BAA MAGAZINE SUMMER 2017 DRAFT 4

This issue 

BAA Conference 2017 16 2017 Conference Programme 18 Regional News 25 

Summer 2017 

ISSUE 43 

BAA 

MAGAZINE 

British Academy of Audiology 

• Single Sided Deafness: CROS Aid 

or BAHA? 

• Promoting Uptake of Rehabilitation 

Support for Hearing Loss 

• Development of the Spatial Speech 

Assessment 

• Deafness in Low and Middle Income 

Countries: Massive Open Online 

Course 

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Contents: 

General: 

3 Editorial 

4 President’s Word 

16 BAA Conference 2017 

18 2017 Conference Programme 

29 Industry Updates 

Contributions: 

Please send to: 

baamagazine@gmail.com 

Advertising: 

Contact BAA for a media 

pack at: advertising@baaudiology.org 

Autumn issue 

Contributions to be received by: 

20th September 2017 

Edition: Autumn 2017 

Publication date: 27th October 2017 

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Features: 

7 To Assess the Effect of Chemo 

Radiotherapy with Cisplatin on 

the Hearing and Balance System 

in Patients with Cancer of the 

Nasopharynx and Oropharynx within 

a Regional Oncology Service 

10 Single Sided Deafness: CROS Aid or 

BAHA? 

Trainees: 

27 Deafness in Low and Middle 

Income Countries: Massive Open 

Online Course 

12 ‘Being Heard’ - Lived Experience 

of Adults with Mild Hearing Loss: 

Qualitative Research into the 

Diversity of Experience and Impact of 

Mild Hearing Loss 

14 Promoting Uptake of Rehabilitation 


23 Development of the Spatial Speech 

Assessment 

25 Regional News 

28 Breaking News… A New Oticon 

Student Award is Coming to the 

BAA Conference 

Welcome to the summer edition of the BAA magazine. 

I hope you are all looking forward to some holidays over the 

coming months. 

Conference 2017 has launched and the programme looks very 

exciting – keep checking the BAA website and Horizon for updates. If you 

haven’t already done so, please consider registering to attend – the Board and 

Conference team have worked hard to ensure the event represents excellent 

value for money. 

We have recently been receiving less submissions for the magazine. We 

understand everyone is very busy, but please do consider submitting articles, 

course reviews, audit, research – anything you think would be of interest to our 

readership. Please also email the Editor if there is a topic you would like to see in 

a future edition. 

Finally, this will be the last edition for me as Editor of the BAA Magazine as I take 

on a new adventure outside the world of Audiology. It has been a pleasure and I 

wish the BAA every success in the future. 

Kathryn Whitfield 

Clinical Scientist (Audiology) and Team Leader of the Newborn Hearing 

Screening Programme, Crewe 

Disclaimer: The views expressed in any BAA publication or mailing are not necessarily those of the Academy. The Academy does not necessarily endorse the content of 

advertisements or inserts in any publication or mailing. The Academy reserves the right to decline advertisements without having to justify editorial decisions. The editing 

team may edit and reformat the content of articles that are submitted. Whilst every care has been taken to ensure that data is accurate, the editors cannot accept liability to 

any party for loss or damage caused by errors or omissions resulting from any party. The Academy’s decision on all matters relating to content is final. 

BAA MAGAZINE / SUMMER 2017 / 3

PRESIDENT 

MICHELLE BOOTH 

President, British Academy of Audiology 

President’s Word 

Dear Member, 

Welcome to the summer edition of 

the BAA Magazine. Over the past 

few weeks, we have enjoyed some 

lovely weather – long may it continue, 

as I’m sure many of you will be 

looking to well-deserved breaks over 

the next few months. 

This is my 3rd President’s words, 

which means there is only one more 

to go before I hand over the baton to 

Sue Falkingham at our Conference 

in Bournemouth in November. The 

time has flown by and despite the 

role being far busier than I imagined, 

I have enjoyed every minute of it so 

far. It is a difficult role to do whilst 

trying to maintain the focus on 

the ‘day job’ and try to keep some 

element of work/life balance. As an 

Audiologist working in the NHS, there 

are constant pressures and as I write 

this, in the back of my mind I am 

thinking about our IQIPS accreditation 

review which takes place in June. 

I wholeheartedly support the 

accreditation process and can see 

the many benefits it has made to our 

service at Sherwood Forest Hospitals 

NHS Foundation Trust, but my advice 

would be don’t underestimate the 

amount of work involved in, not only 

achieving accreditation, but also 

maintaining it! 

Over the past few months I have 

been very grateful of the decision 

by the BAA Board to take on Wendy 

Farrington-Chadd as a Consultant 

CEO. Wendy has been a great source 

of support and advice and is busy 

devoting her time to key areas where 

BAA want to make a difference. 

Wendy is currently collating the 

data collected from the workforce 

survey done in the autumn of 2016 

and is also working on the recently 

collected data from the membership 

survey sent out to all members last 

month. She will present the data to 

the BAA Board meeting in July and 

we can then create an action plan to 

take forward, which we will of course 

share with you, our membership. 

Speaking of the membership survey, 

some of the results were a little 

disappointing as members expressed 

criticism of some of the work that 

the BAA Board and its committee 

members do. Please try to remember 

that we are all volunteers and do 

much of this work in our own time. 

We have, over the past few years, 

seen the number of people putting 

themselves forward for committees 

and especially for board roles 

diminish. So for those of you who 

think BAA need to do more, perhaps 

you could help us by joining one of 

our many committees or putting 

yourselves forward for a board 

role when nominations are invited 

towards the end of the summer. 

However, despite some negative 

feedback and criticism, there was 

also constructive feedback from the 

survey and we thank those of you 

who took the time to complete the 

survey and offer your suggestions. 

As you will see in this edition of 

the magazine, Claire Benton and 

the Conference planning team 

have been working hard to pull 

together an amazing programme 

for the BAA Conference this year. 

This year’s programme continues 

in its streamlined format, with 

early morning discussion groups 

and workshops. A new edition to 

this year’s programme is the back 

to basics tutorials designed for all 

delegates, whether you want to 

update your knowledge or gain new 

skills. Our keynote speakers promise 

to deliver interesting presentations 

on current ‘hot topics’ within our 

profession. I hope there is something 

there that whets your appetite and I 

look forward to seeing many of you in 

Bournemouth in November. Keep an 

eye out for further updates on what 

conference has to offer on our social 

media and in the Horizon newsletter 

which drops into your inbox every 

fortnight. I will also continue to keep 

you informed via my Presidential Blog 

which you can find on our Facebook 

page and on the BAA website. 

I do hope you enjoy the interesting 

articles in this edition of the magazine 

and look forward to keeping you 

updated on my activity over the 

coming months. 

Kindest Regards 

Michelle Booth 

BAA President 

Claire Benton and the Conference planning 

team have been working hard to pull 

together an amazing programme for the 

BAA Conference this year. 


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BAA MAGAZINE / AUTUMN 2016 / 5

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BAA MAGAZINE / SPRING 2017 / 6

FEATURE 

To Assess the Effect of Chemo 

Radiotherapy with Cisplatin on 

the Hearing and Balance System 

in Patients with Cancer of the 

Nasopharynx and Oropharynx within 

a Regional Oncology Service 

GAYNOR CHITTICK 

Chief Audiologist 

Chemo Radiotherapy (CRT) is 

used in the treatment of advanced 

head and neck cancers. Cisplatin 

is a chemotherapeutic drug widely 

used in the treatment of solid 

tumours of the head and neck. 

Cisplatin is known to be ototoxic 

and can damage hearing and/or 

balance functions. Cisplatin induced 

hearing loss is usually bilateral and 

irreversible (Chen et al 2006). The 

basal turn of the cochlea is affected 

first causing a high frequency 

hearing loss, however hearing 

loss may progress to the middle 

frequencies when doses in excess 

of 100mg/m² are used and with each 

cisplatin dose (Rybak et al 2009). 

The reported incidence of 

Sensorineural Hearing Loss 

(SNHL) following treatment with 

CRT appears to be variable. It 

may be related to the age of the 

patient, dose of cisplatin, noise 

exposure, exposure to other ototoxic 

medications, depleted nutritional 

state, and cranial irradiation 

(Bokemeyer et al 1998). 

Studies have shown a wide 

range of incidence of hearing loss 

following CRT, varying from 58% to 

81% at frequencies from 250Hz to 

8000Hz (Zuur et al 2007), to 100% 

when testing higher frequencies up 

to 12500Hz (Kopelman et al 1988). 

2% - 36% of patients complain 

of tinnitus following treatment with 

CRT (Reddel et al 1982). 

There is little evidence suggesting 

that cisplatin affects the vestibular 

system (Schacht et al 2012). 

Aintree University Hospital NHS 

Foundation Trust (AUH) has a 

regional centre for head and neck 

cancer. We decided to establish 

the incidence of SNHL, tinnitus and 

dizziness following treatment with 

CRT for cancer of the nasopharynx 

and oropharynx within our local 

population so that we could give 

our patients advice regarding the 

effects of their treatment and also 

offer early intervention, should the 

individual suffer any hearing loss, 

balance disturbance, or troublesome 

tinnitus. 

Method 

This was a prospective study to 

examine the effects of cisplatin 

on the hearing system in adults 

treated with CRT for cancer of the 

nasopharynx and/or oropharynx 

at AUH. 31 patients have been 

recruited to this study to date. 

Patients were referred when the 

decision to treat with CRT was 

made. 

All patients were given an 

information leaflet about the study 

and consented to take part. 

