PEDIATRIC AUDIOLOGY, DIAGNOSIS, TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
Madell J, Flexer C, Wolfe J, Schaffer E. (2019). Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc.
You may be wondering why in the world is Rex Banks doing a book review on pediatric audiology? Simple, Marshall asked me to! But beyond that, I spent the first 12 years of my career working with children as a daily part of my audiology practice, including many mornings conducting ABR screenings in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of St. Mary’s Medical Center in Palm Beach, Florida. I then saw all the “refers” from St. Mary’s in the private practice where I worked for follow-up diagnostic ABRs. The first child I fit with hearing aids was less than a year old, and many more came after him. What I did not have during those years was a comprehensive A to Z book, such as the one I am reviewing in this article, “Pediatric Audiology. Diagnosis, Technology and Management, Third Edition.”
“Pediatric Audiology, Diagnosis, Technology and Management, Third Edition” is edited by an acclaimed quartet of pediatric audiology experts Jane Madell, Carol Flexer, Jace Wolfe, and Erin Schafer. This third edition of the book contains a Foreword by James Jerger and covers all aspects of pediatric testing. New chapters in this updated version include hearing and vestibular issues in children, state-of-the-art testing methods for neonates, and longitudinal studies on cochlear implant technology. The Editors have pulled together an impressive forty-seven contributors with specialized knowledge on any pediatric topic you could think of to bring the reader thirty-seven targeted chapters covering four major sections:
- Hearing Loss: Essential Information
- Diagnosing Hearing Disorders in Infants and Children
- Hearing Access Technologies for Infants and Children
- Educational and Clinical Management of Hearing Loss in Children
For easy reference, each major section of the book is colour coded using attractive pastels: light blue, mauve, soft orange, and lilac. The chapters are well organized, each starting with a summary, key points and ending with a conclusion and discussion questions for further thought. To draw the reader’s attention to important issues, chapters contain call-out boxes of pearls, pitfalls, cautions, special considerations, and controversial points. I found the call-out boxes particularly useful for zeroing in on and explaining critical take-away pieces of information. The book is full of beautifully rich, colourful illustrations on high-quality paper that's easy on the eyes for reading.
What I thought was particularly awesome about the book was that it came with complimentary access to a digital copy at medone.thieme.com. Simply register using the access codes that are provided on the inside cover and you’re ready to go! The online version is searchable and contains fifteen videos which are wonderfully done and walks the reader through how to do bread and butter pediatric testing procedures such as visual reinforcement audiometry and SAT testing among other things.
With all the masterful pediatric minds at work in this book, it was really hard to critique it and find any fault. Possibly the only improvement I would suggest is to include a glossary in the next edition. For me, that would make it perfect!
It can be found for sale from a variety of vendors, including Thieme for $109.99 US. If you love Amazon, you can find it there where it currently has a 4.75-star rating and there’s also a Kindle edition.
Other than pediatric audiologists, educational audiologists and audiology students, this book will appeal to essentially everyone with an interest in pediatric audiology including otolaryngologists, pediatricians, speech-language pathologists, listening and spoken language therapists and even families of children with hearing loss.
Congratulations to everyone who worked on what can only be considered the ultimate guide to pediatric audiology!
I plan to keep it handy in my office and recommend that you do as well!