Better Hearing & Speech Month

Communicative Sciences & Disorders
Advancing Knowledge -- Transforming Lives
Communication -- The Power to Change

May is Better Hearing and Speech Month

For over 75 years May has been designated as Better Hearing and Speech Month -- a time to raise public awareness, knowledge, and understanding of the various forms of communication impairments to include those of hearing, speech, language, and voice. Communication impairments affect the most vulnerable in our society -- the young, the aged, the disabled, and the poor.

Helen Keller once noted that of all her impairments, she was perhaps troubled most by her lack of speech and hearing. She elaborated, that while blindness separated her from things, her lack of speech and hearing separated her from people -- the human connection of communication.

Speech-Language Pathology (Speech-Language Pathologists) and Audiology (Audiologists) are the professions concerned with the prevention, identification, and treatment of communication impairments. After earning a master’s degree (consisting of required coursework and practicum experiences), passing a national examination, and serving a yearlong clinical internship, these professionals are eligible for certification, in the form of the Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC), from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (Both of these professions were rated among the top 50 for job satisfaction in recent Jobs Rated Almanac.)

The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders reports that approximately 43,000,000 people in the United States suffer from a speech, voice, language, or hearing impairment. Almost 28,000,000 suffer from a hearing loss. Approximately 10 percent of children have moderate to severe communication impairments, including speech production/articulation, stuttering, and language-learning difficulties. Children with speech and language impairments are 4 to 5 times more likely than their peers to experience other language-learning disabilities to include significant reading problems. Approximately 1,000,000 people in the United States have aphasia – a language disorder resulting from brain damage caused by a stroke.

An estimated 28 million Americans have a hearing loss that can be treated; yet fewer than 7,000,000 use a hearing aid. You could be one of them. Now is a good time to take stock of your own hearing and seek help if you think you may have a problem.

understand people better when you wear your glasses or look directly at their faces

"People who see themselves in these statements should see an audiologist for a hearing test," said Dr. Jerry Punch of the Department of Communicative Sciences & Disorders, and the Oyer Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic at Michigan State University. "Even a very slight hearing loss can have an impact on your daily life," said Dr. Punch. "Hearing loss is treatable, and there is no reason for anyone to miss all the important sounds of life.“

Audiologists test hearing, prescribe hearing aids and assistive listening devices, and they can teach people with hearing loss how to make the most of the sounds they hear. Audiologists must possess a graduate degree and are certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. They work in schools, private practice, hospitals, clinics, and other health and educational settings.

Speech and language disorders take many forms such as speech, articulation, voice, stuttering, aphasia, and oral language problems. They may be learning based, acquired, or the result of accidental injury or illness at any age. Speech and language disorders can limit academic achievement, social adjustment, and career advancement. "Fortunately, most people with speech and language problems can be helped," said Dr. Michael W. Casby, of the Department of Communicative Sciences & Disorders, and Oyer Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic at Michigan State University. "Even if the problem cannot be eliminated, we can teach people with speech and language problems strategies to help them cope. People may not fully develop or regain their capacity to speak and understand, but a speech-language pathologist can help them achieve an improved quality of life."

Speech-language pathologists are the professionals who treat various aspects of all types of speech, language, voice, stuttering, hearing, and related disorders. They hold at least a master’s degree and are certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Speech-language pathologists work in schools, private practice, hospitals, clinics, and other health and education settings.

The Department of Communicative Sciences & Disorders at Michigan State University offers undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral degree programs of study (517-353-8788).