Guest Speaker: Patricia Roush, AuD, Dept. of Otolaryngology
University of North Carolina School of Medicine
This week Pat Roush graciously joined us to share a glimpse of her
uncommon pediatric audiologic expertise. We had a wonderful, informal
discussion; it is hard to recount all we talked about! Here are some of the
discussion points: Pat began by reviewing the genetics of hearing loss,
referring to a lecture given by Walter
Nance at a recent Audiology meeting. Of hearing impaired children of
hearing parents, 55% have a genetic etiology, and, of these, 25% are caused by
mutations in the Conexin 26 gene. There are upwards of 100 other known genetic
mutations that make up the remaining genetic cases. Among cases of congential
hearing loss, 50% are syndromic and 50% are non-syndromic. Prenatal CMV is
another common cause of congenital hearing loss. Pat also discussed
the audiogram, including degrees of hearing loss, complexities of the
audiogram, and the effects of various types of loss on speech
development. Finally, she briefly discussed appropriate use of
cochlear implants, such as at what point children are candidates, and how the
processing is different for each child.
Parents Present:
Leslie Wolfe
Sandy Burnette
Marty and Leigh Reeves
Jenny Ball
Arthur & Tracy Tastet
Loretta & Matthew Slozer
Pam Bensimhon
Chris & Crystal Rierson
Joey and Lisa, UNCG Deaf Ed students
Children Present: (A big thank you to Katherine Breeze and Adam
Bensimhon)
Collin and Hannah Tastet
Eli, Zack, Allie and Jake Bensimhon
The Slozer quads and McKenna
Angeleah Reeves
Thanks to Leigh and Marty Reeves for bringing refreshments for the
parents and children to this week’s meeting. Pamela Bensimhon is
signed up to bring snacks to the next meeting.
Our next meeting will be Tuesday, October 30, 2007. Our speaker will
be Beth Whitfield, M. Ed, Certified AVT, CASTLE Program Coordinator.
We hope that all can attend.
ANNOUNCEMENT: Don't forget our FALL FESTIVAL will be Saturday, Oct.
20 from 4-7pm @ Fourth of July Park in Kernersville in Shelter #3.
Located at 702 W. Mountain Street. We will be celebrating the fall
with pumpkin painting and a cookout. Please RSVP to Crystal at
crierson24@triad.rr.com or 449-9948. THIS IS A LOCATION CHANGE FROM OUR
PREVIOUS ANNOUNCEMENT
Pam Bensimhon, Crystal Rierson, Rhonda Shronts
Co-leaders, Triad Area HITCH-UP
