Res. Assist. Rumeysa Nur AKBAŞ gave the following information with the participants:
"Hearing is one of the indispensable factors for language and speech to exist. Hearing processes begin from the first 20th week in the mother's womb. As soon as children are born, they start hearing and listening. While they learn to speak, they imitate the sounds they hear in their environment. Therefore, normal hearing is essential for a healthy speech and language development. Since any hearing impairment in the child causes delays in speech and language development. In fact, we can say that these are the reasons why we are talking about this topic today.
Hearing is the process by which sound is transmitted from the external auditory canal to the inner ear, stimulating the nerve cells located there, and transferring it to the brain and perceiving it. Language is called the system of symbols used by societies to express meanings, which has become traditional and whose rules are based on consensus. Language starts from birth and continues throughout life. An important feature of language development in children is that the early stages are universal. In other words, language development in children of societies speaking different languages is similar. However, this universality in the first years disappears after 18-32 months with the effect of social class differences. If we come to what speech is, it is expressed as a form of language transformed into sound.
In order to determine possible speech and language problems that may occur in the child, it is necessary to know the normal hearing, comprehension and speech development stages. Hearing loss in children is a silent and hidden obstacle. Because children cannot express that they have little or no hearing. If this situation is not noticed and hearing aids are not used in the early period, it leads to speech and language problems, social and emotional problems and academic failure. As the diagnosis and treatment is delayed, the negative effects to be seen in the child increase.
The most important function of hearing is learning to speak. Depending on the type and degree of hearing loss, the child's learning to speak will be affected in different ways. Speech disorders that may occur due to hearing loss are as follows; speech problems, language problems, fluency problems, sound and resonance problems, reading and writing problems.
A person with slight hearing loss misses 10% of speech sounds at a distance of 1.5 meters in a noisy environment. These people have difficulty hearing low intensity and long distance speech sounds, and this is hardly noticeable unless a hearing test is performed. Language development and articulation errors in these people should be followed up by the Speech and Language Therapist.
A person with mild hearing loss misses 25-40% to 50-75% of speech sounds. In these people, inattention, learning difficulties, speech-language problems can be seen. Support should be given to languages, articulation, speech reading, and the development of auditory and reading skills.
A person with moderate hearing loss misses 80-100% of speech sounds. These people have delayed and erroneous syntax and limited vocabulary. Since the person lacks the ability to hear and control his own voice, the sound quality also deteriorates.
A person with moderately severe hearing loss misses 100% of speech sounds. The person has difficulty in situations that require verbal communication during face-to-face and in-group communication. These people need to use the hearing aid continuously. Special support should be given in learning the grammar rules, in the ability to use the language, in developing vocabulary.
In severe hearing loss, the person can only hear high intensity sounds without a hearing aid. If their hearing loss begins before the language learning period (prelingual), speech-language does not develop spontaneously. If hearing loss has recently started (postlingual), speech and sound quality also deteriorates.
In profound hearing loss, the person notices more vibrations than sounds. These people have very limited vocabulary. It is not possible to achieve speech and language development without using a hearing aid.
"The Voice In Me" Project Volunteer thanked Istanbul Gelisim University, Department of Speech and Language Therapy Res. Assist. Rumeysa Nur AKBAŞ for her participation.
