August 2024 Reading Club: Ears and Hearing

Posted in: Opportunity to participate

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It’s almost back to school. In addition to buying new binders, pencils, and gym shoes, have you scheduled your student’s wellness visit? Doctors recommend that all pre-teens ages 11 and 12 years get important vaccines to protect against serious diseases such as meningitis, which can cause hearing problems (Get Your Pre‑teen’s Vaccines on Schedule – MyHealthfinder | health.gov; Vaccines for Meningococcal | CDC). Children ages 5 to 10 should visit a health provider for an annual well-child exam, which includes a hearing test. But even before your child starts school, it’s recommended that all infants be screened before they are six months old. If your baby, child, or teen has a hearing loss, early detection can help prevent problems with speech, language and social development.

It is estimated that approximately 37.5 million people in the United States ages 18 years or older have hearing loss.

The chance for hearing loss increases as you age. One-third of persons ages 65 to 74 and one-half of persons aged 75 and older experience hearing loss. If you are an adult and notice a problem, get checked by an audiologist who may recommend treatment and services to restore or assist with hearing loss.

We are pleased to be featuring three new books this month:

• Mom Dad Not Hear by Mickey Carolan
• The Butterfly Cage by Rachel Zemach
• True Biz by Sara Nović

Previous books related to Ears and Hearing:

• Haben by Haben Girma
• El Deafo by Cece Bell (scroll down the page for the discussion guide)

Books and additional health information resources are available on our Reading Club page.