HISTORY

In 1971 Algernon Charles Holland, founder of Amplifon, decided to establish the Centre for Research and Studies (CRS) as an independent not for profit organisation to consolidate Amplifon resources and investments in research, development and education in the audiological and otological fields.

With a wide programme of educational courses and conferences, publishing activities, grants and awards the CRS soon became an important reference for Italian audiologists and ENTs.

The CRS has been following Amplifon's growth, first in Italy and, since 1998, in other European and non European countries. CRS continues to contribute to the development of scientific knowledge in the aforementioned disciplines in co-operation with renowned University departments, scientific societies and other national and international organisations.

 

 

The Mission of the Amplifon Centre for Research and Studies is to contribute to the development of scientific knowledge in the fields of Audiology and Otology and to share it with professionals in Ear and Hearing Care around the world.

 

The CRS hosts one of the finest private libraries in the field of Audiology and Otorhinolaryngology, providing access to a collection of the sector's most important international journals.

Every quarter, a team of Amplifon Audiologists from around the globe select the most relevant publications in the field of Otology and Audiology from the CRS Library and create a comprehensive review. The Amplifon Centre for Research and Studies coordinates the development of the CRS Scientific Journal, which is distributed by our local Amplifon organisations.

 

Consultez et téléchargez les derniers numéros du CRS Scientific Journal

The Amplifon Centre for Research and Studies has created many CRS Consensus Papers in cooperation with the scientific community in the field in Ear and Hearing Care, also authoring the CRS White Papers that give an overview of quality publications on specific topics in Ear and Hearing Care. The topics we covered are, Hypoacusis in Children, Hearing Well to Train your Brain, Diabetes and Hearing, Coping with Noise, The hearing brain - The close correlation between hearing and cognition, Big Data IFOS CRS Conference Report, Hearing Loss Hearing Care Dementia.

The latest CRS Whitepaper, covers the topic of “PATIENT-, CLIENT-, PERSON- OR PEOPLE-CENTRED CARE in General Health Care and Hearing Care”

In the “World Report on Hearing”, published by the World Health Organization on the March 3, 2021, the use of Person-Centred Care (PCC) is highly recommended.

Putting the user in the driver seat and ensuring freedom of choice in the interest of the user are the fundamental pillars of person-centred care (PCC), and they are reported to lead to higher satisfaction, increased use, and to result in greater quality-of-life improvement with professional hearing care.

The white paper discusses the history of Person-Centred Care, and offers a brief overview of existing studies and reports which focus on patient-, client-, person- or people-centred health care and hearing care.

When searching for research papers, articles and other references on patient-centred care, we come across the terms client-centred, people-centred and person-centred care. Depending on the fact if it’s American or British English, “centered” or “centred” is used. Please note that all citations are cited exactly in the original spelling, i.e. “centered” or “centred”.

We carried out a search for research papers, articles and other references on patient-centred care. This was complemented by a duplicate search using the US spelling (“centered”). This highlighted the existence of multiple terms in relation to this concept: client-centred, people-centred and person-centred care. All of these were included in our search (and will be discussed in this white paper). This yielded over 120 articles, reports and research theses.

End of 2023, we published parts and updates of this CRS White Paper in ENT and Audiology News, co-authored by Lidia Best, the president of the European Federation of Hard of Hearing People (EFHOH), since the only way, we can evaluate the effect of Person Centered Hearing Care, is to listen to the end-user.

 

 

The main focus of CRS research, is the development of improved quality hearing care protocols and evaluation procedures, which are conducted in our hearing centres around the globe, in strong cooperation with renowned universities and research centres. But we also conduct a wider range of research and literature reviews on the relation between hearing and cognition, diabetes and hearing loss, tele-audiology, big data research in ear and hearing care, the limits of the audiogram,

Recently CRS presented the following lectures at ENT and Audiology Conferences

• - How can we leverage the World Report on Hearing (WHO) to minimize the impact of untreated hearing loss?
• - Myths and reality on hearing loss and hearing care
• - Tele-Audiology – Where are we now? Where are we going?
• - Hearing aid fitting and adapted protocols for the growing group of people with cognitive impairment
• - The professional identity of audiologists, with focus on person centred hearing-care
• - The relation Hearing Loss, Tinnitus, Hearing Care and Cognition
• - AURACAST – Where are we now? Where will we go? The concept, the opportunities and the challenges.
• - Collaborating across user, professional and manufacturer associations
• - Candidacy for self-test procedures and the use of smart devices in audiology
• - What the audiogram does not show

 

Here are more details on the first and the last presentation in this list:

 

How can we leverage the World Report on Hearing (WHO) to minimize the impact of untreated hearing loss?

