Dcember 1, 2008

Free screenings at Purdue to test hearing, speech and language

The screenings are 9-11:30 a.m. in Heavilon Hall, Room B11, and are free and open to individuals 18 and older. Appointments are recommended and can be made in advance by calling (765) 494-4229. Screenings for walk-ins will be based on availability.

Anyone who has had ringing in their ears, exposure to loud noise, a recent ear infection, difficulty hearing speech in noisy rooms, difficulty swallowing, a hoarse voice or easily loses their voice, should consider the hearing and speech screenings.

The 15-minute screenings are performed by clinical instructors and graduate students from the M.D. Steer Audiology and Speech-Language Clinics. The session includes a hearing screening (in which the person responds to sounds) and speech and language screenings (in which a clinician analyzes the person's voice, fluency and articulation, and asks questions about swallowing).

The M.D. Steer Audiology and Speech-Language Clinics are home to a variety of professional diagnostic and rehabilitative services, such as delivery of hearing aids and assistive listening devices in a family-centered aural program; serving as a confirmation diagnostic site for the state's universal newborn hearing screening and intervention program; and providing group or individual therapy for children and adults with speech, language and hearing disorders such as specific language impairments, neurocognitive disorders, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and dementia, stuttering, and autism spectrum disorders.

The clinics are part of the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, which is housed in the College of Liberal Arts.

Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, (765) 494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu

Source: Jennifer Simpson, clinical assistant professor of speech, language and hearing sciences, (765) 494-0158, jsible@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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