Wayne J. Wilson

Listening difficulties (LiD) – defined here as any self-, caregiver-, or professional-reported problem of hearing or listening despite having normal hearing thresholds (Moore 2018) – are among the ...

Vestibular balance problems (VBPs), defined here as balance problems of predominantly vestibular origin, are common in both general and clinical populations (Murdin and Schilder 2015). Examples inc...

The association between listening and internalising behaviours as precursors to effective learning is poorly understood. This scoping review examined existing evidence of these associations in school-aged children. A search of 11 databases identified 18 articles that met the inclusion criteria of having assessed school-aged children without peripheral hearing loss or autism on at least one measure each of listening and internalising behaviour. Of the 18 included studies, most compared listening measured by auditory memory (n = 12) or auditory processing (n = 5) to internalising behaviour measured by anxiety (n = 18) and/or depression (n = 10). Extracted evidence was mixed, with poorer auditory memory and auditory processing showing most associations with increased depression, variable associations with anxiety, and limited associations with other internalising behaviours. Only two studies explored educational outcomes, with one reporting an association between auditory processing disorder and educational risk and one reporting an indirect association between higher anxiety and academic achievement via poor auditory memory. Current evidence suggests some components of listening (particularly auditory memory) could be associated with some aspects of internalising behaviours (particularly depression). Broader, integrated investigations are needed to determine the extent of associations between listening and internalising behaviours to better inform classroom interventions.

Purpose This study reports the thoughts and experiences of a sample of these patients regarding audiology and hearing impairment during CT. It expands on recent research in a large, publicly funded tertiary hospital in Australia that revealed that patients receiving ototoxic, cumulative cisplatin chemotherapy (CT) had a median of zero encounters with audiology (IQR = 0–1) during their treatment. This finding was in contrast with international audiological ototoxicity monitoring (OtoM) guidelines that recommend prospective OtoM for all patients undergoing CT. Sample and setting Fifteen adults from a cohort of 189 cancer patients were interviewed who received CT at a large Australian tertiary hospital between 1st January and 31st December 2023. Study design A convergent parallel mixed-method design was utilised for this study. Procedures Participants completed a demographic and hearing handicap questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. Patient demographics were described, and interview transcripts were analysed using inductive content analysis. Results Scores on the Revised Hearing Handicap Inventory Screening Tool ranged from 0 to 26 out of a maximum score of 40. Of the fifteen participants, 12 reported symptoms of hearing loss, 10 reported symptoms of tinnitus, and 8 reported symptoms of both. Patients described their experiences in vivid and emotive detail. Patient thoughts and experiences fell into two major themes. The first theme, ‘Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment’, had four distinct subcategories of content—information and information needs, side effects of cancer treatment, ongoing quality of life, and memory. The second theme, ‘Audiology Experience and Hearing’, had six subcategories of content: referral process, audiology experience and education, self-management, tinnitus, hearing, and recommendations to improve the process. Implications for cancer survivors This study has highlighted unmet needs relating to ototoxicity across the processes of audiological monitoring and referral, provision of information to patients, and provider awareness of services in the Australian public health system. The absence of audiological OtoM could deny patients access to the information needed to make informed decisions regarding their hearing during their chemotherapy treatment. These findings can be used to benchmark areas for improvement and address limitations in audiology referral processes and OtoM care pathways in Australia.

Music education for individuals with hearing loss has a long history, yet it is not comprehensively understood how children with hearing loss progress in mainstream instrumental music settings. The present study addressed this by assessing the progress of eight flute students, four with hearing loss who wore hearing aids and four with normal hearing, over 9 months of group lessons. Results showed that children with hearing loss achieved equivalent levels of musical skill to their peers with normal hearing when undertaking the same training. This suggests that children with hearing loss can participate in instrumental music lessons on the same basis as their typically hearing peers. Furthermore, they can do this by playing instruments that require careful attention to pitch and tone, such as the flute, rather than being limited to instruments of fixed pitch such as percussion or piano.

