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12th Annual Coalition for Global Hearing Health
January 20-22, 2022 • Fully Virtual
Coalition for Global Hearing Health 2022. Virtual Global Conference. 20 - 22 January 2022. 14h00 - 17h30 (CET)

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Audiology Testing in A Developing Country: Adherence to Best Practice

South Africa is one of two countries on the African continent to provide training for audiologists. South Africa has a well developed audiology system with many pilot projects implementing newborn hearing screening. In addition, there has been development of professional guidelines for early hearing screening, diagnosis and data management (closely modelled on the JCIH international gold standard document. While information on hearing screening programmes is available, there are limited studies on paediatric diagnostic audiology. To determine adherence to best practice in diagnostic audiology, audiology records form the HI HOPES Early Intervention programme database were analysed to determine whether tests used for diagnosis of hearing loss adhered to tests recommended for diagnostic audiology in the South African HPCSA guideline documents. Analysis of the data indicated that there was minimal adherence to best practice guidelines, across both the public and private sectors, with a reliance on auditory electrophysiology for paediatric diagnostic audiology testing. The authors propose a revised model of best practice for paediatric diagnostic audiology in South Africa, considering the late age of identification, and increased need for sedation when using electrophysiology on older children. This would require development of modified best practice diagnostic audiology guidelines for South Africa (and other developing countries) and a training focus on the use of behavioural testing with children from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

  • An understanding of the JCIH Principles on Diagnostic Audiology
  • An understanding of barriers to adherence to best practice principles for siagnostic audiology
  • Development of modified best practice guidelines for a developing country

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Selvarani Moodley (Primary Presenter,Co-Presenter,Author), Wits University, selvarani.moodley@wits.ac.za;
Dr Selvarani Moodley is a dual qualified speech language therapist and audiologist, with a PhD focusing on audiology. Her doctoral research was in the area of paediatric diagnostic audiology and data management, with 5 articles currently published from this research. Selvarani works as a researcher and national project manager for the HI HOPES Early Intervention programme at the Centre for Deaf Studies, University of the Witwatersrand.
      ASHA DISCLOSURE:

Financial -

Nonfinancial -


      AAA DISCLOSURE:

Financial - No relevant financial relationship exists.

Claudine Storbeck (Co-Presenter,Author,Co-Author), Wits University, claudine.storbeck@gmail.com;
Prof Claudine Storbeck is the Director of The Centre for Deaf Studies, which she founded 21 years ago at The University of the Witwatersrand. The CFDS offers a host of research, post-graduate education & training opportunities in Deaf Education and Deaf Studies in South Africa, Africa and abroad. In her passion to support families of deaf and hard of hearing infants, Claudine founded the HI HOPES early intervention programme in 2006. In addition to deaf infants, this home-based, family-centred early intervention programme now also supports families of deafblind & developmentally delayed infants. Claudine played a core role in the groundbreaking launch of Netcare’s Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Programme in June 2019. She is a fluent user of South African Sign Language, has been married for 26 years and has 2 gorgeous teenage sons.
      ASHA DISCLOSURE:

Financial -

Nonfinancial -


      AAA DISCLOSURE:

Financial - No relevant financial relationship exists.