British journal of audiology
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Quality monitoring and assurance is a key aspect of evidence-based service provision in health and education. Part I of the present paper summarizes the results from a survey in which performance of health-based paediatric audiology services in the UK was assessed against existing good practice guidelines (NDCS, 1994, 1996). ⋯ The results from the use of the two indices (the Paediatric Audiology Service Index (PASI) and the Deaf Education Early Service Index (DEESI)) are presented along with data from some component questions. Although some services are functioning close to guideline levels of service, the overall distribution of scores is such as to raise serious concerns about the variability of quality and the consequent inequity of provision for children with permanent hearing loss and their families in both health and education services.
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Thirty patients undergoing open heart surgery under induced hypothermia had transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE) recorded during cooling to 26.07 degrees C (standard deviation (SD) 4.25 degrees C) vesically measured temperature and 24.86 degrees C (SD 4.7 degrees C) nasopharyngeally measured temperature respectively. Subsequently tè patients were rewarmed until normal body temperature was reached again. There was a clear influence of body temperature on the amplitudes and reproducibilities of the TEOAE. ⋯ No TEOAE were measurable during cooling at a mean temperature lower than 33.41 degrees C (SD 2.04 degrees C) vesical temperature and 30.16 degrees C (SD 3.0 degrees C) nasopharyngeal temperature respectively. During rewarming the echoes became recognizable again at a mean temperature of 28.75 degrees C (SD 3.38 degrees C) vesical temperature and 27.49 degrees C (SD 2.99 degrees C) nasopharyngeal temperature. These results suggest a hysteresis in the relationship between the amplitude of TEOAE and temperature, similar to the well-established relationship between evoked potentials and temperature.
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Comparative Study
An evaluation of a group follow-up scheme for new NHS hearing aid users.
Group follow-up of hearing aid patients has been implemented in a number of Audiology departments in the UK. This paper describes a retrospective analysis to investigate the efficiency and effectiveness of group follow-up sessions compared with individual follow-up sessions for new NHS hearing aid users in one such department. Questionnaires were sent to 98 patients; half had attended group follow-up (GF) and half had attended individual follow-up (IF) sessions. ⋯ Attendance rates were significantly poorer for GF sessions but this study did not address the reasons for this finding. Overall, results suggest that GF is a cost effective method of following up typical new hearing aid users and may convey distinct advantages to patients that attend. However, a group follow-up session may be a less attractive option than individual follow-up for some new hearing aid users.
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Responses to an open-ended questionnaire were obtained from 250 hearing-aid candidates who had never worn a hearing aid and from 250 experienced hearing-aid users. The questionnaire stated 'Please make a list of the difficulties which you have as a result of your hearing loss.' The responses were divided into six major categories. The hearing-aid candidates reported more problems than the experienced users in the categories of (a) understanding speech where speechreading would normally be used (92% versus 81%), and (b) understanding speech where speechreading would normally not be used (51% versus 43%). ⋯ Thirty-five per cent of the hearing-aid users reported (f) difficulties associated with their hearing aids. The most frequently reported specific difficulty in both groups was watching television (47% of the candidates and 37% of the users). Twenty-one per cent in each group reported difficulty conversing on the telephone.