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The East Stroudsburg University’s Provost’s Colloquium Series, an intellectual experience that promotes dialogue among ESU faculty, staff, students, and community, continues with a presentation by LuAnn Batson-Magnuson, Ph.D., associate professor of communication sciences and disorders and Susan Dillmuth-Miller, Au.D., assistant professor of communication sciences and disorders. The presentation “The Impacts of Rheumatic Disease on Thinking, Communication, and Hearing” will take place on Wednesday October 2 at 5:30 p.m. in Beers Lecture Hall. The lecture is open to the public at no cost.

This interactive presentation will explore the impact rheumatic diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, psoriatic arthritis, Lyme disease, fibromyalgia syndrome, and many others, have on the ability of individuals to hear, think and communicate. The presentation will include an update on the outcomes of an ongoing study being conducted by the presenters. The discussion will include a review of many of the “invisible” symptoms of rheumatic disease including difficulties with attention, memory, word finding, reasoning, problem solving, executive functioning and language reported by patients and their relationship to secondary symptoms of fatigue, pain, sleep loss and disease activity. Rarely noted impacts regarding hearing loss and auditory processing issues will be discussed. Recommendations regarding patient monitoring, assessment and treatment will be reviewed as well as directions for future research.

For more information about the Provost’s Colloquium Series, contact Christina McDonald, director, office of sponsored projects and research, at (570) 422-7954 or cmcdonald9@esu.edu.