Supporting older adults' mental health: a Delphi survey identifying audiology best practices.

Objective: This study aimed to gather opinions and establish consensus among audiologists and patients on supporting individuals with mental health concerns in audiology settings.

Design: Utilising a modified electronic Delphi survey, a panel of 25 experts engaged in three rounds of data collection over 12 weeks. Participants provided open-text responses in Round 1 describing "clinical practices that can be employed to support to patients presenting with mental health concerns", and the research team combined these with relevant clinical practices from literature searches.

Impact of adult cochlear implantation on the partner relationship: a conceptual framework informed by cochlear implant recipient and partner perceptions.

Purpose: (1) To understand the impact of adult cochlear implantation on the partner relationship, as perceived by adult cochlear implant (CI) recipients and their intimate partners. (2) To generate a conceptual framework for guiding future research and clinical adult cochlear implantation interventions.

Method: Concept mapping, a participatory, mixed-method approach, was used for data collection, analysis and interpretation.

Risk of otitis media in offspring following maternal prenatal stress exposure.

Objectives: There is limited but consistent evidence that suggests prenatal factors, including maternal stress, may contribute to susceptibility for otitis media. We aimed to determine the effect of multiple life stress events during pregnancy on risk of acute and recurrent otitis media in offspring at three and five years of age.

Methods: Exposure data on stressful life events were collected from pregnant women in a longitudinal prospective pregnancy cohort study, at 18 and 34 weeks' gestation.

Impact of paediatric cochlear implantation on family life: a conceptual framework informed by parents.

Purpose: While the impact of paediatric cochlear implantation on parents and siblings are recognised, limited evidence exists regarding the effect of paediatric cochlear implantation on the entire family life (e.g., routine interactions, family activities).

Smartphone-Facilitated In-Situ Hearing Aid Audiometry for Community-Based Hearing Testing.

Objectives: Hearing loss prevalence is increasing, with an estimated 2.5 billion people affected globally by 2050. Scalable service delivery models using innovative technologies and task-shifting are World Health Organization priorities to improve access to hearing care, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

Evaluation of the Ask-Inform-Manage-Encourage-Refer Intervention and Its Implementation Targeting the Provision of Mental Wellbeing Support Within the Audiology Setting.

Objectives: The ask, inform, manage, encourage, refer (AIMER) program is a behavior change intervention designed to increase the frequency with which hearing healthcare clinicians (HHCs) ask about and provide information regarding mental wellbeing within adult audiology services. The objective of this study was to systematically evaluate the first iteration of the AIMER program to determine whether the intervention achieved the changes in HHC behaviors anticipated and to evaluate feasibility of implementing the AIMER program based on the implementation protocol.

Design: The Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework was used to guide this evaluation.

Help-seeker satisfaction with diagnosis and treatment of tinnitus.

Objective: To examine help-seeker satisfaction with the first communication of a tinnitus diagnosis by a healthcare provider, whether help-seekers undertook treatment and how they rated this treatment.

Design: A survey design assessed tinnitus characteristics and distress, health status, help-seeking, diagnosis communication, treatment and patient satisfaction.

Study Sample: A self-selected cohort and a population-based cohort.

Impact of ventilation tube insertion on long-term language outcomes at 6 and 10 years of age: A prospective pregnancy cohort study.

Objective: Investigating the impact of early childhood ventilation tube insertion (VTI) on long-term language outcomes.

Design: Longitudinal cohort study.

Setting: A total of 2900 pregnant women participated in the Raine Study between 1989 and 1991 in Western Australia, and 2868 children have been followed up.

Mobile Health Hearing Aid Acclimatization and Support Program in Low-Income Communities: Feasibility Study.

Background: The most common management option for hearing loss is hearing aids. In addition to devices, patients require information and support, including maintenance and troubleshooting. Mobile health (mHealth) technologies can support hearing aid management, acclimatization, and use.

Remote Technologies to Enhance Service Delivery for Adults: Clinical Research Perspectives.

There are many examples of remote technologies that are clinically effective and provide numerous benefits to adults with hearing loss. Despite this, the uptake of remote technologies for hearing healthcare has been both low and slow until the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been a key driver for change globally. The time is now right to take advantage of the many benefits that remote technologies offer, through clinical, consumer, or hybrid services and channels.

Models of service delivery in adult cochlear implantation and evaluation of outcomes: A scoping review of delivery arrangements.

Background: This study aimed to describe available evidence of cochlear implantation delivery arrangements in adults and the outcomes by which these service models are measured.

Methods: Scoping review of English language, primary studies conducted on adults (≥18 years) with ten or more subjects, published between January 2000 and June 2022, which assessed the effects of delivery arrangements of cochlear implantation were included. MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL Plus, AMED, PsycINFO, LILACS, KoreaMed, IndMed, Cochrane CRCT, ISRCTN registry, WHO ICTRP and Web of Science were systematically searched.

Use of the Behaviour Change Wheel to design an intervention to improve the provision of mental wellbeing support within the audiology setting.

Objective: This study describes the development of an intervention to increase the frequency of audiologists' asking about and providing information regarding mental wellbeing within adult audiology services.

