An Objective Audiological Test-Battery
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Manchester
Department Name: Medical and Human Sciences
Abstract
Hearing loss affects over 9 million people in the UK; 20,000 of these are children and infants for whom early diagnosis of hearing loss is crucial for their further development, and thus for providing them with the best possible start in life. Currently, hearing assessment of infants, and of children and adults with special needs is difficult, if not impossible, and highly time-consuming. Patients need to attend several long testing sessions at the Audiology Clinics, and yet comprehensive diagnosis is not always possible.
With our advanced objective audiological test-battery, testing of infants, and of children and adults with special needs, will be made fast, easy and comprehensive. One testing session will be required to deliver full diagnosis and advise the patient on the best possible management of their hearing loss.
Furthermore, our test-battery has the potential to replace current procedures routinely used in the Audiology clinics with patients who do not have any special needs. Not all hearing losses are the same. The damage may be located in different parts of the auditory system, which often requires completely different support, management and intervention. With the current procedures routinely used in Audiology clinics, it is very difficult to distinguish between those different hearing losses and consequently patients are not receiving the support, management and intervention they require. Our test-battery will overcome this problem of distinguishing between different types of hearing losses and will allow for fast and detailed diagnosis to be made. Thus the development of our test-battery may be critical for the future management of hearing of over 15% of the UK population.
This project aims to create an automated, advanced, and objective audiological test-battery that will allow for:
1. Fast and reliable diagnosis of hearing loss in infants and in children and adults with special needs
2. Advanced assessment of hearing in anyone who experiences hearing difficulties
With our advanced objective audiological test-battery, testing of infants, and of children and adults with special needs, will be made fast, easy and comprehensive. One testing session will be required to deliver full diagnosis and advise the patient on the best possible management of their hearing loss.
Furthermore, our test-battery has the potential to replace current procedures routinely used in the Audiology clinics with patients who do not have any special needs. Not all hearing losses are the same. The damage may be located in different parts of the auditory system, which often requires completely different support, management and intervention. With the current procedures routinely used in Audiology clinics, it is very difficult to distinguish between those different hearing losses and consequently patients are not receiving the support, management and intervention they require. Our test-battery will overcome this problem of distinguishing between different types of hearing losses and will allow for fast and detailed diagnosis to be made. Thus the development of our test-battery may be critical for the future management of hearing of over 15% of the UK population.
This project aims to create an automated, advanced, and objective audiological test-battery that will allow for:
1. Fast and reliable diagnosis of hearing loss in infants and in children and adults with special needs
2. Advanced assessment of hearing in anyone who experiences hearing difficulties
Technical Summary
There are 9 million adults and 20,000 children in the UK who suffer from hearing loss [2]. Each year 950 infants are born in the UK with significant hearing impairment, and 40% of adults and 60% of children with special needs have hearing loss. However, accurate diagnosis of the type and extent of their hearing impairment is very challenging if not impossible, as these patients are often unable to provide behavioural responses. An alternative to behavioural testing may be objective recording of physiological responses, and recent technological advances now open up the possibility of performing a comprehensive diagnosis using these techniques.
This project aims to create an automated, advanced objective audiological test-battery, critical for fast and reliable diagnosis of hearing disorders in infants and children and adults with special needs. Additionally, the battery has the potential to replace the behavioural hearing tests currently employed in conventional audiometry for all patients, leading to better diagnosis and improved outcomes. The test-battery will include techniques currently restricted to research settings or those carried out in expert centres by highly trained personnel. The proposed program will thus deliver cutting edge techniques and standard analysis integrated into one test platform.
This project aims to create an automated, advanced objective audiological test-battery, critical for fast and reliable diagnosis of hearing disorders in infants and children and adults with special needs. Additionally, the battery has the potential to replace the behavioural hearing tests currently employed in conventional audiometry for all patients, leading to better diagnosis and improved outcomes. The test-battery will include techniques currently restricted to research settings or those carried out in expert centres by highly trained personnel. The proposed program will thus deliver cutting edge techniques and standard analysis integrated into one test platform.