Ira Hirsh as a Pioneer in Audiology: His Contributions to the Clinical Measurement of Hearing and Hearing Impairment

Ira Hirsh's contributions to clinical science and research are diverse and significant. In fact, approximately one third of the 100+ publications that Ira lists in his curriculum vitae (CV) are clinical in nature, dealing with various aspects of audiology, deafness, hearing aids, aural rehabilitation, and speech and language pathology. The majority of these citations, fully one fourth of his publication list, addresses problems specific to the clinical measurement of hearing and hearing impairment. Undoubtedly, the most influential of these published works appears in his CV under the citation The Measurement of Hearing. The preface for this publication, his only textbook, was penned in June 1952. The aims of this article are to (1) provide perspective on the fundamental importance of his virtually timeless text in shaping the fledgling discipline of audiology, and (2) celebrate Ira's many contributions to the profession and practice of audiology.

KEYWORDS

Audiology - deafness - hearing aids - aural rehabilitation - hearing - hearing impairment

REFERENCES

• 1 Hirsh I J. The Measurement of Hearing. New York; McGraw-Hill 1952
• 2 Fletcher H. Speech and Hearing. New York; D. Van Nostrand 1929
• 3 Fletcher H. Speech and Hearing in Communication. Princeton, NJ; D. Van Nostrand 1953
• 4 Stevens S S, Davis H. Hearing: Its Psychology and Physiology. New York; Wiley 1938
• 5 Seashore C E. Psychology of Music. New York; McGraw-Hill 1938
• 6 Wever E G. Theory of Hearing. New York; Wiley 1949
• 7 Stevens S S. Handbook of Experimental Psychology. New York; Wiley 1951
• 8 Miller G A. Language and Communication. New York; McGraw-Hill 1951
• 9 Goldstein M A. Problems of the Deaf. St. Louis; Laryngoscope Press 1933
• 10 Bunch C C. Clinical Audiometry. St. Louis; CV Mosby 1948: 171
• 11 Davis H. Hearing and Deafness. New York; Rinehart 1947
• 12 Ewing I R, Ewing A WG. The Handicap of Deafness. London; Longman's Green 1938; American Edition, 1946
• 13 Watson L A, Tolan T. Hearing Tests and Hearing Instruments. Baltimore; Williams & Wilkins 1949
• 14 Bess F H, Humes L E. Audiology-The Fundamentals, 2nd ed. Baltimore, MD; Williams & Wilkins 1995
• 15 Newby H A. Audiology-Principles and Practice New York; Appleton-Century-Crofts 1958
• 16 Miller G A. Review of The Measurement of Hearing by I.J. Hirsh.  J Acoust Soc Am. 1954;  26 113
• 17 Bordley J E, Hardy W G, Richter C P. Audiometry with the use of galvanic skin-resistance responses.  Bull Johns Hopkins Hosp. 1948;  82 569
• 18 Hardy W G, Bordley J E. Special techniques in testing the hearing of children.  J Speech Hear Disord. 1951;  16 122-131
• 19 Jacobson J T. The Auditory Brainstem Response. San Diego, CA; College Hill 1985
• 20 Katz J. Handbook of Clinical Audiology, 1st ed. Baltimore, MD; Williams & Wilkins 1972
• 21 Katz J. Handbook of Clinical Audiology, 4th ed. Baltimore, MD; Williams & Wilkins 1994
• 22 Bilger R C, Hirsh L J. Masking of tones by bands of noise.  J Acoust Soc Am. 1956;  28 623-630
• 23 Hirsh I J. The influence of interaural phase on interaural summation and inhibition.  J Acoust Soc Am. 1948;  20 536-544
• 24 Hirsh I J, Palva T, Goodman A. Difference limen and recruitment.  Arch Otolaryngol. 1954;  60 525-540
• 25 Hirsh I J. Binaural hearing aids: A review of some experiments.  J Speech Hear Disord. 1950;  15 114-123
• 26 Erber N P, Hirsh I J. Aural training. In: Davis H, Silverman SR Hearing and Deafness, 4th ed. New York; Holt, Reinhart & Winston 1978
• 27 Hirsh I J, Davis H, Silverman S R, Reynolds E G, Eldert T E, Benson R W. Development of materials for speech audiometry.  J Speech Hear Disord. 1952;  17 321-337
• 28 Advances for Speech Pathologists and Audiologists. 1994 4: 1 (cover)