Instrumentation for Audiology and Hearing Science: Theory and Practice

Understanding the array and complexity of instrumentation available to audiologists and hearing scientists is important to students, beginning clinicians, and even seasoned professionals. The second edition of Instrumentation for Audiology and Hearing Science: Theory and Practice is a comprehensive and accessible look at instrumentation used in these fields for research and clinical purposes. The expert authors introduce the laws of physics as they relate to audiology and hearing science and explain a range of concepts in electronics directly related to instrumentation used in audiology and hearing science, such as filtering and immittance (involving admittance and impedance), explain the fundamental instrumentation concepts in mathematics, physics, and electronics in a systematic manner including only the necessary formulae and basic scientific principles.

This unique professional text presents the fundamentals of the evolution of communication systems from analog to digital, including such concepts as digital signals, sound resolution, sampling, quantization and their applications to current technology such as video calls and noise canceling head phones. In addition, the authors comprehensively cover calibration of test and research equipment and stimuli used in audiology and hearing science. They also clearly describe elements of electronics and digital technology as they apply to our everyday lives and experiences, as well as to the fields of audiology and hearing sciences.

New to the Second Edition

• New chapters on amplification, assistive listening devices, and vestibular assessment (electronystagmography and videonystagmography), geared toward audiology and hearing science students and professionals
• Extensive reorganization for a smoother flow of information
• Expanded focus on evidence-based practice
• Informed by the authors’ teaching, research, and clinical experiences, the original chapters have either been eliminated or completely updated to reflect current scientific and clinical theories
• A PluralPlus companion website with practical step-by-step PowerPoint instruction and accompanying videos for the construction of direct- and alternating-current electrical circuits, as well as the construction of high-pass, low-pass, and band-pass filters

Shlomo Silman, MS, PhD, received his Master of Science from Columbia University and PhD in Audiology from New York University. He is Presidential Professor of Speech Communication Arts and Sciences, Professor of Audiology, Doctor of Audiology Program, and Graduate Center Professor of Hearing Sciences at CUNY and Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. He has authored and coauthored approximately 100 articles, books, and chapters. His honors and awards include being the first recipient of the American Academy of Audiology Research Achievement Award in 2000 and corecipient of the 2006 National Tibbetts Award (category of Medicine). Silman is also the recipient of a medal in 2001 from the Escola Paulista Medicina of the Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Brazil, for humanitarian work with persons with hearing impairment in São Paulo, Brazil, and for scientific achievements relating to research on middle ear effusion and auditory deprivation, as well as recipient of the 2002 Journal of the American Academy of Audiology Editor’s Award. He also has served as reviewer, editorial consultant, or assistant editor for various journals.
Michele B. Emmer, PhD, Professor Emerita and former Chair of Speech and Hearing Sciences at Brooklyn College, City University of New York (CUNY) and former Professor of Audiology, Doctor of Audiology Program, Graduate Center (CUNY), received her Master of Science from Brooklyn College and her PhD in Speech and Hearing Sciences from the Graduate Center of CUNY. Her interests include middle ear effusion, acoustic reflex, adult-onset auditory deprivation, acclimatization, and hearing impairment in the elderly. She published many articles on these topics in medical, audiological, and scientific journals. She was listed in the CUNY Salute to Scholars 2 years running and received the college-wide award for Excellence in Teaching at Brooklyn College. She was coinvestigator and senior research director for several federal grants, principal investigator for two CUNY grants, and a principal investigator for a grant from the New York City Department for the Aging. Dr. Emmer holds two U.S. patents for a medical device with her coauthor Dr. Shlomo Silman. Dr. Emmer taught courses in speech and hearing for over 20 years.
Carol A. Silverman, PhD, MPH, is Professor, Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology at Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY), New York, NY; Professor, AuD Program and PhD Program in Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences, Graduate Center, CUNY, New York, NY. Dr. Silverman previously held an appointment as Hearing Scientist and Epidemiologist in the Departments of Otorhinolaryngology and Communicative Sciences at New York Eye & Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai in New York City. Silverman has authored and coauthored several books and chapters and many peer-reviewed publications, and she has served as reviewer and editorial consultant for various journals in audiology, hearing sciences, and otolaryngology. Her research focuses on auditory deprivation; on various aspects of diagnostic audiology, including acoustic immittance and otoacoustic emissions; and most recently on binaural interference. She is a graduate of Wellesley College, and her graduate degrees include an MS in Audiology from Teachers College of Columbia University, PhD in Audiology from New York University, and MPH in Quantitative Epidemiology from New York Medical College.
Alexa Brody, AuD, is a practicing audiologist who specializes in diagnostic evaluations and hearing aid amplification in Albany, NY. She received her AuD degree from the Graduate Center of CUNY. She holds an ASHA certificate of clinical competence-audiology (CCC-A) and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Audiology (F-AAA). Her special interests include deaf studies, tinnitus management, hearing aids, and assistive listening devices.