Abstract
This paper discusses how hearing loss can affect someone in terms of communication and psychosocial functioning. It includes citations from literature discussing the effects of hearing loss as well as a summary of findings after interviewing a person with medically diagnosed hearing loss.

From the Paper
"Hearing loss is one of the most common disabilities in the United States with recent statistics indicating that approximately ..."

Tags:hearing loss, interview, psychosocial, communication

Abstract
A book review which explains the psychological, social and spiritual facets of hearing loss. It also offers a testimony of how each of the individuals referred to emerged triumphant, via the vehicles of therapeutic dialogue and self-help measures, thus vanquishing the interplay of social forces that perpetrate the invisibility and augment the physical and mental torment of the deaf.

Tags:odyssey, hearing, loss

Abstract
In this article, the writer describes the key elements of a hearing loss prevention program for the forklift operators in a warehouse. The writer discusses eliminating the noise hazard to prevent damage to the inner ear or having employees wear hearing protection devices.

From the Paper
"According to an essay published online by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, when noise control measures in the workplace are infeasible hearing protection devices are the only way to prevent hazardous levels of noise from damaging the inner ear. Making sure that these devices are worn effectively requires continuous attention on the part of supervisors as well as noise-exposed employees. Studies have shown that people exposed to noise levels of decibels and above over eight hours or longer will gradually lose their hearing ... "

Tags:hearing loss prevention programs, decibels, forklift, employees, audiologist, occupational safety, inner ear, NOISH

Abstract
This paper explains the differences between disease and injury as the cause of hearing loss. The author points out the OSHA guidelines on hearing conservation, the problem of occupational noise in the railroad industry and the Federal Railroad Administration occupational noise standard. The paper relates in detail the FRA historic treatment of occupational noise including the first study of noise in locomotive cabs, the FRA report to Congress and the studies that followed in response to this report.

From the Paper
"Hearing is perhaps one, of the five senses, that is often take for granted. The alarm going off in the morning, the children playing outside, even the rain pattering on the window are all sounds that become so commonplace that it's easy to ignore how wonderful hearing truly is. However, when hearing loss occurs it then becomes painfully clear just how important this sense is and how it is so important to one's quality of life. This report will discuss the topic of hearing loss in the workplace, specifically that of the locomotive engineer. It will begin with a discussion of the differences between disease and injury. Next will be an overview of OSHA's guidelines on hearing conservation as well as a discussion of occupational noise in the railroad industry and the Federal Railroad Administration's occupational noise standard."

Tags:engineer, hearing, loss

Abstract
This paper discusses the issue of hearing loss and provides suggestions regarding what can be done to help improve upon the ability of enforcing hearing protection standards in order to reduce hearing loss among soldiers. The paper claims that the military has been contending with this issue throughout its history, and the current war in Iraq will only intensify the situation regarding soldiers suffering from hearing loss or tinnitus. The paper assesses that the United States Army is in a position where it could reevaluate the entire toxic noise issue and other causes of hearing loss and establish viable preventative methods.

Outline
Introduction
Hearing Loss
Historical Situation
Current Situation
Off Duty
Illness Related
Noise Related
New Technology
Recommendations
Conclusion

From the Paper
"The upper echelon of ranking officials must be privy to the overall cost associated with hearing loss and lost communication as well as the other safety risk factors soldiers face once they have lost their ability to consciously hear. "Noise-induced hearing loss is a significant unmet socioeconomic problem in industrial societies. It is estimated that 30 million individuals are exposed to injurious levels of noise each day, contributing significantly to the overall cost of hearing loss in the nation of $56B per year. In addition to loud noise of various types, many pathological conditions affecting the inner ear, such as traumatic injury, toxins, aging, infection, and some genetic conditions may be associated with the excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) leading to oxidative stress." (PR Newswire, 2003)"

Tags:noise, pollution, deafness

Abstract
The writer explores what previous studies have indicated about hearing loss and outlines the method that will be used for the purpose of this study. This proposal examines the hearing loss population of the United States and determines why people fail to report or seek treatment for their hearing loss. The paper explains that by understanding this phenomena, steps can be taken to educate the public on the importance of early recognition and treatment of adult hearing loss. The paper researches how many of those who are experiencing hearing loss have failed to seek medical attention or report it and why they failed to do so.