Design: The Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW), an eight-step systematic process, was followed to develop the intervention. Reports describing the first four steps are published elsewhere.

The longitudinal relationship between hearing loss and cognitive decline in tonal language-speaking older adults in China.

Introduction: Previous longitudinal studies indicate that hearing loss and cognitive impairment are associated in non-tonal language-speaking older adults. This study aimed to investigate whether there is a longitudinal association between hearing loss and cognitive decline in older adults who speak a tonal language.

Methods: Chinese-speaking older adults aged 60 years and above were recruited for baseline and 12 month follow-up measurements.

Direct oral anticoagulants versus vitamin K antagonists in the first 3 months after bioprosthetic valve replacement: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials comparing direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) to vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) in the first 90 days after bioprosthetic valve implantation.

Methods: We systematically searched Embase, Medline and CENTRAL. We screened titles, abstracts and full texts, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias in duplicate.

Ear Portal: An urban-based ear, nose, and throat, and audiology referral telehealth portal to improve access to specialist ear health services for children.

Introduction: Shortage of ear, nose, and throat specialists in public hospitals can result in delays in the detection and management of otitis media. This study introduced a new hospital-based telehealth service, named the Ear Portal, and investigated its role in improving access to specialist care.

Methods: The study included 87 children (aged 6 months to 6 years) referred to a tertiary children's hospital due to otitis media-related concerns.

The Relationship of Age-Related Hearing Loss with Cognitive Decline and Dementia in a Sinitic Language-Speaking Adult Population: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background And Objectives: Substantial evidence supports the association between untreated hearing loss, cognitive decline, and dementia in the non-tonal language-speaking population. Whether a similar association between hearing loss and cognitive decline and dementia exists in Sinitic tonal language-speaking people is yet to be elucidated. We aimed to systematically review the current evidence on the association between hearing loss and cognitive impairment/decline, and dementia in older adults who speak a Sinitic tonal language.

Seeking Help for Tinnitus and Satisfaction With Healthcare Providers Including Diagnosis, Clinical Services, and Treatment: A Scoping Review.

The objective of this scoping review was to describe the extent and type of evidence related to seeking help for tinnitus and satisfaction with healthcare providers including diagnosis, services and treatments along the clinical pathway. The selection criteria were adults aged 18 and over with tinnitus who sought help and where patient satisfaction with healthcare providers was reported. Online databases MEDLINE (OvidSP), Embase (OvidSP), PsycINFO (OvidSP) and CINAHL plus (EBSCO) were searched for original studies in English.

Digits in noise testing in a multilingual sample of Asian adults.

Objective: Appropriate speech-in noise assessment is challenging in multilingual populations. This study aimed to assess whether first preferred language affected performance on an English Digits-in-noise (DIN) test in the local Asian multilingual population, controlling for hearing threshold, age, sex, English fluency and educational status. A secondary aim was to determine the association between DIN test scores and hearing thresholds.

The use of patient-report measures and intervention strategies for children and adolescents with chronic tinnitus: a scoping review.

Background: Chronic tinnitus during childhood/adolescence can be associated with impaired quality of life. Guidelines for managing paediatric tinnitus recommend assessment and interventions are often based upon the experiences and opinions of guideline committee members.

Objective: To examine patient response tools used for the assessment and management of childhood tinnitus and how interventions had been evaluated.

Acquisition and persistence of intermittent access-induced escalated sucrose intake in male rats.

Ad lib fed male rats with 23 h every third day access (E3DA) to 4% sucrose come to double the sucrose intake of rats with everyday access (EDA). These differences are maintained if all rats are then put on an alternate day schedule. In two experiments, we explored how initial patterns of sucrose availability influenced consumption when access conditions changed.

The impact of untreated hearing loss on depression, anxiety, stress, and loneliness in tonal language-speaking older adults in China.

Background: Age-related hearing loss, mental health conditions, and loneliness commonly affect older adults. This study aimed to determine whether untreated hearing loss is independently associated with depression, anxiety, stress, and loneliness in tonal language-speaking older adults in China.

Study Design: Observational, cross-sectional study.

How Did We Get Here? Antithrombotic Therapy after Bioprosthetic Aortic Valve Replacement: A Review.

Importance:  Aortic stenosis is the most common valvular disease, and more than 90% of patients who undergo aortic valve replacement receive a bioprosthetic valve. Yet optimal antithrombotic therapy after bioprosthetic aortic valve replacement remains uncertain, and guidelines provide contradictory recommendations.

Observations:  Randomized studies of antithrombotic therapy after bioprosthetic aortic valve replacement are small and underpowered.

Long-term follow-up after recurrent otitis media and ventilation tube insertion: Hearing outcomes and middle-ear health at six years of age.

Objectives: To investigate the long-term impact of recurrent otitis media (rOM) and ventilation tube insertion (VTI) in early childhood on hearing outcomes and middle-ear health three to five years later, in a prospective pregnancy cohort study.

Methods: Children were classified into rOM (n = 314), VTI (n = 94), and reference (n = 1735) groups, according to their otitis media (OM) history in their first three years of life. Audiometry at frequencies 500 Hz, 1000 Hz, 2000 Hz, and 4000 Hz, and tympanometry were performed when children were approximately six years of age.