Zhang Juan, MD, Associate Professor, Doctoral Supervisor, Chief Physician, Associate Director of the Hearing Center and Associate Director of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Department of Affiliated Beijing Chaoyang Hospital of Capital Medical University, China.
The prestigious Hearing International Annual Meeting 2023, hosted by the Beijing Society of Audiology, fielded an impressive assembly of experts and centre representatives from countries including Thailand, the United States, Spain, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, and China.
On the morning of 31 October, Ms Wan Min (right), President of the Beijing Society of Audiology, on behalf of Hearing International Beijing Center, extended a warm welcome to the delegates and presented a comprehensive report on the preparatory work of the meeting.
Professor Suchitra Prasansuk, President of Hearing International, graced the meeting with her opening remarks and a report on the organisation’s activities.
A total of seven special speeches were given at the conference’s scientific session, which was chaired by Prof Zhang Juan (left) of the HI Beijing Center on the second day. First, Professor Bu Xingkuan discussed hearing loss based on the World Report on Hearing released by the World Health Organization. Prof Bu argued that hearing loss, as a hidden disability, should receive extensive attention from all parts of society and each country should promote audiology to meet the needs of those with hearing loss.
Professor Suchitra Prasansuk (right) gave a detailed account of the potential pathological causes of tinnitus and shared cases to provide systematic guidance for the clinical management of tinnitus.
In particular, she pointed out the increasing prevalence of noise-induced tinnitus in the younger population.
The next speaker was Professor Jose Juan Barajas De Prat (left) who talked about how to fit hearing aids properly. He stressed the importance of using real ear measurements (REM) and questionnaire measurements, as together they provide a relatively comprehensive verification of hearing aid benefits.
Professor Herman A Jenkins presented a summary of assistive hearing implant devices suitable for different degrees and types of hearing loss, including unilateral deafness, providing audiologists and otologists with rich theoretical knowledge and clinical experience.
A talk on the grading of hearing loss and spatial auditory function was then delivered by Professor Zhang Juan (right). She gave a detailed explanation of spatial hearing function in both ears from the aspects of spatial hearing basics, standardised sound source localisation test, and the impact of hearing loss on sound localisation ability. She also proposed an interesting newly formed sound localisation-level grading which is related to subjects’ hearing-level grading.
Next, Professor Liu Yuhe (left) introduced the development of auditory cognitive assessment materials and discussed the influencing factors of context utilisation and dependence to provide ideas for auditory cognitive assessment.
Finally, Professor Zhang Tianhong (right) made a detailed report on the genetic characteristics of DFNA5 deafness gene mutation, providing the academy a deeper understanding on autosomal dominant nonsyndromic deafness and progressive hearing loss.
The conference facilitated an in-depth exchange among the 50-odd participants, fostering collaborative learning and moving us towards the inclusive goal of ‘Ear and Hearing Healthcare for All’. The Hearing International Annual Meeting 2024 is to be held in Manila, Philippines.
