Objective: To systematically review and analyse experimental outcomes of studies exploring the impact of tinnitus upon cognitive function and their implications for clinical management of invasive tinnitus. Design: A systematic and descriptive review. Study sample: Eighteen studies were identified investigating the impact of tinnitus on cognitive function. Results: The 18 studies evaluated cognitive function using 24 different objective behavioural tests, nine electrophysiological recordings, one oculomotor test, and one self-report questionnaire. The studies spanned 18 years and revealed numerous interactions potentially contributing to the cognitive difficulties frequently reported by people with invasive tinnitus. The studies indicate a clear association between tinnitus and aspects of cognitive function, specifically the executive control of attention. Conclusions: Tinnitus impairs cognitive function by way of impact upon executive control of attention. Clinical management of patients reporting tinnitus and cognitive difficulties requires an understanding of the reciprocal relationship between tinnitus and cognitive function, with additive effects of anxiety, depression, and somatic cognitive bias. Further study is required to establish the impact of advancing age, hearing loss, anxiety, depression tinnitus duration, and distress upon cognitive function in people with invasive tinnitus.

Aim: Best-practice in audiological rehabilitation takes a holistic client- and family-centred approach and considers hearing care in the context of personal well-being. Hearing loss not only impairs the ability to hear, but can also compromise the ability to communicate, thus negatively impacting both social and emotional well-being. Hearing care professionals play a key role in fostering their client’s well-being. This paper aims to provide evidence-based recommendations to ensure inclusion of social-emotional well-being in audiologic rehabilitation clinical practice. Methods: A review of current research and expert opinion. Results: This guide proposes a 5-step plan which includes: identifying the client’s social-emotional well-being; including family members in audiological rehabilitation; incorporating social-emotional needs and goals in an individualized management plan; relating identified hearing needs and goals to rehabilitation recommendations; and using counselling skills and techniques to explore and monitor social-emotional well-being. Each component of the 5-step plan is discussed and clinical considerations are presented. Conclusion: These comprehensive recommendations provide guidance to hearing care professionals looking to ensure clients’ social-emotional well-being are considered throughout the rehabilitation journey.

To explore the lived experience of social challenges and emotional distress in relation to hearing loss and the coping mechanisms employed to manage them.Two focus groups and two one-on-one semi-st...

Objectives: To gather perspectives of hearing aid owners and hearing healthcare clinicians with regard to problems that arise after hearing aid fitting and use these perspectives to generate a conceptual framework to gain a better understanding of these problems. Design: Participants included a group of 17 hearing aid owners and a group of 21 hearing healthcare clinicians; data collection occurred separately for each group. Participants each attended two group sessions in Perth, Western Australia, wherein they: (1) generated statements describing the problems associated with hearing aids and (2) grouped and rated the statements to identify key themes. Concept mapping was used to generate a conceptual framework. Results: Participants identified four concepts regarding hearing aid problems as follows: (1) hearing aid management; (2) hearing aid sound quality and performance; (3) feelings, thoughts, and behaviors; and (4) information and training. While hearing aid owners and clinicians generated similar results regarding the concepts derived, the clinicians reported that the problems identified had a greater negative impact on hearing aid success than did hearing aid owners. Conclusions: The magnitude and diversity of hearing aid problems identified in this study highlight the ongoing challenges that hearing aid owners face and suggest that current processes for hearing aid fitting can be improved. Problems relating to hearing aid management were most often deemed to have the greatest impact on hearing aid success and be the most preventable/solvable, and thus are a good starting point when addressing hearing aid–related problems.

To determine the attitudes of audiologists towards telehealth and use of telehealth for the delivery of ear and hearing services pre-, during- and post- the COVID-19 pandemic, and to identify the p...