James Wylie Thelin, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Audiology
Email: jthelin@utk.edu
* Updated January 20, 2006

Dr. James W. Thelin spent the first 18 years of his career practicing audiology, teaching medical students and resident physicians in otolaryngology, and conducting research in otolaryngology programs at the University of Cincinnati and the University of Missouri Schools of Medicine. During that period he performed audiologic and vestibular evaluations on more than 20,000 patients. His research focused on diagnostic audiologic procedures and on the description of hearing and auditory function in a variety of diseases and disorders. Dr. Thelin has been at the University of Tennessee since 1990. During that period he has taught core courses in the graduate program in audiology, participated in the development of the Au.D. program, served as an advisor for student research, conducted his own research, and maintained a small audiologic consultation practice for medical-legal cases and noise measurement. Currently, Dr. Thelin is an active member of the CHARGE Syndrome Foundation and is conducting research on the communication problems associated with this congenital disorder which include deafness and blindness. He is also involved in research on the development of procedures for the measurement of averaged acoustic reflex responses.

EDUCATION

University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA (1980). Doctor of Philosophy; Major Area: Audiology.
University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA (1973). Master of Arts; Major: Audiology.
Rice University, Houston, TX (1968). Bachelor of Arts; Major: Psychology.


COURSES TAUGHT

ASP 542 Hearing disorders
ASP 545 Sound measurement techniques and hearing conservation
ASP 546 Advanced audiometry
ASP 574 Pediatric audiology
ASP 577 Vestibular disorders

Elective teaching:

ASP 655 Practicum in college teaching

Directed research of undergraduate, masters and doctoral students

RECENT GRANTS, AWARDS AND HONORS

University of Tennessee SARIF Summer Research Fellowship, 2002. CHARGE Syndrome Foundation, Star-In-CHARGE Award (2001). Determinants of communication ability in CHARGE syndrome ($7500).

University of Tennessee SARIF Equipment and Infrastructure Fund. Measurement of averaged acoustic reflexes, J. W. Thelin and A. W. Harkrider, 1999 ($7,000 from the SARIF Fund; $3,000 from the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology).

University of Tennessee Instructional Technology Grant, Teaching system for psychoacoustics, A. Krishnan, P. J. Carney, J. W. Thelin, C. J. Ferrell, and S. B. Burchfield, 1994 ($4,000).

University of Tennessee Professional Development Grant, Otoacoustic emissions in dogs, J. W. Thelin, 1994 ($4500 for collaborative work with M. H. Sims, School of Veterinary Medicine).

University of Tennessee, College of Liberal Arts, Departmental/Faculty Resource Award Program, Speech analysis equipment, I. V. Nabelek, A. K. Nabelek, S. Adler, C. W. Asp, S. B. Burchfield, P. A. Gordon, and J. W.  Thelin, 1993 ($14,515).

RECENT REFEREED PUBLICATIONS

Thelin, J. W., Hartshorne, T., & Hartshorne, N. (1999). Audiologic and educational management of hearing loss in CHARGE syndrome. Journal of Educational Audiology, 7, 34-41.

Fisher, D. L., & Thelin, J . W. (1999). World Health Organization Model of Disability and Functioning applied to audition. Journal of Educational Audiology, 7, 42-49.

Plyler, P.N., Burchfield, S.B., & Thelin, J.W. (1998). Telephone communication with in-the-ear hearing aids using acoustic and electromagnetic coupling.  Journal of the American Academy of Audiology, 9, (6), 434-443.

Rogers, R.K., Thelin, J. W., Sims, M.H., & Muenchen, R.A. (1995). Distortion product otoacoustic emissions in dogs. Progress in Veterinary Neurology, 6 (2), 45-49.

Durham, J.A., Thelin, J.W., Muenchen, R.A., & Halpin, C.F. (1994) Evaluation of a behavioral audiometry simulator for teaching visual reinforcement audiometry. Journal of the American Academy of Audiology, 5 (6), 417-425.

Sims, M.H., Rogers, R.K., & Thelin, J.W. (1994.) Transiently evoked otoacoustic emissions in dogs. Progress in Veterinary Neurology, 5 (2), 49-56.

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (1991). Guidelines for the audiologic assessment of children from birth through 36 months of age. ASHA,  33 (3) Suppl., 37-43. [Committee on Infant Hearing]

Book Chapters:

Thelin, J.W. (1999). The ears and hearing in CHARGE syndrome-parent information. In M. Hefner & S. L. H. Davenport (Eds.), CHARGE Syndrome: A management manual for parents. Columbia, MO: CHARGE Syndrome Foundation.

