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Prudent audiology

Introduction In January 2014, Professor Mark Drakeford, Minister for Health and Social Services, defined Prudent Healthcare as, “Healthcare that fits the needs and circumstances of patients and actively avoids wasteful care that is not to the patient’s benefit.” ‘Prudent’ healthcare...

Scientific advances in mapping syndromic hearing loss

From more than 22000 genes that we humans have, approximately 3000 genes are associated with human communication. There are tens of syndromes which have been identified to be accompanied by hearing loss. Disorders of almost every organ of the body...

Living with Usher syndrome

“Usher people often still have sharp, clear central vision. It is the corner of their eye that is missing. This is why the Usher person often does not feel or look blind. In the early days they may not even...

What’s new in genetic testing for hearing impairment?

Often the first question following the diagnosis of a hearing loss is ‘why?’ In this article Ali Danesh explores the advances made in uncovering ‘why’ from a genetics perspective. Ali describes the panel of genetic tests now commercially available to...

Audiology Papers of the Year 2015-16

In this short review we have asked Melanie, Carolina, Josephine and Cherilee to consider the best article they have read in the last 12 months and provide us with a short review. All contributors have managed to succinctly highlight the...

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...

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...

Thyroid dysfunction and Meniere’s disease: is there a relationship?

The set of symptoms described as Meniere’s disease may have several causative factors. Timothy Hain and Patthida Maroongroge look for a relationship in the literature between Meniere’s disease and hypothyroidism. Meniere’s disease (MD) affects around two in 1000 people and...

The potential benefits of having supervision in clinical practice

Marie Wardle is the Programme Director of the Interpersonal Therapy department in the West Midlands, UK and part of her role is to deliver supervision training courses for therapists in the region. Therapists, whether supporting patients with psychological or physical...

Untangling the emotional and physiological aspects of hyperacusis

In hyperacusis, the physiological and the emotional aspects can become deeply entwined. Dr Sarah Theodoroff draws us into her perspectives on this important aspect of the condition. Background Sounds and Emotions The basic act of hearing sounds triggers an emotional...

Unexplained dizziness in elderly patients

How do we explain unexplained dizziness in elderly patients? How far should we go with investigations? And most importantly, how should we manage this challenging and expanding group of patients whose balance affects their safety? Richard Ibitoye and Diego Kaski...