in the ear canal and is used to measure a variety of sounds during a hearing aid evaluation.

Probe Tip: A probe tip is the sterile plastic tip that covers the probe.

Probe: A slender, flexible instrument inserted into the ear canal used for hearing measurement.

Professional: For this CD-ROM, a professional is a person who has special training in health and education and works with children and families.

Profound deafness: Nearly complete hearing loss; on an audiogram, it is hearing loss greater than 90dB.

Profound Hearing Loss: A person with a profound hearing loss will not hear any speech and only very loud sounds.

Pure tone: Hearing test which uses clear sounds like notes on a piano delivered through headsets; loudness is varied until a level is reached where the person barely hears the sound; this is recorded on an audiogram.

Back to Top

Q - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Quinine: A type of medication that is potentially ototoxic (can cause hearing loss).

Back to Top

R - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Reaction: A feeling or feelings that occur in response to an event.

Real Ear Measurement: A test technique used to measure the sound levels in the ear canal produced by a hearing aid. A probe microphone is placed in the ear canal alongside the hearing aid.

Receiver/Stimulator: The part of a cochlear implant that receives the signal from the sound processor and stimulates the VIII nerve.

Refer: An outcome of a screening process that indicates the need for additional testing.

Regress: To go backwards in development; for example, when a child who was walking goes back to crawling; children may temporarily regress when they are not feeling well.

Relay service: Telephone service in which a third person has access to a TTY and passes voiced and typed messages between two people, one of whom is deaf or hard of hearing.

Residual Hearing: This refers to the amount of hearing a child with hearing loss has, despite their hearing loss. Residual hearing refers to the amount of measurable usable hearing.

Rh blood incompatibility: Factor in the blood which can cause problems when an Rh negative woman has an Rh positive infant; this incompatibility causes health problems for the infant including hearing loss. This is less of a problem today than 25 years ago because RH blood incompatibility can be identified early and treated by giving Rh negative mothers an injection after each pregnancy.

Rubella: A mild contagious eruptive disease caused by a virus and capable of producing congenital defects in infants born to mothers infected during the first three months of pregnancy. Rubella is also called German measles.

Rubeola: A viral infection, also called Red Measles; can cause birth defects, including hearing loss, in children born to women who were infected during the first three months of pregnancy.

Back to Top

S - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

SAT: Speech Awareness Threshold.

Screening (Newborn Hearing Screening): An initial hearing check for newborn babies usually performed while the mother and baby are still in the hospital, either in the nursery or in their mothers' room. Hearing screening is quick, easy and painless.

Scoliosis: Side to side curvature of the spine.

SDT: Speech Detection Threshold.

Self-esteem: How people feel about themselves.

Self-Help Development: The goal for many parents is to teach their child to become as independent as possible. Self-help skills are important for independence. The self-help skills that your baby will be learning include helping with undressing, dressing, eating from a fork and spoon, bathing, and toileting. Self-help skills change as your child grows and develops.

Sensorineural Loss: A hearing loss caused by damage to the inner ear (cochlea) and/or the hearing nerve.

Service Coordinator: This is a professional that is assigned to help a family work through the IFSP (Individualized Family Service Plan). Every family that takes part in this program is assigned a service coordinator. This professional works closely with the family to set up the services in the Part C program. The service coordinator talks with the family to learn about their concerns, resources, and priorities.

Severe Hearing Loss: A person with severe hearing loss will hear no speech of a person talking at a normal level and only some loud sounds.

Shape of Hearing Loss (Configuration): Configuration of hearing loss describes the shape across frequencies (pitches). Common ways to describe the shape include flat, gently sloping, steeply sloping, and reverse slope.

Siblings: The brother or sister of your child.

Side effect: An effect or outcome from a medication other than the medication’s intended purpose; may be negative or positive.

Sign Language: A method of communication used primarily by people who are deaf or hard of hearing in which hand movements, gestures, and facial expressions convey grammatical structure and meaning.

Signal Processor: The portion of the cochlear implant that processes the sound picked up by the microphone and changes the signal into an electrical signal.

Signing: Communicating through hand movements. Using sign language.

SLP: Speech/Language Pathologist.

Social Emotional Development: Social skills are the skills that your baby learns to use when interacting with other people. Emotional development refers to the way that your baby “feels” about people, places, and things. It also refers to the way that your baby “feels” about situations and events. Social skills are important for your baby because they reflect the connection your child makes to others.

