Musical Ear Syndrome: What Do We Know?

The purpose of this study was to review the existing literature regarding Musical Ear Syndrome and other related auditory hallucinations. While the existence of auditory hallucinations is evident, their cause is unclear and widely understudied. There was a need for existing information to be compiled for use in the healthcare field. This review of existing literature will aid speech-language pathologists, audiologists, nurses, psychologists, and physicians in understanding this condition and what differentiates it from other various disorders. This will allow these professionals to better understand the experiences and needs of those with Musical Ear Syndrome

Will opposites attract? Similarities and differences in students' perceptions of the stereotype profiles of other health and social care professional groups

The extent to which health and social care (HSC) students hold stereotypical views of other HSC professional groups is of great potential importance to team working in health care. This paper explores students' perceptions of different HSC professional groups at the beginning of their university programmes. Findings are presented from an analysis of baseline data collected as part of the New Generation Project longitudinal cohort study which is assessing the impact of interprofessional education over time on a range of variables including stereotyping. Questionnaires were administered to a cohort of over 1200 students from 10 different HSC professional groups entering their first year of university. Stereotypes were measured using a tool adapted from Barnes et al. (2000) designed to elicit stereotype ratings on a range of nine characteristics. The findings confirm that students arrive at university with an established and consistent set of stereotypes about other health and social care professional groups. Stereotypical profiles were compiled for each professional group indicating the distinctive characteristics of the groups as well as the similarities and differences between groups. Midwives, social workers and nurses were rated most highly on interpersonal skills and on being a team player whilst doctors were rated most highly on academic ability. Doctors, midwives and social workers were perceived as having the strongest leadership role, whilst doctors were also rated most highly on decision making. All professions were rated highly on confidence and professional competence and, with the exception of social workers, on practical skills. A comparison of profiles for each professional group reveals that, for example, pharmacists and doctors were perceived as having very similar characteristics as were social workers, midwives and nurses. However, the profiles of nurses and doctors were perceived to be very different. The implications of these similarities and differences are discussed in terms of their potential impact on interprofessional interactions, role boundaries and team working

The audiologists’ views on the exercise of their profession in the light of the present laws and guidelines

Since April 1, 2006, audiologists have had the right to obtain a license. A license may be revoked if the holder is considered unsuitable for the job. This is one of the reasons why we consider studying what the audiologists think of the demands on them to be of interest. The purpose of this study was to examine the audiologists’ views on the exercise of their profession in the light of the present laws and guidelines. A qualitative method, inspired by the fenomenologic tradition, was choosen for this study. In the study interviews were conducted with five audiologists who work with diagnosis and rehabilitation at different hospitals in Western Sweden. From the interviews we constructed ten descriptive cathegories which deal with views on demands, conditions, the will to work as demanded and on the continued development of the profession. Our results show that the audiologists feel that they have been given a personal responsibility for their work. The audiologists believe that they are given the basic conditions for meeting the demands put on them, although they have felt that these conditions have been changing for the worse and they express an unease about the conditions continuing to detoriate. We argue that the audiologists’ wish for common guidelines for the exercise of their profession to be developed can be seen as an answer to the present situation, were the audiologists see the common guidelines as a means to be able to live up to their personal responsibilities.Audionomprogramme

Are Audiologists Directly Referring Children with Hearing Loss to Early Intervention?

This article describes the ways that pediatric audiologists are directing infants into Early Intervention, and the related barriers and facilitators. Over one hundred pediatric audiologists responded to an online survey including questions on how audiologists provide direct and indirect referrals to Early Intervention for those infants that are diagnosed with hearing loss. Most respondents agreed that audiologists are the best person to provide this referral, but many audiologists did not make the direct referral. Barriers to direct referral included time constraints and resistance from parents. Opportunities identified to improve referral included online referral systems and national guidelines for what qualifies a child with hearing loss for Early Intervention

Exploring communication between first language english speaking audiologists and Isizulu patients at public sector hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Effective communication between health professionals and patients is central in providing quality health care. A cultural and linguistic mismatch between audiologists and their patients may create a barrier in communication. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to explore communication between First Language English speaking (FLES) audiologists and isiZulu patients, based on isiZulu being dominant in KZN. A concurrent triangulation mixed design was used. The study consisted of three phases. The first phase included a survey of 31 FLES audiologists. The second phase included the Photovoice narratives and interviews with two FLES audiologists. The final phase included a survey of 98 isiZulu patients. The results revealed that overall FLES audiologists showed poor cultural (71%) and linguistic (97%) competency in isiZulu. Inferential statistics revealed significant associations between cultural competency and FLES audiologists years of experience (p value=0,021), gender (p value=0.042) and type of institution based in terms of rural or urban (p value=0.038).The above competency levels of FLES audiologists coincided with the perspectives of isiZulu patients. Furthermore, it was revealed that factors such as consent, trust, collaboration, empathy, attitude and professional superiority influenced cross cultural and cross linguistic communication between FLES audiologists and isiZulu patients. The use of informal interpreters emerged as the most common communication strategy employed by FLES audiologists. The implementation of isiZulu courses, formally-trained interpreters and isiZulu audiology resources emerged as strong recommendations. In addition, FLES audiologists identified initiative as important to improving cross cultural/linguistic communication. The results from this study may inform changes to University curricular as well as policy at public sector hospitals