A baseline assessment was 

completed prior to treatment with 

CRT at 3 months and 12 months 

post treatment. This included 

pure tone audiometry at 250Hz, 

500Hz, 1000Hz, 2000Hz, 3000Hz, 

4000Hz, 6000Hz, 8000Hz, 9000Hz, 

10000Hz, 11200Hz, and 12500Hz 

via air conduction and at 500Hz, 

1000Hz, 2000Hz, 3000Hz and 


FEATURE 

4000Hz via bone conduction. 

Tympanometry was performed 

when indicated i.e. if there was an 

abnormal tympanic membrane and/ 

or air bone gap of 25dB or more at 2 

or more of the following frequencies: 

500Hz, 1000Hz, 2000Hz, and 

4000Hz on the audiogram, or a 

subjective complaint of aural fullness 

by the patient. 

Patients were asked about preexisting 

hearing loss, ear disease, 

ear surgery, noise exposure, 

balance complaints and tinnitus. 

Romberg and Unterberger tests 

were completed on all patients. The 

effect of any tinnitus was determined 

using the Newman Tinnitus Handicap 

Inventory. 

A significant hearing loss was 

classed as being greater than 15 dB 

change in thresholds at 2 or more 

frequencies. All patients with a 

conductive loss due to otitis media 

were excluded from the study. 

Results 

31 patients completed the study 

(62 ears); however 5 patients had a 

conductive loss due to otitis media, 

possibly due to the radiotherapy 

element of their treatment so these 

results were excluded from the 

study. The age range was from 38 – 

75 years with an average age of 62 

years. There were 5 females and 26 

males recruited to the study. 

Over 75% of patients had less 

than 15dB change in their hearing 

levels in the range 250Hz to 4000Hz, 

however, in the higher frequencies of 

6000Hz to 12500Hz, 50% or more 

patients had a greater than 15dB 

change in their hearing thresholds. 

This change in hearing thresholds 

increased at higher frequencies with 

over a third of patients developing 

a greater than 30dB drop in their 

hearing thresholds at 9000Hz, 

10000Hz, 11200Hz and 12500Hz. 

The incidence of increased hearing 

loss increases at higher frequencies 

(figure 1). 

There was no correlation between 

increasing age of the patient and 

increased hearing loss. 

Sex was not found to be a risk 

factor in developing SNHL following 

CRT. 

Tinnitus 

20% of patients were found to 

have pre-existing tinnitus and this 

was graded as mild on completion 

of the Newman Tinnitus Handicap 

Inventory. 

Following treatment, 25% 

of patients developed tinnitus. 

Newman Tinnitus Handicap 

Inventory scores ranged from 6% 

(mild) to 78% (catastrophic), with an 

average score of 51%. 

1 patient with existing tinnitus 

reported that the tinnitus level 

increased during treatment with 

CRT which resulted in a reduction of 

the dose of cisplatin. Subjectively, 

the tinnitus then returned to its pretreatment 

level. 

Balance 

No patients had any self-reported 

complaints of balance problems prior 

to treatment with CRT. Romberg and 

Untenbergers tests did not show any 

abnormalities. 

Following treatment, no patients 

reported any self-perceived change 

to their balance and Romberg and 

Untenberger tests did not show 

abnormalities. 

Discussion 

High frequency hearing is a common 

finding following treatment with 

cisplatin. Most patients with a high 

frequency hearing loss notice that 

Patients were asked about pre-existing hearing loss, ear disease, 

ear surgery, noise exposure, balance complaints and tinnitus. The 

effect of any tinnitus was determined using the Newman Tinnitus 

Handicap Inventory. 


understanding conversation in a 

noisy place becomes more difficult, 

they may start to mishear and their 

family notice that the TV at home is 

getting turned up. With increased 

and more frequent cisplatin doses, 

the mid frequencies can also be 

affected causing additional problems 

hearing speech even in small groups 

with family and friends. We found 

that within our patient population, 

frequencies >6000Hz were most 

affected. 

11% of patients who developed 

a SNHL went on to have hearing 

aids fitted, and at the review stage, 

were obtaining good benefit from 

them. All patients who developed a 

conductive loss but were excluded 

from this study, had hearing aids 

fitted. 

25% of patients developed 

persistent tinnitus following 

treatment and all patients were 

given general advice and information 

on tinnitus, written support and 

information, signposted to the British 

Tinnitus Association and had access 

to the Aintree Tinnitus Support 

Group. 8% of patients also opted 

to be enrolled onto our full tinnitus 

management programme. 

1 patient with existing tinnitus 

reported that the tinnitus level 

increased during treatment with 

CRT which resulted in a reduction of 

the dose of cisplatin. Subjectively, 

the tinnitus then returned to its pretreatment 

level. 

This may not have happened if the 

patient had not been alerted to the 

possible side effects of treatment 

and what options were available if 

any new or worsening symptoms 

developed. 

No patients reported any change 

in their balance. There is little in 

the literature regarding cisplatin 

treatment on balance or vertigo, 

so it would appear that cisplatin is 

not sufficiently toxic to the balance 

system in these doses. 

4% of patients were referred onto 

clinical psychology due to underlying 

anxiety and difficulty coping 

following treatment. 

Since starting this study, we have 

found that there is an increased 

awareness about the effects of 

CRT with cisplatin on hearing 

amongst the multi-disciplinary team 

and more information is available 

to patients and their families 

when at clinic. Patients are more 

informed regarding the effects of 

the treatment and there is a point 

of contact within the Audiology 

department for these patients to 

contact with any hearing, tinnitus or 

balance related queries. 

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FEATURE 

Single Sided 

Deafness: CROS 

Aid or BAHA? 

KERRY DOWNES 

Advanced Audiologist, 

St George’s Hospital 

Single Sided Deafness (SSD) affects around 9,000 new people 

each year in the UK. For many individuals, the condition can 

have a profound and debilitating effect on their lives. Sufferers 

experience difficulty picking up sounds from their deaf side, 

struggle in crowds and background noise and are unable to 

localise sounds. Whilst some losses are congenital or acquired 

in early childhood, most occur in adulthood and are of sudden 

onset. Adjusting to SSD can cause stress and anxiety, and 

impact hugely on a person’s well-being. In particular, individuals 

report withdrawal from group activities and feelings of isolation 

(Wie et al, 2010). 

There is some evidence to support the use of intratympanic 

steroids for idiopathic sudden SSD (Ferri et al, 2012), but results 

have varied widely and research on success rates are limited. 

Consequently, SSD remains a predominantly permanent and 

untreatable condition. Rehabilitation options include support 

groups and counselling, and provision of either Contralateral 

Routing of Sound (CROS) or Bone-Anchored Hearing Aids 

(BAHA). 

CROS/ BiCROS aids and BAHA can help to alleviate the 

difficulties caused by the head-shadow effect and provide relief 

to some of the difficulties SSD sufferers face (Faber et al, 2013). 

Most of the available research comparing the two amplification 

options is in regard to older, more cumbersome and cosmetically 

unappealing CROS aids with a wire around the back of the neck, 

and percutaneous connected abutments for BAHAs which are 

also less cosmetically appealing and can be prone to infection. 

With the improved technology and cosmetics of CROS aids, and 

the release of subcutaneous Cochlear BAHA attracts, this study 

aimed to provide an up to date and relevant insight into patient 

choice between the two amplification options. 

The research also intended to challenge some common 

assumptions; such as congenital SSD sufferers not opting for 

amplification and elderly patients avoiding BAHA due to the 

surgery involved. Factors which may influence the choice were 

also investigated; age, cause of deafness, acoustic neuroma 

surgery and high frequency thresholds in the hearing ear. 

Methods: 

30 individuals with SSD were referred to the BAHA service over 

the course of 16 months. All were offered back-to-back trials 

of wireless Phonak CROS/BiCROS aids (open-fit BTEs) and 

Cochlear BAHAs on soft-bands, for at least 2 weeks each. 27 

completed trials with both devices, 3 declined trials with BAHAs 

as they had no interest in pursuing this option. 

Following the trials, the patients attended follow-up 

appointments to give their feedback on the devices. Based on 

their experiences, the patients then made the decision whether 

to: 

- Proceed with BAHA and be added to the surgery 

waiting list (Group A) 

- Continue with the CROS aids (discharged from BAHA 

Service) (Group B) 

- Decline both options and return to being unaided 

(Group C) 

Data was collected retrospectively from patient records and 

mean averages were calculated. With the “age of patient” 

being the age at the time of data collection rather than at the 

time of the trials. The 3 patients who refused BAHA trials were 

included in Group B. 

Findings: 

90% of patients reported some level of benefit from either a 

CROS system or BAHA on soft-band, and only 3 people (10%) 

chose option C - to pursue neither device and return to being 

unaided. Of the 27 patients who reported benefit; 37% opted 

to be implanted with a BAHA (Group A), and 63% declined 

BAHA and chose to stick with their CROS aids (Group B). 

High frequency hearing in patients’ better ears were worse 

in Group B; with average thresholds at 4kHz and 8kHz: 14.4dB 

and 28.1dB compared with Group A; 12.5dB and 20.5dB. 

The age of patients varied in both groups. The mean average 

was lower in Group A: 45.5 years compared to 50.8 years 

in Group B. However the oldest patient assessed (81 years), 

chose to proceed with implantation – indicating that age is not 

an overriding factor in the decision-making process. 

27% of patients involved had long-standing SSD – reporting 

that the hearing loss occurred either in childhood or >20 years 

ago, and the majority of these did report benefit from either 

BAHA or CROS aids; with only one person declining both 

options. The main cause of deafness in all groups was the 

removal of acoustic neuromas: 50% in Group A, 44% in Group 

B and 33% (one person) in Group C. 

Conclusions: 

Both BAHA and CROS aids were found to alleviate some of 

the difficulties associated with SSD for the majority of patients 

- with both long-standing and recently acquired hearing losses. 

