17th ANNUAL EARLY HEARING DETECTION & INTERVENTION MEETING
March 18-20, 2018 • Denver, CO

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  |  Bicycling Habits in Children With and Without Hearing Loss

Bicycling Habits in Children With and Without Hearing Loss

In addition to navigating life with hearing loss, children who are deaf or hard of hearing (CDHH) are encouraged to wear external devices, such as hearing aids (HAs), all waking hours. While the improved auditory access from these devices has a positive effect on communication and safety, there is little evidence of how HAs impact participation in age-appropriate activities. Bicycling is one activity that is enjoyed by children all over the world. Public health movements encourage children to wear helmets to prevent head trauma. Currently, no bicycle helmet on the market is specifically designed to accommodate hearing devices. It is unclear whether HAs restrict participation in bicycling activities, or whether CDHH ride bicycles without wearing their HAs. This project aims to compare the bicycling habits of CDHH who wear amplification devices to their peers with typical hearing in two different countries (the United States and the Netherlands). This study is part of a collaborative project between researchers at the University of Iowa and Leiden University in the Netherlands. We hypothesized that CDHH will participate in cycling less than their hearing peers because of the inability for helmets to accommodate their devices and potential safety concerns. We tested our hypothesis by administering online Qualtrics surveys in English or Dutch to parents of CDHH or hearing children. Eighty parents of 8 to 12 year-old CDHH and forty-five parents of hearing children have completed the survey. Data analysis is currently underway. Preliminary analyses suggest that CDHH were more likely to never ride bicycles, begin biking without training wheels at an older age, and wear helmets less. The long-term goal of this project is to bring awareness to the need for accommodations to improve quality of life, increase safety, and reduce participation restrictions for CDHH.

  • To compare the cycling habits of children with and without hearing loss
  • To evaluate whether children wear their hearing aids and helmets while biking
  • To determine if parents of CDHH have more biking-related safety concerns for their child than parents of children with normal hearing

Presentation:
15805_7958EmilyGoetz.pdf

Handouts:
Handout is not Available

Transcripts:
CART transcripts are NOT YET available, but will be posted shortly after the conference


Presenters/Authors

Emily Goetz (), University of Iowa Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, emily-goetz@uiowa.edu;
Emily Goetz is a second year graduate student in the Doctor of Audiology program at the University of Iowa.

ASHA DISCLOSURE:

Financial - No relevant financial relationship exist.

Nonfinancial - No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.


Rachel Canon (), University of Iowa Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, rachel-canon@uiowa.edu;
Rachel Canon is an undergraduate student studying Speech and Hearing Science at the University of Iowa.

ASHA DISCLOSURE:

Financial -

Nonfinancial -


Evelien Dirks (), Dutch Foundation of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Child, Developmental Psychology University Leiden, edirks@nsdsk.nl;
Evelien Dirks is a senior researcher at the NSDSK, specialist in Language and Hearing. Her research focuses on parent-child interaction, language, social-emotional and cognitive development in young deaf and hard of hearing children. She is also involved in projects focusing on interactive book reading and early numeracy.

ASHA DISCLOSURE:

Financial -

Nonfinancial -


Elizabeth Walker (), University of Iowa, Elizabeth-walker@uiowa.edu;
Elizabeth Walker, PhD, CCC-A/SLP is an associate professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Iowa. Her research focuses on pediatric aural habilitation, specifically examining malleable factors that relate to individual differences in speech perception and language outcomes for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. For the past few years, she has been an investigator on several NIH-funded research grants, including the University of Iowa Cochlear Implant project, Outcomes of Children with Hearing Loss study, and Complex Listening in School Age Children who are Hard of Hearing.

ASHA DISCLOSURE:

Financial - Receives Grants for Employment from NIH.   Receives Grants for Employment from NIH.   Receives Grants for Employment from NIH.   Receives Grants for Employment from NIH.  

Nonfinancial - No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.