Message from the Editor-in-Chief
Hopefully, as this issue of Canadian Audiologist is being read, the snow and ice will be gradually melting, and the days will be (finally) getting longer. And on the west coast, the cherry blossoms will soon be popping out – unfortunately the rest of Canada may have to wait a bit longer.
The cover topic of this issue is on Historical Contingency; something that we are all familiar with! Actually, I am lying and I had never heard of this phrase until I read an article in Acoustics Today, written by Dr. Geoffrey Manley. Historical Contingency is perhaps one of the most important driving forces in evolution and may inform us about “How does nature construct an ear” – coincidentally the title of the first article! After only a bit of convincing, Dr. Manley was nice enough to write an original article on this fascinating topic for us- it seems that he had spent some time at McGill University in his early career and has a soft spot for Canada.
Dr. Navid Shahnaz from the University of British Columbia gave his students an interesting project to complete with the enticing title of “Hidden hearing loss in music students.” Among other things, under Navid’s guidance, the students were able to demonstrate that finding a measure, or measures of hidden hearing loss is quite a difficult task, underscoring the allusiveness of this phenomenon in humans.
The year was 1946 and this was the annus mirabilis of Dr. Jim Jerger who looks at two salient articles published that year that would forever change the orientation and establish the basis for rehabilitation in the field of audiology. To be fair, 1946 was only one of several amazing years for Dr. Jerger (plural- anni mirabiles, and if I remember my Latin from 1972, I am pretty sure that this is the second declension of “annus”), but in this issue we will stick with 1946 – only 8 years before I was born.
And…well, there are many other contributions in this issue – “Vestibular Migraines” under Striking the Right Balance banner, “Using Speech in Noise Tests” by Doug Beck and 23 other authors (and I am one of them way down the list), interviews with Dr. Paul Kileny (who spent the early 1980s in downtown Toronto), and Elliott Berger who spent a lifetime helping us understand how hearing protection works (and to never use the phrase “ear protection”), and a reprint of a blog by AU Bankaitis called “Amplified Stethoscopes: a quick reference guide”.
New to this issue is a column coordinated by Janine Verge called “Issues in Accessibility.” You will recall that Janine guest co-edited (with Chris Sutton of CHHA) the last issue of Canadian Audiologist on the topic of accessibility and what better way to celebrate that issue than to continue with a regular column on this important issue.
Of course, we have fascinating contributions for the other regular columnists, Samira Anderson, Bob Traynor, Bob Harrison, Alberto Behar, Gael Hannan, and Pam Millet, ranging in topic from hearing conservation to how the brain processes hearing, and more…
I wish you all a pleasant (imminent) spring season and watch out for that melting snow and ice.
Happy reading.