In primary care, poor hearing is too much dismissed as “normal”. 

When patients consult their general practitioner, in many cases they will hear “Gradually hearing less with age is a normal aging phenomenon” – “Hearing loss is part of getting older” – “Age-related hearing loss often develops so slowly that you hardly notice it yourself. It's a normal aging phenomenon.”

The issue is, that when hearing loss is described as being “normal”, most patients will conclude, that they don’t need to do anything about it.

In the WHO World Report on Hearing, developed by the World Health Organization’s Department of “Noncommunicable diseases” - programme for ear and hearing care in collaboration with experts and stakeholders in the field of ear and hearing care, the best available scientific evidence on ear and hearing care, the health care needs, human resource availability, current practices and recommendations for future actions are very clearly described.

In this presentation, we focus on the consequences of untreated hearing loss and the need for prevention, screening and early intervention with hearing care, which can be found in this World Report.

The greatest challenge for people with unaddressed hearing loss is in maintaining communication with others in their environment

An association between hearing loss and employment in adults is evident

Hearing loss contributes to both social isolation and loneliness at all ages - Social isolation and loneliness due to hearing loss can have important implications for the psychosocial and cognitive health of older adults

Across the life course, people with hearing loss commonly have higher rates of depression and report lower quality of life compared with their hearing peers

Hearing loss is the largest potentially modifiable risk factor for age-related dementia

What does the World Report propose as action & intervention plan?

• - Prevention – Make Listening Safe - the recommended level of sound exposure is below 80 dB for a maximum of 40 hours per week
• - In older adults, hearing screening, followed by prompt hearing aid provision, is associated with significant improvements in hearing-related health outcomes.
• - Adult hearing screening and early intervention become even more relevant given the links between hearing loss and dementia in older adults, and that addressing hearing through these devices may have a positive influence on an individual’s cognition.

No, hearing loss is not normal – we need to take it serious.

Timely screening and intervention to avoid the negative consequences of untreated hearing loss are essential !

 

What the audiogram does not show.

 

Background and Aim:

In the WHO World Report on Hearing, it is stated that “While audiometric descriptors provide a useful summary of an individual’s hearing thresholds, they should not be used as the sole determinant in the assessment of disability or the provision of intervention(s) including hearing aids or cochlear implants.”  But most public and insurance reimbursement systems, use the average hearing loss as the main eligibility criterium for hearing aids. In this presentation, we show the limitations of the audiogram and suggest other criteria to be included.

 

Method:

In this study we used the latest EuroTrak results for 11 European countries.  In total 157.970 people were interviewed and 14.166 people with self-reported hearing loss were included in this overview.  Furthermore, we use the information from EFHOH, AEA and EHIMA to make the best estimates on the number of hearing aids sold and used in Europe.

 

Results:

The audiogram is not a reliable indicator of hearing disability.

The audiogram alone should not be used as the measure of difficulty experienced with communication in background noise.

Patients with even very mild hearing loss, but problems understanding in noise, can show significant improvement with hearing aids.

Audiometric levels of hearing loss, show a very different picture than self-reported levels of hearing loss.

Reimbursement systems refunding hearing aids for mild hearing loss, lead to significantly higher uptake of hearing aids.

For the eligibility for hearing aids, next to the audiogram, also speech understanding in noise and a questionnaire such as the HHIE-S should be used.

The eligibility criteria and the level of reimbursement are correlated with the uptake of hearing aids.

The system with the highest uptake is the one which covers hearing aids for people with mild hearing loss and where hearing aids are provided free of charge by a public system, but unfortunately, this system results in a lower satisfaction rating, which can be explained by the limited freedom of choice, the longer waiting lists and possibly the reduced availability of person-centred hearing care.

 

Conclusions:

To avoid the consequences of untreated hearing loss, we must ensure that everybody, who experiences communication problems due to hearing problems, can benefit from hearing care to reach their full potential.

Innovations For Hearing Restoration

Amplifon a réuni à Paris, les 9 et 10 décembre 2022, la scène de l’oto-audiologie européenne, sous l’égide des‑Pr‑Olivier Sterkers et Bernard Fraysse. Articulé autour de plusieurs sessions thématiques, chacune présentant les‑dernières innovations, ce congrès était consacré à l’innovation technologique, diagnostique et thérapeutique dans la réhabilitation de l’audition.

Retour en image sur le congrès :

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