Thelin, J.W. (1987). Hearing loss. In J. W. Templer & W. E. Davis (Eds.), Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery: Principles and Concepts (pp. 11-25). St. Louis, MO: Ishiyaku-EuroAmerica.

Thelin, J. W., & Templer, J. W. (1987). Evaluation of vestibular function. In J. W. Templer & W. E. Davis (Eds.), Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery: Principles and Concepts (pp. 53-58). St. Louis, MO: Ishiyaku-EuroAmerica.

RECENT REFEREED PRESENTATIONS

Smiley, D. F., Thelin, J. W., Lance, D. M., & Muenchen, R. A. (2002) Problem-solving ability in school-age children with hearing impairment. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Atlanta, GA. (Instructional course)

Flipsen, P. J., Jr., Thelin, J. W., and Thelin, S. J. (2002). Very low test scores: some issues and solutions. Symposium on Research in Child Language Disorders and International Congress for the Study of Language, Madison, WI. (Poster)

Thelin, J. W. (2002). Hearing impairment in CHARGE syndrome. 3rd Mid-Atlantic CHARGE Syndrome Conference, Aberdeen, MD. (Invited presentation)

Schay, N. L., & Thelin, J. W. (2002). Oculomotor testing with computer-based ENG systems. American Academy of Audiology. Philadelphia, PA. (Poster)

Norwood, M. L., & Thelin, J. W. (2001). Performance of HAs and ALDs in noise at close distances. American Academy of Audiology, San Diego, CA. (Instructional course)

Thelin, J. W. (2000). Expert witness in audiology for the defense. American Academy of Audiology, Chicago, IL. (Instructional course)

Fisher, D. L., & Thelin, J. W. (2000). World Health Organization model of disablement applied to audition. American Academy of Audiology, Chicago, IL. (Poster)

Thelin, J. W. (2000). Newborn hearing screening with ABR. Puerto Rico Academy of Audiology, Humacao, PR. (Invited presentation)

Thelin, J. W., Wendover, E. L., & Sims, M. H. (1999). Effects of intravenous hypertonic urea on DPOAEs in cats. Tennessee Association of Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists, Nashville, TN.

Thelin, J. W. (1999). Management of hearing loss in CHARGE syndrome. Fourth International Conference on CHARGE Syndrome, Houston, TX. (Invited presentation)

Thelin, J. W. (1999). Occupational hearing conservation: designing programs to meet OSHA regulations and to provide a benefit for employees. Invited presentation. Tennessee Technological Summit '99, Knoxville, TN.

Thelin, J. W. (1999). Audiologic evaluation and management of hearing loss in CHARGE syndrome. American Academy of Audiology, Miami, FL. (Instructional course)

Thelin, J. W., Wendover, E. L., & Sims, M. H. (1999). Effects of intravenous hypertonic urea on DPOAEs in cats. American Academy of Audiology, Miami, FL. (Poster)

Snowden, S. B. & Thelin, J. W. (1999). Musician=s earplugs for orchestral musicians. American Academy of Audiology, Miami, FL. (Poster)

Thelin, J. W. (1999). Audiology grand rounds: the ascending-descending test for functional hearing loss. Tennessee Association of Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists, Knoxville, TN. (Audiology grand rounds)

Thelin, J. W. (1999). Diagnosis and management of hearing loss in CHARGE syndrome. American Academy of Audiology, Los Angeles, CA. (Instructional course)

Thelin, J. W. (1998). Evaluation and management of hearing loss in CHARGE syndrome. American Academy of Audiology, Los Angeles, CA. (Instructional course)

Thelin, J. W., & Link, D. C. (1997). Hearing and vestibular disorders in deaf-blindness. Workshop conducted for the Georgia Deafblind Project and Georgia State University, Norcross, GA.

