Starting Of Journal Of Phonetics And Audiology

Our first article was a editorial written by one of th editorial board member Clifford A. Franklin
 (Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology ;University of Arkansas, USA ; )

Clifford A. Franklin, PhD, is an audiologist and associate professor in the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology in a consortium between the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock

Editorial was entitled “Keeping Up with Wireless Hearing Assistive Technology “.Audiologists recurrently collect case history information about their patient’s physical wellbeing, as it relates to hearing. When fitting hearing aids or investigating the value of other assistive technology, considerations should include the patient’s listening environments and his or her communication partners. Knowledge and understanding of the acoustics of the patient’s listening environments, concomitant to the characteristics of speech can be beneficLal to improved patient outcomes. Are there concerns with the distance between the speaker and your patient? Do potential reverberation and noise issues exist? With whom does your patient communicate? Are there visual issues, such as line-of-sight barriers or the speaker’s face being in a shadow? Additional considerations may include indulging out the patient’s knowledge of and comfort level with newer, wireless technologies. Does your patient only use a landline phone? Do they use a Bluetooth-enabled cellphone/smart device or other wireless devices, and/or computer programs such as Skype or Facetime? Knowing these specifically provides the foundation for either tailoring the assistive or access devices to the patient's comfort level or introducing newer technologies to provide better and/or easier access to communication.

Audiologists should be well trained on and knowledgeable of the technology and application of hearing aids. Many audiologists are proÙ½cLent at addressing their patient’s needs and connecting that patient to an appropriate set of hearing aids. Following the selection of appropriate hearing aids, the audiologist should be knowledgeable about any accessories available to the patient which work well with those hearing aids. Нese accessories are usually produced by the same manufacturer as the hearing aids. Нe next step should be to think beyond what the hearing aids can do with or without the accessories. Нat next step, based on a successful needs assessment, may include use or additional use of wireless technologies, such as Bluetooth, DECT, or smart device apps. Assistive technology is changing at a rapid pace and audiologists acting as advocates for their patients should feel compelled to keep pace with these changes.

Media contact:

Lisa M

Managing editor

Phonetics and Audiology

jpay@scholarlypub.com