Hearing Health Care for Adults


Book Description

The loss of hearing - be it gradual or acute, mild or severe, present since birth or acquired in older age - can have significant effects on one's communication abilities, quality of life, social participation, and health. Despite this, many people with hearing loss do not seek or receive hearing health care. The reasons are numerous, complex, and often interconnected. For some, hearing health care is not affordable. For others, the appropriate services are difficult to access, or individuals do not know how or where to access them. Others may not want to deal with the stigma that they and society may associate with needing hearing health care and obtaining that care. Still others do not recognize they need hearing health care, as hearing loss is an invisible health condition that often worsens gradually over time. In the United States, an estimated 30 million individuals (12.7 percent of Americans ages 12 years or older) have hearing loss. Globally, hearing loss has been identified as the fifth leading cause of years lived with disability. Successful hearing health care enables individuals with hearing loss to have the freedom to communicate in their environments in ways that are culturally appropriate and that preserve their dignity and function. Hearing Health Care for Adults focuses on improving the accessibility and affordability of hearing health care for adults of all ages. This study examines the hearing health care system, with a focus on non-surgical technologies and services, and offers recommendations for improving access to, the affordability of, and the quality of hearing health care for adults of all ages.




Hearing Aids for Speech-Language Pathologists


Book Description

Hearing aid technology changes at a rapid pace. For speech-language pathologists who work with individuals using hearing instruments, keeping up with the new technology can be challenging, and sometimes even intimidating. Hearing Aids for Speech-Language Pathologists is designed to remove the mystery and the confusing high-tech terms of the many hearing aid algorithms and features, by simply laying out the need-to-know aspects in an organized, easy to read and understand manner. The core of this text focuses on how modern hearing aids work, and the tests associated with the fitting of these instruments. Attention is given to both the school age and adult hearing aid user. Recent developments such as situation detection, rechargeability and wireless connectivity are reviewed in detail, as well as the popular use of smartphone apps to allow the user to control the processing. Amplification is not just hearing aids, and therefore chapters also have been dedicated to implantable amplification strategies, FM and Bluetooth solutions. Hearing aid fitting cannot be studied in isolation, but rather, how it fits into the complete treatment of the patient with hearing loss, including the audiologic rehabilitative process. For this reason, the beginning chapters of the book are devoted to a review of the basics of the modern audiologic evaluation and the associated auditory pathologies. Readers will also find portions of the book that address hearing screening in the schools, rehabilitative techniques and auditory training. Practicing speech-language pathologists and graduate students will find that this text provides the latest in concise and practical information in the areas of hearing aids and rehabilitative audiology. Hearing Aids for Speech-Language Pathologists is authored by two of the industry's leading authorities on adult amplification, who have carefully crafted a text that provides speech-language pathologists with the essential information to work comfortably with hearing instruments and their accessories for individuals of all ages.







Hearing Aids


Book Description

Praise for the first edition: I cannot praise this book too highly it is undoubtedly now the benchmark text in this area, and is an absolute essential for every audiologist and student. Graham Sutton, International Journal of Radiology, Vol. 41, No. 6, 2002 One of the best textbooks I have ever used...written by a researcher with a stellar reputation [who is also] an expert on the clinical aspects of the field...packed with information from both a theoretical and practical perspective...makes difficult concepts comprehensible...from an instructors point of view, it is a sheer delight. Adrienne Rubenstein, PhD, Professor, Department of Speech Communication Arts and Sciences, Brooklyn College, New York Key Features: Completely revised to reflect the research and technological advances of the last decade New chapters on directional microphones and the latest digital signal processing strategies Extensive coverage of all aspects of open-canal, thin-tube hearing aids Practical tips, tables, and procedures designed to be pinned on the walls of clinics Each cross-referenced chapter builds on the previous chapters Hearing Aids, Second Edition, is a book within a book: Each chapter has a one-page synopsis that captures the key concepts of each topic The material that students most need is contained in marked paragraphs that flow after each other to form a coherent thin book inside the larger book Intervening additional paragraphs add satisfying depth Written, comprehensively referenced, and extensively reviewed by leaders in the field, this book is ideal as a core graduate text as well as a standard reference for clinicians.