Those with a high-frequency loss in their hearing ear may 

experience more benefit from a BiCROS system, due to the 

added amplification offered on this side. 

All individuals with SSD should be referred to Audiology and 

offered trials with both devices as part of their rehabilitation. 

Clinicians should be mindful not to influence patient choice 

based on out-dated assumptions of which device is more 


suitable, but instead, guide patients to make an informed 

decision themselves. Clinicians also noted that the outcome 

of the trials could not be predicted from the first appointment, 

as many who seemed wholly pessimistic about the devices 

returned triumphant, whilst others who seemed certain to 

benefit from one would report the opposite! 

The vast majority of patients included in this study lost their 

hearing suddenly; whether in childhood or as an adult. Suddenonset 

SSD clearly has huge psychological effects: many were 

suffering with anxiety and still carrying a sense of loss and grief 

about their hearing. 

A greater awareness of CROS aids and BAHAs is required 

in the medical community as many individuals are not referred 

for amplification until years after the onset of hearing loss. 

Research into the psychological aspects may present a case 

for an improved and well known pathway for these individuals; 

including counselling and support groups with other sufferers. 

With many people losing their hearing through planned acoustic 

neuroma surgery, there is the opportunity to provide support 

even before the surgery to help the patient prepare for what is 

to come and to know what services are available to them. 

References: 

Faber, H.T., de Wolf, M.J.F., Cremers, C.W.R.J. et al.. (2013). 

Benefit of Baha in the elderly with single-sided deafness. Eur 

Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 270, (4) 1285–1291 

Ferri, E., Frisian, A., Fasson, A.C., Armato, E., Spinato, 

G., Amadori, M. (2012). Intratympanic steroid treatment for 

idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss after failure of 

intravenous therapy. ISRN Otolaryngol. 2012: 647271. 

Wie, O. B., Pripp, A. H., Tvete, O. (2010). Unilateral Deafness 

in Adults: Effects on Communication and Social Interaction. 

Annals of Otology. 119(11):772-781. 

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FEATURE 

‘Being Heard’ - Lived Experience of Adults 

with Mild Hearing Loss: Qualitative Research 

into the Diversity of Experience and Impact 

of Mild Hearing Loss 

SARA COULSON 

Senior Lecturer Audiology 

DeMontfort University 

KATE CHAPMAN 

Lecturer Drama Studies 

DeMontfort University 

BACKGROUND 

According to the World Health 

Organisation (2002), by 2030, hearing loss 

will be in the top 10 disease burdens in the 

UK, above cataracts and diabetes. In 2015, 

the Department of Health published its 

Action Plan on Hearing Loss which made 

a number of proposals. One of these was 

to encourage early awareness, diagnosis 

and management of hearing loss. 

With most health problems, you are 

strongly encouraged to be assessed as 

soon as you feel any symptoms. This is 

because it is widely accepted that early 

interventions tend to result in better 

outcomes (Claire et al, 2007; Moniz-Cook 

et al, 2010; National Institute on Aging, 

2013; Bowel Cancer UK, 2017). 

Early interventions in mental health can 

prevent its escalation (Claire et al, 2007). 

Early interventions in dementia can delay 

its progression, and has also shown a 

beneficial effect for carers (Moniz-Cook 

et al, 2010). The combined economic 

costs to the UK for these conditions both 

directly from care, and indirectly from 

lost productivity and reduced quality of 

life, have been estimated at £131 billion 

per year (Centre for Mental Health, 2014; 

Alzheimer’s Society, 2014). 

Studies have shown links between 

unaddressed hearing loss and social 

isolation and depression (Tambs, 2004; 

WHO, 2017). Other studies have shown 

links with the incidence of hearing 

loss and cognitive decline (Wayne and 

Johnsrude, 2015). One could, therefore, 

conclude that early intervention in hearing 

loss would have resulting positive impacts 

on the outcomes or prognosis for people 

with dementia or mental health problems. 

The majority of hearing loss is 

progressive and due to aging or exposure 

to noise. According to Sheild, (2006) 

developed countries consistently report 

that approximately 22% of their population 

has some form of hearing loss, and for 

16% of the population the hearing loss 

is categorised as mild (average pure tone 

thresholds of the best ear at 0.5, 1, 2 & 4 

kHz between 20 and 40 dB (BSA, 2015)). 

In a national US survey between 1999 

and 2004, Agrawal et al (2008) found that 

over 8% of adults between the ages of 

20 – 29 reported hearing loss, and that 

the prevalence increased in this time. 

The World Health Organisation has linked 

increasing hearing loss in young people 

with the ubiquitous use of phones as 

personal audio systems (WHO, 2017). 

A different study by Honeycutt et al 

(2003) looked at the economic costs of 

disability including both medical treatment 

and lost productivity due to illness or 

inability to access education and work. For 

hearing loss, the lifetime cost in US dollars 

was $330 000 per person, of which 4/5 of 

that was lost productivity. 

Given the high projected disease 

burden of hearing loss, increasing 

prevalence of hearing loss among younger 

adults, and the financial implications 

of supporting people with dementia, 

mental health problems and difficulties 

accessing education and work, it seems 

prudent to provide early assessment and 

rehabilitation for hearing loss. This means 

providing reasonable adjustments in work 

and education, counselling and support, 

and hearing aids and assistive listening 

devices for people with mild hearing loss. 

Hearing aids are free to patients on the 

NHS and provide huge benefits to people 

with hearing loss at a small cost to the 

NHS of less than £100 each (AoHL, 2015). 

THE ‘BEING HEARD’ PROJECT 

Research and statistics are important 

tools providing evidence for best practice. 

It is also important to understand the 

implications of best practice on individuals. 

‘Being Heard’ began as a collaborative 

project seeking to explore and reveal the 

experiences of people with mild hearing 

loss. This category has become the focus 

of debate since North Staffordshire Clinical 

Commissioning Group withdrew the 

provision of hearing aids to people with 

mild hearing loss in order to save money 

(AoHL, 2017). 

AIM: to capture and disseminate the 

experiences of people diagnosed as 

having mild hearing loss in order to define 

the parameters of this categorisation and 

to understand the diversity of experience 

within it. 

OBJECTIVES: 

1. To pilot an interdisciplinary 

research relationship which uses 

the methodologies of theatre and 

performance to disseminate research, 

engage stakeholders and create impact. 

2. To build a wider partnership (beyond HE) 

to facilitate advocacy and dissemination 

of research. 

3. To undertake 15 interviews with 

contributors with the aim of gaining 

a picture of their experiences and the 

ways in which mild hearing loss impacts 

on their lives, the strategies they use 

and the ways in which their hearing is 

changing. 

4. To curate material from the interviews to 

use in a verbatim theatre performance 

which will reflect the diversity and detail 

of the experience of mild hearing loss 

and its treatment. 

5. To present the performance to 

audiences of health professionals, 

commissioners of hearing rehabilitation 

services, and those with hearing loss as 

a stimulus for debate and discussion. 

6. To disseminate research by sharing the 

performance as a film and to evaluate its 

impact as an advocacy and awareness 

raising tool. 

RESEARCH QUESTION 

How does mild hearing loss impact on the 

lived experience of adults in the UK? 

STUDY DESIGN 

Recruitment 

Participants were self-selected volunteers 

recruited through Action on Hearing Loss, 

Leicester Aging Together and De Montfort 


University using posters and email 

requests. 

Data Collection Method and Tools 

Volunteers to the study had their hearing 

tested using pure tone audiometry to 

confirm a mild hearing loss before being 

included in the study. They were then 

interviewed using a list of structured 

questions. Topics of relationships 

and social interactions, employment, 

education, community engagement, and 

mental health were explored. As we are 

looking to understand the individual’s 

lived experience, the questions were 

open-ended to allow a wide variety of 

responses. The interviews were audio 

recorded and then reviewed for themes 

and key messages. 

Analysis 

The volunteers’ words formed the basis of 

the script of a verbatim performance in the 

style of Augusto Boul. Verbatim theatre 

is a documentary style of performance, 

in which actors perform only using 

words that were uttered by ‘real’ people. 

However, the identities of the hard of 

hearing contributors were not used in 

the performance. The collected data was 

curated for themes, and a script created. 

Themes identified included: 

- first signs of hearing loss 

- family 

- work 

- social life 

- hearing aids 

- strategies 

Dissemination 

Actors have performed the verbatim 

script and a film, ‘Being Heard’, has 

been produced. The film was shown to 

the research contributors on May 19th 

2017 for comment, in which it was well 

received. ‘Being Heard’ is now available to 

use as tool for advocacy and awarenessraising 

around mild hearing loss. The 

outcomes of the research will also be 

shared in a live performance for health 

professionals, commissioners, and other 

stakeholders. For further information, 

please contact Sara Coulson at 

sara.coulson@dmu.ac.uk. 

REFERENCES 

Action on Hearing Loss (2015). Hearing 

Matters. [Online] Available at: https:// 

www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk/~/media/ 

Documents/Policy%20research%20 

and%20influencing/Research/Hearing_ 

Matters_2015/Hearing%20Matters%20 

Report.ashx (Accessed 2.6.17) 

Action on Hearing Loss (2017). North 

Staffordshire Hearing Aid proposals. 

[Online] Available at: https://www. 

actiononhearingloss.org.uk/get-involved/ 

campaign/hearing-aid-cuts/northstaffordshire.aspx 

(Accessed 2.6.17) 

Agrawal, Y, Platz, E A, Niparko, J K 

(2008). Prevalence of Hearing Loss 

and Differences by Demographic 

Characteristics Among US Adults. Data 

From the National Health and Nutrition 

Examination Survey, 1999-2004. Arch 

Intern Med. 2008;168(14):1522-1530 

Alzheimer’s Society (2014). Dementia 

UK: update. [Online] Available at https:// 

www.alzheimers.org.uk/download/ 

downloads/id/2323/dementia_uk_update. 

pdf (Accessed 2.6.17) 

Bowel Cancer UK (2017) 

#STOPBOWELCANCER [Online] 

Available at https://www.bowelcanceruk. 

org.uk/campaigning/early-diagnosis/ 

(Accessed 19.05.17) 

British Society of Audiology (2015). 