Purpose: To identify the number and timing of audiology encounters for adult oncology patients in a tertiary care setting in Australia. Setting (population): A retrospective case review was completed for 149 patients who received Cisplatin chemotherapy (CT) at a large, publicly funded tertiary hospital in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia between 1st January and 31st December 2019. Patient data was extracted from the Queensland Oncology Repository (QOR) provided by Cancer Alliance Queensland (CAQ). Results: The number of audiology encounters was low overall with a median of 0 and interquartile range (IQR) of 0–1. Of the entire patient cohort, there was a mean of 1.2 encounters with 56% of patients not engaging with audiology. Where audiology did occur, encounters were most likely before or early in the CT treatment period. Conclusions: This study has demonstrated engagement with audiology services for patients undergoing CT treatment was limited with the few audiology engagements occurring before or early in the CT treatment period. Further research is needed to identify the barriers and facilitators to accessing audiological ototoxic monitoring (OtoM) during chemotherapy treatment in hospitals in Australia. Implications for cancer survivors: Early identification of ototoxic hearing loss offers the opportunity to minimise further exposure to the ototoxic agent, minimise functional and communication impacts for the patient and provide early opportunity for discussion, education and counselling with patients, carers and their treating team. This, in turn, is expected to improve health related quality of life.

Background: Effective management of hearing loss in adults is fundamental for communication, relationships, employment, and learning. This study examined the rates and management of self-reported hearing loss in urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults. Methods: A retrospective, observational study of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged =15 years who had annual health checks at an urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary healthcare clinic in Inala, Queensland, was conducted to determine self-reported hearing loss rates by age and ethnic groups stratified by sex. A medical record audit of patients who self-reported hearing loss from January to June 2021 was performed to identify current management approaches, and the proportion of patients that were appropriately managed. Results: Of the 1735 patients (average age 40.7 years, range 15.0–88.5 years, 900 [52.0%] women) who completed 3090 health checks between July 2018 and September 2021, 18.8% self-reported hearing loss. Rates did not differ between men and women. However, significant effects were noted for age, with rates increasing from 10.7% for patients aged 15–24 years to 38.7% for those aged =65 years. An audit of 73 patient medical records revealed that 39.7% of patients with self-reported hearing loss were referred to Ear, Nose and Throat/audiology or received other management. A total of 17.8% of patients owned hearing aids. Conclusions: Only 40% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults who self-reported hearing loss were referred for management. Significant changes to clinical management and government-funded referral options for hearing services are required to improve the management of self-reported hearing loss in this population.

Objective: This clinical note aimed to 1) describe the order-of-report (OoR) strategies used by a large sample of children who completed 2pDD testing in the free-recall condition as part of an audiological assessment of auditory processing (AP), and 2) determine if use of OoR correlated with 2pDD test performance. Design: A retrospective (case-review), single observation design. Study sample: A convenient sample of 77 children (50 males and 27 females aged 7.0 to 17.4 years [median = 8.8 years]) referred to audiology for an AP assessment. Results: The participating children used temporal more than ear or sequential OoR and showed decreased test scores with increased use of ear OoR. Conclusions: These findings suggest children referred for an AP assessment could favour a temporal OoR when completing 2pDD testing for its opportunity to rehearse the first digit pair (possibly strengthening its memory trace) prior to processing the second digit pair, while their use of an ear OoR could come at the cost detrimental ear dominance effects that reduce their test performance. Future research could consider if similar results are observed in other child populations and if preferred dichotic processing strategy could inform auditory training for children with dichotic listening deficits.

ObjectiveThe effectiveness of audiological monitoring for detecting early hearing changes in patients receiving ototoxic medication could be limited by the lack of adequate audiological ototoxicity monitoring (OtoM) guidelines. This study aimed to evaluate existing OtoM guidelines using the AGREE II tool for guideline evaluation.DesignGuideline Review.Study SampleThree audiological OtoM guidelines.ResultsAn online search identified three audiological OtoM guidelines published by the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA), the American Academy of Audiology (AAA) and the Health Professionals Council of South Africa (HPCSA). Evaluation using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE) II tool found the HPCSA audiological OtoM guideline scored higher than the ASHA and AAA guidelines in five of the six tool domains. All guidelines received average domain ratings of less than 50% with each reviewer recommending all three guidelines for use following modification.ConclusionThe findings of this study could partly explain the poor uptake of audiological OtoM practices internationally, further investigation is needed to identify the specific factors limiting the implementation of audiological OtoM in clinical practice.