Speech and Balance Are Intimately Connected to Hearing

Speech and Hearing

Hearing and speech affect our ability to communicate and experience the world around us. An enormous degree of what babies learn comes to them through their ears. They stop crying or coo when they hear their mothers talk to them. They may react (smile) to a change in a tone of voice. Parents who suspect hearing difficulties in their babies may notice that their child is not reacting to a new sound, responding to "no" or enjoying rattles and other toys that make sounds. Experts say parents who discuss their baby's suspected hearing problem with their doctors early may be able to reduce the impact it may have on speech development. Hearing problems may make older children, adults and the elderly more silent and socially withdrawn.

Balance and Hearing

The vestibular system in the inner ear controls our sense of balance and relies on information from a number of sources, including hearing, to operate. Because of this intimate connection between balance and hearing, impairments of the inner ear such as Meniere's Disease involve symptoms that may include both dizziness and progressive deafness. Age-related hearing loss affects 30-35 percent of the U.S. population between the ages of 65 and 75, and 40 percent of those over 75 years of age. Likewise, one study of 65- to 75-year-olds found that one-third also experienced dizziness and imbalance. Balance-related falls account for more than half of accidental deaths in the elderly.

Your vestibular system consists of three semicircular canals, each governing a different movement: up/down, side to side, and tilting. These canals contain sensory hair cells that respond to movement of hte inner ear fluid. When your head moves, these hair cells send nerve impulses to your brain via a portion of the acoustic nerve. The brain stem and the cerebellum process the vestibular impulses.