How Do Audiologists Respond to Emotional and Psychological Concerns Raised in the Audiology Setting? Three Case Vignettes

Objectives: Emotional and psychological well-being are essential to overall health, but there is little research showing how to approach emotional and psychological concerns in the audiological setting. This study investigated audiologists’ self-reported clinical behaviors in response to emotional and psychological concerns and/or symptoms raised by audiology clients. Design: A sample of 83 Australia-based audiologists completed a survey including vignettes presenting older adults with hearing loss and experiencing symptoms consistent with either depression or grief. Content analysis was used to explore: (1) audiologists’ self-reported usual response when clients present with emotional and psychological concerns and/or symptoms in the audiological setting; (2) audiologists’ ability to identify and describe psychological symptoms; and (3) audiologists’ self-reported clinical behaviors relating to client referral for psychological support. Results: When asked to describe their usual clinical course of action in response to the vignettes, over one half the audiologists described actions that address the clients concerns related to psychological well-being. Where audiologists described how they would provide psychological support, they described modifications to the audiological rehabilitation program including involving significant others in the rehabilitation process, recommending additional support outside of the audiology setting (such as General Practitioner or psychologists), and providing emotional support and counseling. When prompted, the majority of participants recognized the two cases with depression as having a mental health condition; however, 48% of participants indicated the control case as also having a mental health condition. When asked directly, the majority of audiologists indicated that they would refer the three vignettes for specialist support; however, less than one third described referral to a General Practitioner and less than 5% described referral to a mental health professional as their normal course of action in the open response item. Twenty-five different professions/people were reported as potential sources for referral. Conclusion: These findings support the need for further training and/or resources for audiologists to enable them to appropriately detect, describe and refer for emotional and psychological concerns and/or symptoms raised by clients’ in the audiology setting

Related Services for Vermont\u27s Students with Disabilities

The purpose of Related Services for Vermont’s Students with Disabilities is to offer information regarding related services that is consistent with IDEA and with Vermont Law and regulations. It also describes promising or exemplary practices in education, special education, and related services. The manual’s content applies to all related services disciplines which serve students with disabilities, ages 3 through 21, who have an Individualized Education Program (IEP)

Perceived Hearing Loss and Availability of Audiologists in Appalachia

Introduction: There is a high demand for audiologists throughout the United States. Previous research has supported an additional demand for these providers within Appalachia. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to determine if Appalachia has a disproportionally high demand for audiologists compared to the rest of the United States. Methods: A cross-sectional retrospective study was performed with population data from the Appalachian Regional Commission, the American Academy of Audiology, and the United States Census Bureau. County-level population-weighted averages of individuals with perceived hearing loss and number of audiologists per capita were compared between Appalachian and non-Appalachian counties. Results: A mean weighted 5.76 % of individuals reported hearing loss within Appalachia, which was 1.1% higher than the rest of the United States. The 1.14 audiologists per 100,000 individuals in Appalachian counties was not significantly lower than the 1.32 audiologists per 100,000 individuals found in non-Appalachian counties. Audiologists per capita decreased with increases in Beale code and percent reporting hearing loss. Conclusion: The high number of individuals reporting hearing loss supports an increased demand for audiologists in rural Appalachia. More research is needed to determine how to meet this demand or improve the efficacy of the limited number of providers

Decision support system for the selection of an ITE or a BTE hearing aid

The purpose of this research is to mine a large set of heterogeneous audiology data to create a decision support system (DSS) to choose between two hearing aid types (ITE and BTE aid). This research is based on the data analysis of audiology data using various statistical and data mining techniques. It uses the data of a large NHS (National Health Services, UK) facility. It uses 180,000 records (covering more than 23,000 different patients) from a hearing aid clinic. The developed system uses an unconventional method to predict hearing aid type for a patient and it can be used as a second opinion by audiologists for complex cases. After modifying the system to take account of the feedback from a professional audiologist, the success rates obtained were in the ranges 63 to 66 percent. In this research an automatic system was developed to choose between an ITE or a BTE hearing aid type with an explanation facility that can be used as a second opinion by audiologist in cases where the choice of an ITE or a BTE hearing aid is not clear cut. This analysis of audiology data and DSS will provide supplementary information for audiology experts and hearing aid dispensers. This type of system may also be of interest to manufacturers of hearing technologies in using as a ready means for their telephone customer services staff to check data, discovering data in audiology records will also be good for general awareness about the suitability of hearing aid type