As a bilingual audiologist (Spanish-English), I have found this book to be a bridge between the two languages in the audiological world. It is a resourceful niched book that enables the practising audiologist dealing with Spanish-speaking adult and paediatric patients to easily interact with them during consultations and to better culturally understand the Hispanic/Latino population, with a focus on audiological service provision.
The book acts as a language tool aid, with English and Spanish versions literally translated of the various hearing evaluation tests, hearing devices, anatomical part of the auditory system, test instructions for patients, tips for the clinician when testing Spanish-speaking patients, standardised tests and questionnaires (validated in Spanish) and a quick guide to find the correct audiology term in Spanish. It has been written with the North American market in mind, since almost 20% of the overall population in the US is Hispanic or Latino, and it aims to address the diversity of this particular sector of the US population, raising awareness of the socioeconomic, cultural and health and healthcare disparities in this minority group. However, it could also be utilised by the Spanish-speaking audiological clinicians dealing with English-speaking patients as well.
There are limitations in Spanish audiological materials, and the variety of dialects in the Spanish-speaking countries has also impacted the availability of commercialised audiological tests requiring speech signals. This book could be a stepping-stone to improving audiological materials available to serve the Spanish-speaking communities. It would have been helpful to have access to its material it a digital format.
