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The Intervener and Medical Devices

Interveners help students care for and use a variety of medical devices designed to maximize vision and hearing.

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Care of Eyeglasses

Eyeglass frames are made of soft plastic, hard plastic, or wire.
Students may sometimes use an elastic band attached to the arms of the frames to help secure the glasses.
Occasionally an arm of the frame gets loose and needs to be tightened with a small screw driver.
It may be helpful to have a frame repair kit kept in the classroom.

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Care of Eyeglasses (cont.)

Eyeglass lenses are typically made of plastic or glass. Plastic is more durable but can scratch easily.
Lenses can be cleaned with soapy water or lens cleaner and a soft cloth.

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Care of Hearing Aids and Cochlear Implants (CIs)

Hearing aids and cochlear implants are intricate, expensive devices that require regular monitoring.
Interveners play an important role in caring for and troubleshooting these devices.
The next series of slides provides basic information, but if you have a student with either of these devices, you will likely need additional training and information from the student’s audiologist or teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing.

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Care of Hearing Aids and CIs (cont.)

In order to ensure that speech sounds are being received, amplified, and transmitted, hearing aids or CIs should be checked for proper functioning:

every morning
before aural-verbal training
when there is any indication of malfunctioning

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Hearing Aid Monitoring

Hearing aid checks include:

Visual inspection for damage to the casing or earmold.
Checking the battery with an inexpensive battery tester (only batteries at full power provide good hearing aid function).

Source: Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center, 2008

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Hearing Aid Monitoring (cont.)

Use a specially designed hearing aid listening stethoscope to check the sound quality:

Is it clear (e.g., no distortion or static)?
Does the sound cut off and on when you change the volume?
Does the sound quality change as you increase the volume?

Source: Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center, 2008

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As students get older, many will be be able to participate in or assume responsibility for checking their own hearing aids.
Families should also check hearing aids daily at home.

Source: Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center, 2008

Hearing Aid Monitoring (cont.)

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Cochlear implant checks include:

Use of a "signal check" device to test that the system is transmitting appropriately.
Checking the batteries.
Visual inspection of the coils and cables for wear and tear.
Community travel programs are especially important for students with deaf-blindness since they cannot rely on visual information when traveling.

Source: Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center, 2008

Cochlear Implant Monitoring

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Eyeglasses and Cochlear Implants

Students who wear glasses, may have their cochlear implant receiver attached to the eyeglass frame.
In these cases, take care when cleaning the eyeglasses to make sure the receiver does not get wet (some CIs are not waterproof).

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Ling Six-Sound Test

In addition to checking the mechanical functioning of a hearing aid or CI, it is also important to check the student’s performance with the device.
One way to do this is to use a simple test called the Ling Six-Sound Test.

Source: Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center, 2008

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Ling Six-Sound Test (cont.)

The Ling Test involves presenting the six speech sounds in this chart at a consistent loudness and distance from the student and having him respond in a way that demonstrates that he heard each sound.

Sources: John Tracy Clinic, 2003; Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center, 2008

Illustration by Advanced Bionics, 2009

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Ling Test in Action (cont.)

Once a baseline has been established that indicates whether a student is aware of each sound, the Ling Test can be used to check hearing aid and CI function.
Poor performance on the Ling Test may also indicate a problem unrelated to device function such as wax buildup, middle-ear fluid, or a decrease in hearing levels.

Source: Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center, 2008

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Ling Test in Action

In this video, you will see Ethan and his intervener using the Ling Test to check his cochlear implant. His teacher is off camera, speaking the sounds into a microphone. As Ethan hears each sound, he points to the sounds pictured on the chart and says each one out loud.

Transcript

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Ling Test in Action (cont.)

For many students who are deaf-blind, the use of pictures is not an option.
Listen as Michelle discusses how to do the Ling Test with these students.

Transcript

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Wearing Equipment is a Learned Skill

Interveners may have students with varying levels of experience in wearing medical equipment.
Just learning to wear the device may be a challenge for a student.

Transcript

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Wearing Equipment is a Learned Skill (cont.)

Help the student get comfortable wearing medical devices at a pace that is comfortable for him.

Transcript

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Wearing Equipment is a Learned Skill (cont.)

Make device use part of the school and home routine.
Be consistent.
Give the child control over part of the process.

Transcript

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Keep Trying

Sometimes you may need an adaptation to enable the child to wear the device.
Never doubt the child’s ability to learn new ways to use a device more effectively.

Transcript

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Summary

As an intervener, you may be asked to provide maintenance for a number of medical devices (be sure to involve the student based on her ability level).
There is lots to keep track of!
It is helpful to keep a “cheat sheet” for each device (e.g., CI speech processor settings).

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OHOA Deaf-Blind Intervener Learning Modules

A national resource designed to increase awareness, knowledge, and skills related to the process of intervention for students who are deaf-blind. Developed by National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness.

For more information, contact NCDB at

info@nationaldb.org.

The contents of this presentation were developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education #H326T130013. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the The Research Institute, nor the US Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. Project Officer, Jo Ann McCann.