Recommended Procedure Pure-tone 

air-conduction and bone conduction 

threshold audiometry with and without 

masking. [Online] Available at: http:// 

www.thebsa.org.uk/wp-content/ 

uploads/2011/04/Pure-Tone- 

Audiometry-1.pdf (Accessed 2.6.17) 

Centre for Mental Health (2014). 

Economic and social costs of mental 

health problems. [Online] Available at 

https://www.centreformentalhealth.org. 

uk/economic-and-social-costs. (Accessed 

2.6.17) 

Claire M Kelly, CM, Jorm, AF and 

Wright, A (2007). Improving mental health 

literacy as a strategy to facilitate early 

intervention for mental disorders. Med J 

Aust; 187 (7): 26. 

NHS England and Department of 

Health (2015). Action Plan on Hearing 

Loss. 23 March 2015, Department of 

Health. 

Honeycutt, A A, Grosse, S, Dunlap, L 

J, Schendel, D E, Chen, H, Brann, E, al 

Homsi, G (2003), ECONOMIC COSTS OF 

MENTAL RETARDATION, CEREBRAL 

PALSY, HEARING LOSS, AND VISION 

IMPAIRMENT, in Barbara M. Altman, 

Sharon N. Barnartt, Gerry E. Hendershot, 

Sheryl A. Larson (ed.) Using Survey 

Data to Study Disability: Results from 

the National Health Survey on Disability 

(Research in Social Science and Disability, 

Volume 3) Emerald Group Publishing 

Limited, pp.207 – 228 

Moniz-Cook, E, Agar, S, Gibson, G, Win, 

T & Wang, M (2010). A preliminary study 

of the effects of early intervention with 

people with dementia and their families 

in a memory clinic. Aging and Mental 

Health, p199 – 211. 

National Institute on Aging (2013). 

2012 – 2013 Alzheimer’s Disease 

Progress Report: Seeking the Earliest 

Interventions. [Online] Available at: 

https://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers/ 

publication/2012-2013-alzheimersdisease-progress-report. 

(Accessed 

18.05.2017) 

Sheild, B (2006). Evaluation of the 

social and economic costs of hearing 

impairment: A report for Hear-It. [Online] 

Available at: http://www.hear-it.org/sites/ 

default/files/multimedia/documents/ 

Hear_It_Report_October_2006.pdf 

(Accessed 2.6.2017) 

Tambs, K (2004). Moderate Effects 

of Hearing Loss on Mental Health and 

Subjective Well-Being: Results From 

the Nord-Trøndelag Hearing Loss Study. 

Psychosomatic Medicine: September/ 

October 2004 - Volume 66 - Issue 5 - pp 

776-782 

Wayne, R V, Johnsrude, I S (2015). A 

review of causal mechanisms underlying 

the link between age-related hearing loss 

and cognitive decline. Ageing research 

reviews, 23: 154 – 166. 

Wingfield, A, Tun, P A, McCoy, S L 

(2005). Hearing loss in older adulthood. 

What it is and how it interacts with 

cognitive performance. Current directions 

in psychological science: a journal of the 

American Psychological Society 14(3); 

144 – 148. 

World Health Organisation. (2002) 

Prevention of deafness and hearing 

impairment. [Online] Available at: www. 

who.org 

World Health Organisation (2017) 

Prevention of deafness and hearing loss. 


FEATURE 

Promoting Uptake of Rehabilitation 


CRYSTAL ROLFE 

Head of Local Engagement England- South 

East, Action on Hearing Loss 

Introduction 

One in six people in the UK has Hearing 

Loss (HL), a condition becoming more 

prevalent due to the ageing population 

(Davis et al., 2007). Untreated HL 

negatively affects physical and mental 

health, yet people with HL take on 

average 10–15 years to seek help, with 

only one in three acquiring a Hearing 

Aid (HA). 

There is evidence that this delay is 

due to: 1) people postponing seeking 

help; 2) barriers to accessing existing 

rehabilitation support, such as delays 

in referrals (Meyer and Hickson, 2012; 

Knudsen et al., 2010). 

While the role that hearing screening 

can play in increasing HA uptake has 

been documented (Davis et al., 2007), 

there has been no study comparing 

different methods of increasing 

uptake or identifying the barriers that 

intervention developers should focus 

on. 

As part of Action on Hearing 

Loss’s programme of work, we aim 

to encourage people to accept and 

address hearing loss. We carried out 

research with UCL as part of an MSc 

in Health Psychology. This study aimed 

to describe personal experiences of 

HL among UK adults and their views 

on possible intervention strategies to 

promote the uptake of rehabilitation 

support. 

Method 

Preliminary work: 

The Behaviour Change Wheel (Michie 

et al., 2011) was used to design eight 

hypothetical interventions across 

four workshops, involving a Patient 

Participation Group and an Expert 

Steering Group. 

Qualitative research: 

• Semi-structured, face-to-face 

qualitative interview design 

• 22 participants with HL, aged 66–88 

• Interviews focused on participants’ 

experiences of seeking and gaining 

access to help, and their views on 

eight hypothetical interventions 

• Inductive thematic analysis to analyse 

verbatim transcripts 

Results 

Three themes were identified: 

From realisation to readiness 

Realisation: Most participants initially 

misattributed symptoms of HL to 

external factors, assessing their hearing 

capacity by using everyday sounds as 

objective indicators or by comparing 

their hearing to other people’s hearing. 

Encouraging people to monitor their 

hearing capacity against objective 

criteria, eg TV volume, a ticking clock, 

could raise awareness of HL and help 

people realise more quickly that they 

have symptoms. 

Readiness: The decision to seek 

support ultimately has to come from 

people themselves. Participants 

modified their environments and were 

only ready to seek help when they 

realised their HL could not be mitigated 

and would not remedy itself. 

Competing demands: Once a state 

of ‘readiness’ has been achieved, action 

was often delayed further because HL 

did not take priority over competing dayto-day 

demands. 

Family: An intervention based 

on encouraging family members to 

support people with HL to seek and 

prioritise support was mostly deemed 

acceptable. Yet, the way in which some 

participants’ families communicated 

concerns often led to resistance. 

Others thought family members 

reluctant to raise the topic of HL for fear 

of causing offence. Generally, however, 

participants were more offended by 

family members not raising the subject 

of suspected HL. Many felt that 

discussions initiated sensitively might 

have encouraged them to seek help. 

Others felt that speaking to people with 

HL could stimulate action. 

Healthcare professionals and 

screening: For many, offers of support 

from qualified healthcare professionals 

were important in making the journey 

to self-realisation. GPs were particularly 

trusted due to their expertise. 

Screening: Most participants said 

they would have attended a screening 

invitation. Screening was acceptable to 

most, with screening as a part of other 

health checks being deemed the most 

acceptable method. Self-screening, 

using tests available online or by phone, 

was less popular, as participants felt 

that professional involvement was 

important to validate and encourage 

acceptance of test results, and prompt 

further action. 

Combating social stigma 

identity: Some participants were 

reluctant to identify as a person with 

HL, associating HL with ageing, 

disability, and prosthetics. Many sought 

to hide HL from others for fear of 

disapproval or being treated differently. 

Visibility: There was a strong 

preference for hidden HAs. Some 

people felt pressure from others to 

conceal HAs. Half of participants 

identified interventions based on 

improving HA design as being most 

likely to have encouraged them to seek 

support for HL. Some however, felt 

that HA marketing aimed at increasing 

uptake by emphasising that the devices 

can be hidden, actually perpetuated 

stigma. Others felt that enhancing HA 

visibility could destigmatise HAs and 

HL. 

Creating norms: Some people 

delayed seeking help because they did 

not want to feel part of a minority group. 

They felt that raising awareness of the 

prevalence of HL and HAs would be 

beneficial. Making comparisons with 

celebrities and HAs were encouraging 

and boosted self-esteem by reducing 

stigma. Increasing the visibility of HL 

among everyday public figures with 

whom they could more easily identify, 

was also seen as helpful. 

Accessing appropriate 

rehabilitation support 

GPs: Did not raise the subject of HL 

but did refer onwards on request. 

Cost barrier: Many participants 

delayed seeking help because they had 

not realised that HAs on the NHS were 

free. 

Assess and fit: Although this 

service was welcomed, it did not make 


participants more likely to go ahead with 

getting HAs. 

Alternative rehabilitation: Some 

were more willing to use HAs if found 

in places not associated with disability, 

and available from everyday locations 

eg. high street shops. Therefore, 

promotion of alternative devices as a 

substitute for HAs was not beneficial, 

as it was seen as less effective and 

time consuming. 

Knowledge of benefits: Allowing 

people to experiment with HAs to 

appreciate the benefits may encourage 

people to get and use them. 

Limitations 

Limitations of this study are fully 

discussed in the paper but include 

that the study focused on those who 

had sought help; ideally, it would 

have recruited people experiencing 

early signs of HL, but it is difficult to 

recruit those who have not identified 

themselves as experiencing HL, so the 

data may not represent the views of 

those less willing to seek help. 

Next steps 

Action on Hearing Loss are working in a 

number of ways to address this issue: 

• Working on the task and finish groups 

for the Action Plan on Hearing Loss 

who are working towards filling the 

evidence gaps on hearing screening 

as a step towards securing a national 

hearing screening programme and 

promoting opportunistic screening. 

