Audiology features
Using tele-audiology in Zambia’s ear and hearing care desert
Addressing the medical desert with tele-audiology and tele-education. If a ‘medical desert’ is defined as a community that lives more than 60 miles away from the nearest acute care hospital, then try to imagine an appropriate term for a situation...
Differing outcomes of three Sub-Saharan Africa journeys with the common goal of task sharing in audiology
Task sharing can be designed and implemented specific to the needs of each programme. Foundational principles of global health include developing local leadership as a means to successful sustainable service provision in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) or regions. It...
Barrier and opportunities for hearing care: finding a way forward for all
Ideal models of care for communities can include tailored ear and hearing care interventions. Barriers exist at an individual and societal level to realise the vision of hearing care for all, regardless of country or resource setting. Affordability of hearing...
Unpacking the World Health Organization’s World Report on Hearing: what does it say?
The inaugural report on hearing from the World Health Organisation is a tool for advocacy, and for getting hearing loss on government agendas. Nguyen Ngoc Bao Tran was 11 months old when her hearing loss was diagnosed. Despite being informed...
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...
Promoting human rights of deaf communities in low-resource settings
Stigma and misconceptions about deafness are serious impediments for many deaf people to realise rights and potential in some of the most challenging situations globally. Around 430 million people are estimated to live with moderate or higher levels of hearing...
Mapping the financial and disease burden of hearing loss and associated interventions
The prevalence and burden of ear and hearing disorders is huge and, historically, has been underappreciated. Globally, unaddressed hearing loss poses a growing public health challenge, requiring urgent attention from policymakers, health professionals and civil society. The recently published World...
Bringing ear care and hearing services to the hardest to reach: the potential of primary healthcare workers
Can workers from the local community plug the workforce gap in providing ear and hearing care? Bringing ear and hearing care services closer to the community remains a key component of reducing the burden of ear and hearing conditions across...
Use of automated audiometry for faster patient access to audiology services?
Manual audiometry has long been the gold standard for establishing hearing thresholds. In recent years, a number of automated audiometry applications have reached the market. In this article, a team from Ireland have put a version of automated audiometry to...
Are today’s implantable hearing devices better than conventional devices for patients with conductive and mixed hearing loss?
In March 2014, we published a paper in ENT & Audiology News, with a similar title. Below, an updated overview is presented of available devices (early 2021) for patients with conductive/mixed hearing loss. The focus is on effectiveness. Patients with...
Addressing the hearing needs of people with dementia
Dr Dawes provides a comprehensive overview of hearing needs of persons with dementia coupled with recommended guidelines for hearing-related considerations when assessing and intervening with persons with dementia. With ageing populations, we face a global dementia challenge. Rates of both...
Hearing loss and cognition: something to think about
Irace, Chern and Golub propose causal and non-causal mechanisms for the links between hearing loss and dementia, concluding with a discussion of several proactive measures available to help preserve neurocognitive health in older adults with hearing loss. What is age-related...
