A growing body of research confirms a connection between hearing loss and a variety of chronic diseases and disorders (for reviews see Abrams, 2017; Besser et al, 2018). The medical term “comorbidities” is appearing increasingly in the audiological literature and also in clinical conversations about patient diagnosis and management. Audiologists have long known that specific often acute disease processes are related directly to different types of hearing loss.
Topic(s): Accreditation Commission for Audiology Education (ACAE), comorbidity, Hearing Loss
Hearing-care professionals (HCPs) and hearing aid wearers report the chief complaint secondary to hearing loss and to wearing traditional hearing aids, is the inability to understand speech-in-noise (SIN; see Beck et al, 2019). Beck et al (2018) reported that, in addition to the 37 million Americans with audiometric hearing loss, 26 million have hearing difficulty and/or difficulty understanding SIN, despite clinically normal thresholds. As such, helping people hear (i.e., to perceive sound) and helping people listen (i.e., to comprehend, or apply meaning to sound) remains paramount.
Topic(s): speech-in-noise, Hearing, Hearing Loss, Sensorineural Hearing Loss, Noise Reduction, Audiometric Test
"So what do you do?" I paused and thought of several different responses that were possible. I responded with a smile and three simple words, "I change lives."
Over the course of our careers, we are asked many times why we do what we do—sometimes we even ask ourselves that question. While there is a myriad of answers, some individuals have a personal experience with audiology that brought them to this profession. More and more students are entering the profession with hearing loss, and are excited for what the future has in store.
Topic(s): Audiologist, Hearing Loss, SAA - Student Academy of Audiology
Did you know that there are nearly 20 journals that publish articles related to hearing aid technology, signal processing, and fitting? And that each year, more than 200 articles are published related to hearing aids? In the words of the great philosopher Frank Zappa, “So much to read, so little time.” Well, we’re here to help!
Topic(s): Hearing Aids, Hearing Loss, Pediatric, Audiologist, Practice Management, Patient care, over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aid devices
It is a noisy health-care world, and there is an utmost need for marketing from audiologists who live in a world where they often struggle to be heard. According to the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), on average, it takes seven years for someone with hearing loss to schedule an appointment with an audiologist (HLAA, 2018). This can be due to a number of hurdles. The primary one being that people suffering from hearing loss simply do not want to admit their condition. Second, their awareness of audiology is limited when compared to other health-care professions.
Topic(s): Hearing Aids, Hearing Loss, Social Media
