Second Observation

A young man came into the clinic referred for possible CAPD by the disabilities department. The case history found he is a young veteran and experiences some tinnitus. He said the test take a little longer for him to do than others in the class.
First otoscopy was performed. The clinician performed tymps, reflexes, and decay bilaterally, ipsilaterally, and contralaterally, all of which were normal. The clinician also performed PT, SRT, and WR. SRTs were tested using the CID-1 list. Descrim was tested with the NU-8. Right ear was 96% and the left 100%. The next test was the SCAN-A. At this time I had to leave for class.
The following link is a website anybody can visit. I used this link so, as audiologists, we know the type of information available to people outside of our profession. Also, it is a pretty decent description of the SCAN-A test.
http://www.capdtest.com/scan_a.cfm

First Observation

A man came in complaining of feedback while using an Oticon Delta hearing aid. Expectedly, he was getting feedback when his aid was near an object. The supervisor explained feedback is normal when near objects. The supervisor and clinician replaced the client’s dome first. Next, they used the Genie fitting software in an aided sound field to try a few tweaks to improve the feedback. The client was happy with the results of the refitting. He has enjoyed great benefit from his hearing aid. He said he has been hearing sounds he hasn’t heard in years. He also ordered another pack of domes.
The link is to Oticon’s newest fitting software. One hearing aid model has wireless connectivity for MP3 players, cell phones, and other wireless capable devices. The new version of the software touts this new capability. It is just the updated software of what’s in the clinic.

http://www.oticonusa.com/Oticon/Professionals/professional_products/Epoq/Genie_2007_1.html

Eleventh Observation 11-15-07

For this week, I'm posting links to similar articles from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and ASHA. These articles are a run down of the audiology profession. They describe the training, job outlook, earnings, and so on. These are nice references and also good motovation when you're thinking about all the hard work ahead of you.

ASHA article would seem to be more accurate since they have a greater focus on audiology than the national government would. For instance the ASHA article says faster than average job growth while the Gov't website says average. Also, the ASHA has earnings divided between doctoral level audiologists versus the lesser degrees. Bigger bucks $$, I think we all atleast would rather agree with ASHA's website.

Bureau of Labor Statistics: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos085.htm

ASHA: http://www.asha.org/students/professions/overview/audiology.htm

Enjoy the articles!

Tenth Observation 11-7-07

The following is an article comparing NIHL between elementary music teachers, high school band directors, and vocal/choir directors. The article brought to my attention that some band rooms achieve dB levels above working conditions that require noise protection. Therefore, some musical members are exposed to these conditions without hearing protection. The study took in account the age differences of the subjects as well as exposure from experience. Many of the subjects were susceptible to presbycusis. In summary of the article, they found the levels of noise exposure to be higher than acceptable, they believe the exposure compounds presbycusis rather than causes NIHL. It is a pretty neat article, not a bad read.

Cutietta, R.A., Klich, R.J., Royse, D., & Rainbolt, H. (1994). The incidence of noise-induced hearing loss among music teachers. Journal of Research in Music Education, 42 (4), 318-330. Retrieved November, 19, 2007, from JSTOR.

Ninth Observation 10-31-07

I found this cool article on stimulating the vestibular system of infants and its affect and effect on motor development. The study used sinusoidal waves as stimulation as well as spinning in a rotating chair. The results were significant for the testers. Furthermore, oblivious to the study groups, parents and day care providers noticed a difference and reported so in a survey. For example, twins within the study were split ; one going to a control group and one going to the experimental group. The one in the experimental group was sitting up before the twin of the control group. The results of the study lead them to believe the stimulation matures the vestibular system quicker, which in turn, allows motor movements dependent of the maturation to develop faster. Example, hand to mouth coordination.

Clark, D.L., Kreutzberg, J.R., Chee, F.K.W. (1976). Vestibular stimulation influence on motor development in infants. Science, 196 (4295), 1228-1229. Retrieved November, 18, 2007, from JSTOR database.

Eighth Observation 10-24-07

I found a short and sweet article about cerumen management using the Water Pik. The Water Pik is a dental device that shoots a fine stream of water to achieve a similar effect of flossing. Audiologist and otoligist can use the Water Pik to break free the cerumen in the EAC. The Water Pik allows the user to change water pressure intensities. This feature allows just enough pressure as needed to break the cerumen off the walls of the EAC. This article is from the mid 70's, but i believe it still applies to today's clinical audiology.

Laren, G. (1976). Removing cerumen with a Water Pik. The American Journal of Nursing, 76 (2), 264-265. Retrieved November, 18, 2007, from JSTOR database.

Seventh Observation 10-17-07

Today, a male in his late 20s came into the clinic. The client participated in the hearing screenings by the 1yr speech grads. The client's results came back normal, but he came into the clinic to have an evaluation regardless. The sessions began with a case hx of the client. The case case hx revealed the client hunted. The client said he did not use protection, but I'm not sure if that included target shooting also. Hunting without ear protection is reasonable, but target practice without protection is not. With hunting, very few shots are taken. While target shooting, many shots are fired. Next, video otoscopy was used to view the EAC and TM. EACs showed acceptable amounts of cerumen, but small amounts of blood from the client using cotton swabs. Tympanometry showed a normal curve for the client's right ear, but a very slightly shifted curve to the left. The clinician said it was still normal. The final step of the battery was puretone audiometry. The client's thresholds all fell within normal limits. Before the client left, the clinician showed and explained the audiogram to the client.

I found a little article about using leupeptin to prevent hearing loss. In summary, they injected chinchillas with leupeptin in one cochlea but left the opther alone. Then, they exposed the chinchillas to 48 hours of 100dB and 105dB of noise. The chinchillas' injected cochleas were left relatively undamaged while the other was nearly destroyed.

All ears: potential help for noise-induced hearing loss. (1999). Enironmental Health Perspectives, 107 (9), A448-A449. Retrieved October 19, 2007, from JSTOR database.