As the semester comes to a close, we have come to the end of our EDIT 2000 class and thus the end of our 20% projects. The purpose of my 20% project was to learn more about assistive technology for cochlear implants. In the process, however, I learned so much more about cochlear implants themselves and became more interested in working with these devices in the future.
One of the most important things I learned about assistive technology is that it can only do so much, meaning that in order to make hearing with cochlear implants better, we need to improve the implant itself rather than adding more assistive technology. The wonderful thing about the field of audiology and cochlear implants though is that it is fast growing and developing more each day. There are many improvements still to come in the future that have the potential to help those with profound hearing loss even more.
For my 20% presentation, I created a Prezi that compiled all of my findings and research. To view my presentation, click here. Presenting our projects in the showcase was very helpful, and I think that my product was received fairly well. Presenting made me realize how well I had actually learned about my topic and it was fun to teach other people about cochlear implants when they had never heard of them before.
Overall, I really enjoyed working on my 20% project. It gave me time to explore a subject that I normally would not have time to. The only difficulty that I had during the project was trying to find new information. It often took time to dig through article after article to find new types of technology, but this process helped me learn more about doing research and finding credible sources. This was a very interesting project and it helped me to learn more about cochlear implants, assistive technology, doing research, and creating presentations.
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Monday, April 7, 2014
Post 4: Improving the Implant
Thus far, all of my research has linked back to my driving question regarding assistive technology for school age children with cochlear implants. After reading about all of these different types of assistive technology devices, I wanted to take my driving question one step further and do a little research on what improvements are being made to cochlear implants themselves. After all, assistive technology is only necessary as long as improvements are still needed. So I was curious about what is being done to decrease the need for assistive technology so that cochlear implants can become as close to natural hearing as possible.
My search led me to a very helpful article called "Cochlear Implants: Past, Present, and Future." This article covers an interview held with Anne Beiter, who is an audiologist and speech-language pathologist who is highly involved with cochlear implants. Beiter explains in her interview how cochlears have already come a long way. These once bulky devices have now become smaller and less noticeable, and because of a newer sound processor that recently came out called Nucleus 6, sound quality has improved greatly. Cochlear's goals are to improve sound quality in areas where many people with cochlear implants struggle, so Nucleus 6 was designed with "new wireless remote options," like AutoPhone and AutoFM that will help school age children use the phone or hear better in social settings, which decreases their need for additional assistive technology.
When asked about the future of cochlear implants, Beiter was hopeful about many improvements to come. One of the biggest changes would be making implants more automatic. The way they are now, cochlear implants have different settings that can be changed manually to help users hear more clearly in different kinds of environments. With more automatic implants though, settings would change on their own to adapt to the environment, which could also potentially reduce the need for assistive technology. Additionally, Cochlear is working to design implants that will be completely internal, meaning that users will not have to wear a microphone piece around their ear like they do now. Also, research is being done on "hybrid systems." These devices are basically a combination of a hearing aid and a cochlear implant, and what they would do is provide a greater range of frequencies to the user to improve how many sounds they can hear. With this improvement, sound quality will increase and assistive technology use may be further reduced.
One thing I have learned from all of my research about cochlear implants and the assistive technology that goes with them is that this is a very fast growing field. So much research is being put into these devices right now and with more research comes more improvement. This project has made me very excited about the field I hope to enter in my future career and all the changes that are soon to come in the way we hear.
My search led me to a very helpful article called "Cochlear Implants: Past, Present, and Future." This article covers an interview held with Anne Beiter, who is an audiologist and speech-language pathologist who is highly involved with cochlear implants. Beiter explains in her interview how cochlears have already come a long way. These once bulky devices have now become smaller and less noticeable, and because of a newer sound processor that recently came out called Nucleus 6, sound quality has improved greatly. Cochlear's goals are to improve sound quality in areas where many people with cochlear implants struggle, so Nucleus 6 was designed with "new wireless remote options," like AutoPhone and AutoFM that will help school age children use the phone or hear better in social settings, which decreases their need for additional assistive technology.
