Lynn Woods, an audiologist for the Edmonds School District, has assisted hundreds of children in their learning through the help of hearing tests and speech therapy. As she retires this month from 31 years of serving the district, Woods reflected on the progress the district has made and the changes she has seen.
The most significant, Woods said, occurred in 1975.
“We had to give hearing tests at each school, and we’d have to find a room within the building that was quiet enough to do the tests, which was near impossible,” Woods said.
Because she served more than 30 schools and gave more than 1,000 hearing tests each year, Woods said it was difficult to get to everyone in need.
To remedy the problem, Woods designed a proposal, researched her options and convinced the school district to purchase a van outfitted with audio testing equipment and designed to be a silent workspace. The change allowed Woods to better serve the students and made the job much more time efficient, she said.
“It gave us the opportunity to do clinical-level hearing tests wherever we were, and made it so parents didn’t have to bring their kids in and try to schedule it all,” Woods said. “It really made a big difference.”
In her years with the school district, Woods said she has had many “defining moments.” As part of her job, Woods works with near-deaf and deaf students who decide to begin using hearing aids and other hearing devices. One student in particular stands out in Woods’ mind.
When the preschool-age student first came to Woods, she had only recently received a cochlear implant, an artificial hearing device designed to produce hearing sensations by electrically stimulating nerves inside the inner ear.
“At first, these kids can’t make sense of what they’re hearing,” Woods said. “They don’t understand.”
After working with the student for two years, teaching her to discern environmental noises and listening skills, Woods said she “talked just like a preschooler, and it was very exciting.”
“The best part of my job is identifying a problem with a child’s hearing, helping the teacher and parents to find a solution and working with them,” Woods said.
Overall, Woods said, her job has been very rewarding.
But she is ready to go.
On her list of things to do, Woods has penned in a two-month trip to New Zealand and Australia. She and her husband, with whom she shares a love for tandem biking, plan to bike their way through the countryside for much of that trip.
“I am very ready for it,” Woods said.
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