Clinical and Translational Research: Challenges to the Field

Abstract

Clinical and translational research are essential to patient care. Throughout the volume, numerous examples and cases were provided; these served to illustrate the unique challenges that must be overcome and the work that lies ahead for advancing hearing healthcare. This final chapter provides a summary of common themes across chapters. Across various "disorders" such as auditory processing disorders, tinnitus, and sudden onset hearing loss, there were challenges related to differential diagnosis. Other challenges cut across noise-induced hearing loss, drug-induced hearing loss, and the other disorders listed above; there is a need for standardized metrics that allow for results to be compared among studies and for assessing novel treatment by researchers and clinicians. The overall healthcare goal is to develop an evidenced-based practice approach so that emerging treatments reflect the highest standard of demonstrated efficacy. The chapters contained in this volume provide an essential introduction to the processes, successes, and challenges associated with translational research and the goal of better health outcomes.