Newborn sensorineural hearing loss – what is the incidence?

In the last two decades, the introduction of newborn screening for hearing loss has dramatically lowered the average age of newborn hearing loss diagnosis to around two to three months of age. The benefits of early diagnosis are manifold, enabling...

How to increase uptake of hearing screening in primary care

Untreated hearing loss leads to an increased risk of dementia and depression. There is currently little evidence to support the benefits of hearing screening in asymptomatic older adults. The main aim of the study was to compare three hearing screening...

Are cardiovascular risk factors associated with hearing loss?

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors are associated with microvascular damage that can impair molecular transport across capillary walls and cause inflammation and oxidative stress that may damage cochlear structure and function. This study determined, among a population-based sample of Canadian...

Be mindful of exposure

This is a topic which has been highlighted before in the Hearing Research series, as the evidence base regarding the specific impact of acoustic trauma on the auditory system has been expanding regularly in the last few years. This particular...

Can tympanometry be used to diagnose Ménière’s disease?

The authors proposed multifrequency tympanometry (MFT) as an in-office test which may be able to diagnose Ménière’s disease (MD) that is quicker and more cost-effective than other methods. MFT measures the acoustic admittance of the middle ear and external ear...

What is in the Fountain of Youth?

Does the auditory system have to age? Can we become more like turtles or jellyfish and keep our internals running without degradation? This essay considers the theoretical underpinnings of biological processes in the cochlear, in particular the role of the...

Are we all in the matrix?

In the entirety of training and in further practice, we are instilled with the premise of patient-centred care and individualised management plans based on informed consent. The question in the new age of telehealth/e-health is how to mimic that personalisation...

The ‘My Hearing Explained’ tool: audiologist and client perceptions

The study notes that the pure tone audiogram has been the primary clinical and counselling tool used by clinicians to assess and describe hearing thresholds to individuals and families since 1922. The Ida Institutes, ‘My Hearing Explained’ tool has become...

Hurdle jumping

This article deserves a little attention, rather like settling into conversation. As the writers state, listening is an effort and is a tricky field of study when combining multiple physiological measures. In order to gain an understanding, they suggest: consider...

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss – who will get better?

Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) is a rare but potentially devastating condition. For patients presenting with this condition, prognosis is of paramount importance. Wu et al begin to address this issue by retrospectively studying 17 potential prognostic factors for...

What is trendy?

This edition of Seminars in Hearing focused on the results from the MarkeTrak 2022. Now, the relevance to the UK market might be slight limited with some of the data but there are certainly a few interesting nuggets for our...

An understandable backup

This small study comparing the auditory temporal processing of seven younger adults with that of seven older adults does not show anything breathtakingly new in its conclusions. After the assessment to rule out compounding factors such as middle ear pathology,...