Miller School Hearing Specialists Present Leading-Edge Research on How Sound Moves Through the Inner Ear

Audiologist Hillary Snapp, Au.D., Ph.D., served as co-president and co-chair at OSSEO 2023.

Hearing specialists from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine presented groundbreaking research on the evolution of bone conduction at OSSEO 2023, the 8th International Congress on Bone Conduction Hearing and Related Technologies.

“Conference meeting themes included the evolution of bone conduction hearing, sharing clinical best practices and outcomes, and global advocacy for our patients,” said OSSEO 2023 co-president/co-chair Hillary Snapp, Au.D., Ph.D., chief and associate professor of audiology, and director of clinical education at the Miller School. “More recent innovations, such as active transcutaneous implants, are changing the hearing technology landscape for both adults and children. Yet a critical challenge is the need to expand global access to bone conduction hearing technology.”

She noted that bone conduction devices are commonly used for conductive or mixed hearing loss and single-sided deafness, for which conventional hearing aids or cochlear implants are ineffective.

The September conference was the first since the UHealth – University of Miami Health System Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery hosted the 2019 meeting in Miami Beach.

“Miller School faculty played prominent leadership roles, including conference presidents and council members, at both the 2019 and 2023 meetings,” said Fred F. Telischi, M.E.E., M.D., the James R. Chandler Chair in Otolaryngology, chairman of otolaryngology, and professor of neurological surgery and biomedical engineering. “At the Denver congress, our faculty made numerous presentations and moderated scientific sessions, emphasizing the high-impact contributions to this field by UM clinicians and researchers.”

Several international experts shared their knowledge and expertise on addressing early childhood hearing loss, including:

• Anu Sharma, Ph.D., a speech, language and hearing sciences professor at the University of Colorado, who discussed how early intervention with bone conduction hearing devices may impact auditory development. 
• Dr. Snapp moderated a panel that discussed best practices for early intervention in bone conduction hearing for kids, and presented on the benefits of extended, high-frequency bandwidth for people who use bone conduction devices. She was also on a panel that spoke about binaural hearing.
• Dr. Telischi was a member of the OSSEO 2023 Scientific Program Committee and moderated a plenary session the work of Saad Bhamla, Ph.D., assistant professor at Georgia Tech, whose lab is developing low-cost biomedical devices. Dr. Telischi and Vivek Kanumuri also gave a presentation that focused on MRI considerations for active bone conduction implants.
• Chrisanda Sanchez, Au.D., assistant professor and interim director, Children’s Hearing Program, Ear Institute at the University of Miami, moderated a session on audiological outcomes and gave a talk on parent and patient perspectives when considering intervention for microtia atresia.
• Brianna Kuzbyt, Au.D., assistant professor of clinical otolaryngology, served on the OSSEO 2023 Scientific Program Committee, while pediatric audiologist Samantha Espinal, Au.D., participated in her first OSSEO conference.

Tags: audiology, bone conduction, Dr. Fred Telischi, Dr. Hillary Snapp, otolaryngology, USNWR ENT