Author details

system platform will allow for better and faster service and will reduce patient waiting times

Teleaudiology—it is the utilization of telehealth to provide audiological services and may include the full scope of audiological practice. The innovation that is currently being developed broadens teleaudiology and hearing care practice to virtual care modalities such as clinical video telehealth, store-and-forward telehealth, home telehealth, mobile health applica-

Telemedicine—the use of telecommunication and information technology to provide clinical healthcare from a distance. It has been used to overcome distance barriers and to improve access to medical services that would often not be consistently available in distant rural

Tinnitus—the hearing of sound when no external sound is present. While often described as a ringing, it may also sound like a clicking, hiss, or roaring. Rarely, unclear voices or music are heard. The sound may be soft or loud, low pitched or high pitched and appear to be coming from one ear or both. Most of the time, it comes on gradually. In some people, the sound causes

Tympanic Membrane—a thin, cone-shaped membrane that separates the external ear from the middle ear. Its function is to transmit sound from the air to the ossicles inside the middle ear and then to the oval window in the fluid-filled cochlea. Hence, it ultimately converts and amplifies vibration in air to vibration in fluid. Rupture or perforation of the eardrum can lead

Unilateral Hearing Loss (UHL)—a type of hearing impairment where there is normal hearing in one ear and impaired hearing in the other ear. Patients with unilateral hearing loss have difficulty in hearing conversation on their impaired side, localizing sound, understanding speech in the presence of background noise, interpersonal and social relations. Using for example CROS hearing aids or BAHA implant can help to resist better hearing

Universal Screening Protocol—it is the largest preventive health program in Poland. Its primary goal is to examine each newborn baby to except possible hearing impairment and to

Vernix—the waxy or cheese-like white substance found coating the skin of newborn human babies. It is produced by dedicated cells and is thought to have some protective roles during fetal development and for a few hours after birth. Vernix is theorized to serve several purposes, including moisturizing the infant's skin, and facilitating passage through the bacteria. It serves

Video-otoscopy—video-otoscopy is the use of an otoscope (this is an instrument used to look in the ears) that has a very tiny video camera that transmits images to a television screen. These scopes use fiber optics to transmit a very bright light that illuminates the ear canal. The video otoscope allows the doctor to see in the ear much better than a traditional handheld otoscope. With the irrigating function, debris can be cleaned deep within the ear that would be impossi-

to conserve heat and protect the delicate newborn skin from environmental stress.

communities. It is also used to save lives in critical care and emergency situations.

for visits to an institute.

130 An Excursus into Hearing Loss

to conductive hearing loss.

ble to remove any other way.

functioning.

tions, secure messaging, and electronic consults.

depression or anxiety and can interfere with concentration.

analyze risk factors that predispose to hearing loss.

Piotr Henryk Skarżyński1,2,3,4\* and Maciej Ludwikowski1

\*Address all correspondence to: p.skarzynski@medincus.pl

1 World Hearing Center, Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing, Department of Teleaudiology, Kajetany/Warsaw, Poland

2 Institute of Sensory Organs, Kajetany, Poland

3 Heart Failure and Cardiac Rehabilitation, Department of the Medical University of Warsaw, Poland

4 Center of Hearing and Speech, MEDINCUS, Kajetany, Poland
