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Towards AI-assisted RF hearing aids

The development of effective hearing-assistive devices is essential as the prevalence of deafness grows with an ageing population. Where can AI support speech understanding? A team from the University of Glasgow discusses how lip‑reading hearing aids could be the future....

Health related quality of life measures as outcome parameters in middle ear diseases

Surely the only outcome needed for post-surgical ears is a better PTA? Marcus Neudert argues there should be more to it than that. To draw a comprehensive picture of the disease-associated restrictions in patients with chronic otitis media, audiometric outcome...

The role of training programmes in protecting patients

ENT trainees are fully registered doctors who have responsibilities to comply with the requirements of Good Medical Practice. This includes ensuring that they put the interests of their patients at the heart of their practice. This duty is complementary to...

BACO: The Master’s role

Ian Mackay is this year’s BACO Master, with Valerie Lund taking over for the next meeting. As the senior overseer of the conference, the role of Master is a crucial one, and Ian tells us how he has gone about...

IEM – no noise is good noise!

Whether you’re an active musician or a music-loving commuter, noise exposure via music is a very real concern. Musician, sound engineer and Puretone Sales Manager, Deke Frickey, looks at where the dangers lie and the best ways to overcome them....

Drawing pictures and telling stories: treating tinnitus in childhood

There is increasing awareness that tinnitus is not restricted to adults. Indeed, the available evidence suggests that some experience of tinnitus in children is fairly common [1]. For many, tinnitus has little effect and requires limited or no intervention. For...

Case studies – transformational benefits of using connecting hearing aids

While hearing aids can provide great benefits there remain some challenging situations for people with hearing loss. These include listening in background noise, groups, using the telephone and listening to TV / music. Hearing aids with integrated wireless functionality allow...

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...

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....

Aerosol research and performance

Is singing safe? This was a question asked around the world at the start of the pandemic in early 2020. Natalie Watson and Chris Orton tell us about a rapidly-convened research group that led to profound changes in UK Government...

Using tele-audiology in Zambia’s ear and hearing care desert

Addressing the medical desert with tele-audiology and tele-education. If a ‘medical desert’ is defined as a community that lives more than 60 miles away from the nearest acute care hospital, then try to imagine an appropriate term for a situation...