Did you know that May is Better Speech and Hearing Month? Each May, Better Hearing and Speech Month provides an opportunity to raise awareness about communication disorders, and the roles of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists in providing life-altering treatment.

Many people are unaware of the impact speech, language, and hearing difficulties have on daily life skills. Imagine not being able to communicate your feelings or needs. What if you couldn’t hear what someone was saying? Your quality of life would be greatly affected.

Did you know?
• 1 in 4 adult Canadians has some form of hearing loss.
• 1 in 5 Canadian youth has signs of hearing loss.
• Aging is the number one cause of hearing loss, with severity increasing over time.
• The average adult waits 7 years after an identified hearing loss before pursuing amplification (i.e., hearing aid). However, the longer you wait to get hearing aids, the less stimulation your brain and hearing nerves get, and the worse you become at recognizing speech. Once your nerve is affected, you can’t reverse the damage.
• An estimated 4% of preschoolers have a significant speech or language disorder.
• A child with significant language difficulties (comprehension and/ or expression) is more likely to also have difficulty interacting with his peers and family, and is at risk for serious academic difficulties.
• The latter difficulties are often associated with behavioral problems, but are in actuality results of daily frustration of understanding others, and/ or expressing oneself. Early detection and intervention of speech and language delays and disorders are critical.

HearSay Speech & Hearing Centre opened its doors to the community of Milton 15 years ago. As the incidence of speech, language, and hearing difficulties continue to rise, our staff of Speech-Language Pathologists, Communicative Disorders Assistants, Audiologists, Hearing Instrument Specialists, and administrative support staff work together to provide services that cater to a wide array of communication disorders. Articulation/ speech sound development, language, literacy, auditory processing, hearing, hearing aid fittings, and counselling are just a few of the many services that we provide.

Having a complete diagnostic hearing evaluation is suggested annually at every age. Baby-boomers have now reached retirement age, and are finding they cannot hear as well as they used to – be that from the natural aging process, work-related hearing loss, or from merely having attended too many loud concerts in their younger years. Many people are not even aware that they have hearing loss, because it has happened gradually over the years. The cost of hearing aids, along with the technology in hearing aids has improved so extensively in the past decade that a hearing aid is now compatible with smartphones and other new electronics.

We invite you to visit our family-owned clinic. Our friendly, professional staff can answer any questions you may have prior to booking an appointment.