Learn

Andrew Stewart is the Managing Director of Hearing Connections and wears two cochlear implants. He has ten family members over three generations who wear hearing devices, including his two children. He is qualified in electronics and has spent his career spanning over 35 years specialising in assistive technology for people with hearing loss. Andrew was the drafting lead of the two Australian Standards defining hearing augmentation systems and has received many awards for his advocacy work on behalf of people with hearing loss.

Chapters in this webinar
00:00 Introduction
01:23 Andrew Stewart – background
04:49 Why aren’t cochlear implants and hearing aids enough
11:04 FMs supplied for children and young adults
14:32 FMs used by some teenagers
15:32 Roger receivers
17:34 SoundField Systems
37:21 Connecting whiteboards to SoundField
38:24 Assembly halls
41:45 Outdoor assembly and Coverered Outdoor Learning Areas
42:37 Hearing Loop Systems
42:53 My coping mechanisms
45:54 Thank you

• QUESTION: Should we always advocate for both FM and Soundfield for our children in the classroom?
  ANSWER: Yes. With only one microphone,  the user misses out on team teaching (solved by using pass around microphone), other children speaking (solved by using pass around microphone), sound from the electronic whiteboard (solved by using the multimedia hub). Also, most users only have one FM receiver, and the sSoundField speaker improves the quality of sound to the other ear. In addition, use of the SoundField speaker quietens down the rest of the class when the teacher is speaking, reducing background noise. Most importantly, and including my own personal experience, and that of my children, by having the SoundField speaker, the user doesn’t feel like all the technology is just about them. The SoundField system benefits all the children and reduces voice strain for the teacher.It is a win-win!
  
  
• QUESTION: My daughter has a Streamline mic that is Signia that sends teacher’s voice to both aids.  She no longer uses it because she complained she cannot hear what her peers are saying around her.  What can she do?  
  ANSWER: There’s a couple of options.  I don’t know what age your daughter is and that is important.  I would be encouraging the audiologist to turn on the controls on the hearing so she can actually switch between the Streamline mic and her own mic so she can switch over and make that choice herself when it’s better to hear the teacher and when she wants to hear those around her.  We have four-year-olds who know how to use the DVD remote control. Kids at school are more than capable of switching programs on their hearing aids and cochlear implants.   The kids have to take responsibility for their own disability. You don’t want them relying on everybody else to do things for them. The other thing is in the case of your daughter, she can have one ear on the classroom and one ear on the Streamline mic.  The third option is to get Hearing Australia to modify the programming of the hearing aid on at least one ear she has 50-50 of what the sound around her to the sound from the Streamline mic.  You one ear with 100 per cent to get maximum capability but the other ear to have 50-50.  The thing is she has to experiment and she has to have the capability to experiment by having access to the technology.
  
  
• QUESTION: Are SoundFields ever used at home?
  ANSWER: Only school, not at home.  There is other technology for the home – i.e. hearing loops.
  
  
• QUESTION: I have a 13-year-old daughter with bilateral cochlear implants.  She plays basketball and relies on lip reading for her coach’s instructions as she doesn’t want him to wear the Roger Touchscreen mic or the Cochlear Mini Mic as this would be awful as he wouldn’t mute at the right times and there is all the background noise.
  ANSWER:

  That is one of those situations where your daughter just has to make that choice. There is no ideal solution.  She’s got to decide whether to give the Mini Mic to the coach. I wouldn’t try the Touchscreen as it will probably bounce around too much.  I’d just try the Mini Mic, and using the Nucleus app for the Cochlear processor, adjust how much microphone she gets and how much wireless signal she gets. I’m not sure about the other brands whether you can do that.  She may want to have it 50-50 so she gets the sound around her as well as what’s coming from the coach.  I would encourage her to try some different things to work out which is best for her, rather than not trying anything.  I hope that helps.

The opinions expressed in this presentation and on the slides are those of the presenter and not necessarily those of Aussie Deaf Kids. Aussie Deaf Kids does not guarantee the accuracy or reliability of the information provided and recommends that you always seek professional advice for your child’s individual needs.