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Students in undergraduate Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) programs with an interest in audiology often report feeling unprepared to make career and graduate school decisions due to a lack of exposure to the field. The present study examines the impact of near-peer mentoring and hands-on lab experiences on undergraduate student perceptions of career preparedness and of the profession of audiology by examining pre- and post-course survey responses and lab wrapper responses of 41 undergraduate speech and hearing science majors enrolled in an introductory audiology course. Students were paired in groups with a first-year audiology graduate mentor to walk through a series of three clinical lab exercises. Results showed a positive influence on perceptions of career readiness resulting from both mentoring and clinical lab exposure, and more confidence in career decisions following the course.

Purpose: The Pitch Patterns Test (PPT) and the Duration Patterns Test (DPT) are clinical auditory processing tests that evaluate temporal patterning skills based on pitch (PPT) or duration (DPT) aspects of sound. Although temporal patterning tests are categorized under the temporal processing domain, successful performance on the PPT also relies on accurate pitch discrimination. However, the relationship between pitch discrimination ability and temporal patterning skills has not been thoroughly evaluated. This study examined the contribution of pitch discrimination ability to performance on temporal patterning in children through the use of a pitch discrimination task and the PPT. The DPT was also given as a control measure to assess temporal patterning with no pitch component. Method: Thirty-two typically developing elementary school-age children (6;11-11;3 [years;months]) with normal hearing were given a series of three counterbalanced tasks: an adaptive psychophysical pitch discrimination task (difference limen for frequency [DLF]), the PPT, and the DPT. Results: Correlational analysis revealed moderate correlations between DLF and PPT scores. After accounting for age, results of a linear regression analysis suggested that pitch discrimination accounts for a significant amount of variance in performance on the PPT. No significant correlation was found between DLF and DPT scores, supporting the hypothesis that the pitch task had no significant temporal patterning component contributing to the overall score. Discussion: These findings indicate that pitch discrimination contributes significantly to performance on the PPT, but not the DPT, in a typically developing pediatric population. This is an important clinical consideration in both assessment and utilization of targeted therapy techniques for different clinical populations.

Purpose: The majority of college-level musicians exceed the daily recommended noise dose level during instrumental practices and performances, although less than one third report wearing hearing protection while playing their instruments. Although the hazardous effects of music on the auditory system have been established, even in young adult musicians still early in their musical careers, the effects of music on the vestibular system are still unclear. The purpose of the present study was to examine vestibular/balance differences between young adult musicians and nonmusicians to determine the effects of music exposure on the vestibular system., Method: Young adult participants aged 18-27 years without any history of hearing loss, vestibular/balance disorder, otologic disorder, or nervous system disorder were included in this study. Participants were divided into musician ( n = 19) and nonmusician ( n = 18) groups. Vestibular function was assessed and compared via the cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potential (cVEMP), ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potential (oVEMP), video head impulse test (vHIT), and modified clinical test of sensory interaction in balance (mCTSIB)., Results: Musicians were found to produce significantly more saccades in the left horizontal semicircular canal during vHIT assessment compared to nonmusicians. Group differences were not found in the cVEMP, oVEMP, or mCTSIB., Conclusions: This study shows the effects of music exposure on the vestibular system in young adult musicians who show early-onset, subclinical findings on the vHIT that could develop into abnormal results on vestibular assessments if hearing protection use is not increased.