Hearing impairment is one physical disability that is increasing in prevalence in society in general, and in older adults in particular. Approximately 34 to 36 million Americans report suffering from some degree of hearing impairment with the number rising to...
Cognition refers to thinking and memory. So why would cognition be a useful concept for ENTs and audiologists? Audition provides our main channel of communication and when we speak to each other, we want to exchange thoughts and remember what...
Dining with family members, amongst the clinking of dishes and glasses, the sounds of conversations and laughter, the husband, a user of hearing aids, misses his wife’s request to bring another bottle of wine. After a third try, the wife,...
Fiona Barker explains the importance of recognising and understanding how habitual behaviours in vestibular patients can affect treatment outcomes, and how we as audiologists can support and encourage patients to modify these behaviours and perhaps address our own professional behaviours...
Brian Taylor provides an interesting perspective on market segmentation of the hearing impaired population, and how as clinicians and entrepreneurs we need to be able to recognise the different approaches that are required to address the large percentage of the...
The Clinical Director of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and President-elect of the American Academy of Audiology reviews the status of the present day audiologist’s remit, and discusses the changes we can expect with the changing demographic and behaviour of...
The stigma surrounding hearing aids means that many people who would benefit from wearing them are put off from doing so. Alternative listening devices could provide the solution to this. David Maidment discusses these devices, their effectiveness and the impact...
Robert Harrison discusses some of the most obvious ways in which cochlear hearing loss has central consequences. It is convenient to classify hearing loss according to the most obvious site of lesion, for example, conductive, cochlear, retro-cochlear, or central hearing...
Threshold equalising noise (TEN) testing is used to identify dead regions (DRs) of the cochlear. Alexandra Lusty considers the challenges of using the TEN test in the paediatric population as well as the importance of identifying DRs. Diagnosing dead regions...
Research suggests that over 50% of patients presenting with hyperacusis also present with some form of psychiatric disorder. With this in mind, Dr Aazh outlines what tools clinicians can use to screen for psychological disorders and what path to take...
High-end or basic hearing aids: does the technology level make a difference? Catherine Palmer shares the current evidence base and suggests where hearing healthcare professionals can make the most impact. The most common complaint from individuals with mild-to-moderately severe hearing...
How do we explain unexplained dizziness in elderly patients? How far should we go with investigations? And most importantly, how should we manage this challenging and expanding group of patients whose balance affects their safety? Richard Ibitoye and Diego Kaski...