Dr. Fagelson, (Professor Audiology, ETSU) will discuss the unusual challenges facing patients and providers when tinnitus severity is linked to traumatic exposure. Interactions between neural mechanisms associated with tinnitus, posttraumatic stress-disorder (PTSD), and traumatic memory will be reviewed with particular attention to the way and degree to which such interactions affect tinnitus and disorders of sound tolerance. Conference attendees will be provided theoretical models of emotional memory consolidation that underscore trauma‘s durable effects on a patient‘s emotional state, reaction to the tinnitus signal, and to potentially-triggering environmental sounds. The putative benefits of tinnitus counseling will be presented in the context of trauma interventions that employ well-established counseling techniques as an element of patient-centered care. Audiologists must provide trauma patients a safe environment and opportunity for dialogue that contributes to a holistic understanding of the patient‘s situation and perceptions; the ultimate goal is to employ interventions and self-assessment instruments that can be used to evaluate patient needs and progress when tinnitus is related to trauma. The potentially-exacerbating effects of comprehensive audiologic assessment will also be addressed.

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The course will present on better hearing with regards to both amplification products (i.e., hearing aids and personal sound amplification products) as well as differences among the levels of service provision commonly found in various forms of hearing healthcare delivery. The multifaceted roles of the audiologist in treating the whole person as well as the effects of hearing loss in terms of both a loss of audibility and suprathreshold cochlear distortion are discussed. Ways to ensure better forms of hearing healthcare delivery remain prevalent both now and in the future are also discussed.

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Excerpt: There has been a recent push for more electronic sound amplifiers to provide affordable and accessible options that meet the needs of a large swath of people with hearing loss, particularly aging adults.