Sound Awareness: Having knowledge of or knowing the presence of sound.

Sound Detection: The processing of perceiving or indicating the perception of the presence of sound.

Sound Recognition: An awareness that something perceived has been perceived before and attaching meaning to the sound.

Sound Understanding: To have understanding, knowledge, or comprehension of a sound and to be able to attach meaning and interpret the meaning of the sound.

Speaker: The part of a hearing aid that functions as an electro-acoustic transducer, converting converts electrical signals into acoustic signals or sounds.

Speech Awareness Threshold (SAT): The lowest hearing level in dB that a child is aware of the presence of a speech signal 50% of the time. The SAT is also known as the speech detection threshold (SDT).

Speech Frequencies: The frequencies within the 500 to 4000 Hz region, which are most important for hearing and understanding of speech.

Speech Reading: Speech reading (lip reading) is a tool that helps a child with hearing loss to understand speech. The child watches the movements of a speaker's mouth and face, to understand what the speaker is saying. About 40% of the sounds in the English language can be seen on the lips of a speaker in good conditions — such as a well-lit room where the child can see the speaker's face.

Speech Recognition Threshold (SRT): The lowest hearing level in dB at which 50 percent of two-syllable (spondee) words can be identified correctly. The SRT is also known as the ST (speech threshold or spondee threshold).

Speech: Speech is a skill that many people don't think about. But speech is a communication tool. It helps build language. Parents can choose to have their children use this tool for expressing themselves or for communicating. Speech is often used in combination with hearing aids, cochlear implants, and other assistive devices. Since this tool is used by the children to express themselves to other people, other tools must be used to help the child understand others.

Speech-Language Pathologist: A speech language pathologist is a professional trained to know about how children learn language and to teach children how to use speech and language.

SRT: Speech Recognition Threshold.

Stapes: A small stirrup-shaped bone of the middle ear.

Stimulation: To increase temporarily the activity of (a body organ or part) such as the electrodes of a cochlear implant stimulating the VIII nerve.

Streptomycin: A type of medication (antibiotic) that is potentially ototoxic (can cause hearing loss).

Syndrome: Group of health problems or features that occur together in a recognizable pattern.

Syndromic Hearing Impairment: Syndromic hearing loss is a loss of hearing accompanied by a pattern of additional physical characteristics such as blindness, mental retardation or involvement of other organs.

Syphilis: A chronic infectious disease caused by a spirochete. It is either transmitted by direct contact, usually in sexual intercourse, or passed from mother to child in utero, and progressing through three stages. The stages are characterized respectively by local formation of chancres, ulcerous skin eruptions, and systemic infection leading to general paresis.

Back to Top

T - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Team: A group of people organized to work together.

Technology: Electronic or digital products and systems considered as a group.

Telecoil: A wire coil contained within a hearing aid that picks up magnetic energy available from telephones or other assistive listening devices.

Telecommunication Device (TTY/TTD): A device for severely or profoundly hearing-impaired persons to send or receive written messages transmitted via telephone lines.

Temporal bone fracture: Broken bone in the head; the temporal bone encloses the hearing nerve.

TEOAE: Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions.

Thalidomide: A type of medication that is potentially ototoxic (can cause hearing loss).

Therapy: The treatment of illness or disability.

Threshold: Threshold is defined as the softest level at which a sound can be heard 50 percent of the time. The term is used for both speech and puretone testing.

Tinnitus: Ringing or buzzing in one or both ears; can occur naturally or as symptom of ear problems; often follows exposure to loud sounds that can damage hearing; can also be a sign of Ménière's disease or a change in hearing.

Tobromycin: A type of medication (antibiotic) that is potentially ototoxic (can cause hearing loss).

Toupee Tape: A type of double sided tape that is used to keep artificial hair pieces in place. It is also used to keep hearing aids in place.

Toxoplasmosis: Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease. It infects most animals and causes human parasitic diseases, but the primary host is the feline family (cat family). People usually get infected by eating raw or undercooked meat, or more rarely, by contact with cat feces.

Transfusion: The transfer of whole blood or blood products from one individual to another.

Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions (TEOAE): Low level sounds that occur in response to a stimulus that can be measured in the ear canal through the use of a miniature microphone.

Transition: Passage or change from one stage to another.

Transmitter: An electronic device that generates and amplifies a carrier wave, modulates it with a meaningful signal derived from speech or other sources, and radiates the resulting signal from an antenna.

