Many believe to have a clinically valid audiometric test; it must occur in a sound booth. They believe it is necessary to eliminate any background noise and possible distractions that could lead to inaccurate test results. However, recent advances in audiometric technology are enabling a shift to test outside of the booth. This shift is being widely embraced by both hearing healthcare professionals and patients alike.
It's genuinely astonishing when we try to think of all the incredible things our ears do for us every day. Our hearing can help us pick out the words from a favorite song that is stuck in our head; it can pluck out a voice of a loved one in a crowded restaurant; it can connect us to nature with the sounds of waves crashing on a beach on a sunny summer day. Our hearing quite literally is the soundtrack to life.
A buildup of ear wax, also known as cerumen, is a common cause of temporary hearing loss. Conductive hearing loss can be caused when sound cannot travel from the outer ear to the inner ear due to a blockage in the ear canal. Fortunately, hearing loss caused by such a build-up can usually be resolved by removing the excess wax from the ear.
There are many ways SHOEBOX can help people work and provide hearing screening and diagnostic testing outside the traditional clinic. Methods can range from patients having diagnostic hearing testing done in-person outside of the hearing clinic to an entire tele-audiology process in which the clinician is not physically with patients, instead remotely connected.
As people age, they will naturally encounter some form of hearing loss. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorder (NIDCD) estimates that 50 percent of people aged 70 and older suffer from disabling hearing loss
Audio permeates every moment of our lives, and the ability to hear can have a deep impact on our quality of life. It’s as simple as hearing the kettle go off, as pleasurable as catching music on the radio, and as crucial as hearing our doctors’ recommendations. That is why after a two month pilot, Bruyère has procured SHOEBOX Ltd’s QuickTest auditory screening tool for permanent implementation at the Élisabeth Bruyère and Saint-Vincent hospitals in Ottawa.
