Unilateral Hearing Loss – Hearing loss in one ear only. Unilateral hearing loss adversely affects the educational process in a significant percentage of students who have it. [...]

White Noise – Noise whose amplitude is constant throughout the audible frequency range. Word Recognition Testing (WR) – A test that determines how well you can understand single-syllable words when they are heard at your most comfortable level. [...]

Postlingually Deafened – Individual who becomes deaf after having acquired language. Prelingually Deafened – Persons either born deaf or who lost his or her hearing early in childhood, before acquiring language. Presbycusis – Loss of hearing that gradually occurs because [...]

Vertigo – Illusion of movement; a sensation as if the external world were revolving around an individual (objective vertigo) or as if the individual were revolving in space (subjective vertigo). Vestibular System – System in the body that is responsible [...]

Telecoil: A tiny coil of wire built into many hearing aids that allows the hearing aid to pick up the magnetic fields emitted by telephones, various assistive listening devices, or induction room loops. Tinnitus – Sensation of a ringing, roaring, [...]

Sensorineural Hearing Loss – Hearing loss caused by damage to the sensory cells and/or nerve fibers of the inner ear. The most common type of hearing loss in adulthood. Learn more about sensorineural hearing loss. Serous otitis media – Inflammation [...]

Receiver – The name for the tiny speaker inside the hearing aid. Residual hearing – The amount of measurable, usable hearing left to a person with a hearing loss. Rubella – A viral infection characterized by fever and a skin [...]

On–The–Ear (OTE)/Open Ear Hearing Aid – A more recently developed style of a BTE hearing aid that utilizes a thinner tubing and a placement of the electronics lower down behind the ear for better cosmetic appeal with less occlusion. Otitis [...]

Noise–Induced Hearing Loss – Hearing loss caused by exposure to very loud sounds, either very loud impulse sound(s) or repeated exposure to sounds over 90–decibel level over an extended period of time that damage the sensitive structures of the inner [...]

Masking Noise – A sound introduced into an ear system for the purpose of covering up an unwanted sound. Masking noises are used during hearing tests to cover–up unwanted responses from a non–test ear. Tinnitus maskers also utilize a masking [...]