Tablet audiometry: Comparison of automated game-based and tester-assisted procedures in children.

Unlabelled: Access to hearing health care in developing countries and for individuals living in rural areas is a challenge. This has prompted the development of portable audiometry using automated game-based procedures via smartphones and tablets.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare the automated game-based and tester-assisted (conventional procedure administered via a tablet) options available on a tablet audiometer with children outside a clinical environment.

Newborn Hearing Screening: Early Education = More Satisfied Mothers.

Newborn hearing screening (NBHS) has become the norm in all states in the United States. However, parents receive limited information about it, usually at the hospital, and have low awareness about the process. Yet parents and professionals agree that communication about the NBHS process should begin before childbirth (Arnold et al.

Parent educational materials regarding the newborn hearing screening process.

Purpose: Newborn hearing screening (NHS) procedures and implementation vary from state to state in the US. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the content and nature of information provided to parents about their infant's NHS across states to answer two questions: 1) what information is included in each state's parent information brochure? and 2) do the brochures include educational information requested by parents that may help reduce parental anxiety, improve satisfaction, and decrease the potential for misunderstandings?

Method: Each state's parent brochures and educational resources provided to parents were accessed via the National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management (NCHAM) website, categorized, and reviewed for content.

Results: Results indicate that the information provided to parents varies considerably across states and many brochures do not contain important information that is desired by parents.

Management of unilateral hearing loss.

Objective: A representative sample of literature regarding unilateral hearing loss (UHL) was reviewed to provide evidence of the effects of UHL and the intervention options available for children with UHL. Considerations during the assessment and management of children with UHL are illustrated using case illustrations.

Method: Research articles published from 2013 to 2015 were searched in the PubMed database using the keywords "unilateral hearing loss".

Outcomes of an International Audiology Service-Learning Study-Abroad Program.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate students' academic and civic learning, with particular interest in cultural competence, gained through participation in the Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences in Zambia study-abroad program.

Method: Twelve female students participated in the program. Quantitative data collected included pre- and postprogram administration of the Public Affairs Scale (Levesque-Bristol & Cornelius-White, 2012) to measure changes in participants' civic learning.

Service Learning in Undergraduate Audiology Education.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to incorporate a service learning project in an undergraduate audiology course and evaluate how it affected student learning in the class.

Method: The study involved partnering with a group of students enrolled in a band learning community. Students in the audiology course learned about hearing assessment procedures in class and practiced the procedures on each other in labs.

Effects of policy changes to universal newborn hearing screening follow-up in a university clinic.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of policy changes on loss to follow-up rates and the ability to achieve the goals of the American Academy of Pediatrics Joint Committee on Infant Hearing Screening (2007) for diagnosis of hearing loss by 3 months, amplification within 1 month of diagnosis, and start of intervention by 6 months.

Method: From the files of 111 infants, data were extracted on the following: date of birth, birth hospital, hometown, parents' ages, ethnicity, nursery status, medical history, age at initial evaluation and diagnosis, results of evaluation(s), and age at hearing aid fitting and start of early intervention. Data were compared with previously published data from the clinic (Krishnan, 2009).

Universal newborn hearing screening follow-up: a university clinic perspective.

Purpose: To evaluate the referral and follow-up procedures at a university clinic to determine whether the early intervention program is achieving the goals of diagnosis of hearing loss by 3 months, amplification within 1 month of diagnosis, and intervention services by 6 months, as outlined in the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (JCIH; 2007) position statement.

Method: Files for 142 infants were examined, and the following data were collected from each file: date of birth, birth hospital, hometown, parents' ages, ethnicity, nursery status (well baby or neonatal intensive care unit), medical history, age at initial evaluation and at diagnosis, results of evaluation(s), and age at hearing aid fitting and start of early intervention services.

Results: Results revealed that 17% of infants were older than 3 months at the initial evaluation, and 18% of infants who needed further evaluation were lost to follow-up.

The temporal effect in listeners with mild to moderate cochlear hearing impairment.

This study examines the relationship between a temporal masking effect and cochlear hearing impairment. The threshold level of a long-duration broadband masker needed to mask a short-duration tonal signal was measured for signals presented 2 ms (short-delay) or 202 ms (long-delay condition) after masker onset. The difference between these thresholds is the temporal effect.