Message from the Editor-in-Chief
I recall as a student discussing the softest sound that can perforate an eardrum. We had learned all about the quietest sound across the frequency range that was still audible, but little was mentioned on the other end of the scale, above the pain threshold. I recall sitting down in a bar with my classmates, trying to convert the “breaking strength of the tympanic membrane” from Yost and Neilsen’s excellent book Fundamentals of Hearing, 1.61 × 106 dynes/cm2 to an equivalent decibel in SPL. I think (after several beers and using my old slide rule… see picture) we came out with a figure close to 200 dB SPL. Well, it turns out that it's not so straightforward. Wayne Staab has written a nice article that is our cover feature for this issue of CanadianAudiologist called “Risk factors associated with environmental pressure changes on tympanic membrane rupture and ear damage”- really interesting reading, with or without beer.
We also have several articles of unusual situations or circumstances that audiologists may find themselves in. The articles are about Audiology practice in northern Manitoba by Melanie Santhikumar; Audiologists as collaborators by Maya Fields; and an outside-the-box thinking article on Creativity in audiology by Cory Portnuff.
And we have our regular feature articles under the Mysteries of the Hearing Brain and Striking the Right Balance. Mysteries of the Hearing Brain’s contribution to this issue is the identification of auditory processing disorders with the cABR. The Striking the Right Balance article is actually a book review of Devin McCaslin’s new book Electronystagmography and Videonystagmography. Because of these two long words and the difficulty in pronouncing them correctly, along with words like “synatopathy” and a few others, there is an unsubstantiated rumour going around that future audiology programs will be increased to 3 years just so that graduates can say those words without stuttering.
I hope you all had a relaxing and safe summer season, and we all look forward to some sense of normalcy in the coming months as Covid abates.