• Creating materials to encourage and 

support friends and families to initiate 

proactive discussions with people 

who may have unaddressed hearing 

loss. 

• Holding hearing screening events 

and promoting our hearing check. 

• We will be holding a webinar to 

bring together international experts 

from different disciplines to discuss 

methods to increase uptake of 

support for hearing loss, share 

evidence and create solutions. 

Conclusion 

There are several interventions which 

can be piloted, focusing on realisation. 

Awareness of the benefits of taking 

action and creating social norms are 

also important. If you would like to be 

involved in the webinar, please contact 

Crystal Rolfe for more information. 

References 

Davis, A., Smith, P., Ferguson, M., 

Stephens, D. and Gianopoulos, I. 

(2007). Acceptability, benefit and costs 

of early screening for hearing disability: 

a study of potential screening tests and 

models. National Coordinating Centre 

for Health Technology Assessment, 

University of Southampton. 

Knudsen, L.V., Öberg, M., Nielsen, 

C., Naylor, G. and Kramer, S.E. (2010). 

Factors influencing help seeking, 

hearing aid uptake, hearing aid use and 

satisfaction with hearing aids: A review 

of the literature. Trends in Amplification, 

14(3), 127–154. 

Meyer, C. and Hickson, L. (2012). 

What factors influence help-seeking 

for hearing impairment and hearing aid 

adoption in older adults? International 

journal of audiology, 51(2), 66–74. 

Michie, S., van Stralen, M.M. and 

West, R. (2011). The behaviour change 

wheel: a new method for characterising 

and designing behaviour change 

interventions. Implementation Science, 

6(1), 42. 

Contact: Crystal Rolfe: crystal.rolfe@ 

hearingloss.org.uk 

Publication: Rolfe, C. and Gardner, B. 

(2016). Experiences of hearing loss and 

views towards interventions to promote 

uptake of rehabilitation support among 

UK adults. International Journal of 

Audiology, 55(11), 666673. 

Early Bird Allocation 

Almost Gone! 

On the Programme 

Sharing decisions in Tinnitus: Preference, Information and 

Approaches | Helen Pryce 

Audiologist Guided Internet-Based CBT for Tinnitus: 

Feasible, Acceptable and Effective | Eldre Beukes 

ANNUAL CONFERENCE 07.09.17 

Thursday 7 September 2017 

Sheffield Hallam University | City Campus 

Tickets from £75 

Full details available at 

www.tinnitus.org.uk/btaconf2017 

#BTAConf2017 

NEW! Workshops 

‘Practice guidance for tinnitus in adults’ 

‘How we manage hyperacusis in children’ 

‘Getting a support group from good to great’ 

‘Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing therapy & 

tinnitus’ 

‘The relationship between tinnitus, hyperacusis & anxiety in 

children’ 

‘Dealing with challenging support group members’ 

Round Table Q&A 

Tinnitus Toolkit: Person-Centered Care in Tinnitus 

Management | Cherilee Rutherford 

Evaluation of a Cognitive Model of Tinnitus Distress: Is it 

Accurate and is it Useful? | Lucy Handscomb 

Mobile Applications for Management of Tinnitus | 

Magda Sereda 

Shapiro Prize & Poster Competition 


CONFERENCE 

BAA Conference 

2017 

CLAIRE BENTON 

Conference Lead 

It is becoming clear that conference organising is fairly 

similar to painting the Forth Bridge, no sooner had I 

unpacked from Glasgow that the planning for 2017 began, 

or so it felt. The BAA Board is committed to bringing you 

the best value, most informative and enjoyable conference 

we can. This year we have been keen to ensure the 

conference is value for money for all, we have reviewed our 

costings and predicted outgoings and I can assure you that 

the choices made are the best value for money. We have 

kept delegate fees for members fixed this year and have 

worked together with our sponsors to ensure all delegates 

have a great experience. 

Venue: 

This November, we return to the Bournemouth International 

Centre (BIC) on the 16th and 17th. I have a great fondness 

for this lovely coastal town having spent a lot of my 

formative years in the area and indeed Bournemouth 

Audiology department was one of my first placements 

when studying at ISVR. The conference centre is right on 

the sea front with views out over the pier and beach. Each 

morning you’ll be able to have a bracing walk along the 

front or through the lower gardens (beware the enormous 

squirrels) to lectures. 

Getting to Bournemouth is straightforward, with good 

road links, airports at both Bournemouth and Southampton 

and the train station is only 1.5 miles from the conference 

centre. Please check the conference website for details on 

travel, for local information and the Bournemouth app which 

will help guide you around the town and gives discounts in 

a large number of restaurants. 

The BIC itself offers great accommodation for all our 

lectures, workshops and, of course, the exhibition. The 

rooms are a little more spread out than last year and 

we have taken this into account with the design of the 

programme. One of the best reasons to pick Bournemouth 

is the wide range of accommodation available within an 

easy walk of the conference centre; there is something for 

every budget, even a boutique chocolate hotel around the 

corner. Once again our conference HQ hotel will be the 

Marriott Highcliff Hotel. 

After the success last year in Glasgow, we will be 

repeating our public engagement event on the Tuesday 

before conference. A small team of us will be taking to 

the streets of Bournemouth with the generous support of 

Starkey and their hearing van, to talk to the public about all 

things Audiology and offering to screen their hearing. 

We are also bringing back our own BAA Conference 

app, after trialling it last year, some improvements are 

being made to improve its functionality to help you get the 

most from both the lectures and exhibition. Delegates will 

be sent details of how to download it once it is launched 

nearer to November. 

Conference Planning Team: 

I am delighted that the whole team from last year have 

agreed to continue for another year. John Fitzgerald, 

Charlotte Murray-Smith, Leah Cooper and Sue Falkingham 

are developing the scientific programme. Kathryn Whitfield, 

Louise Lister, Alex Griffiths-Brown and Sonam Sehemby 

make up the organising committee who will be arranging 

the gala dinner and working on the marketing. Once again 

Phyllis Tait and Laura Graham from Fitwise lead the support 

for BAA, together they manage the speakers, marketing 

and all the background negotiations and planning that 

makes the conference run smoothly. 

As well as the BAA website and Horizons email, details 

about the conference will be on our Facebook page and 

Twitter, so keep your eyes on those for the most up-to-date 

details. We will also be running our conference blog for 

behind-the-scenes details, previews of keynote lectures 

and details about Bournemouth. 


Programme: 

We felt that the slightly pared back programme with fewer 

streams worked well last year, so this year will follow a 

similar pattern. After listening to the delegate feedback 

from last year, we are aiming to balance the content to 

include basic science, research and clinical presentations. 

We feel it is important to include presentations on wider 

topics such as leadership and career development. As you 

will see over the next four pages, the programme is filling 

up nicely. We are excited to have Dave Fabry giving the 

Adrian Davis lecture to start the conference; Dave will be 

discussing the deregulation of hearing aid care in America 

and its implications for us here in the UK. The issue of 

over-the-counter hearing aids/PSAPs/Hearables is not going 

away, so we return to it later on in the day with a review 

of what is currently available and future implications for 

our patients by David Maidment. This year the Bamford 

lecture will be delivered by Gwen Carr, discussing engaging 

teenagers with telehealth. Friday keynote lectures continue in 

the theme modernising our services by discussing self-fitting 

hearing aids with Elizabeth Convery from NAL in Sydney. 

For our main round table discussion forum at the end of 

Thursday, we will be covering the development of the future 

workforce with a focus on apprenticeships in Audiology. 

The All You Need to Know series of talks return, this 

year being opened up to include topics submitted by 

delegates. These talks aim to be practically based with 

online resources available immediately to delegates. As well 

as free papers to discuss projects, new developments and 

research, we are inviting delegates to submit clinical case 

studies for discussion. 

The sponsor track takes a little longer to come together 

as we work with our platinum sponsors. This year, our 

main sponsors will be adding to the educational content 

of the conference again with a variety of speakers from all 

over the world. We will let you know once we have more 

information on the content of this track and the programme 

on the conference website will always be the most upto-date 

version. 

You will notice that the associate Audiologist and student 

tracks have disappeared. This is not to suggest these 

groups are not welcome, quite the opposite. Feedback from 

departments and delegates last year suggest that rather 

than having their own workshops and presentations, both 

students and associate/assistant Audiologists would prefer 

to access the main conference programme. So we have 

altered the delegate rates to allow this. On the Thursday, 

we are running a series of more informal workshops aimed 

at those possibly at the early stages of their careers or for 

those starting a new clinical area in Audiology. These will 

cover topics such as understanding hearing aid features, 

counselling skills and tinnitus, and will give you practical 

tips. We will be limiting numbers to these, so do check 

whether you need to book in if you like the look of one or 

more, if you have exams coming up, these could be for you. 

Exhibition: 

Already, the exhibition for Bournemouth is a sell-out. With 

a fantastic space full of the complete range of companies, 

sponsors, charities and societies, there is something for 

everyone and the opportunities for updates and networking 

are endless. We couldn’t run the conference without the 

support of our sponsors and exhibitors, so come and make 

the most of everyone being under one roof. Having had 

a glimpse of what’s planned by some companies, I can 

assure you BAA will be bringing you the largest and most 

exciting Audiology exhibition this year. 

Awards: 

Last year, reading through all the nominations for the 

different awards was an unexpected highlight of organising 

the conference. I would encourage you to have a look 

through the different award categories and consider 

nominating your colleague, team, or department and 

celebrate the work that is going on around the country. 

Once again, we will feature a review of all nominations 

received in the conference handbook. This year, the award 

ceremony is split over the two days and awards will be 

given out at the end of the keynote sessions in the main 

auditorium. 

We have a new award this year, the Paediatric Audiologist 

of the Year sponsored by Phonak, who are looking for the 

Audiologist who has made a significant contribution to the 

field. To reflect the changing education routes in Audiology, 

the Oticon Student of the Year award has also changed, for 

details please do check the website. 

New last year was the Supervisor of the Year award, this 

was a popular inclusion and we were not expecting the 

number of nominations that flooded in. This year, the BAA 

Training and Education committee have requested a slight 

alteration to the award. From 2017, it will be known as the 

Paul Doody Supervisor of the Year award. The committee 

felt they wanted to acknowledge the work carried out by 

Paul. Paul was an Audiologist in Scotland who worked for 

many years training Audiologists, last year he coordinated 

the Associate track but sadly passed away shortly before 

the conference took place. The committee feel that Paul 

exemplified many of the qualities they look for in the winner 

of the award so, with his family’s permission, felt it was 

fitting to name the award after him. 

Gala Dinner: 

In 1985, I held my birthday party at the Bournemouth 

International Centre, this seems as good a reason as any 

to have the 1980’s as our theme for this year. We are 

delighted to have The Guv’nors as our house band for the 

night, featuring Audiology’s very own Daniel Rowan. So 

start looking for those leg warmers, back combing your 

hair and charging your Sinclair C5, as we will bring you 

an unforgettable evening of music, food and memories 

of the 80’s. The gala dinner is always a sell out, so book 

your ticket early and join us on the 16th November in the 

Purbeck Hall. 

So there we have it, conference 2017 is only just around 

the corner. Check your Horizon email and the website for 

updates. I hope you can join us in November, remember 

Audiology moves pretty fast, if you don’t stop and look 

around once in a while you could miss it… 

To find out more and to book your place visit the website 

at: www.baaudiology.org/conference 


CONFERENCE 

2017 Conference Programme 

Thursday 16th November 

Main Auditorium 

Solent Hall 

08:00 – 

09:00 

08:00– 

08:50 

09:00 – 

09:15 

09:15 – 

09:45 

Exhibition Opens – Windsor Hall 

Solent Hall 

SQC Committee 

Welcome to Conference 

Michelle Booth, President, British Academy of Audiology 

Adrian Davis Lecture 

Deregulation of Hearing Aids, Dave Fabry 

Tregonwell Hall 

HTS Relaunch 

09:45 – 

10:15 

10:15 – 

10:30 

10:30 – 

11:15 

Keynote Lecture, Topic and Speaker TBC 

For the most up to date programme information please visit the BAA website 

Award Presentations Part 1 

Refreshment break and exhibition viewing 


Solent Hall 


Bay View Suite 2 

Sponsors Track 

Tregonwell Seminar Suites 

Back to Basics 

11:20 – 11:40 

Listening Fatigue 

Kevin Munro 

11:20 – 11:40 

Visual Dependency 

Diego Kaski 

11:20 – 12:00 

Topic and Speaker TBC 

For the most up to date 

programme information 

please visit the BAA website 





11:40 – 12:00 

Hidden Hearing Loss 

Chris Plack 

11:40 – 12:00 

MRI scanning and BPPV 

Harry Akran and Elhaam 

Hashim 

Sponsored by Sivantos 

Day 1 

12:00 – 12:05 

Comfort Break 

12:00 – 12:05 

Comfort Break 

12:00 – 12:05 

Comfort Break 

12:00 – 12:05 

Comfort Break 

11:20 – 

12:45 

12:05 – 12:25 

Wearables 

David Maidment 

12:25 – 12:35 

Free Paper 

For information on how 

to apply to present a 

free paper visit the BAA 

website 

12:05 – 12:25 

Differences in aetiologies 

between adults and 

children with balance 

difficulties 

Dr Sudhira Ratnayake 

12:25 – 12:35 

Predictors of clinical 

recovery in vestibular 

neuritis 

Diego Kaski 

12:05 – 12:30 





Sponsored by Oticon 

12:05 – 12:45 

Push the button: 

understanding hearing aid 

features 

Jack Bennett 

12:35-12:45 

Free Paper 




website 

12:45– 

14:00 

Lunch, Poster and Exhibition Viewing – Windsor Hall 


Thursday 16th November 

Solent Hall 

14:00– 

14:30 

British Academy of Audiology Annual General Meeting 

Awards 

BAA members only 


Solent Hall 


Bay View Suite 2 


Tregonwell Seminar Suite 

Back to Basics 

14:35– 15:05 

AYNTK – Hearing and 

Learning Disabilities 

JB Martin and Colin Beard 

14:35– 15:05 

AYNTK – Leadership 

Ruth Thompsen 

14:35 – 15:05 





14:35 – 15:05 

Come feel the noise: 

starting the tinnitus talk 

David Bagguley 

Sponsored by Phonak 

14:35 – 

16:00 

15:05 – 15:35 

AYNTK 




please visit the BAA 

website 

15:05 – 15:35 

AYNTK – Research – 

Planning to Completion 

Kevin Munro 

15:05 – 15:35 






15:05 – 15:35 

Listen, do you want to 

know a secret: how to 

improve your counselling 

skills Sue Falkingham 



15:35 – 16:00 

Real Wild Child: top tips 

for testing children 

Claire Benton 

Day 1 

15:35- 

15:40 

Comfort Break 

15:40 – 16:00 

cCMV 

Paul Griffiths 

15:40 – 16:00 

Strategic Direction of the 

NHS and Audiology 

Wendy Farrington-Chad 

15:40- 16:00 





15:40- 

16:00 

Sponsored by Starkey 

16:00 – 

16:25 

Refreshment Break, Poster and Exhibition Viewing - Windsor Hall 


Solent Hall 

16:30 – 

17:30 

Apprenticeships 

Amanda Casey, Daniel Rowan, Lizanne Steekamp, Cheryl Bott, Teresa Locksley 


CONFERENCE 

Friday 17th November 

Windsor Hall 

08:00 – 

09:00 

Exhibition Open – Windsor Hall 


08:00– 

08:50 

Breakfast Workshop 


08:00– 

08:50 

Breakfast Workshop 


09:00 – 

09:15 

09:15 – 

09:45 

09:45 – 

10:15 

10:15- 

10:30 

10:30– 

11:15 

Welcome to Day 2 of Conference 

Sue Falkingham, Incoming President 

Bamford Lecture Teenagers and Telehealth 

Gwen Carr 

Keynote Lecture, Self Fitting Hearing Aids 

Elizabeth Convery 

Award Presentations Part 2 

Refreshment Break, Poster and Exhibition Viewing Windsor Hall 


Solent Hall 

Moderator: 


Moderator: 


Moderator: 

Tregonwell Seminar Suites 

11:20 – 11:40 

Developing Confidence and 

Resilience – Empowering 

Deaf Children and Young 

People to be Safe, Social 

and Successful 

Louise Cole 

11:40 – 12:00 

An Update on the Position 

Statement and an Overview 

of the Interdisciplinary 

Service and Management of 

APD Children 

Nicci Campbell 

12:00-12:05 

Comfort Break 

11:20 – 11:40 

Cochlear Implants and 

Single Sided Deafness 

Richard Irving 

11:40 – 12:00 

Carina Middle Ear Implant 

Jane Humphries 

12:00-12:05 

Comfort Break 

11:20 – 11:40 





Sponsored by Phonak 

11:40 – 12:00 









Day 2 


11:20 – 

12:45 

12:05 -12:15 

Free Papers 

For information on how to 

apply to present a free paper 

visit the BAA website 

12:15 – 12:25 

Free Paper 




12:05 – 12:15 

Free Papers 




12:15 – 12:25 

Free Paper 




12:00 -12:-05 

Comfort Break 





12:25-12:35 

Free Paper 




12:35-12.45 

Free Paper 




12:25 – 12:35 

Free Paper 




12:35-12:45 

Free Paper 




12:05-12:45 





Sponsored by ReSound GN 


Friday 17th November 

12:45 - 

14:15 

Lunch, Poster and Exhibition Viewing Exhibition – Windsor Hall 


Solent Hall 

Moderator: 


Moderator: 


Moderator: 


14:20 – 14:40 

FM in pre-school children 

Sarah Allens 

14:20 – 14:40 

Tinnitus and ototoxicity 

Professor David Bagguley 

14:20 – 14:40 









14:20– 

15:55 

14:40 – 15:00 

3D tune in 

Lorenzo Picinali and 

Harsahda Patel 

14:40 – 14:50 

Free Paper 




website 

14:50-15:00 

Free Paper 




website 

Sponsored by Sivantos 

14:40 – 14:50 





Sponsored by ReSound GN 

15:00 – 

15:05 

Comfort Break 

15:05 – 15:15 

Free Paper 




website 

15:15 – 15:25 

Free Paper 




website 

15:05 – 15:15 

Free Paper 




website 

15:15 – 15:25 

Free Paper 




website 

15:05 – 15.45 





website 

Topic and Speaker TBCe 




website 

Day 2 

14:20– 

15:55 

15:25 – 15:35 

Free Paper 




website 

15:25 – 15:35 

Free Paper 




website 

15:35-15:45 

Free Paper 




website 

15:35-15:45 

Free Paper 




website 

Comfort Break Comfort Break Comfort Break Comfort Break 

15.45- 

15.55 


Solent Hall 

16:00 – 

16:30 

Summary of Conference 

Will Brassington 

Closing Remarks 

lSue Falkingham, Incoming President, British Academy of Audiology 


BAA MAGAZINE / SPRING 2017 / 22

FEATURE 

Development of the Spatial 

Speech Assessment 

This study was submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the MSc degree in Advanced 

Audiology (UCL Ear Institute) 

BHAVISHA PARMAR 

Senior Audiologist 

RESEARCH SUPERVISORS 

DR J BIZLEY 

UCL Ear Institute 

DR D V VICKERS 

UCL Speech, Hearing and Phonetic Sciences 

Can we test a hearing aid user’s 

spatial hearing and speech 

discrimination at the same time? 

