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Effects of blast and acoustic trauma: assessment of hearing status on war veterans

Introduction Acoustical conditions of the military are often dangerous and there is a real risk of blast trauma and acoustic trauma [1, 2]. Levels of military noises maybe reach up to 125 dBA [3]. Weapons produce instant shock waves (10μs)...

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...

Military noise induced hearing loss and the Lost Voices report: the evolution of earshot

Brigadier Robin Garnett gives us a snapshot of the 2014 Royal British Legion report on hearing problems of Service personnel and veterans. The difficulties in assessing and managing hearing loss are reiterated in this article, with an introduction to how...

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...

Music and single-sided deafness: challenges and solutions

Music is an integral part of many of our lives, providing entertainment, relaxation and a backing track to our past experiences. In this overview, Gemma Crundwell and David Baguley examine the impact of SSD on the perception of music and...

Outcome measurements WG5. Developing a core outcome set of measures for tinnitus

Alain Londero presents a large-scale collaboration that invites clinicians and patients to develop a minimum standard for assessing the efficacy of tinnitus treatments. This will become an international recommendation for all clinical trials of tinnitus. WG5 is working towards a...

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...

Misophonia – a psychological disorder?

Historically, there has been disagreement regarding misophonia classification, with questions surrounding whether it is a psychological or physiological disorder. Dr Jennifer Jo Brout discusses misophonia classification, research, and guidelines for the role of the psychologist. Photo courtesy of Pexels. What...

How can we understand autism and autistic children better?

Andrew Whitehouse draws on his years of experience working with neurodiverse people to give a fantastic insight into the world of autism, as well as suggesting some simple strategies clinicians can use to improve communication with autistic people. How can...

Getting to grips with acoustic trauma

Our understanding of hearing loss caused by noise exposure to those in the armed forces is growing in interest and understanding. Research at a cellular level is essential to increase our understanding so that we can better diagnose, manage and...