We need everybody’s opinion, we need everybody’s help in mobilising support, to drive forward an agenda that is favourable, for hearing impaired patients, especially those for whom cochlear implantation may be appropriate. And who at the present time are denied that intervention.Globally, we all have to unite to do this work, and to make sure that the interventions for hearing impairment are more readily available, for the millions of people who at the present time are denied it.
Professor Gerard O’ Donoghue, steering committee member of the Consensus Delphi Process and Professor of Otology and Neurotology, University of Nottingham, UK.
About Adult Hearing
Adult Hearing is a professional education platform that aims to increase awareness via the latest clinical evidence to reach an agreed standard of care for adults with hearing loss.
The site is formed in collaboration with members of the Delphi Consensus Group as well as the Consumer and Professional Advocacy Committee.
Purpose of Adult Hearing
Improve access to cochlear implants for people with hearing loss and educate and empower hearing health practitioners to identify and treat CI candidates.
Goals
- Provide an interface to keep professionals up-to-date with scientific information and best practice examples for treating adult hearing loss.
- Advance cochlear implant therapy as a sustainable counselling option, increasing the likelihood that a CI candidate will be evaluated by a specialist.
- Create an online platform to provide access to continuous learning opportunities and enable community engagement, leading to increased awareness and confidence in CI solutions.
The Delphi panel, Steering Committee, and Chair
The Delphi panel comprised clinical experts in cochlear implantation, from the fields of otology, audiology, and hearing science, who were to take part in the development of the consensus statements. The Chair of the Delphi panel was Professor Craig A Buchman (Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA).
Four clinical experts were identified by the Chair to form the steering committee, while also being the first members of the Delphi panel:
- Professor René H Gifford (Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA);
- Professor David Haynes (Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA);
- Professor Thomas Lenarz (Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany); and
- Professor Gerard O’Donoghue (University of Nottingham and Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, UK).
The steering committee was responsible for designing and finalising the Delphi consensus protocol, identifying candidates to complete the Delphi panel, and approving the Systematic Review areas of interest for the study.
All members of the steering committee and the Delphi panel, except the Chair, were able to vote in the consensus process. Voting on the draft consensus statements took place over three rounds.
Members of the Delphi Panel are as follows
- Dr Oliver Adunka, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Dr Allison Biever, AuD, Rocky Mountain Ear Center, Englewood, CO, USA
- Professor Robert Briggs, The University of Melbourne; Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital; Royal Melbourne Hospital, Australia
- Dr Matthew Carlson, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA
- Dr Pu Dai, PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
- Professor Colin Driscoll, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA
- Dr Howard Francis, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
- Professor Bruce Gantz, University of Iowa Health Care, Iowa City, IA, USA
- Dr Richard Gurgel, University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
- Dr Marlan Hansen, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
- Associate Professor Meredith Holcomb, University of Miami, FL, USA
- Dr Eva Karltorp, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
- Professor Milind Kirtane, Seth GS Medical College and KEM Hospital, Parel, Mumbai, India
- Ms Jannine Larky, Stanford University School of Medicine, CA, USA
- Professor Emmanuel Mylanus, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Dr Thomas Roland, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Professor Shakeel Saeed, University College Hospital; National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery; Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital, London, UK
- Professor Henryk Skarzynski, Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing, Warsaw, Poland
- Professor Piotr Skarzynski, Department of Teleaudiology and Screening, World Hearing Center, Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing, Warsaw; Department of Heart Failure and Cardiac Rehabilitation, Medical University of Warsaw; Institute of Sensory Organs, Kajetany, Poland
- Dr Mark Syms, Arizona Hearing Center, Phoenix, AZ, USA
- Associate Professor Holly Teagle, University of Auckland, New Zealand
- Professor Paul Van De Heyning, Antwerp University Hospital, University of Antwerp, Edegem, Belgium
- Professor Christophe Vincent, Centre Hospitalier Regional, Universitaire de Lille, France
- Professor Hao Wu, 9th People’s Hospital, Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Professor Tatsuya Yamasoba, The University of Tokyo Hospital, Japan
- Professor Terry Zwolan, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Consumer and Professional Advocacy
Key Organisations
The Importance of Advocacy
Robert Mandara, 1st Vice President from the European Association of Cochlear Implant Users (EURO-CIU), talks to us about his journey with hearing loss, EURO-CIU’s function, as well as their position as it relates to bilateral cochlear implantation
Listen to Leo De Raeve, Director ONICI and Scientific Adviser to the board of European Association of Cochlear Implant Users (EUROCIU) discuss the Consumer and Professional Advocacy Committee and its objectives.
