{"id":218334,"date":"2022-06-06T14:00:18","date_gmt":"2022-06-06T18:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/?p=218334"},"modified":"2022-06-02T16:33:13","modified_gmt":"2022-06-02T20:33:13","slug":"happy-to-hear-that","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/2022\/06\/06\/happy-to-hear-that\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy to Hear That"},"content":{"rendered":"

Skylah, a Pre-K student at a school run by The Leaguers, Inc. in Roselle, holds a paper cookie to her left ear. She\u2019s wearing headphones attached to one of the portable audiometers the Montclair State University students and professors have brought to the school. Upon hearing a beep, the three-year-old gives the cookie to Quinley, the mouse from the children\u2019s book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie<\/em>, as instructed by Gita Balser, a second-year Montclair audiology student.<\/p>\n

Nearby, first-year audiology student Grace Gleba works to get a 4-year-old boy to play a similar game as she checks his hearing. \u201cIf you hear a beep, throw the bean bag in the bucket, okay?\u201d Gleba instructs him.<\/p>\n

Jowel holds the bean bag to his left ear. But after the beep, nothing. <\/p>\n

\u201cDid you hear the beep?\u201d He nods.<\/p>\n

\u201cWas it this ear or this ear?\u201d Gleba asks, pointing to the red and blue headphones he\u2019s wearing. He points to one ear, then the other. Audiology Clinic Director Faith Mogila steps in to help, challenging the boy to beat her at tossing the bean bag into the bucket. They continue working with him, ultimately determining that he can hear, he\u2019s just quite shy. Jowel moves on to an otoscopic examination with first-year audiology student Max St. Germain.<\/p>\n

\"young
A student in Newark holds a block to her ear while listening for a \u201cbeep\u201d through headphones.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In all, on this day about 40 Roselle children will have their hearing screened using the audiometer and a visual ear examination with an otoscope. In addition, they will undergo an otoacoustic emission test, which involves placing a tiny device in the ear that emits sound and records an echo, measuring cochlear function. It\u2019s commonly used with babies and small children because it doesn\u2019t require a behavioral response from them.<\/p>\n

The four Montclair students in Roselle are among 13 audiology doctoral students dispatched to three Early Head Start and Head Start programs run by The Leaguers, the oldest incorporated African American social service agency in New Jersey. The nonprofit organization provides services to 1,700 low-income families in Essex and Union counties. The hearing screenings, part of a partnership with the New Jersey Department of Health\u2019s Early Hearing Detection and Intervention, provides a public service and gives audiology students hands-on experience. Audiology students in the University\u2019s Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders also will provide hearing screenings to athletes participating in the Special Olympics New Jersey Summer Games in Ewing Township in mid-June.<\/p>\n

\"child
A child in Newark holds a toy elephant to his forehead. He has been instructed by a Montclair audiology doctoral student to connect the alphabet toy elephant to another elephant every time he hears a tone from the headphones. Giving the child an interesting game enhances his ability to listen even when the sounds are very soft.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On this day, screenings are also taking place in Irvington and Newark \u2013 the same day news of Mattel\u2019s release of a new Barbie with hearing aids was making the rounds among the students. The activities used during the screenings are meant to make the assessments more entertaining and less scary for children. Audiology students were challenged to come up with new age-appropriate activities that could be used to condition a child from 3-5 years of age. Gleba\u2019s idea for the mouse-and-cookie activity, sparked by a trip to her mother\u2019s basement where her mom still keeps all of her childhood toys, was approved for use. In fact, it was her stuffed mouse that was used at the Roselle school. At The Leaguers school in Newark, five Montclair students used toy elephants and building blocks to engage the children. <\/p>\n

\"Professor
Montclair Audiology Clinical Professor Alexis Rooney examines a student\u2019s ear with an otoscope at a Newark school.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Second-year audiology student Sean Kleczkowski is conducting his first screening of young children in a preschool setting. \u201cIt\u2019s really important to screen their hearing because they may be missing learning in class and not even know it,\u201d Kleczkowski says.<\/p>\n

While children are screened as newborns, as required by law, hearing issues can still develop. \u201cThey could have a late onset [or progressive] hearing loss,\u201d Kleczkowski says. \u201cIncidents of hearing loss can double between birth and age 6, so it\u2019s crucial that we do these screenings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ivonne Jaramillo, a health and nutrition specialist with The Leaguers, said she and other specialists typically travel to schools to do hearing and vision screenings at the beginning of the school year, as required by the school, but that having an additional follow-up screening is also good. \u201cIt\u2019s important because we want early intervention,\u201d Jaramillo says. \u201cNot being able to hear could interfere with school productivity.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"Cindy
Second-year audiology student Cindy Fernandez tests a Newark child\u2019s hearing using an audiometer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pre-K teacher Mariam Gonzales monitors the proceedings as some of her preschoolers get tested while others await their turn. She\u2019s optimistic that they will pass the screening. \u201cI haven\u2019t had any problems with them not hearing me in the classroom,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

Parents, who provided consent for the screenings, will receive letters explaining their children\u2019s results. Any student who doesn\u2019t pass the screening will be referred to their pediatrician and an audiologist in their area. The parents of all the children tested will also receive literature explaining the importance of screening and signs of normal speech and language development.<\/p>\n

\"Rosie
Third year audiology student Rosie Ovadia places a tiny device in a Newark student\u2019s ear for an otoacoustic emission test, which determines cochlear function.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At The Leaguers\u2019 Early Head Start and Head Start programs in downtown Newark, first-year audiology student Vanessa Coppola says she enjoyed testing the children, \u201cIt was a lot of kids and a lot of experience screening children.\u201d Some, she says, will need follow-up testing.<\/p>\n

\"Nicole
Nicole Genser asks a child whether he heard a beep in his left ear; he holds an elephant to his ear and tosses it into a basket upon hearing a beep.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While Balser, second-year student Cindy Fernandez and third-year student Rosie Ovadia had tested young children before, more often than not these screenings are the first opportunity for Montclair audiology students to screen children, says Mogila.<\/p>\n

At Montclair\u2019s audiology clinic, the students work mostly with adults who are in a soundproof booth. At the Newark school, \u201cit was interesting,\u201d says Nicole Genser, a first-year student. \u201cWe had to think about the best way to set it all out in terms of environment and noise. The kids were great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Professor Maryrose McInerney assists audiology student Alyssa Bonapace, in conducting a otoacoustic emission test on a young student in Newark.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Professor Joan Besing, director of Clinical Graduate Programs in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, says going to schools sometimes affords Montclair students new experiences. \u201cThere were some students who had tubes in their ears, our students hadn\u2019t seen that before. It provides them with hands-on experience so that they become more comfortable.\u201d <\/p>\n

There\u2019s also the added bonus of giving back while also learning. \u201cIt\u2019s really rewarding to be able to do screenings for one\u2019s community,\u201d says Fernandez. \u201cWe\u2019re applying our knowledge for the better good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vanessa Coppola tests a student in Newark.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Rosie
Rosie Ovadia examines a child\u2019s eardrum.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"child
A child places toys into a container, indicating that she\u2019s heard a beep through her headphones during a hearing exam.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Cindy
Cindy Fernandez tests a student\u2019s hearing.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To learn more about the doctorate of audiology program visit Audiology<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Story by Staff Writer Sylvia A. Martinez<\/a>. Photos by University Photographer Mike Peters<\/a>.<\/p>\n