Audiologists see a variety of hearing losses, mild sloping to severe, flat, and precipitous. We do not question to recommend amplification for a patient with a moderate hearing loss or a high-frequency, mild-to-severe hearing loss. But what about a mild, high-frequency hearing loss? What determines whether a patient chooses a hearing aid?
We recently had the opportunity to visit with Shelly Chadha, MBBS, MS, PhD, medical officer, WHO Program for Prevention of Deafness and Hearing Loss. Dr. Chadha is a native of India. She was trained as an otolaryngologist at the University of Delhi, India, and subsequently undertook doctoral studies in public health at the same university.
The past 18 months have been nothing if not interesting for our profession. Between PCAST, the FDA, and the National Academy of Sciences, there have been multiple recommendations and suggestions regarding improving the access to, and affordability of, hearing care. More recently, the FTC announced that they too would be reviewing the delivery of hearing care, from their perspective as a consumer protection agency. And a bill has just been introduced in Congress that directs the FDA to develop rules for an over-the-counter hearing device.
My dad suffered a stroke when I was in high school and part of his return to normalcy was working with a speech pathologist. I was fascinated by the process, and it led me to declare it as my major when I attended the University of Florida (UF) as an undergraduate. I was the first in my family to attend and graduate from college.
In his website editorial titled “The Impending Spondee Crisis: Audiology in the Age of the Millennial,” published at www.audiology.org (June 14, 2016), author Frank Bialostozky is thinking in the right direction about the impending spondee crisis but his thinking doesn’t go far enough.
The primary objective of local, state, and federal response to COVID-19 is to minimize mortality and mitigate explosive demand for acute health-care services related to COVID-19 complications, especially those that require care in intensive care units.
Governmental responses have varied from statewide stay-at-home orders to more incremental approaches targeting restrictions in specific industries and locations. Certainly, many of these restrictions are warranted and necessary to achieve the desired public health outcomes.
There are no dietary supplements that will cure or prevent disease. With the 2019 coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, it’s especially important to understand that no supplement, diet, or other lifestyle modification other than physical distancing, also known as social distancing, and proper hygiene practices can protect you from COVID-19.
There is no research to support the use of any dietary supplement to protect against COVID-19. No supplement may claim to diagnose, prevent, treat or cure COVID-19. Consumers and retailers should avoid products that suggest they do.1, 2
Ototoxicity of FDA-Approved Drugs Being Re-Purposed for COVID-19 Treatment
According to the National Institutes of Health’s Center National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, many drugs approved for other uses already have been tested in humans, so detailed information is available on their pharmacology, formulation, and potential toxicity.
