Aural Rehabilitation in Private Practice

Aural rehabilitation refers to sensory management, auditory speech perception training, and counseling services provided to those with hearing loss and their communication partners. The goal of aural rehabilitation is to reduce the impact that hearing loss has on communication and daily function. There is ample evidence confirming the effectiveness of aural rehabilitation, however, comprehensive aural rehabilitation services are rarely offered in the private practice setting. Lack of time, compliance, and reimbursement have been suggested as possible reasons for the rare provision of aural rehabilitation services. The purpose of this article is to provide the reader with a simple framework for efficiently incorporating aural rehabilitation services into a busy private practice. It is suggested that both client and clinician compliance will improve when clinicians become proficient with a few select tools in the areas of assessment, education and counseling, auditory training, and follow-up. In today's changing marketplace, it is critical for private practice clinicians to set themselves apart from the commodity options by offering comprehensive aural rehabilitation services.

SIG 7 Perspectives Vol. 22, No. 2, November 2015

Download the CE Questions PDF from the toolbar, above. Use the questions to guide your Perspectives reading. When you're ready, purchase the activity from the ASHA Store and follow the instructions to take the exam in ASHA's Learning Center. Available until November 13, 2018.

Developing a Telephone Training Program for Adults Using Cochlear Implants

Ellen Giles described the inability to use the telephone as “one of the most serious and restrictive consequences of hearing loss” (2005, p. 219). This restriction is more keenly felt now, with the world population at 7 billion, there are more than 6 billion cell phone subscriptions (International Telecommunication Union, 2012).

SIG 7 Perspectives Vol. 22, No. 1, May 2015

Download the CE Questions PDF from the toolbar, above. Use the questions to guide your Perspectives reading. When you're ready, purchase the activity from the ASHA Store and follow the instructions to take the exam in ASHA's Learning Center. Available until August 20, 2018.

Music Perception in Adult Users of Cochlear Implants: A Brief Review

Although cochlear implants (CIs) can provide good speech understanding in quiet, in general, users of CIs have shown poor music perception performance, particularly with regard to pitch (and hence melody). This is primarily due to the limited ability of CI processing strategies and electric stimulation to provide place pitch and fine structure information from the original input signal to the auditory nervous system of the user. Approaches such as current focusing, current steering, enhanced amplitude modulation cues, and optic stimulation have been shown or theorized to assist in music perception, as have musical training programs. This article is a brief review of research related to music perception in adults with CIs, specifically their rhythm, pitch, and melody perception performance; processing strategies that have been or are being developed which might improve their music perception performance; and music training programs that have been shown to improve their music perception performance.

This Journey of Mine

For most of my life, I have lived with a progressive hearing loss that has recently resulted in my receiving a cochlear implant (CI). I have decided to share this story because patients' stories/narratives are a valuable way to increase clinicians' awareness of patients' needs and perspectives. This article speaks to my journey living with hearing loss and focuses on my personal reactions to the diagnosis of progressive hearing loss, the recommendation to wear hearing aids, and, finally, the realization that I was a cochlear implant candidate. Comments and suggestions are offered as to how professionals can best assist patients who may be traveling similar paths.