Four years of British audiology

The last four years have, as envisaged by Dr Watson, seen a rapid growth in 'Audiology in the Community'. The high prevalence of hearing loss in the community, especially in the elderly, has been indicated by the pilot epidemiological study of the Institute of Hearing Research. This and other studies suggest that in the over-seventies as many as three out of five have a hearing loss sufficient to impair ordinary communication. However, the numbers having and using hearing aids falls far short of this. The range of hearing aids available through the National Health Service has increased substantially, and support services have improved with more and better qualified technical, scientific and therapeutical staff, and with the growth of rehabilitation schemes involving both professional and voluntary workers. Much still remains to be done in educating the community and the profession of the need for earlier referral and treatment of hearing loss. Assistance for the profoundly deaf will, it is hoped, come through the research studies on electrical stimulation of the cochlea. In the meantime Vistel , television captioning and similar exercises in exploiting advances in technology enhance the quality of life of those with profound loss. Help for those suffering from tinnitus has improved greatly in the last four years, partly through recognition that the difficulties are real, and partly through the increasing use of hearing aids and maskers to overcome the debilitating consequences of this condition. Preventative measures progress steadily, as do efforts towards the earlier detection of hearing loss in infants and children.