PAT ROUSH
EN ESPIRAL AZUL
Quienes integramos el Proyecto Espiral Azul, nos sentimos muy honrados de dar la bienvenida como colaboradora a un ícono de la Audiología Pediátrica mundial y de tópicos selectos y muy complejos como el Trastorno del Espectro de Neuropatía Auditiva: La Dra. Pat Roush, quien de manera amable y desinteresada, accedió a colaborar con el Proyecto Espiral Azul, compartiendo sus enormes conocimientos y valiosísimas experiencias con nosotros.
La Dra. Roush nos enviará periódicamente material elaborado personalmente por ella (además de sus recomendaciones de bibliografía) con el único objeto de compartir sus vastos conocimientos audiológicos de una manera breve y concisa.
Hablar del currículum de la Dra. Roush sería una labor interminable, así que solamente tocaremos algunos de sus innumerables logros a modo de presentación.
¿Quién es la Dra. Patricia Ann Roush?
Patricia Roush, AuD, es Profesora Emérita en el Departamento de Otorrinolaringología de la Escuela de Medicina de la Universidad de North Carolina en Chapel Hill. Como Audióloga pediatra, laboró durante 40 años con niños y bebés en el Hospital Henry Ford en Detroit, en el Hospital Infantil de Colorado, Hospital infantil de Boston y en el Centro Médico de la Universidad de Duke. Previo a su retiro de la práctica clínica, dirigió el programa de Audiología Pediátrica en los Hospitales de la Universidad de North Carolina, en donde se lleva a cabo la especialización en valoración audiológica infantil, amplificación en niños y manejo audiológico del Trastorno del Espectro de Neuropatía Auditiva.
La Dra. Roush obtuvo su Bachelors degree en trastornos de la comunicación de la Universidad de Massachusetts, su Master en Audiología por la Universidad de Iowa y su Doctorado en Audiología por la Universidad de Florida. Ha publicado extensamente y ha dado conferencias nacionales e internacionales en una gran variedad de tópicos relacionados con la audición en los niños.
Actualmente es miembro de la Junta Consultora en Investigación pediátrica de Phonak y es miembro de la Junta Consultora de la Fundación Hear the World, una fundación sin fines de lucro que provee soporte a organizaciones que benefician a niños con pérdida auditiva en países de medios y bajos recursos.
Patricia Roush, AuD, is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Otolaryngology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, North Carolina (USA). As a pediatric audiologist for over 40 years she worked with infants and young children at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Colorado Children’s Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital, and Duke University Medical Center. Prior to her retirement from clinical practice, she directed the pediatric audiology program at the University of North Carolina Hospitals where she specialized in infant hearing assessment, amplification for children, and audiologic management of auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder. Dr. Roush earned her bachelor’s degree in communication disorders from the University of Massachusetts, her master’s degree in Audiology from the University of Iowa and her AuD from the University of Florida.
She has published extensively and has lectured nationally and internationally on a variety of topics related to hearing in children. Dr. Roush currently serves as a member of the Phonak Pediatric Research Advisory Board and as an advisory board member for Hear the World, a non-profit foundation providing support for organizations benefitting children with hearing loss from low- and middle-income countries.
Outcomes of Children with Hearing Loss (OCHL)
A Study of Children Ages Birth to Six
From 2008-2014 Dr. Roush was co-Investigator on a study funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health-National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders: “Moderators of Functional Outcomes in Children with Mild to Severe Hearing Loss,” in collaboration with the University of Iowa and Boys Town National Research Hospital. The principal investigators for the project were Drs. Bruce Tomblin and Mary Pat Moeller. (NIH-NIDCD Grant # DC009560)
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317 children with mild to severe hearing loss and 117 children with normal hearing received comprehensive evaluations.
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Areas of study included: background characteristics of child/family, hearing & speech perception, speech production, language skills, academic abilities, psychosocial and behavioral characteristics and type and quality of intervention received (clinical, educational and. audiological)
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Specific factors considered in the OCHL study:
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Audibility with hearing aids
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Duration and consistency of hearing aid use
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Language input provided in the environment
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Since OCHL was first funded by the National Institutes of Health in 2008, more than 70 papers that provide useful guidance for clinicians working with children with hearing loss have been published and are available at: https://ochlstudy.org/publications
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In 2016, Dr. Mary Pat Moeller and colleagues published a paper * summarizing the best practice implications derived from evidence on outcomes from the OCHL study. A few of these are summarized here:
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Audibility influences language growth rates
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Carefully fit hearing aids that are verified with probe microphone measures to match prescribed targets are needed to maximize audibility
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Consistently worn devices from early infancy place children in developmentally favorable circumstances but later fit children make promising gains once provided with hearing aids.
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*Moeller et al., (2016). Influence of Auditory Experience on the Outcomes of Children with Hearing Aids: ACCESS Matters.