Outline:
Introduction
Hypothesis
Plan of Implementation
Literature Review
Methodology
Summary

From the Paper
"For many years it has been an accepted fact that hearing is a natural part of aging however recent history has shown society that industrialized nations have more widespread incidences of hearing loss than the less industrialized nations have. This has been attributed to the non-natural causes of hearing loss that occurs within industrialized nations. Hearing loss caused by noise and other environmental factors creates a hotbed of hearing loss in an otherwise healthy population in these countries yet it has also been found that the hearing loss often goes untreated for many years(Scherer, 1998)."

Tags:handicap, impairment, denial, treatment

Abstract
This paper explains the multiple problems of preventing hearing loss in the army: (1) while the command structure demands the use of hearing protective equipment, the exigencies of military maneuvers might make it difficult for soldiers to comply readily and still carry out their major missions; (2) the loss of army audiologists; and (3) military equipment is even noisier, so that the need for protection is greater than ever before. The author states that, in order to determine what strategies the U.S. Army can take to improve HPD use and concomitantly decrease hearing loss, current instructions and sanctions regarding that issue need to be determined. The paper relates that the research methodology will examine, in one command only, the protocols for issuing HPDs and for ensuring their use, the sanctions imposed for noncompliance, and their auditory history as compared to the Army in general.

Table of Contents
Introduction and Statement of the Problem
Cost of Hearing Loss
Literature Review and Research Questions
Behavioral Issues
Technical Investigations
Methodology
Appendix A: New Generation Earcups and ANR
Appendix B: Tables of Hearing-Related Issues, U.S. Armed Forces

From the Paper
"If it were not true that the armed forces experiences many departures from perfect adherence to use of protective equipment, then the vast numbers of military audiologists deployed to increase the armed forces' capability for monitoring audiometry would not have been needed. For a long time, "the Army had more than three times as many military audiologists than the Navy and twice as many as the Air Force. In addition, the Army has had a mainframe database of audiometric records for the last 16 years". However, Ohlin noted that there had been a loss of more than 50 Army military audiologists in the decade before he wrote his report, effectively removing "the message bearer for hearing conservation and the functional linchpin that in large programs is required to coordinate the implementation of all hearing conservation program elements." "

Tags:equipment, complience, audiologist, hdp, protocols

Abstract
This paper examines how hearing loss is a physical impediment that leads to the defective function or the total loss of the sense of audition. It looks at how the type and extent of hearing loss varies in each individual, depending on age of onset of the health condition and the factors that triggered the onset and how several factors, which may be hereditary or environmental, can hasten the occurrence of a loss of hearing. In particular, it examines how different research institutes have come up with various kinds of medical and social services to ease the adjustment of people with hearing impediments.

From the Paper
"It is initially essential to know that there are two general kinds of hearing loss: deafness and hard of hearing, the former being less severe than the latter because some residual hearing is still present to keep an individual's audition, or sense of hearing, functional, although already defective. Deafness, on the other hand, is worse, since as Hardman, Drew and Egan (2005) refer to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, deafness is defined as a "leading impairment which is so severe that the child is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing with or without amplification, which adversely affects educational performance" (p. 411)."

Tags:ear, disability, deaf

Abstract
The paper evaluates the effects of neonatal hearing loss on the quality of bonding with hearing parents, bonding in general, bonding of parents to special needs children, the interaction of hearing parents with the deaf infants and the psychosocial stressors on parents with special needs children. The paper reviews the procedures surrounding universal newborn hearing screening, its effectiveness and the satisfaction parents feel with currently used hearing screening processes.

Outline:
Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS)
False positives
Parent-Child Interaction
Typical Mother/Child Interaction
Attachment
Parental Stress
Methods for Assessing Interaction and Bonding
Conclusions

From the Paper
"Definitions are often helpful before a full literature review is undertaken. For the purposes of this study, we shall consider congenital permanent hearing loss to be defined as impairment > 40 decibels (dB) at the time of screen, relative to the threshold level. This level is considered significant in that hearing loss at this level is associated with greater than average deficit in verbal compared with non-verbal abilities up to 25 intelligence quotient (IQ) points (Yoshinaga-Itano, 1998)."

Tags:special, needs, children, deaf, infants, screening, communication, attachment

Abstract
This paper consists of an expository essay, which argues that sight deprivation is more threatening than hearing loss. This is written from a middle-age perspective, and focuses on psychological effects.