Audiology Project

Presentations given in class, Nov. 18^th and 20^th

Papers are due to Sara by 10:10am on Wednesday, Nov. 18th

Premise: There are a number of diseases and disorders that affect hearing and speech that you are likely to encounter in your career. You will be assigned one of these pathologies to present via presentation or scholarly paper. This assignment is meant to give you a relatively basic understanding of some of the common diseases/syndromes that affect hearing.

Presentation Procedure: For this project, you will be working in groups of no more than 3. You will be assigned a pathology to research and present to the class. Each group is responsible for presenting four areas of the project (divided as evenly as possible), but you should all work together to complete the project. The presentations must be put together into a scholarly professional presentation. These presentations should be around 10-12 minutes but absolutely NO longer than 15 minutes.

Scholarly Paper Procedure: For those who elect to prepare a scholarly paper, you will be given a pathology to write on. The paper must be at least 3 pages in length (double spaced, 1” margins, 12 font). If you add pictures to your paper, the length of text must be equivalent to 3 pages. It needs to be well organized and clearly written. A bibliography should be at the end of the paper (not included in page count) citing sources that were referenced and from where information was gathered.

Grading:

• Presentation –
• Visual material is well organized
• Clear presentation
• Aesthetically appealing
• Easy to follow/user friendly
• Participation in presenting the material
• Accuracy of information
• Current information
• Scholarly Paper –
• Appropriate length
• Well organized (opening, body, conclusion)
• Current information
• Complete, accurate, and concise
• Well written
• Original work (plagiarism violates Honor Code)

Below is a list of items that should be expanded upon in your presentation or paper. The information should be presented in a way that is easy to understand by your peers. Some of these pathologies can be very detailed. Remember that this is an introductory course and we are not expecting a lesson in neuroscience from this project. Pictures are STRONGLY encouraged!

1. Case History/Symptoms
1. Onset: Sudden or Gradual
2. Has hearing stayed steady or progressed?
3. Is hearing loss in one or both ears?
4. Ear pain or drainage?
5. Dizziness?
6. Do you have noises in your ears (i.e., ringing)?
7. Ever experienced head trauma?
8. Medications?
9. Are you under any stress?
10. Family history?
11. Have you ever been exposed to loud sounds?
12. Have you ever had severe infection, diabetes, stroke/TIA, meningitis, rubella, high fever, mumps, syphilis, scarlet fever, arthritis, chemotherapy?
13. Any other key symptoms that would help identify this disease/disorder
2. Causes/What it affects
1. Add other interesting facts (i.e. does it affect a certain age group, gender, ethnic group, etc)
2. Is it genetic?
3. What other areas are affected (i.e. eyes, kidneys, cognitive function, etc)
4. What is affected in the auditory/vestibular system (i.e. cochlea, 8^th nerve, conductive system, etc)
3. Audiological Test Results/What tests would you perform
1. Otoscopy: normal or can you see something interesting
2. Plot a possible audiogram (you can check with me if you aren’t sure)
3. Would tymps &/or reflexes be normal?
4. What about speech testing?
5. How would you describe audio (i.e. mild sloping to profound sensorineural loss)
6. Would you recommend OAEs, ABR, MRI, or vestibular testing?
4. Recommendations/ Treatment
1. Would you recommend hearing aids, cochlear implants, or a bone conduction hearing aid?
2. Should they wear ear protection?
3. Would any medications or surgery help?
4. Would you recommend genetic testing?
5. Are these outcomes usually successful?