We have chosen to research about hearing disabilities. This includes the current state of related assistive technology, the future direction of hearing disabilities, What has to be done to get it there, and our ideas for creating robotics for this disability. This report will cover people that are hard of hearing and are deaf. This is our report on hearing disabilities.

Currently there are products that flash, vibrate, and do other things instead of beeping or using some other sound-based way to get your attention. Some products include things like flashing lights when the doorbell rings, smoke alarm goes off, or the telephone rings. Things like vibrating pagers or beds could also be used for those that are hard of hearing or deaf. For telephones there are many things such as “text messaging” and “typewriter telephones”. If the person in question is not totally deaf, then perhaps a miniature FM radio can be hooked up to their ears.
The future direction of this technology is more things being compatible with those who have a hearing problem. Examples include: Websites with audio could provide a “captioned” version of the site. More TV channels and programs could include a captioning system. More telephones could be equipped with text messaging and other similar functions. Advancement is the cochlear implants. These implants give deaf people the ability to hear.
More companies adding on functions that apply to those who are deaf can accomplish making more technology that is compatible with those who are deaf. As for the cochlear implants, one thing to consider is that the operation might be unaffordable by some. Another is that if you were unable to hear for a long period of time, then you would have to get therapy to learn how to use the new sense.

Hearing loss is the most common birth defect found in newborns, and yet all newborns are not routinely tested for it. About three out of one thousand babies are born with a significant hearing loss, and many more are born with milder forms. 14.9% of children born in the United States aged six to nineteen have a measurable hearing loss in one or both ears.

Any degree of hearing loss can be educationally handicapping for children. Even children with mild to moderate hearing loss can miss up to 50% of classroom discussions. Unmanaged hearing loss in children can affect their speech, language, cognitive, and social/emotional development. This affects their academic capabilities and self-image.

All children can be evaluated for hearing loss. Children who are minutes old can have their hearing assessed using tests that are safe, painless and easy to control. Studies show that children with hearing loss who are identified and receive early intervention prior to six months of age, develop significantly better language skills than children identified after six months. The average age of identification of early onset hearing loss in the United States is twoyears.

Hearing loss can often be undetected as the signs are subtle in young children. From birth to four-months of age, a baby should be startled by sudden loud sounds. When sleeping in a quiet room, the baby moves or wakes up to a sound of a voice or noise. A crying baby seems to calm down when they hear a familiar sound or voice. At three to four months, babies start to turn their heads toward a sound. Between four to eight months, a baby will turn their head and eyes toward a sound when the sound is coming from outside the child’s vision range. Babies begin to enjoy the sound of musical toys like rattles and bells. From six months of age they begin babbling in response to someone talking to them. Between eight to twelve months, a baby’s voice goes up and down when vocalizing. They turn directly towards a soft noisemaker or to the calling of their name. Babies seem to enjoy music and respond by listening, bouncing, or singing along. Twelve to sixteen month old children understand many words and speak about twenty-five single words. Eighteen- to twenty-four-month children undergo a “name explosion,” as they begin to understand that everything has a word that goes with it. At this time, they begin speaking two word sentences and have a vocabulary of about 100 to 200 words. They begin speaking in complete sentences, and usually know about 200 to 400 words.

No matter what age you are, you can develop a hearing loss. More than twenty-four million Americans have some type of hearing problem. Hearing difficulties are often unrecognized by the person involved, but not by those around them. Children and teenagers seldom complain about the symptoms of hearing loss and adults may lose their hearing so gradually that they do not realize it is happening. Generally, the condition takes years to become noticeable to you and you may not even realize that you’re hearing has begun to deteriorate. It is a good idea to have your hearing checked by an audiologist if you experience any one of these signs:
· strain to hear normal conversations
· watch other people’s faces to follow what they are saying
· ask people to repeat what they say
· often misunderstand what people have to say
· turn the volume up on the TV or radio to the point that others complain
· think that people are mumbling or not talking clearly
· have problems with ringing in the ears or head noises
· repeated ear infections
· having trouble with dizziness or balance problems
· discover that the effort to hear and understand makes you irritated, tired, or cranky, and having trouble understanding over the phone.

Any disease or condition that interferes or disrupts the transmission of sound to the hearing centers in the brain causes a hearing loss. The disruption can occur anywhere along the hearing pathway to the brain.
TYPES OF HEARING LOSS
There are four types of hearing loss that are named according to the area of the ear that is affected and they are:
· Conductive hearing loss
· sensory hearing loss
· neural hearing loss
· central hearing loss
Anyone can have a hearing loss. Hearing loss is one of the most common health conditions today, particularly as one ages. Over half of the people over the age of 65 have hearing loss. But keep in mind that hearing loss is not just associated with the normal aging process. Over half of the hearing aid patients at ACI Hearing Center are under the age of 50

In the field of hearing disabilities, there are many devices, which may be the future direction of this type of helpful technology, but the newest contraption that is causing the most stir is the cochlear implant. This device, which replaces the broken or damaged part of the ear with an electronic part, restores some of the person’s hearing. However, it is not fully functional. This implant is only able to restore some of the person’s hearing. Scientists still have not figured out how to restore total hearing to a person.
It has come to attention of the deaf community whether or not to switch to this new implant. As it does not restore total hearing, the deaf community seems to think that other more “primitive” ways such as sign language. It seems that the deaf community is divided among the thought of utilizing the implant, or not. Some are convinced that it will turn people into robots. Yet others say that it will take too much money and therapy to help solve the problem.
There are some people that support this technology and think that it will help the deaf community. Some promote the idea of implanting younger children and toddlers because when you are older and receive the implant, you don’t have knowledge to know how to comprehend what you are hearing. Others still say that the deaf community is not thought of as a good thing, but that people who hear just don’t understand that some people may not want to hear for the first time or again. It seems that those that are taking the idea and running forward with it will be the people that pave the road for the deaf community.