First Bite #38 – March 12, 2019
The Spectacular Power of Listening
(.1 ASHA CEU) For more info, click here.
Course Description
In this episode, Michelle is joined by the jovial Jason Wigand, AuD, Assistant Professor and Clinical Director of the Cochlear Implant Program at the University of South Carolina. They have quite the talk for you! Have you scratched your head lately wondering why that patient your working with just isn’t picking up the sounds or words y’all have spent weeks addressing? But…have you seriously considered the impact of their surrounding environment on speech acquisition? How about little sister’s i-pad blaring, older brother gaming in the next room with the surround sound turned all the way up, the wash running in the machine adjacent to where you’ve been working? Those sounds impact our sessions because they limit what our little ones can hear…and Jason is “hear” today to offer functional …and fun…resources!
Objective
By the end of this PodCourse, participants will be able to identify and describe:
- 2 effects of background noise on listening abilities and remediations available.
- Challenging sources of unwanted sound in various environments and explain 2 technological options to address it.
- “Signal-to-noise” ratio and 3 strategies to improve listening abilities of hearing-impaired children.
Co-Presenter

Jason P. Wigand, MA AuD CCC-A
Jason P. Wigand s a clinical audiologist with the Carolina Hearing Institute, a subsidiary of South Carolina ENT, Allergy and Sleep Disorders and an adjunct professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of South Carolina. He serves as treasurer for the South Carolina Chapter of AG Bell and is on the state’s Board of Examiners for Speech Language Pathology and Audiology. He completed undergraduate work at the University of Kentucky and received his AuD from The Ohio State University.
As a researcher, audiologist and late-deafened adult and bilateral cochlear implant recipient, Dr. Wigand is passionate about helping and educating both adult and pediatric hearing-impaired and their families. He has provided care in both private practice and nonprofit settings and is continually engaged in contributing to the research and collaboration needed to forward the practice and profession of audiology as the primary provider of care for individuals with balance and hearing-impairments.