Thelin, J. W. (1997). Parents survey on the management of hearing loss in CHARGE syndrome. Third International Conference on CHARGE Syndrome, Boston, MA. (Invited presentation)

Buehler, M. R., Thelin, J. W., Burchfield, S. B., & Ferrell, C. J. (1997). External ear resonance and temporary threshold shift. American Academy of audiology, Fort Lauderdale, FL. (Poster)

McCormick, C. A., Thelin, J. W., Burchfield, S. B., & Sims, M. H. (1997). DPOAE minimum detection levels in normal-hearing listeners. American Academy of Audiology, Fort Lauderdale, FL. (Poster)

Thelin, J. W. (1997). Ascending-descending test for functional hearing loss. American Academy of Audiology, Fort Lauderdale, FL. (Poster)

STUDENT RESEARCH (1991-present)

Ph.D. Dissertations (directed):

• Problem-solving ability in school-age children with hearing impairment.
• Effects of hearing loss on attentional effort during listening tasks.
• Hearing aids and assistive listening devices with directional microphones used at personal communication distances by listeners with moderate to severe hearing impairment.
• The dependence of distortion product otoacoustic emissions on the frequency separation and the relative levels of the primary signals.

M.A. Theses (directed):

• Language in relation to problem solving abilities in children with hearing impairment.
• Speech intelligibility in the classroom: effects of listener age and teacher voice.
• Musician’s earplugs for orchestral musicians.
• Effects of intravenous urea on otoacoustic emissions in the cat.
• External ear resonance and susceptibility to noise induced temporary threshold shift in humans.
• Growth of distortion product otoacoustic emissions: dependence on frequency separation and frequency.
• A comparison of three distortion product otoacoustic emission input/output function procedures to estimate cochlear sensitivity in dogs.
• Evaluation of a behavioral audiometry simulator for teaching visual reinforcement audiometry.
• External and middle ear conditions associated with disease and dysfunction in African-American and European-American children in a Headstart program.
• Effects of click polarity on auditory brainstem masking in man using high-pass noise masking.
   

Has served as a research committee member for 5 doctoral dissertations and 14 masters theses.
 

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Family: Married to Sara J. Thelin, a Speech-Language Pathologist, specializing in early speech-language disorders; 2 sons—UT grads.
Enjoys: Opportunity to work closely with students in research environment and small classes in the graduate program.

CONTACT DETAILS

James Wylie Thelin, Ph.D.
Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology
University of Tennessee
578 South Stadium Hall
Knoxville, TN 37996-0740

Phone: (865) 974-1796
Lab phone: same as above
FAX: (865) 974-1539

Email: jthelin@utk.edu
 

Audiology Laboratory

CURRENT RESEARCH

(1) Hearing and Communication in CHARGE Syndrome
CHARGE Syndrome is a congenital disorder with multiple physical and sensory anomalies. It is considered to be a deaf-blind syndrome. Dr. Thelin has been involved in research for over 20 years on the spectrum of auditory disorders, the management of hearing loss, and issues related to the development of communication in CHARGE. Current research has involved interviewing and surveying the parents of children with CHARGE to determine how audiologists can serve individuals who have this uncommon but very complicated disorder.

(2) Measurement of Averaged Acoustic Reflex Thresholds
The purpose of this research is to determine if response averaging can be used, as with the measurement of auditory evoked potentials, to measure acoustic reflex thresholds at lower levels than have been measured by previous investigators. A custom computer-based signal generation and response measurement system is presently under development to accomplish this. If it is found that acoustic reflex thresholds are substantially lower than previously measured, then there is the possibility that the reflex mechanism may modulate the input to many everyday signals and not just to high-level signals. Further studies would address the effects of ear pathology on acoustic reflex thresholds.

(3) Behavioral Assessment of Hearing for Medical-Legal Purposes
A substantial percentage of individuals who seek Workers Compensation or sue for occupational hearing loss also have a pattern of hearing loss that is consistent with noise exposure from firing rifles and shotguns. Audiologic and medical records from medical-legal cases are being analyzed to determine if there are patterns of hearing loss associated with the reported histories of gun ownership and of the use of rifles and shotguns.



LAB DESCRIPTION

Audiology Laboratory, 544 South Stadium Hall with double-walled sound-treated audiometric test room that is large enough for sound-field testing

ENG Laboratory, 569 South Stadium Hall

EQUIPMENT/SOFTWARE

Diagnostic audiometer with extended high-frequency and Bekesy audiometry capabilities (Madsen, Model 922)

Laboratory computer with custom system for averaged acoustic reflex measurement (Designed by Ed Pasenan, University of Texas)

Noise dosimeter measurement systems (2) with analysis software (Quest Q-400)

Sound level meters (Bruel & Kjaer, Type 2226, and Quest, Model 1800)

Computer-based ENG system (Micromedical Technologies)

Custom interactive-videodisc system for teaching Visual Reinforcement Audiometry ( Designed by Christopher Halpin, Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary)