BAA MAGAZINE SUMMER 2017 DRAFT 4

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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/ BAA MAGAZINE / SUMMER 2017 / 27
Page 1 and 2: This issue BAA Conference 2017 16 2
Page 3 and 4: Contents: General: 3 Editorial 4 Pr
Page 5 and 6: Power Your Senses Oticon NHS Study
Page 7 and 8: FEATURE To Assess the Effect of Che
Page 9 and 10: understanding conversation in a noi
Page 11 and 12: suitable, but instead, guide patien
Page 13 and 14: University using posters and email
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Page 17 and 18: Programme: We felt that the slightl
Page 19 and 20: Thursday 16th November Solent Hall
Page 21 and 22: Friday 17th November 12:45 - 14:15
Page 23 and 24: FEATURE Development of the Spatial
Page 25: INFORMATION BAA Members - Education
Page 29 and 30: INDUSTRY UPDATES The future is now:
Page 31 and 32: British Academy of Audiology 14th A

BAA MAGAZINE SUMMER 2017 DRAFT 4

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