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_Audiology is the study of the human verbal receptive communication process. This includes the assessing and understanding functions of the auditory system, particularly in the context of when the hearing process does not function normally. Traditional audiology, which was developed following World War II, focuses on abnormalities of the auditory process, with particular emphasis on ear dysfunction. It has developed a large number of tools for evaluating ear function and equipment, such as hearing aids, for helping with abnormal hearing function. During this time there has been little exploration of the normal hearing process.
Behavioural audiology is particularly interested in the behavioural changes of the listener and the talker that accompany reduced verbal receptive communication. its focus is on the listener's entire auditory capability, including both peripheral (outside the brain) and central (inside the brain) processes. It relies on functional models of these processes; the Macroaudiology model is ones of these.
Behavioural audiology is particularly interested in the behavioural changes of the listener and the talker that accompany reduced verbal receptive communication. its focus is on the listener's entire auditory capability, including both peripheral (outside the brain) and central (inside the brain) processes. It relies on functional models of these processes; the Macroaudiology model is ones of these.
_The Macroaudiology model has been built from long observation of the behaviour reported by clients and others. The initial step was to identify auditory factors that are related to various aspects of clients' behaviour, particularly their receptive communication behaviour, but also areas such as stress and fatigue, social and educational engagement, and family interaction. These observations resulted in the Macroaudiology model which incorporates measures of auditory function with modern understanding of perceptual processes and information transmission concepts, resulting in a model that allows a deep understanding of an individual's receptive communication function. It asks, first of all, what is the normal human listening process and why is it important? In what ways can the process fail, and what are the consequences of these failures? Who is affected when the process doesn’t work properly? How can we intervene and what should we try to achieve? Click here to learn more about this approach
_This website provides an introduction to macroaudiology. It contains information on the models underlying macroaudiology, information about academic courses on macroaudiology for audiology students and practicing audiologists, and a little bit about the history of macroaudiology There is also a collection of papers outlining different aspects of macroaudiology.
