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Neural plasticity and aural rehabilitation

Neural plasticity refers to an ability of the brain and central nervous system to change their structure and function or their reorganisation in response to environmental cues, experience, learning, behaviour, injury and / or diseases and treatments. Neural plasticity is...

Central auditory changes in SNHL

Robert Harrison discusses some of the most obvious ways in which cochlear hearing loss has central consequences. It is convenient to classify hearing loss according to the most obvious site of lesion, for example, conductive, cochlear, retro-cochlear, or central hearing...

Human immunodeficiency virus and hearing impairment

With an estimated 36.7 million individuals living with HIV / AIDS and literature reporting that these conditions contribute to hearing loss, it is surprising that more focus and resources are not employed to tackle this major hearing health concern. Yolandé...

Collaborating with patients on research priorities in hyperacusis: the James Lind Alliance project

An innovative and inclusive approach to the identification and prioritisation of research questions is to place the views of patients at the heart of the process, and in partnership with clinicians. The application of this to hyperacusis is described by...

The future of audiology rehabilitation? Smartphone apps to collect real-world experiences and support clinical decision-making

Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) is gaining momentum in the world of connected hearing healthcare and real-world assessment. Barbra Timmer explains how EMA will play a key role in transforming the information that clinicians use in decision-making and measuring outcomes. Did...

The art and science of acoustic ecology

Aki Pasoulas summarises the diverse forms and approaches of the relatively new and expanding area of acoustic ecology, a discipline that studies the relationship between living beings and their sonic environment. Sound Ecology emerged in the late 1960s through the...

In space no-one can hear you scream…or can they?

Plasma, eardrums the size of planets and questioning the wisdom of your school physics teacher! Martin Archer explains the fascinating world of sound and space. Is there sound in space? If you believed the marketing of the movie Alien, or...

MDT assessment of children and adults with implantable acoustic devices (IADs)

Abi Asher, Clinical Lead for the IAD programme in Cambridge describes how hearing care professionals work together to make the best recommendation for the patient, in turn helping navigate through the various devices now on offer. Multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) are...

Development and review of a blended service in response to COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has required healthcare services globally to show both resilience and ingenuity in redesigning services to meet the ever-changing needs of our patients. We hear about the redevelopment of clinical pathways within an hearing implant service, and the...

Ear wax: the good, the bad, and the ugly

With ear wax removal being a core part of ENT and audiology services, Seth Schwartz gives us his dos and don’ts. We have all seen cartoons where a character pulls enough wax out of their ears to make a candle....

Fall prevention in the elderly population

A fall in later life can have a catastrophic impact on a person’s quality of life. Lilian Felipe explains how falls prevention programmes and vestibular rehabilitation can help.

Introduction to speech testing

Let’s get back to basics: Dr Schoepflin introduces the concepts behind speech testing for hearing care professionals. While pure tone threshold testing is considered the ‘gold standard’ for assessing auditory sensitivity, the results of pure tone testing provide only limited...