Introduction 

Current clinical tests of localisation and 

speech understanding do not reflect 

the difficulties faced when listening 

in the real world with competing 

speakers and other distractions. 

There are currently no gold standard 

tests of localisation for clinical practice 

(Volck et al 2015) and assessments 

of both localisation and speech 

discrimination tests are not routinely 

carried out for adult hearing aid users. 

However, there is a need to be able to 

assess hearing abilities, including the 

ability to identify and locate speech, in 

a way that reflects listening in the real 

world. 

With this requirement in mind, 

a simultaneous assessment of 

localisation and speech discrimination 

was developed by Bizley et al (2015) 

and used to test normal hearing 

participants. During this assessment, 

the participant was seated in the 

centre of the anechoic chamber and 

surrounded by eighteen speakers 

arranged at 150 intervals. The 

following sixteen monosyllabic words 

from the Chear Auditory Perception 

Test (CAPT) (Marriage et al. 2011) 

were spoken, in pairs, by a single 

female in the presence of multi-talker 

babble: 

A target word was presented 

Table 1: Monosyllabic words from the Chear Auditory Perception test 

(CAPT) (Marriage et al.2001) used in the simultaneous assessment of 

relative localisation and speech discrimination developed by Bizley et al 

(2015). 

followed by a reference word from 

an adjacent speaker. A touch-screen 

tablet was used to allow participants 

to report both words and the location 

of the target word in relation to the 

reference word. Word identification 

and word localisation percentage 

scores were recorded across speaker 

location. Bizley et al (2015) found that 

normal hearing listeners had the best 

relative localisation scores were for 

words coming from the front of space 

when compared to those presented 

in the periphery. This pattern reflects 

the superior availability of binaural 

localisation cues in frontal space. The 

inverse result was found for word 

identification with higher recognition 

scores being obtained in laterally 

rather than in frontal space. This effect 

is likely due to the effects of the head 

shadow effect enhancing the signalto-noise 

ratio at the near-ear giving a 

mono-aural advantage. 

Method 

The current study focussed on using 

the spatial speech assessment 

technique to test the performance 

of hearing aids in a group of five 

adults with bilateral moderate to 

severe sensorineural hearing loss. All 

five participants were experienced 

hearing aid users, but for the 

purposes of this study they were 

fitted with Phonak Sky Q hearing aids 

and given a period of six weeks to 

allow for acclimatisation before the 

assessments took place. 

The hearing aids were programmed 

with three different microphone 

programs – omnidirectional, directional 

and the binaural beamformer. All 

participants were given a hearing 

aid microphone diary, adapted from 

Cord et al (2002) to assess the 

subjective benefit of each microphone 

programme in different situations and 

asked to spend roughly equivalent 

amounts of time listening with each. 

After the six week trial, each 

participant returned to perform the 

spatial speech assessment. Before 


FEATURE 

Figure 1. Touchscreen display with ‘Final Consonant’ words from the 

CAPT test (Marriage et al 2001). 

testing, a pre-test was performed 

which allowed us to measure speech 

identification thresholds and to set the 

signal-to-noise ratio to an equivalent 

level of difficulty across listeners. We 

also tested listeners using standard 


in noise tests carried out in the 

crescent of sound, a clinical test set up 

for assessing spatial hearing (Kitterick 

et al. 2011). Each task was carried out 

for each microphone setting and the 

order was counter balanced between 

subjects. 

Results: 

There were no statistically significant 

differences between the three 

hearing aid microphone settings in 

terms of relative localisation and word 

identification scores in the spatial 

speech assessment. However, it was 

clear that in its current form, the relative 

localisation task was too difficult for 

the hearing aid users with performance 

rarely exceeding that expected by 

chance. While word identification 

scores were better than chance, 

they were still below those of normal 

hearing listeners tested at a difficultymatched 

signal-to-noise ratio. 

During standard localisation and 

speech discrimination tasks, the 

hearing aid user’s performance was far 

better than in the simultaneous test. 

Results fell within the expected range 

for the test performance of person 

with normal hearing, as suggested by 

the reference data (Kitterick et al 2011). 

However, this does not imply that their 


abilities have been restored to 

near-normal levels as the testing 

environment is unrealistic of everyday 

life situations. There was no significant 

difference between microphone 

settings. It is important to note that 

the standard test of localisation 

measured absolute localisation rather 

than relative localisation, far fewer 

speakers were utilised and the test 

was in silence rather than in the 

presence of the multiple sources of 

background noise in Bizley et al (2015). 

A hearing aid microphone 

performance diary, adapted from 

that of Cord et al (2002), was used to 

investigate the subjective experience 

of each of the three microphone 

settings. There was a vast variation in 

results (recorded on visual analogue 

scales for particular situations) and 

all participants struggled significantly 

in the presence of background noise 

and high reverberation levels. The 

only situation in which one setting 

out-performed the others was for 

situations where the target signal 

was directly in front of the participant, 

when the binaural beamformer 

was rated as providing a significant 

advantage. 

Conclusion 

The discrepancy between 

performance estimated using current 

clinical tests and the spatial speech 

assessment suggests that standard 

clinical tests may be over estimating 

the abilities of hearing impaired 

listeners to identify or localise sounds 

in noisy environments. 

Results from the hearing aid 

microphone diary show no significant 

difference between the performances 

of the three microphone settings 

as experienced by the participant. 

This highlights the need for further 

counselling to hearing aid users on 

the limitations on certain hearing 

aid settings to avoid unrealistic 

expectations. 

We were unable to determine 

whether the microphone settings 

influenced localisation in noise as 

the hearing aid users were unable 

to perform this task. While the 

difference in outcomes with this test 

and standard tests emphasises the 

need for a more sensitive clinical 

assessment tool, further adaptation 

of the simultaneous task is required 

for it be suitable for measuring 

performance with hearing impaired 

listeners. Further adaptations of the 

test are being explored as part of an 

on-going programme of work and are 

yielding promising outcomes. 

References 

Bizey, J., Elliott, N., Wood, K. & 

Vickers, D., 2015. Simultaneous 

Assessment of Speech Identification 

and Spatial Discrimination: A Potential 

Testing Approach for Bilateral Cochlear 

Implant Users?. Trends in Hearing , 

Volume 19, pp. 1-11. 

Cord, M. S. R., Walden, B. & 

Dyrlund, O., 2002. Relationship 

between laboratory measures of 

directional advantage and everyday 

success with directional microphone 

hearing aids. Journal of the American 

Academy of Audiology, Volume 15, 

pp. 353-364. 

Kitterick, P., Lovett, R., Goman, A.., 

2011. The AB-York crescent of sound: 

An apparatus for assessing spatial 

listening skills in children and adults. 

Cochlear Implants International , 12(3), 

pp. 164-169. 

Marriage, J., Vickers, D., Baer, T. 

& Moore, B., 2011. Using speech 

perception measures to guide 

the choice of amplification. In: A 

Sound Foundation through Early 

Amplification. Staefa, Switzerland: 

Phonak, pp. 273-279. 

Volck, A. et al., 2015. Sound 

Localisation measured by eye tracking. 

International Journal of Audiology, 

54(12), pp. 976-983. 


INFORMATION 

BAA Members – Education and 

Information Days 

We are asking you to have 

your say… 

To keep you informed, up to date, current in 

clinical best practice and future trends, BAA 

is keen to understand the best and most 

efficient ways to do that. So keep watching 

your inboxes as a survey is on its way to you. 

Please spare 5 minutes to respond when it 

arrives to you – your responses to this short 

survey really will help us to shape these 

events in the right way for you. 

In the meantime, please feel 

free to send any comments or 

feedback to BAA@fitwise.co.uk 

CPD 

Just a reminder that 

there are templates and 

examples of CPD activity 

available on the website. 

We would love to hear 

from any of you who can 

share any great advice or 

examples on reflective 

CPD writing. 

How would you split up the country? 


MORE TIME. 

BETTER 

CARE. 

BY CHARLOTTE BUFTON, AUDIOLOGIST 

“Leightons was highly recommended to me by a 

friend and, having only been an NHS audiologist, 

I was sceptical about the ‘dark side’ of Audiology 

- sales. However, moving to Leightons has been 

one of my best decisions. It combines the 

highlights of my NHS job: focus on patient care 

and working within a great team, with all the 

time I need to really get to know my patients. 

The focus is always on what’s best for a patient, 

so it doesn’t feel like a sales role. Working with 

private technology is amazing and the clarity you 

get from the latest hearing aids is far beyond 

what I’d ever imagined.” 

“Each store has its own personality and set up 

but they are all linked by the same enthusiasm 

and full of people who love what they do. As a 

company, Leightons supports new ideas and 

drives them forward. This means you feel you’re 

constantly moving forward and developing as a 

clinician. Knowing that you’re progressing your 

career is one of the most important factors in 

job satisfaction.” 

WE’RE ON THE LOOKOUT 

AMBITIOUS AUDIOLOGIST? 

Do you share our ambition to deliver best in 

market audiology and help your patients live life 

to the full? 

Do you share our passion to deliver the highest 

possible clinical standards and fit the very latest 

hearing aids? 

Would you like to receive an industry leading 

salary, uncapped commission and a generous 

benefits package? 

WHO WE ARE 

LEIGHTONS was founded in 1928 and is still 

proudly family-owned and family-run. We're 

expanding across the South and are looking for 

forward-thinking, experienced, qualified and 

registered audiologists and hearing aid 

dispensers to join our team. 

