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Biography
Dr. Wafaa Kaf's influences in research have been shaped by several education and medical training experiences. Dr. Kaf's primary teaching and research interests are in the areas of early auditory evoked potential (AEP) using auditory brainstem response and steady-state response to assess hearing function in healthy and special needs populations.
She also conducts pioneering AEP research studies to assess the neural adaptation function of the inner ear and the auditory nerve for early diagnosis of Meniere’s disease and auditory nerve lesions. In addition, Dr. Kaf also researches the integrity of the auditory efferent function in children with autism spectrum disorders.
She also has a research interest in the evaluation of middle ear function using wideband absorbance tympanometry in normal and abnormal middle ear conditions. Dr. Kaf is recognized globally for her research expertise. She has an active record of publications and presentations at both national and international conferences.
Dr. Kaf has an active record of service to the community.
Industry Expertise (3)
Education/Learning
Health and Wellness
Research
Areas of Expertise (5)
Audiology
Communication Disorder
Health
Meniere's Disease
Deafness
Accomplishments (8)
The 2016 Director’s Award for Outstanding Faculty Research (professional)
Honors College, Missouri State University
ASHA’s Research Mentoring-Pair Travel Award (RMPTA) (professional)
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association 2013
Excellence in Community Service Awards (professional)
Missouri State University 2013
Margo Skinner Award for Outstanding Audiologist in Missouri (professional)
2009-01-01
Missouri Academy of Audiology
Missouri State Foundation for Excellence in Teaching Award (professional)
2009-01-01
Missouri State University
Outstanding Graduate Advisor Award (professional)
2012-01-01
Thesis advisor for a graduate student, Kelly Green, with the first-place winning oral presentation. Graduate Interdisciplinary Forum, Missouri State University
Nominated for the 2010 CAPCSD Honors of the Council Award (professional)
2010-01-01
The Council of Academic Programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders
Nominated for the Missouri State Board of Governor Teaching Award (professional)
2009-01-01
Missouri State University
Education (3)
University of Pittsburgh: Ph.D., School of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences 2003
Assiut University Hospitals: M.Sc., Otolaryngology and Audiology 1992
Assiut University: M.D., Faculty of Medicine 1987
Affiliations (5)
- American Academy of Audiology: President
- American Speech-Language-Hearing Association : Member
- Missouri Speech-Language-Hearing Association : Member
- International Auditory Society : Member
- ASHA Special Interest Group (SIG) 6 Coordinating Committee: Elected Member
Links (5)
- Missouri State University Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty
- Featured on the Hearing Health Magazine
- Inclusive Excellence Public Affair: February Faculty Spotlight Provost Office Missouri State University
- CASL Annual Report: 2011-2012 Missouri State University
- Research Profile: Mind's Eye
Languages (2)
- English
- Arabic
Media Appearances (3)
Professor seeks to improve diagnosis process of Meniere’s disease
Missouri State University News online
2016-01-07
Vertigo, dizziness, a sense of ear fullness and ringing in the ears are all symptoms for a variety of illnesses, like migraine. According to Dr. Wafaa Kaf, professor of audiology in the communication sciences and disorders department at Missouri State University, these symptoms may not immediately raise a red flag to a patient with Meniere’s disease, and that’s one of the major challenges of this disease.
Distortion-Product Otoacoustic Emissions and Contralateral Suppression Findings in Children with Asperger’s Syndrome
Dug dug: Research made simple online
Pediatric population in general is difficult to test using subjective, behavioral measures; therefore, valid objective measures are needed to determine whether hearing loss exists or not. Children with special needs such as Down syndrome and autism spectrum disorders (ASD), specifically, have additional auditory complaints and testing challenges.
The Faculty: Wafaa Kaf
Missouri State Magazine print
Many hearing screenings go like this: An audiologist plays tones to someone wearing headphones or sitting in a sound booth. The person being screened responds, letting the tester know the range of sounds he or she can hear.
Minds-Eye (1)
Did you hear? Students offer free screenings
Many hearing screenings go like this: An audiologist plays tones to a child or an adult wearing headphones or sitting inside a sound booth. The person being screened responds, letting the tester know the range of sounds he or she can hear. But what if the subject is an infant, or an adult with dementia, who can’t be expected to understand test instructions, raise a hand, press a button or talk to the screener? Dr. Wafaa Kaf, a professor of audiology from Al Sharqia, Egypt, has spent many of her 10 years at Missouri State researching ways to evaluate the hearing of these challenging populations.
Articles (5)
40-Hz Sinusoidal Auditory Steady-State Response and Tone Burst Auditory Brainstem Response Using a Kalman Filter to Determine Thresholds Pre- and Post-Myringotomy With Grommet Tube in Children With...
American Journal of Audiology
2016 Accurate estimation of mild, low-frequency hearing loss is difficult in young children. This study aimed to determine the accuracy of 40-Hz sinusoidal auditory steady-state response (sASSR) compared with tone burst auditory brainstem response (TB-ABR) to detect mild, low-frequency hearing loss in children with otitis media with effusion and to measure postoperative thresholds...
Assessment of low-frequency hearing with narrow-band chirp-evoked 40-Hz sinusoidal auditory steady-state response
International Journal of Audiology
2016-01-21
2016 To determine the clinical utility of narrow-band chirp-evoked 40-Hz sinusoidal auditory steady state responses (s-ASSR) in the assessment of low-frequency hearing in noisy participants.
Ménière's Disease: Current and Potential New Objective Measures Using Electrocochleography
SIG 6 Perspectives on Hearing and Hearing Disorders: Research and Diagnostics
2015 The characteristic manifestations of Ménière's disease (MD) are mainly subjective, making MD difficult for physicians to diagnose without objective confirmation.
Tinnitus and hyperacusis in autism spectrum disorders with emphasis on high functioning individuals diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome
International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology
2015 Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence of tinnitus and hyperacusis in individuals with Asperger's Syndrome (AS)...
Putting Research into Practice for Autism Spectrum Disorder
Hearing Journal
2015 As an audiologist, what is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word autism? I bet that you are imagining a child covering his or her ears in the presence of noise...
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