When asked about the future of cochlear implants, Beiter was hopeful about many improvements to come. One of the biggest changes would be making implants more automatic. The way they are now, cochlear implants have different settings that can be changed manually to help users hear more clearly in different kinds of environments. With more automatic implants though, settings would change on their own to adapt to the environment, which could also potentially reduce the need for assistive technology. Additionally, Cochlear is working to design implants that will be completely internal, meaning that users will not have to wear a microphone piece around their ear like they do now. Also, research is being done on "hybrid systems." These devices are basically a combination of a hearing aid and a cochlear implant, and what they would do is provide a greater range of frequencies to the user to improve how many sounds they can hear. With this improvement, sound quality will increase and assistive technology use may be further reduced.
One thing I have learned from all of my research about cochlear implants and the assistive technology that goes with them is that this is a very fast growing field. So much research is being put into these devices right now and with more research comes more improvement. This project has made me very excited about the field I hope to enter in my future career and all the changes that are soon to come in the way we hear.
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Post 3: New Findings!
In my last post, I explored a few types of assistive technology for cochlear implant users, but this only made me hungry to find more. While browsing the Internet, I found this article that offered a few more devices.
Two of the devices that I found particularly interesting were telecommunication (TTY) devices and alerting systems. TTY devices can work with regular telephones to type out the speech during phone calls so that people with hearing problems can follow the conversation more clearly. Interestingly, these devices have been less useful recently because of something that most of us - hearing impaired or not - rely on heavily in our everyday lives: texting! It appears that some forms of assistive technology for those who are hearing impaired do not even require hearing at all.
In addition, another type of assistive technology for those with cochlear implants are alerting systems, which use light, sound, and vibrations to let an individual with hearing problems know that something is happening. From my own experiences with having family members with cochlear implants, I have heard of alarm clocks that vibrate to wake you up when you do not have your implants on overnight. Also, for anyone who has ever checked out the "Accessibility" page in their iPhone's settings, there is a setting that allows users to turn on LED flashes from their phone's camera that will go off when text messages or phone calls come through. These are just two examples of the many forms of alerting systems that discreetly help individuals with hearing problems go about their days more easily.
I have really enjoyed discovering the variety of assistive technology that exists for those with cochlear implants. In my next post, however, I would really like to see if there are any new improvements being made to the cochlear implants themselves that would decrease the need for assistive technology in the future.
Two of the devices that I found particularly interesting were telecommunication (TTY) devices and alerting systems. TTY devices can work with regular telephones to type out the speech during phone calls so that people with hearing problems can follow the conversation more clearly. Interestingly, these devices have been less useful recently because of something that most of us - hearing impaired or not - rely on heavily in our everyday lives: texting! It appears that some forms of assistive technology for those who are hearing impaired do not even require hearing at all.
In addition, another type of assistive technology for those with cochlear implants are alerting systems, which use light, sound, and vibrations to let an individual with hearing problems know that something is happening. From my own experiences with having family members with cochlear implants, I have heard of alarm clocks that vibrate to wake you up when you do not have your implants on overnight. Also, for anyone who has ever checked out the "Accessibility" page in their iPhone's settings, there is a setting that allows users to turn on LED flashes from their phone's camera that will go off when text messages or phone calls come through. These are just two examples of the many forms of alerting systems that discreetly help individuals with hearing problems go about their days more easily.
I have really enjoyed discovering the variety of assistive technology that exists for those with cochlear implants. In my next post, however, I would really like to see if there are any new improvements being made to the cochlear implants themselves that would decrease the need for assistive technology in the future.
Monday, February 10, 2014
Post 2: "Cochlear Implant Online"
Today I started exploring different blogs that would help me research my driving question about assistive technology for cochlear implant users. One blog that I found especially helpful was called "Cochlear Implant Online." The blog is dedicated to sharing information about all things related to cochlear implants, which made it a helpful source for information about assistive technology.