Trauma: Refers to injury or lack of oxygen to the infant during birth.

Trimethadione: A type of medication that is potentially ototoxic (can cause hearing loss).

Troubleshooting: To investigate a problem or to problem solve.

TTY/TTD: Typewriter-like device that connects to a telephone; sends messages over phone lines to another TTY device; messages are typed on a keyboard; return messages are printed on a small screen or on a tape roll.

Tympanic Membrane (TM): The eardrum; vibrates when sound occurs and transfers vibrations to three tiny bones (the ossicles) in the middle ear.

Tympanogram: A graph that shows the results of tympanometry a test which indicates if the middle ear is functioning normally or not.

Tympanometer: A device with a probe that is inserted into a person’s ear canal to perform tympanometry. It measures small changes in the movement ofthe ear drum.

Tympanometry: A test that measures movement of the eardrum based on the stiffness of it under different conditions of air pressure. The test uses a special device called a tympanometer; often used in school hearing screening programs; aids in the detection of middle ear infections.

Back to Top

U - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

UNHS: Universal Newborn Hearing Loss.

Unilateral Hearing Loss: A hearing loss in one ear only.

Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS): Left undetected, hearing impairments in infants can negatively impact speech and language acquisition, academic achievement, and social and emotional development. If detected, however, these negative impacts can be diminished and even eliminated through early intervention. Because of this, the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) Consensus Development Conference on Early Identification of Hearing Loss (1993) concluded that all infants should be screened for hearing impairment, preferably prior to hospital discharge.

Urinalysis: A urinalysis is the microscopic and chemical analysis of urine. A urinalysis can assist the doctor in the diagnosis of infections, diseases, dehydration, kidney problems, jaundice and many other conditions.

Usher syndrome: Hereditary condition that involves hearing and vision loss; affects seven to ten percent ofpersons who are deaf; in Usher type I, persons are born deaf; in Usher type II, persons are born hard ofhearing; development ofvision problems, including night blindness and loss ofperipheral (side) vision, occurs later; there is eventually a complete loss of vision.

Back to Top

V - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Vancomycin: A type of medication that is potentially ototoxic (can cause hearing loss).

Varicella: Chicken pox (Varicella) is a highly communicable viral disease that occurs most often during the winter and spring. Once you have had chicken pox, you are usually immune to it. However, if you have never had the disease, you can get it at any age.

Ventilation: In respiratory physiology, the process of exchange of air between the lungs and the ambient air. Pulmonary ventilation (usually measured in liters per minute) refers to the total exchange, whereas alveolar ventilation refers to the effective ventilation of the alveoli, in which gas exchange with the blood takes place.

Vernix: Vernix, also known as Vernix caseosa, is the "waxy" or "cheesy" white substance found coating the skin of newborn humans. It is secreted by the fetus's sebaceous glands in utero, and is hypothesized to have antibacterial properties. The word "smegma" is occasionally used to describe vernix. Vernix is composed of sebum (the oil of the skin) and cells that have sloughed off the fetus' skin.

Vestibular:  Vestibular refers to your sense of balance.

Vestibular Evaluation: An evaluation of the balance mechanism.

Viomycin: A medication (antibiotic) that is potentially ototoxic (can cause hearing loss).

Visual Reinforcement Audiometry (VRA): A pediatric hearing test procedure in which the child's responses to sound are reinforced with a visual event. Moving toys or lights are examples of visual reinforcement. This procedure is most appropriate for children in the 6 month to 3 year age range.

Volume Control: A device for increasing or decreasing the gain or volume of a hearing instrument.

VRA: Visual Reinforcement Audiometry.

Back to Top

W - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Wax Loop: A tool used to clean ear wax out of the canal portion of an earmold. A wax loop is not intended to be used or inserted into the ear canal.

WDRC: Wide Dynamic Range Compression.

Whistle: The feedback caused from a hearing aid when something is too close to the microphone or when the earmold is loose.

Wide Dynamic Range Compression (WDRC): A type of hearing aid that compresses a wide range of sounds to fit within the dynamic range of the individual. This makes soft sounds loud enough to hear and keeps loud sounds from being too loud.

Window of Opportunity: The critical period of learning for infants and young children. This window of opportunity for learning occurs before the age of 2 years.

Back to Top

X - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Back to Top

Y - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Back to Top

Z - A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Back to Top