On-Campus Hearing Screenings

Hearing and speaking are inextricably linked: if you cannot hear what people are saying, you are almost guaranteed to have trouble communicating.  In an effort to highlight this important link and promote good hearing health, McGill’s School of Communication Sciences and Disorders hosted free on-campus hearing screenings in March 2014 for members of the McGill and Montreal community.  This service was first initiated in 2013 (Desautels Faculty of Management Bronfman Building) as a special event for the School’s 50th anniversary, and was brought back for a second year (Faculty of Medicine McIntyre Building) because of its resounding success.

The screenings were organized by clinical coordinator Sophie Vaillancourt and carried out by graduate students in Speech-Language Pathology, under the supervision of a certified audiologist.  “The goal was really to create awareness at McGill about hearing, hearing loss and noise-induced hearing loss,” says Vaillancourt.  “It’s also a chance for the community to learn more about our School and what we do.”

Students assessed participants’ ears and hearing using otoscopy, tympanometry and audiometry tests.  They also provided information about noise-induced hearing loss and healthy hearing practices.  For example, one “fast fact” students shared was that exposure to sounds above 85 dB can permanently damage your hearing.  The information booth was set up in the McIntyre Medical building in a high-traffic area, and clients were invited to drop in to have their hearing checked on a first-come first-serve basis.  In the case where a hearing loss was detected, the on-site audiologist provided additional advice and a referral for a full audiological assessment.

Overall, participants were thrilled with the event and were grateful to receive such a service.  Clients included students, faculty at McGill and other members of the community, and they ranged in age from 3 to 84.  Clearly, issues of hearing can impact everyone in society.  

One client who dropped by was Laura, a nursing student. When asked what motivated her to attend the hearing screenings, she replied, “I thought it was a nice service the department was offering and I was curious to find out if loud music has impacted my hearing.”   Another participant, John, is a manager at McGill University.  When he found out that he had a mild hearing loss, he suspected that it was linked to his playing percussion instruments.  After the audiologist explained the results of his test to him, John remarked that “it’s fascinating to see your hearing plotted out between your left and right ear and separated between low, mid and high frequencies.” Reflecting further on his audiogram results, John added “I am definitely motivated to preserve the hearing that I have.”

In addition to benefiting the community, the hearing screenings provided an important clinical learning experience for graduate students.  “It gives students the opportunity to see a huge diversity of clients,” says Vaillancourt.  “It also gives them more practice working with adults, which allows them to develop their counselling skills.”  Cynthia, a first year speech-language pathology student, confirmed this: “It was such a great experience to be able to apply our newly-learned clinical skills while performing a public service such as this!” she said after the event. “I personally enjoyed meeting so many students, employees, and faculty of McGill, learning about them, and getting to impart some knowledge on the importance of preserving one's hearing.”

In the end, the second year of hearing screenings was even more successful than the first, with 394 individuals being screened.  This event was part of an important initiative to raise awareness about noise-induced hearing loss and the impact that hearing loss can have on communication.  We live in an increasingly noisy society, with advanced technology making it easier than ever before to expose ourselves to loud music and sounds that can cause irreparable damage.  Events like this one at McGill, and the efforts of speech-language pathologists and audiologists working in the field, can ensure that people enjoy full use of their ears for many years to come.

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