By searching within the blog for assistive technology, I was able to find various posts pertaining to the subject. One in particular that related to my 20% project was about FM Systems vs. Soundfields. This post informed me more about two types of technology that could help middle and high school students hear a teacher or speaker more clearly in class or at a large assembly.
FM speakers and Soundfields are two types of assistive technology that are similar in the sense that they both allow the speaker to directly talk into a microphone that will transmit sound to the student with a hearing impairment. FM systems, however, direct the transmitted sound directly into the listeners implant, whereas Soundfields direct the sound into an amplifying speaker system located near the student. Although both systems can be equally effective in enhancing the student's hearing, those monitoring the system have to make sure that the student is able to report sound quality accurately (this comes through practice). If the student is not yet skilled at determining sound quality, which is basically how accurately the student is able to rate if the device is working to the best of its ability, then instructors must rely on objective tests of sound quality, such as testing hearing in a sound booth, until the student is able to do so on his or her own.
This blog introduced me to two important types of technology that can help students hear better in large group settings. Next time, I hope to look into ways to hear more clearly through headphones or when talking to someone on the phone.
By searching within the blog for assistive technology, I was able to find various posts pertaining to the subject. One in particular that related to my 20% project was about FM Systems vs. Soundfields. This post informed me more about two types of technology that could help middle and high school students hear a teacher or speaker more clearly in class or at a large assembly.
FM speakers and Soundfields are two types of assistive technology that are similar in the sense that they both allow the speaker to directly talk into a microphone that will transmit sound to the student with a hearing impairment. FM systems, however, direct the transmitted sound directly into the listeners implant, whereas Soundfields direct the sound into an amplifying speaker system located near the student. Although both systems can be equally effective in enhancing the student's hearing, those monitoring the system have to make sure that the student is able to report sound quality accurately (this comes through practice). If the student is not yet skilled at determining sound quality, which is basically how accurately the student is able to rate if the device is working to the best of its ability, then instructors must rely on objective tests of sound quality, such as testing hearing in a sound booth, until the student is able to do so on his or her own.
This blog introduced me to two important types of technology that can help students hear better in large group settings. Next time, I hope to look into ways to hear more clearly through headphones or when talking to someone on the phone.
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Post 1: My Driving Question
When first considering a topic for my 20% project, my first instinct was to look into one of my strongest interests - cochlear implants. These devices have always fascinated me, so naturally I wanted to learn more about them, specifically more about how other technologies could be used to enhance the benefits of cochlear implants. This led me to start searching for assistive technology for children with cochlear implants. I wanted my focus to involve school age children (middle-high school students) because these are children I hope to work with in the future. Also, these students are often involved in large group activities and social settings. Although cochlear implants allow people with profound hearing loss to hear, these individuals still often face difficulties hearing in large group settings where noise interference can get in the way. This makes it difficult for children with cochlear implants to do some everyday activities such as talk on the phone, listen to music on iPods, or hear a speaker at an assembly. With further thought I was able to formulate my driving question for this project...What types of assistive technology can be used to help school-age (middle/high school) students with cochlear implants hear more clearly in large group or social settings?
To research this question, I first started broadly searching for assistive technology for cochlear implants. This search yielded many results about FM systems, which use radio waves to directly funnel sound from a microphone into a person's cochlear implant. Additional searching also revealed other types of assistive technology involving infrared systems, personal amplifiers, and bluetooth technology. These devices are all used in similar ways as FM systems in that they transmit sound straight to the cochlear implant user in order to eliminate noise interference. These results were helpful, and further research into them might help me discover more ways to help middle and high school students hear better with their cochlear implants.
To research this question, I first started broadly searching for assistive technology for cochlear implants. This search yielded many results about FM systems, which use radio waves to directly funnel sound from a microphone into a person's cochlear implant. Additional searching also revealed other types of assistive technology involving infrared systems, personal amplifiers, and bluetooth technology. These devices are all used in similar ways as FM systems in that they transmit sound straight to the cochlear implant user in order to eliminate noise interference. These results were helpful, and further research into them might help me discover more ways to help middle and high school students hear better with their cochlear implants.
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