Hot Topics in Speech, Language & Hearing

Speech audiometry in a multicultural and multilingual world:
A challenge for evidence-based audiology

Sigfrid D. Soli, Ph. D.

Speech audiometry is often used in diagnostic assessment of hearing impairment in adult and pediatric patients, and to assess communication handicap caused by impairment. It is also used to document the efficacy of interventions intended to reduce this handicap. Objective knowledge of the efficacy of such interventions is essential to the practice of evidence-based audiology. A challenge in obtaining and using this knowledge is due to the many different speech materials and protocols available for speech audiometry. This challenge is further increased by the diverse range of languages and cultures in today’s patient population. This presentation will describe speech materials and protocols that have been developed to meet this challenge. These materials and protocols comprise the Hearing In Noise Test (HINT) which currently exists in over 20 languages, allowing measures of communication handicap to be similarly assessed in each language and directly compared across languages. The HINT is designed to be practical and efficient for use in a busy clinic setting. The rationale for the HINT will be described, and the HINT protocol will be demonstrated. Examples of its use with adult and pediatric patients will be given together with a summary of its history and use throughout the world.

About Sigfrid D. Soli
Dr. Soli is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Audiology and Speech Sciences at UBC and a Senior Clinical Research Scientist at the House Clinic in Los Angeles. He develops and evaluates hearing diagnostics, assessment procedures, and devices for individuals for hearing impairment. His research has been applied in both clinical and occupational health settings and to early identification and intervention programs for adult and pediatric populations throughout the world. Dr. Soli is a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America, and a previous advisor to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders and to the National Research Council in the US. He has also served as a consultant to the US FDA’s Ear, Nose, and Throat Device Panel. He is a Senior International Advisor to the Chinese Academy of Audiological Rehabilitation and to the Chinese Rehabilitation and Research Center for Disabled Children in Beijing.

Research to Practice and Back Again:
Working Outside One's Language and Culture

Barbara May Bernhardt, PhD, RSLP

Speech-language pathology and audiology are exciting enough when the work takes place in one's own cultural and linguistic milieu. However, we are often working outside that comfort zone. We are challenged to find ways to communicate with and provide service to people who do not speak our language or dialect, or if they do, have a different cultural background. Over my career, I have had the privilege of collaborating in research with people in 18 countries, and including Canada's First Nations communities. The primary focus has been children's phonological development, both to document patterns across language and evaluate phonological analysis and intervention strategies. Additional foci have included early prediction of language delay and First Nations English dialects. The first part of the session will: (1) report key findings from my research that can support speech-language pathology practice; and (2) describe strategies and tools to enhance success in intercultural and crosslinguistic endeavours, whether for research or clinical practice, or for children or adults. In the second part of the session, participants will gain practice with tools and strategies developed for the crosslinguistic study and have an opportunity to share any successful strategies they currently use in cross-cultural practice. Costumes and props are optional considering the day!

About (Barbara) May Bernhardt

Dr. Bernhardt is a Full Professor in the School of Audiology and Speech Sciences at the University of British Columbia, with a plan to graduate AT LAST June 30, 2017. She is currently also a registered speech-language pathologist (since 1972). Her areas of specialization in research, teaching and clinical practice are language development, assessment and intervention with a specific focus on phonology and phonetics. Her major research area is the application of nonlinear phonology to phonological and assessment and intervention, with an ongoing international crosslinguistic project (14 languages) and a website phonodevelopment.sites.olt.ubc.ca. Other research includes evaluation of the use of ultrasound in speech intervention, early prediction of language impairment and issues relating to service delivery to people of Aboriginal heritage in Canada. Her passions are her family, singing, dancing, improv, nordic skiing, cycling and of course, fun-ology.

Silent Hearing Loss
Navid Shahnaz, PhD, RAUD

There is an urgent need to give a diagnostic “voice” to silent hearing loss. Silent hearing losses are those that are currently missed by conventional hearing assessment techniques. The Canadian Hearing and Auditory Research Translation (CHART) group (a pan-Canadian and interdisciplinary panel of audiologists, otologists, engineers, and basic scientists interested in hearing research, assessment and diagnosis) is currently leading an interdisciplinary research project that aims to develop consensus on a battery of advanced tests, that have the potential to increase our ability to detect silent hearing loss. The tests being developed have the requirements that: 1) they are applicable to clients across the age spectrum; 2) they tap into a wide range of hearing abilities that are important for hearing well in real world environments, by measuring hearing abilities that reflect hearing clarity and hearing well with two ears. This talk will address ways in which advanced tests can be transferred to clinical practice, and will present various test batteries that could help clinicians identify silent hearing loss.

About Navid Shahnaz

Dr. Shahnaz is currently an Associate Professor of audiology in the School of Audiology & Speech Sciences at the University of British Columbia (UBC), where he has been a faculty member since July 2002. He has been a Speech Language and Audiology Canada (SAC) certified member since November 1995. He was a member of the national (CASLPA) Audiology Examination Committee between 2002 and 2008, and a member of the CASLPA Board of Governors (2011-2014), where he was the representative of the Canadian Council of University Programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders. His main area of research interest includes multi-frequency tympanometry, Wideband Acoustic Immittance, otoacoustic emission, and acoustic reflex studies in adults, children, and infants. His new research interests also focus on the assessment of the balance systems using vestibular evoked myogenic potentials, and the development of test batteries for assessment of the silent (hidden) hearing loss.

Counselling for Communication Disorders – Focusing on the Clinician
Tami Howe PhD, SLP (C) and Marcia Choi MSc RSLP

The role of the Speech Language Pathologist in counselling for communication disorders is a subjective practice among clinicians. One’s professional boundaries and identity need to be explored in relation to the “personal self”- a task that requires deep insight and introspection. In this workshop, participants will be encouraged to apply reflective practice strategies to significant clinical events. These strategies aim to promote awareness of the clinician’s perspective and responses, with the potential to increase confidence and effectiveness within the counselling dyad. This workshop will also include a discussion on relationship-centred care, compassion fatigue and the role of reasonable hope in counselling for clinicians.

About Marcia Choi

Marcia Choi is a Speech-Language Pathologist and an Instructor-Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education in the UBC School of Audiology and Speech Sciences. In addition to teaching professional issues and skills for the School, Marcia is a member of the Clinical Teaching and Coordination Team which supports students and clinical faculty in the endeavour of preparing new clinicians. Marcia’s clinical background includes working with adults after stroke, traumatic brain injury and with degenerative neurological conditions. Her professional background also includes teaching leadership and team skills in health care and human service. Since joining the School in August 2015, Marcia’s focus on building placement capacity in British Columbia has her contributing to the clinical faculty development program, completing outreach to BC communities and most recently, successfully partnering with SLPs at the University Hospital of Northern B.C to start a new interprofessional SLP-led student clinic experience for People with Aphasia in Prince George, based on Supported Conversation for Adults with Aphasia (SCA™).

About Tami Howe

Tami Howe, PhD, SLP (C), joined the faculty in the School of Audiology and Speech Sciences at the University of British Columbia at the end of 2015, after working for a number of years at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. Prior to obtaining her doctorate and postdoctorate at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, Dr. Howe worked as a speech-language pathologist with adults with neurogenic communication disorders in acute care, inpatient rehabilitation, outpatient, dayward, and community settings in Canada and New Zealand. Dr. Howe’s research focuses on how adults with aphasia and their family members live with their communication disorder, with the ultimate goal of finding ways to improve their quality of life.