INDUSTRY-LEADING SALARY 

BONUS & UNCAPPED COMMISSION 

COMPANY CAR 

BENEFITS PACKAGE 

PRIVATE HEALTHCARE 

GYM MEMBERSHIP 

PENSION 

JOIN US 

To watch our latest videos and find out more 

about audiology and hearing care careers at 

Leightons, visit leightons.co.uk/careers, call 

Louisa Edward on 0808 208 00 88 or email 

louisaedward@leightons.co.uk.

TRAINEES 

Deafness in Low and Middle 

Income Countries: Massive Open 

Online Course 

NEIL SUMMERFIELD 

Trainee/Student Liaison 

If you are interested in digital 

innovation in education, you may have 

heard of MOOCs (Massive Online 

Open Courses). You may even have 

tried studying Chemistry, Population 

Health or one of the other wide 

ranging topics on offer. For those 

who are unfamiliar with the term, 

the aim of a MOOC is to enable the 

international community to take an 

active part in learning on a topic of 

their choice. The only pre-requisite is 

an internet connection and an interest 

in the subject. In February 2016, we 

launched six weeks of free learning 

in UoM’s MOOC on Deafness in 

Low and Middle Income Countries 

(LMIC). With a re-launch imminent, 

we thought it timely to update BAA 

readers on the progress. 

UoM’s MOOC seeks to address 

the needs of the 360 million 

individuals worldwide that have 

a disabling hearing loss (WHO, 

2017). This equates to over 5% 

of the world’s population with an 

estimated 85% of deafness in LMIC. 

For these deaf children and adults, 

the opportunities and expectations 

differ significantly from what is 

available in the UK. In many LMIC, 

there is little access to audiological 

services, no Teachers of the Deaf and, 

perhaps most importantly, significant 

stigma attached to deafness. Many 

healthcare professionals, teachers 

and members of the public have 

very little understanding of the 

impact of deafness. Many people 

misunderstand the condition meaning 

that deafness is not positively 

approached. Meanwhile it is estimated 

that 60% of childhood hearing loss 

in LMIC could be prevented (WHO, 

2017). As the immediate impact 

of deafness is on the ability of the 

individual to communicate, a lack 

of awareness of others can have a 

significant impact leading to feelings 

of isolation and exclusion. 

Six weeks of learning were created 

enabling students to understand 

the way the ear works and causes 

of deafness. We considered how 

language, signed or spoken, may 

be acquired and showed footage 

of deaf role models from around 

the world, evidencing what may be 

achievable. The inspiring footage 

from existing and emerging projects 

in LMIC offered opportunities for 

global change and gave real food for 

thought (particularly footage of the 

first recipients of cochlear implants in 

Malawi). 

We were fortunate enough to have 

individuals and organisations from all 

around the world working together to 

create the MOOC – demonstrating 

what can be achieved when a global 

community pulls together. This 

included Soundseekers UK, Deaf Child 

World Wide, Royal Dutch Kentalis, 

The Manchester Deaf Centre, The 

World Health Organization, The 

University of Texas, CBM, and deaf 

individuals and academics from a 

range of countries and backgrounds. 

The first run of the course attracted 

1670 students, 97% of which rated 

the course as good (39%) or excellent 

(58%). 42% of the students were 

from emerging countries. We were 

delighted to learn that this was the 

highest rating UoM MOOC to date. 

We asked the students whether 

anything had surprised them about the 

experiences of deaf people in LMIC 

and received a variety of responses, 

for example: 

“I am so surprised of how many 

people consider and think of persons 

with deafness or hard of hearing, 

most deaf people face stigmatisation, 

communication barrier, seen 

unproductive and are victimised. 

Again, I never knew that treatment for 

malaria can cause deafness. I have 

really learnt a lot from this course”. 

We also asked how they would 

use their learning to support positive 

change: 

“I plan to educate the people I work 

with and the patients I see.” 

“As a result of this MOOC, I will be 

able to provide clear information to 

the community during my counselling 

programs. I will raise awareness in 

the community about hearing loss and 

possible course of hearing loss.” 

We are now preparing for a course 

re-launch over the next few months. 

To register for the course please visit: 

www.coursera.org/course/deafness 

WHO (2017) Deafness and Hearing 

Loss. Accessed at: www.who.int/ 

mediacentre/factsheets/fs300/en/ 


TRAINEES 

Breaking News… A New Oticon Student 

Award is Coming to the BAA Conference 

NEIL SUMMERFIELD 

Trainee/Student Liaison 

You may or may not have already 

heard, but in addition to the normal 

awards being presented at this 

year’s conference, we would like to 

announce that Oticon have teamed 

up with the Academy in order 

to present the first ‘BAA/Oticon 

Student of the Year Award’. This 

award is aimed at recognising a 

student who has achieved academic 

success in their course, particularly in 

their final dissertation. 

In addition to holding the title of 

“BAA/Oticon Student of the Year”, 

the winner will receive a trophy which 

they can use to show off to all their 

friends as well as a cash prize, and 

if that was not enough, Oticon will 

sponsor an all expenses trip to the 

renowned Eriksholm International 

Summer Camp. 

This new award is open to all 

students who are members of the 

BAA on Audiology courses leading 

to qualification or registration, and 

nominees will be identified by the 

higher education institutes. The 

identified nominees will be asked 

to provide an abstract of their work 

which will then be assessed by the 

judging panel. The winner will then 

be announced at the Conference in 

Bournemouth in November. 

To make sure you do not miss out, 

sign up for your free BAA student 

membership today and remind your 

lectures and course leads how good 

you are. 

Launch of Hearing Therapy CPD 

modules at Aston University 

We are excited to announce a new tiered 

programme of professional development modules 

in Hearing Therapy with our established School of 

Life and Health Sciences Audiology Department. 

These can be taken independently or combined 

to achieve the following qualifications: 

PG Certificate Modules: 

- Hearing Therapy (5-day 

face to face training + 

online support) 

- Tinnitus Management 

(online delivery) 

- Aural Rehabilitation (online 

delivery) 

MSc Modules: 

- Research Methods 

(online delivery + face 

to face supervision and 

introduction) 

- Research Project (online 

delivery + face to face 

supervision) 

Why Hearing Therapy CPD at Aston? 

- Suitable for audiologists, hearing therapists, and 

graduates from science and social science disciplines 

- Flexible delivery to suit those in employment: all 

modules can be taken independently as continuing 

professional development 

- Advanced skills in research and rehabilitation 

management obtained 

- Aston University is the first in the UK to offer a 

Professional Doctorate in Hearing Therapy. 

For further information or to apply visit 

www.aston.ac.uk/doctorofhearingtherapy 

PG Diploma Modules: 

- Evidence-based Practice 


- Health Behaviours (online 

delivery) 

- Vestibular Rehabilitation 


Doctorate Modules: 

- Qualitative Research 

Methodology (online 

delivery) OR Quantitative 

Methods & Advanced 

Statistics (online delivery) 

- Research Thesis 

(individual support) 

Hearing Therapy CPD advert 174x131mm.indd 2 23/03/2017 09:57 


INDUSTRY 

UPDATES 

The future is now: with 

Sprint and TeleCare 

Sprint, a new innovation for NHS audiology services with an evidence* based workflow, has 

just raised the innovation bar even higher. The highly sophisticated Sprint hearing aids can 

not only be fitted in an instant, but using the new myHearing App can now transform how 

patients manage and maintain their hearing aids, with patients being right at the centre of 

the fitting process. 


INDUSTRY 

UPDATES 

Following a Sprint fitting, patients 

can download the myHearing 

App to their smartphone and 

immediately connect directly with 

their audiologist using text, voice 

or video CareChat. A brief tap of 

their smartphone and patients 

have instant access to educational 

reference materials** along with 

a daily satisfaction rating that 

allows patients to indicate to their 

audiologist how they are progressing 

on their hearing journey with the 

personalised learning modules that 

have been set up for them. 

What does this mean for the 

patient? Better communication with 

their audiologist, greater satisfaction 

with their hearing aids and reduced 

numbers of return visits to the clinic. 

What does this mean for the 

audiologist? Improved patient 

outcomes and satisfaction, instant 

patient feedback and greater 

efficiency with reduced follow ups in 

the clinic. 

For more information, please 

contact your Sivantos NHS 

Audiologist or contact Sarah Banks 

at Sivantos on 01293 423703 to 

discuss booking a meeting on how 

Sprint & TelecCare can work for you. 

For further information, also visit 

www.bestsound-technology.co.uk 

*Please email sarah.banks@ 

sivantos.com to receive a summary 

of the evidence 

**Booklet versions are also 

available for patients without 

smartphones. 

Photos Courtesy Sivantos: 

A brief tap of their smartphone and patients have instant access 

to educational reference materials along with a daily satisfaction 

rating that allows patients to indicate to their audiologist how 

they are progressing on their hearing journey. 

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14th Annual Conference 

16-17 NOVEMBER 2017 Bournemouth International Centre 

Abstract submissions until: 

24th July 2017 

Early bird price valid until: 

2nd October 2017 

@BAAudiology | #BAAConf 


More information is available on 

www.baaudiology.org 

BAA MAGAZINE / WINTER 2017 / 31

TargetMatch 

Saving you time without compromise 

NEW 

Breakthrough 

Technology 

TargetMatch is a new automated guidance system for real ear and test box measurements developed by Phonak in collaboration 

with Otometrics. It provides you with the benefits of a seamless, step by step workflow, using the Aurical hardware and software 

enabling you to fit and verify directly in Phonak Target. 

TargetMatch guides you through the process of probe tube placement, obtaining Real Ear and 2cc/test box measurements and 

automatic or manual target matching. This creates an easy and effective way of incorporating verification into the fitting process. 

This unique functionality will save you time but without compromising your service, allowing you to truly focus on your patient’s 

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BAA MAGAZINE SUMMER 2017 DRAFT 4

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