Message from the Editor-in-Chief
Welcome to this spring issue of CanadianAudiologist. We have a very diverse range of articles.
Greg Flamme and Kristy Deiter discuss the important (and sometimes frustrating) issue of age corrections for audiometry and noise-induced hearing loss. In many jurisdictions, 0.5 dB is subtracted off the Worker’s Compensation Board 4 number average for each year over 60. Is this too much of a “correction” or just right, and what does the literature say? Dr. Flamme will present on this and other noise-related issues at the Canadian Academy of Audiology’s national conference later this fall in Kelowna, British Columbia.
Dr. Sylvie Hebert writes about the potential benefits of bi-modal stimulation (auditory and tactile) as one element for treating tinnitus. We would like to welcome Dr. Doug Sladen to Canada as the newest member of the University of British Columbia’s School of Audiology and Speech Sciences. Dr. Sladen has written an interesting article on Single Sided Deafness (SSD) and Cochlear Implants. Dr. Steve Aiken, our Associate Editor, has shepherded a Question and Answer article on auditory nerve dysfunction with Dr. Stephane Maison of the Eaton Peabody Laboratory at Harvard … and many other articles.
We also have some fascinating columns in this issue of CanadianAudiologist starting with the Quick Answers column, which Dr. Kathy Pichora Fuller writes. It deals with two commonly asked questions about cognition and hearing loss: Question #1: What should audiologists tell their clients about hearing aids and reducing dementia risk? Question #2: What should audiologists learn from the story of the retraction of the Jiang et al. paper about hearing aids and dementia? Dr. Bob Harrison talks about the recent research about resolving congenital hearing loss due to the otoferlin gene (OTOF) – is this simply “low-hanging fruit” or the harbinger of things to come? Dr. Pam Millett provides us with a “fly-on-the-wall” glimpse into what (and who) is involved in the educational system when trying to optimize the educational experience for Deaf and hard of hearing students, in her article entitled “The Educational Village for students who are Deaf or hard of hearing.”
I hope you enjoy this issue of CanadianAudiologist and wish you a pleasant spring season- hopefully with fewer forest fires than what 2023 brought us.
Marshall Chasin, AuD.,
Editor in Chief