Audiology features
Mindfulness based approaches to tinnitus management: meditations on a new approach
Psychological approaches to tinnitus There is now widespread agreement that an individual’s interpretation of tinnitus can determine how distressing they find it. If tinnitus is regarded as non-threatening then habituation normally follows. If, however, tinnitus is interpreted as threatening, habituation...
Hearing care systems – European examples
In this article, Vice President of the European Federation of Hard of Hearing, Lidia Best, explores the drivers for improvement and change in European hearing care systems. In 2010, the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) issued the EN-15927 European Standard...
Plasticity with cochlear implants: individual factors in the outcomes
Andrej Kral gives us an overview of neuronal plasticity in congenital hearing loss, and discusses why it is core to our clinical interventions in hearing loss and rehabilitation. The brain is born immature and undergoes extensive shaping during early development....
Central auditory changes in SNHL
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...
The future of inner ear drug delivery
The techniques for delivering drugs to the inner ear system are evolving. Jeffrey Harris considers the myths, the facts and the potential for drug delivery innovations and how they can improve tomorrow’s hearing outcomes. The inner ear’s delicate membranous structure,...
Screening for hearing loss with mHealth solutions
With the number of people suffering from hearing loss growing all the time, the need for early detection and intervention is imperative. De Wet Swanepoel discusses two examples of mHealth possibilities for hearing screening which, as a low cost solution,...
A person-centred approach to telehealth
“The time when telehealth was a remote, abstract concept has come to an end”. Deborah Ferrari and Lise Lotte Bundesen discuss how to advance person-centred care in hearing rehabilitation through online tools and training. The time when telehealth was a...
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...
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...
User perspectives of online audiological rehabilitation programmes
Recent research shows that online audiological rehabilitation programmes have the potential to improve the quality of life of hearing aid users. However, there are still areas that need need improvement. Elisabet Thorén discusses some of the problems people face when...
Noise monitoring on a smartphone
“The smartphone has more computing power than was used to put the first man on the moon.” Robert Eikelboom discusses the potential of the smartphone as an effective noise monitoring device. Noise exposure and public health Excessive exposure to noise...
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...
