Peer Relationship Experiences Of Deaf And Hard-Of-Hearing Adolescents.

Deaf and hard-of-hearing adolescents (DHH) experience more peer problems and lower levels of friendships than their hearing peers. This study used a qualitative approach to identify their experiences of peer problems and factors influencing them. A sample of 30, 13-19 year-old DHH adolescents with a moderate to profound hearing loss, drawn from a population-based cohort study in which their receptive language and social-emotional skills had been assessed, underwent semi-structured interviews. Interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. Participants reported that, overall, they had developed positive and rewarding relationships with their peers, notwithstanding their earlier experience of being bullied. Conflicts and infrequency of interaction in their friendships were mainly reported by girls. Adolescents with moderate hearing loss were identified as facing the same or even more barriers than adolescents with severe to profound hearing loss in making new friends. Implications for educational practice are discussed.

A highly attenuating and frequency tailorable annular hole phononic crystal for surface acoustic waves.

Surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices are widely used for signal processing, sensing and increasingly for lab-on-a-chip applications. Phononic crystals can control the propagation of SAW, analogous to photonic crystals, enabling components such as waveguides and cavities. Here we present an approach for the realisation of robust, tailorable SAW phononic crystals, based on annular holes patterned in a SAW substrate. Using simulations and experiments, we show that this geometry supports local resonances which create highly attenuating phononic bandgaps at frequencies with negligible coupling of SAWs into other modes, even for relatively shallow features. The enormous bandgap attenuation is up to an order-of-magnitude larger than that achieved with a pillar phononic crystal of the same size, enabling effective phononic crystals to be made up of smaller numbers of elements. This work transforms the ability to exploit phononic crystals for developing novel SAW device concepts, mirroring contemporary progress in photonic crystals.The control and manipulation of propagating sound waves on a surface has applications in on-chip signal processing and sensing. Here, Ash et al. deviate from standard designs and fabricate frequency tailorable phononic crystals with an order-of-magnitude increase in attenuation.

Reading and communication skills after universal newborn screening for permanent childhood hearing impairment.

BACKGROUND: Birth in periods with universal newborn screening (UNS) for permanent childhood hearing impairment (PCHI) and early confirmation of PCHI have been associated with superior subsequent language ability in children with PCHI. However their effects on reading and communication skills have not been addressed in a population-based study. METHODS: In a follow-up study of a large birth cohort in southern England, we measured reading by direct assessment and communication skills by parent report in 120 children with bilateral moderate, severe or profound PCHI aged 5.4-11.7 years, of whom 61 had been born in periods with UNS, and in a comparison group of 63 children with normal hearing. RESULTS: Compared with birth during periods without UNS, birth during periods with UNS was associated with better reading scores (inter-group difference 0.39 SDs, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.76, p = 0.042) and communication skills scores (difference 0.51 SDs, 95% CI 0.06 to 0.95, p = 0.026). Compared with later confirmation, confirmation of PCHI by age 9 months was also associated with better reading (difference 0.51 SDs, 95% CI 0.15 to 0.87, p = 0.006) and communication skills (difference 0.56 SDs, 95% CI 0.12 to 1.00, p = 0.013). In the children with PCHI, reading, communication and language ability were highly correlated (r = 0.62-0.84, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Birth during periods with UNS and early confirmation of PCHI predict better reading and communication abilities at primary school age. These benefits represent functional gains of sufficient magnitude to be important in children with PCHI.

Experience of using vibrotactile aids with the profoundly deafened.

This is a summary of clinical experience and research findings gathered from using vibrotactile aids over 7 years. This interest grew from a research project to evaluate four wrist-worn vibrotactile aids for the rehabilitation of the profoundly deaf. To facilitate this, a training programme was developed to help patients get the most from the aid. Having found that the RNID/Summit Tam vibrotactile aid was the most appropriate, this has been fitted to over 50 patients. The results of the comparative trial, an evaluation of our methods and a discussion of our clinical experience using vibrotactile aids with profoundly deafened patients are presented.