Barbara Kelley, Executive Director of the Hearing Loss Association of America, explains the role of HLAA and the significance of the Consensus paper in addressing hearing loss in adults.
Listen to Leo De Raeve, one of the Consumer and Professional Advocacy Committee members, discuss the EUROCIU and its objectives.
Barbara Kelley, Executive Director of the Hearing Loss Association of America explains the function and purpose of the HLAA as well as some of the challenges faced currently within the community.
Professor Milan Profant explains the purpose of IFOS and talks through the challenges and necessary steps required to address change. Professor Profant is Secretary General of the International Federation of Otorhinolaryngological Societies (IFOS) and based at the University Hospital in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Consumer and Professional Advocacy Committee (CAPAC)
What is the Consumer and Professional Advocacy Committee?
The Consumer and Professional Advocacy Committee was formed to ensure the cochlear implant user’s voice was considered during the Delphi consensus process. The committee members had a non-voting role but were asked to comment on the statements at each round of voting, to provide their views on the statements from the user and their professional organisation’s viewpoint.
The full summary report of their finds can be found here.
Who are the members of the committee?
- Co-Chair CAPAC, Barbara Kelley, MA, Executive Director, Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA)
- Co-Chair CAPAC, Harald Seidler, MD, Deutschen Schwerhörigenbunde (DSB) (GR) – Representative of the International Federation of Hard of Hearing People (IFHOH) and immediate past-President of the German Association of the Hard of Hearing (1996-2019)
- Leo De Raeve, PhD, Director ONICI and Scientific Adviser to the board of European Association of Cochlear Implant Users (EUROCIU)
- Professor Bernard Fraysse, President, International Federation of Otorhinolaryngological Societies (IFOS)
- Darja Pajk, OT, Treasurer, European Federation of Hard of Hearing People (EFHOH)
- Donna Sorkin, MA, Executive Director, American Cochlear Implant Alliance (ACIA)
- Professor George Tavartkiladze, MD, PhD, Secretary-General, International Society of Audiology (ISA)
What is the purpose of the Consumer and Professional Advocacy Committee?
The purpose of the Consumer and Professional Advocacy Committee is to provide a bridge between the CI Delphi consensus process and the international organisations needed to help with the dissemination and real-world acceptance of the consensus statements. The Consumer and Professional Advocacy Committee had the opportunity to review draft statements and provide suggestions and advice on the relevance of the statements in a non-voting capacity. They were also asked to give insights on dissemination and ideas to promote real-world acceptance, with a focus on the user experience.
Advocacy for better CI access
Consumer and Professional Advocacy Committee organisations already lead the way on advocacy and raising awareness of CI to help more adults gain access to the hearing technology they need. The Consumer and Professional Advocacy Committee Co-Chairs recently lead an international meeting of advocacy organizations to discuss sharing resources on advocacy.
Cochlear Implant International Community of Action (CIICA)
What is CIICA?
We are delighted to welcome the launch of the Cochlear Implant (CI) International Community of Action (CIICA) – a new and innovative community of organisations, individuals and experts sharing the vision of increasing access to cochlear implants, and lifelong support for those who benefit from them.
The issue addressed by CIICA is the massive gap between those who could potentially benefit from CIs and those who have them: only 5-10% of those in developed nations with severe to profound deafness and hearing loss have a CI, in spite of the benefits to individual and society being well-proven, including the cost-effectiveness.
To address the gap in CI provision and long-term support, CIICA provides a new way of working for CI advocacy groups, bringing them together with opportunities to exploit the synergy between them.
What is the aim of CIICA?
Led by users and family groups, working closely with professional organisations, experts in the field of CI and other stakeholders, CIICA will:
- Increase access to the provision of CI and lifelong services globally
- Develop a global community of CI advocacy groups, with opportunities to share activities and resources and collaborate to strengthen the user and family voice
- Provide CI advocates with the tools for change they need to increase access to CI services
Learn more at www.ciicanet.org