AFAA met in San Antonio, TX, 7-9 April 2003 at Brooks City-Base. The following topics were presented.
The Quest For A Standard Audiogram Form: The New WHMC Form
A presentation of the Wilford Hall Medical Center (WHMC) audiogram (WHMC FORM 3323) will be conducted. The focus of the report is on the components and positive aspects regarding the audiogram. The intent is to encourage standardization of an audiogram within Air Force Audiology.
Shannon Dettle, 1Lt, USAF, BSC
Clinical Fellow, Audiology
The Glasgow Hearing Aid Benefit Profile and the Client Oriented Scale of Improvement: A look at client-oriented scales for the assessment of hearing impaired.
In the present healthcare environment there is an increased need for audiologists to measure the outcomes of hearing aid intervention. That is, providers of rehabilitative services are required to demonstrate the efficacy of their efforts. Especially in hearing aid rehabilitation, this means demonstrating improved communication skills and strategies with amplification. Traditionally, the outcomes of hearing aid intervention have been verified using objective measures such as the functional gain or real ear responses. Two subjective measures have been introduced to address the issue of the individual patient: the Client Oriented Scale of Improvement (COSI) and the Glasgow Hearing Aid Benefit Profile (GHABP). In the military environment, to use subjective outcome measures analytically, standardization is necessary. Considerations for implementation should be:
- time needed to administer the instrument must be proportionate with the effectiveness of the measurement,
- the information obtained should be helpful to the clinician in helping the client
- the information provided ought to allow for universal administration of a multi-clinician system.
The application of the COSI and the GHAPB will be discussed with these ideas in mind.
Kwame’ Curtis, 1Lt, USAF, BSC
Wilford Hall Medical Center
WHMC Aural Rehabilitation Program
A presentation on Wilford Hall’s Aural Rehabilitation program. It will address how our program is set up, broken down into five separate appointments including a group orientation. I will also discuss our use of hearing handicap scales and hearing aid satisfaction scales that we have added to our pre and post hearing aid appointments.
Nicole Cioni, 1Lt, USAF, BSC
Wilford Hall Medical Center
Auditory Event–Related Potentials: P300 (Clinical Uses)
Auditory Evoked Potentials (AEP) have been used as objective measures of estimating hearing sensitivity and helping analyze the integrity of the auditory neural pathways. The P300 is an endogenous AEP response that requires the subject to cognitively process an auditory signal in order to get a response. The P300 is thought to reflect neuroelectric activity related to cognitive processes such as attention and memory. There has been much research on the use of the P300 utilizing the “odd-ball paradigm”. Much of the research in the past has focused on the use of the P300 in helping identify dementia type disorders. There is however research showing some possible clinical uses of the P300. This presentation will discuss a brief history, possible recording parameters and focus on some clinical applications that can be accomplished using the P300.
Brandon Tourtillott, 1st Lt, USAF, BSC
Wilford Hall Medical Center