Paediatric Hearing Aids: A Refresher Course

Paediatric Hearing Aids: A Refresher Course is organized by Anne Davies Audiology Courses and will be held from Apr 16 - 18, 2024 at The Park Royal, Stretton, Warrington, England, United Kingdom.

Description:
This is an introductory course to Paediatric Habilitation. The course is for Audiologists who are beginning to work in paediatric hearing aid clinics, or who would like an update on current protocols. The speaker faculty are experienced clinical staff, and the course focuses on skills for effective clinical intervention.

The course covers all aspects of routine paediatric hearing aid clinics, including strategies for testing, hearing aid provision with limited threshold information, RECD, verification and outcome measures, wireless accessories, and multi-disciplinary teams.

The course will be of interest to professionals who work with audiologists and who wish to gain an insight into paediatric hearing aid clinics.

Course content:
Family Centred Care:
The principles of family centred care, how to implement these principles into giving a diagnosis of hearing loss to a family, and building a systemic whole person approach to assessment and treatment.

Difference between Adults and Children
What makes them different and how does that apply to the child, family and ultimately their hearing aids?

Introduction to Prescription Formulae
A brief history of how the NAL and DSL teams derive their formulae, and discussions around proprietary fitting rules.

Introduction to RECD / REAR Theory
The prescriptive approach to paediatric hearing aid provision will be considered, including the selection of appropriate parameters in the prescriptive rule and fitting software, and the individualisation of the approach through the use of measures such as the Real Ear to Coupler Difference (RECD).

Real-World RECD
Tips and troubleshooting RECD in the clinic.

Strategies for Testing
How to get the most from a testing session to ensure the best possible hearing aid set-up.

Hearing Aid Provision with Limited Threshold Information
This talk will consider the practical considerations when there may be limited or incomplete threshold information to prescribe the amplification. In particular this will cover the availability and uncertainty of Auditory Brainstem Response and Behavioural Audiometry thresholds, and guidance on how they should be employed and documented in the clinical record.

Evaluation of Hearing Aids using Speech Testing
Introducing resources to use as validation tools for monitoring and assessment of functional outcomes of your paediatric hearing device fittings.

Automatic Verification of Paediatric Fittings with TargetMatch
Probe microphone measurements remain the ‘gold-stand’ for the electro-acoustic verification of hearing instrument fittings. The process, however, is often considered inefficient as the clinician must juggle with both verification and fitting software, in addition to an often uncooperative test subject, to complete the process. TargetMatch is an automated evidence-based alternative developed by Phonak and Natus which results in both more accurate matching to target and greater test-retest reliability.

Outcome Measures / Questionnaires
An introduction to the range of outcome measures used to assess hearing aid benefit in children with a particular focus on questionnaires. Including why and when we use these and how these might guide hearing aid management along with some case examples to work through and group activities.

Remote Microphones and Wireless Accessories
A brief introduction to which devices are out there and when to fit them.

Roger™ System
An introduction to Phonak’s Roger™ technology and an overview of the connectivity options.
Communicating with Parents, Children and Young People
Communication skills scenarios and explanation particularly related to hearing aid fitting and reviews. This will include discussion on individual management plans. Group work using case studies and examples.

Introduction to Complex Cases
The principles of Speech Mapping, atypical hearing dysfunctions, and guidance on red flagging cases needing referral.

Issues after Fitting
Addressing the needs of children wearing and managing hearing devices following fitting, including maintenance and earpieces; understanding some of the issues for older children around compliance and helping them in dealing with this. Case studies and examples included for discussion.

Multi-Disciplinary Teams
How best outcomes are shaped by Multidisciplinary teams in paediatric hearing care, the current practice and role of Education teams, and the importance of communication between hearing care professionals.

Transition Services
Transitioning from the paediatric to the adult service can be a daunting proposition – how can we make this as smooth a process as possible for our patients.