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The role of metrics in studies of hearing and cognition

Introduction When perceiving sounds in real-world listening environments, older adults encounter several sources of degradation that can interfere with the perceptual process (Figure 1). Target signals (i.e. the sounds that a listener wants to focus on) have specific acoustic characteristics...

Living with Usher syndrome

“Usher people often still have sharp, clear central vision. It is the corner of their eye that is missing. This is why the Usher person often does not feel or look blind. In the early days they may not even...

Neural plasticity and aural rehabilitation

Neural plasticity refers to an ability of the brain and central nervous system to change their structure and function or their reorganisation in response to environmental cues, experience, learning, behaviour, injury and / or diseases and treatments. Neural plasticity is...

Paediatric vestibular evaluation

Richard E Gans is a renowned expert in the areas of vestibular evaluation and rehabilitation techniques. In the first of two articles (see here for the second article), Dr Gans gives an overview of the approach he and his team...

Drug side-effects on audiological and vestibular testing

Are they a malingerer? Or perhaps they are inattentive? It may be their drugs! Robert DiSogra considers the side-effects of medication on the test subject. The audiogram serves many purposes in clinical practice. For the audiologist, it helps to differentiate...

Alternative listening devices: reaching the places hearing aids don’t

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...

The potential benefits of having supervision in clinical practice

Marie Wardle is the Programme Director of the Interpersonal Therapy department in the West Midlands, UK and part of her role is to deliver supervision training courses for therapists in the region. Therapists, whether supporting patients with psychological or physical...

Untangling the emotional and physiological aspects of hyperacusis

In hyperacusis, the physiological and the emotional aspects can become deeply entwined. Dr Sarah Theodoroff draws us into her perspectives on this important aspect of the condition. Background Sounds and Emotions The basic act of hearing sounds triggers an emotional...

Standards for Safe Listening – how they align and how some differ

The ‘Make Listening Safe workgroup’ is an initiative of The World Health Organization (WHO) in the framework of the World Hearing Forum and is committed to creating a world where nobody’s hearing is put in danger due to unsafe listening....

Privacy and security in connected hearing healthcare

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced audiology services across the globe to find new ways of working. This has resulted in a rapid increase in the uptake of remote care and, with it, some new privacy and security considerations. Connected hearing...

Composing with Meniere’s disease: a personal reflection

Is a fluctuating hearing loss and composing music incompatible? Professor Andrew Hugill discusses his personal experience of Meniere’s disease and the work that has developed as a result of the condition. As I write this article, I am in the...

Be who you needed when you were younger

Trainee audiologist, deaf England futsal player and deaf advocate Zara Musker discusses finding her own deaf identity: “It’s part of me but not all of me”. Am I an audiologist? A deaf England futsal player? An advocate for deaf individuals?...