A need to revise audiological criteria and modify speech testing methods to resemble hearing challenges in everyday life is highlighted. The impact of hearing loss on social, emotional, and work aspects need to be addressed thoroughly. An awareness of available technology and other coping strategies should be part of the assessment protocol. Uniformity across different centres in terms of providing information pre-assessment needs to be achieved. Consideration of the individual and his hearing and communication needs in addition to formal hearing assessments before deciding/refusing implantation needs to be developed.

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Objectives: This study qualitatively explored parents' perspectives en their experiences of, access to, and outcomes from, cochlear implantation for their child with complex needs. Methods: Purposive sampling was used to recruit 10 parents of children with varying additional disabilities. The age range of the children was between 2 and 11 years at the time. A semi-structured interview format was used to collect data and the interviews were audio recorded and transcribed for analysis. Thematic content analysis was used to explore the data. Results: Individual themes were clustered together to form four main themes describing parents' perspectives and experience. The four main themes were: 'Assessment process', 'Reported benefits of cochlear implantation', 'Wearing the processor' and 'Educational issues'. Discussion: The findings from the study indicate how cochlear implantation was valued by the parents of children with complex needs. They appreciated changes in their child's communication and social changes where the child was more included in family life. Challenges relating to delays in the assessment process were reported. Similarly, the difficulties associated in accessing the technology were identified and perceived by some parents as discriminatory. Conclusion: Cochlear implantation has come a long way over the years. This study provides a useful insight into the issues raised by parents of deaf children with complex needs. A need for further research in this area of implantation was identified to ensure wider access to this technology for those who may benefit from it and to improve the implantation process for this group of children.

This research highlighted the benefits and limitations of the current cochlear implant service delivery as well as the potential implications for the long term. While respondents were generally happy with the current cochlear implant service provision, they expressed some concerns about the long-term sustainability and management, wanting integration into the local services, and more involvement of parents and users in decisions.

Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by emerald-srm:374558 [] For AuthorsIf you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to explore audiologists, views and experiences of working with older adults with dementia. Design/methodology/approach -An online survey was distributed to audiologists working in the UK NHS and private sector via their professional organisations. A total of 312 audiologists took part in the study. The survey collected both quantitative and qualitative data. Basic descriptive statistics summarised the quantitative responses. The qualitative data were analysed using conventional thematic approaches.Findings -The quantitative data demonstrated that the vast majority of audiologists had treated someone with dementia (96 per cent). Despite this, 65 per cent of respondents did not feel adequately supported to help this service user population. Four overarching themes were used to explain the qualitative data: integrated and individualised care; formal (including training) vs experiential knowledge; the interaction between dementia and hearing and using the technology.Research limitations/implications -The self-selecting nature of the sample is a limitation which needs to be taken into account when considering the transferability and implications of the findings. Practical implications -Given the anticipated increase in rates of dementia within the population and the potential for hearing impairment to exacerbate the symptoms; this study highlights the unique role audiologists have. The need for more training and development for this professional group is also identified. Originality/value -This is one of the first papers to explore audiologists, views and experiences of working with people with dementia. As such, it highlights some interesting areas worthy of further research using both quantitative and qualitative methods.