ASHA Learning Pass

These Perspectives (SIG 6) articles focus on diagnostic tools and considerations for management of several challenging patient populations in audiology. The first article discusses utilizing magnetic resonance imaging to determine the functional and structural neural alterations associated with chronic tinnitus. Researchers are utilizing advanced imaging techniques to study variability in perceptual characteristics and reaction to tinnitus. The second article discusses the continuum of disorders known as “cortical hearing impairment,” supported by a comprehensive summary of clinical presentations. Despite its rarity, an audiologist must understand etiologies of cortical hearing impairment and know how to evaluate and characterize the accompanied hearing difficulty. The third article examines the effects of concussion of the vestibular system and presented an assessment battery for athletes postconcussion and for determining return to play. 

You will be able to:

• evaluate advantages and limitations of advanced brain imaging techniques in identifying the neural mechanisms and neuroanatomical alterations associated with tinnitus
• discuss the evaluation tools available for cortical hearing impairment and expected results based on literature review
• analyze dizziness and balance symptoms and measure objective presentations of vestibular dysfunction in athletes with postconcussion symptoms