Hearing Evaluation Children CEU Courses

Considerable variation exists across the medical and audiologic communities regarding determination of cochlear implant (CI) candidacy. While criteria exist from the FDA for children and adults and from CMS for Medicare beneficiaries, different clinics and even audiologists within the same clinic use varying protocols to determine CI candidacy in different age groups and also considering factors other than hearing status. To provide guidance on this topic, the ACI Alliance Board of Directors commissioned four papers to provide guidelines for candidacy for children and adults with bilateral hearing loss and those with single-sided deafness. Task forces were appointed to develop the guidelines with membership drawn from across the care continuum to include audiologists, surgeons, speech-language pathologists, and others involved in CI patient care. This course will review each of those four candidacy guidelines.

This course will introduce participants to the ACI Alliance Guidelines for cochlear implantation in children with single sided deafness (SSD). Instructors will use case studies to guide attendees through highlights of the document including candidacy, evaluation, and programming recommendations.

This course will review guidelines for cochlear implant candidacy for pediatric patients. In addition, we will discuss specific considerations for working with pediatric patients who are deaf or hard of hearing and may benefit from cochlear implant technology. This course is presented by AudiologyOnline in partnership with ACIA.

The GSI TympStar Pro now has WideBand Tympanometry capabilities. WideBand has been around for many years; however, it has not been implemented into regular use in many clinics. This presentation will discuss the mechanics, use, and interpretation of WideBand Tympanometry in the GSI TympStar Pro.

The AMTAS Flex is a portable automated audiometer that uses calibrated headphones and a tablet to obtain basic audiometric thresholds in a variety of locations. The most recent update of AMTAS includes a hardware update: a room noise monitor. This presentation will discuss how the addition of the room noise monitor adds an objective level of accuracy when audiometry is performed outside a booth.

How can pediatric hearing care professionals meet the challenge to support the 1989 United Nations “Convention on the Rights of the Child” rights in a family-respectful way? What are the benefits of following the principles of a new model of child-centered care and tools to ensure that children are at the center of hearing care? In this session, we will introduce a conversation guide, My Hearing Explained for Children. My Hearing Explained for Children is a free pediatric tool that helps hearing care professionals empower children and their families to make informed decisions about their hearing care.

Build your knowledge with this four-course series presented in partnership with the National Acoustic Laboratories (NAL). A world leader in hearing research and innovation, NAL shares applied research outcomes that are practical to a wide range of expertise, from clinical appointments to technology innovation. Maximize your skills and incorporate evidence-based research in your practice with these short, high-impact webinars designed to improve hearing healthcare.

Most audiologists would agree the professional landscape is changing. Over-the-counter and self-fitting hearing aids are on the horizon, reimbursement options, including the possibility Medicare will pay for hearing aids is looming in Washington DC, and telecare is fast becoming a routine part of clinical practice.
This changing landscape is spurring renewed interest in clinical standards, guidelines, and protocols. For example, the Audiology Practice Standards Organization (APSO) recently published clinical standards for fitting adults with hearing aids (see, https://www.audiologyonline.com/articles/20q-new-hearing-aid-fitting-27938). While standards tell us “what” we should be doing in the clinic to optimize patient outcomes, guidelines and protocols tell us “how” to conduct those best-practice standards.
In this Signia podcast, Brian Taylor discusses the Québec Audiological Assessment Protocol with its co-creator, Mathieu Hotton, associate professor of Audiology at Laval University in Quebec Canada. In this podcast, Mathieu and Brian discuss the origins of the QAAP, and how to implement many parts of it in clinical practice.
After listening to the podcast for additional information on the QAAP, you can contact Professor Hotton at mathieu.hotton@fmed.ulaval.ca.
For access to the article discussed, go to the ISA gated website: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14992027.2021.1947532

This course will provide new diagnostic approaches and remediation strategies for hearing difficulties that are currently undetected. Participants will also receive a review of current tools that may be used in clinics to evaluate auditory speech discrimination skills in infants and toddlers.

Concussions are diffuse brain injuries that affect multiple organ systems, including sensory systems in the brain. In this course, Dr. Kraus will show that the auditory system is a common, but underappreciated, locus of disruption following a concussion.