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Combined use of a hearing aid and a cochlear implant: a case study

When multi-channel cochlear implants (CIs) were first introduced in the 1980s, their use was restricted to people who derived no benefit from conventional amplification. Over the past three decades, however, the criteria for CIs has been relaxed considerably, and it...

Dizziness: confusion, issues and considerations

Douglas L Beck gives his unique take on the difficulties involved in diagnosing dizzy patients and the importance of well-founded research acting as the basis for any diagnosis and treatment decisions. Dizziness. Uh-oh. We really have a very limited understanding...

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....

Understanding new and emerging categories of hearing devices

The hearing device landscape is rapidly changing, and what should be given, to whom, and why, are questions that many hearing healthcare professionals are asking. Brent Edwards discusses these questions and how consumer characteristics may influence their choice. In 2016,...

A snapshot of UK newborn hearing screening services during the COVID-19 pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, new guidance for newborn hearing screening programmes and management of audiology referrals was released by Public Health England [1,2]. There was also joint guidance from the UK professional bodies [3] and guidance from NHS England regarding...

The role of prediction and gain in tinnitus

Dr Will Sedley is a Clinical Academic Neurologist who has done groundbreaking work in the field of tinnitus mechanisms. Here, he introduces and explains the concepts of prediction and of gain as they relate to troublesome tinnitus. This article focuses...

Cognition and hearing – you can’t test one with the other!

Cognitive Psychologist, Boaz M Ben-David, provides insights into the import of considering cognitive factors when assessing speech perception ability to maximise intervention success. Failing to do so, he suggests, is “ageist”, a predisposition healthcare professionals must avoid. Cognitive performance is...

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...

OBITUARY: Professor David M Baguley (1961-2022)

Leader, teacher, mentor, scientist, clinician, patient advocate and man of faith: we will not see his like again. The sudden and tragic death of David (Dave) Baguley has left a gap within the national and international audiology and hearing science...

Current management of unilateral sporadic vestibular schwannoma

Vestibular schwannoma is the commonest tumour of the cerebellopontine angle (80%) and accounts for around 8% of all intracranial tumours. The commonest primary presenting symptoms are audio vestibular. Hearing health professionals are often the first contact for patients with potential symptoms of vestibular schwannoma, with the majority then being seen and diagnosed by otorhinolaryngologists.

The business of audiology: unbundling

Many professions, such as law, accounting, engineering and some areas of healthcare charge hourly rates in a fee-for-service model. Administratively, this can be a challenge to track hours, bill clients/patients, and collect payment, but this does lend toward greater transparency...

Silent crisis: the exodus of hearing healthcare professionals from the Philippines

The migration of Filipino audiologists and otolaryngologists abroad is worsening the shortage of hearing specialists. Improving local conditions is vital to retaining talent. As ear and hearing healthcare professionals practising in the Philippines, we have seen the struggle in keeping...