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Inter-professional teamwork and hearing care for older adults with cognitive loss

There is growing awareness that hearing loss is linked to dementia [1]. The average first-time hearing aid user is about 70 years old. By this age, approximately 1 in 2 people have hearing loss and 1 in 7 have cognitive...

The role of significant others in hearing aid adoption

Presbycusis, or age-related hearing loss, is one of the most common conditions affecting older adults and its prevalence is found to increase with age. Over the years, amplification technology has advanced significantly from analogue to digital signal processing. Despite this,...

A psychophysical perspective on single-sided deafness and its treatment by cochlear implants

Bob Carlyon gives us a psychophysical perspective on the hearing benefits that can and cannot be achieved for patients with single-sided deafness with a cochlear implant, and discusses some of the challenges in maximising the effectiveness of the treatment. He...

Database WG2. The Tinnitus Patient Database in the TINNET COST Action BM1306

Berthold Langguth describes an innovative project that is creating the world’s largest multi-national patient database containing standardised information on tinnitus and medical history, otological examination and psycho-acoustic measures of tinnitus. A challenge for tinnitus treatment and tinnitus research is the...

Knowledge is power: the power of mobile technologies to enhance hearing-related knowledge

In recent years, the widespread use of smartphones has made it increasingly possible to improve knowledge, understanding and delivery of hearing healthcare. Melanie Ferguson tells us about the advances in mobile-health applications. Think back to five years ago - what...

The effects of hormonal changes across menstrual cycle on high frequency auditory thresholds

Physiological changes during the menstrual cycle are well documented; do these changes extend to the auditory system? Lalsa Shilpa Perepa and Rewa Indurkar delve into the literature to find the evidence. Menstrual cycle refers to a series of changes that...

Hidden hearing loss in humans: cochlear synaptopathy is superseded by cognitive effects when listening to speech in noise

Elizabeth Beach presents an overview of the recent research being undertaken at the National Acoustic Laboratories on speech in noise and its relationship to cochlear synaptopathy. Our team at the National Acoustic Laboratories (NAL) has been investigating hidden hearing loss...

Taking a fresh look at otoacoustic emissions

So what has changed in four decades of OAEs? Do we now have all the answers? Have we reached our optimum recording ability? Professor Kemp explains what we know, what we don’t know and what’s to come. In the 40...

Middle ear muscle disorders: presentation, diagnosis and management

Patients often report symptoms relating to disorders of the middle ear muscles. Prof Bance gives us an overview of the anatomy and function, as well as guides our diagnosis and management. The middle ear muscles (MEMs) are a mystery, both...

Enhancing and extending hearing care using Ida Telecare

Tele-audiology has been on our radar for a long while, and evidence shows that its application in clinical practice is beneficial to both patients and clinicians. Cherilee Rutherford discusses the benefits and gives an overview of the freely-available tools developed...

In conversation with Jeff Small and Navid Shahnaz

The impact of COVID-19 has been felt on all levels of society and deeply affected our lives. It has challenged us to find new ways of carrying on with our activities at home, work, and school. Jeff Small, Director and...

Outreach to build capacity for surgical ear care in low-resource settings: challenges and opportunities

There are successful models for delivering complex ear surgery where resources may be more limited. Ear, nose and throat conditions are frequently overlooked when global health issues are considered, but hearing loss is the world’s most common sensory deficit, and...