Clinical Expertise Is Core to an Evidence-Based Approach to Auditory Processing Disorder: A Reply to Neijenhuis et al. 2019

Vasiliki Iliadou; Christiane Kiese-Himmel; Doris-Eva Bamiou; Helen Grech; Martin Ptok; Gail D Chermak; Hung Thai-Van; Tone Stokkereit Mattsson; Frank E Musiek

doi:10.3389/fneur.2019.01096

Clinical Expertise Is Core to an Evidence-Based Approach to Auditory Processing Disorder: A Reply to Neijenhuis et al. 2019

Front Neurol. 2019 Oct 18:10:1096. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2019.01096. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Vasiliki Iliadou¹, Christiane Kiese-Himmel², Doris-Eva Bamiou³, Helen Grech⁴, Martin Ptok⁵, Gail D Chermak⁶, Hung Thai-Van⁷, Tone Stokkereit Mattsson⁸, Frank E Musiek⁹

Affiliations

¹ Clinical Psychoacoustics Lab, Third Department of Psychiatry, Neuroscience Sector, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
² Phoniatric and Pediatric Audiological Psychology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Georg-August-University, Göttingen, Germany.
³ Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London Ear Institute, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
⁴ Department of Communication Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Malta, Msida, Malta.
⁵ Department of Phoniatrics and Pediatric Audiology, Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Hanover, Germany.
⁶ Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, Washington State University Health Sciences Spokane, Spokane, WA, United States.
⁷ Department of Audiology and Otoneurological Evaluation, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Paris Hearing Institute, Centre de l'Institut Pasteur, Inserm U1120, Paris, France.
⁸ Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Ålesund Hospital, Ålesund, Norway.
⁹ Neuroaudiology Lab, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States.

Abstract

The opinion article "An Evidence-based Perspective on Misconceptions Regarding Pediatric Auditory Processing Disorder" by Neijenhuis et al. (1) presents a distorted view of the evidence-based approach used in medicine. The authors focus on the amorphous non-diagnostic entity "listening difficulties" not auditory processing disorder (APD) and create confusion that could jeopardize clinical services to individuals with APD. In our perspective article, we rebut Neijenhuis et al. (1), and more importantly, we present a rationale for evidence-based practice founded on the premise that research on APD is only clinically applicable when conducted on clinical populations diagnosed with APD.

Keywords: auditory processing disorder; evidence-based approach; hearing; pediatrics; systematic reviews.