Better Speech & Hearing Month (BSHM)

The month of May is Better Speech and Hearing Month (BSHM), which was started by the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) to raise awareness about communication disorders and to promote treatment that can improve quality of life for people experiencing difficulty hearing, understanding, or speaking.

Hearing loss can be caused by genetic factors, illness, and even ototoxic drugs (drugs that damage hearing).  But now one of the biggest concerns is the rapid increase in Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) in children, mainly due to headphones from portable music players and other similar devices.  NIHL is painless and caused by exposure to loud sounds, usually over a period of time.  Occasionally NIHL can occur from only one exposure to an extremely loud noise.  Some examples of noise producers are personal headphones attached to games and portable music devices (the volume is too loud if you can hear music coming from the device), household appliances, musical instruments, toys, power tools, lawn equipment, and concerts.

You Know An Environment Is Too Loud When:

• You have to raise your voice to be heard.
• You have a hard time hearing someone only 2-3 feet away.
• You have ringing or buzzing in your ears, or another person’s speech sounds muffled to you.

What You Can Do To Prevent NIHL:

• Avoid or limit exposure to loud noises.
• Protect your hearing. (Ear plugs and ear muffs can reduce noise by 15-30 dB if worn properly.)
• Teach your children good hearing habits such as keeping the volume down (aim for half the volume of the device), limiting listening time, giving ears some quiet time, and knowing when an environment is too loud and may be causing hearing loss.

Hearing loss can cause problems in school, not only academically but socially.  The good news is that NIHL is preventable, so talk to your children and educate them about how to protect their hearing.  For more information about NIHL for parents and educators, and interactive games for kids, go to ASHA’s Listen To Your Buds!

Why I Love Being a Speech Therapist

Simply put, I love being a Speech-Language Pathologist because it is such a gratifying career.  In high school I thought I wanted to be a physical therapist (PT), and even observed PT’s at the local hospital several times so I would know what I was getting myself into.  I should have known after watching a wound debridement (clearing away dead skin tissue) from a man who had severely burned his hand from hot roofing tar, that it was not my thing.  The thought of someone else’s pain and I don’t get along too well.  (So how I was able to give birth without meds is a different post!)   I started college on the PT track since it sounded good that I had direction and knew what I wanted to do with my life.  It only took until my second semester Chemistry 2 class that I realized it wouldn’t happen.  I struggled and made it through Chem 1, but after only a couple classes of Chem 2 I knew I would never be able to wrap my mind around the material.  I think I am a smart person, but chemistry and I don’t mix.  I ended up taking a Linguistics course instead and really enjoyed it.  So I took a Phonetics course, which led me to all the other courses in the Communication Sciences & Disorders field.

Unfortunately you have to get into a Master’s program before you are really allowed to start working with people which is pretty crazy since a big part of the SLP gig is being able to work well with people.  Fortunately for me I found I could quickly establish rapport with others, so combined with my interest in the field it was a good career choice.  It was only until after I graduated and started working in the real world did I appreciate how much I enjoyed being a SLP.  I have worked with young children in schools and adults in rehab/nursing facilities and love both, which is unusual in this field because most SLPs find they either enjoy working with children or adults…not both.  I  have found with children my job is to teach them how to do something new that has likely been a struggle and source of frustration, so they gain confidence and hopefully are more successful down the road.  With adults I have found my job is to help them relearn how to do something which is a new frustration for them, so they can successfully gain independence once again.  With children I get to play and with adults I get to listen to their life stories.  The common thread for me between children and adults is that every person just needs someone who cares about them and is genuinely invested in their future.  How easy is that?!  So you tell me that I have to wake up every day, help make another person’s life better, and you will pay me to do it?  Okay… I’m there!!

Have questions about being a SLP?  I’d love to answer them.