Tele-Audiology and the Optimization of Hearing Healthcare Delivery


Book Description

Tele-audiology, a blanket term for digital health solutions in audiology and auditory rehabilitation, including education and training, has recently been gaining pace, partly driven by commercial developments in remote otoscopy, remote audiometry, and hearing aids that can be adjusted by a remote professional. Due to these advances, clinicians have the potential to expand their practices and better serve patients in rural areas. However, audiologists are reluctant to use tele-audiology. Tele-Audiology and the Optimization of Hearing Healthcare Delivery is a collection of innovative research on the methods and applications of technologies that advance audiology and auditory rehabilitation, and allows healthcare providers to offer hearing healthcare at a distance and in a manner that provides appropriate outcomes and reduces delivery costs. This publication examines research findings from real-world experience of tele-audiology and covers topics including eHealth, security management, and internet interventions. It is ideally designed for audiologists, speech pathologists, care providers, medical professionals, academicians, and researchers.




Audiology in the USA


Book Description

This book aims to give students and young audiologists a sense of the history of the profession. Beginning with the first commercial audiometers, the book traces the development of both the overall profession, and the principle sub specializations that have developed within it over the past half century. Emphasis is placed on the contributions of the many individual clinicians and researchers who have pioneered various aspects of the audiological knowledge base and its wide clinical applications.




Clinical Otology and Audiology, 2Ed


Book Description

A basic guide for otolaryngologists in the management of patients with otological disorders. This new and extensively revised edition of 'Clinical Otology and Audiology' builds on the strengths of the previous edition, whilst incorporating much new information on the changes that have taken place within the specialty in recent years. New developments in the areas of sudden hearing loss, Meniere's Disease, hearing aids, cochlear implants, otitis media, surgery for hearing improvement and tinnitus are all addressed. This book is essential reading for ENT surgeons in training, audiologists and audiological technicians alike.




Hearing Loss


Book Description

Millions of Americans experience some degree of hearing loss. The Social Security Administration (SSA) operates programs that provide cash disability benefits to people with permanent impairments like hearing loss, if they can show that their impairments meet stringent SSA criteria and their earnings are below an SSA threshold. The National Research Council convened an expert committee at the request of the SSA to study the issues related to disability determination for people with hearing loss. This volume is the product of that study. Hearing Loss: Determining Eligibility for Social Security Benefits reviews current knowledge about hearing loss and its measurement and treatment, and provides an evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the current processes and criteria. It recommends changes to strengthen the disability determination process and ensure its reliability and fairness. The book addresses criteria for selection of pure tone and speech tests, guidelines for test administration, testing of hearing in noise, special issues related to testing children, and the difficulty of predicting work capacity from clinical hearing test results. It should be useful to audiologists, otolaryngologists, disability advocates, and others who are concerned with people who have hearing loss.




Volume Control


Book Description

The surprising science of hearing and the remarkable technologies that can help us hear better Our sense of hearing makes it easy to connect with the world and the people around us. The human system for processing sound is a biological marvel, an intricate assembly of delicate membranes, bones, receptor cells, and neurons. Yet many people take their ears for granted, abusing them with loud restaurants, rock concerts, and Q-tips. And then, eventually, most of us start to go deaf. Millions of Americans suffer from hearing loss. Faced with the cost and stigma of hearing aids, the natural human tendency is to do nothing and hope for the best, usually while pretending that nothing is wrong. In Volume Control, David Owen argues this inaction comes with a huge social cost. He demystifies the science of hearing while encouraging readers to get the treatment they need for hearing loss and protect the hearing they still have. Hearing aids are rapidly improving and becoming more versatile. Inexpensive high-tech substitutes are increasingly available, making it possible for more of us to boost our weakening ears without bankrupting ourselves. Relatively soon, physicians may be able to reverse losses that have always been considered irreversible. Even the insistent buzz of tinnitus may soon yield to relatively simple treatments and techniques. With wit and clarity, Owen explores the incredible possibilities of technologically assisted hearing. And he proves that ears, whether they're working or not, are endlessly interesting.