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The Association Between Hearing Status and Psychosocial Health Before the Age of 70 Years: Results From an Internet-Based National Survey on Hearing.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study addresses this issue. Baseline data of the National Longitudinal Study on Hearing, including 1511 participants (18 - 70 years, Mean: 46.3 years) are analyzed. Hearing status was determined using a speech-in-noise test over the Internet. Psychosocial health was assessed using online questionnaires. Significant associations between reduced hearing and distress, somatization, depression and loneliness are found. The associations differ among age groups The findings underline the need to address the adverse effects of limited hearing among young and middle-aged adults both in research and clinical practice.Page: 302...
Source: Ear and Hearing - April 30, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (608 K) Source Type: journals

Monothermal Caloric Screening Test Performance: A Relative Operating Characteristic Curve Analysis.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The alternate binaural bithermal (ABB) caloric test can be shortened by irrigating each ear using a single temperature (i.e., monothermal warm screening test or MWST) and discontinuing the test if responses are symmetric. The goal of the MWST is to decrease test time and increase patient comfort without sacrificing the sensitivity of the ABB caloric test. The present study evaluated the performance of the MWST using ROC curves and several gold standards for unilateral weakness on the ABB caloric test. The results indicate that the use of a 10% inter-ear difference produces clinically acceptable false-negative rates (1-3%) ...
Source: Ear and Hearing - April 30, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (1.062 M) Source Type: journals

The Effect of Changes in Stimulus Level on Electrically Evoked Cortical Auditory Potentials.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The purpose of this study was to determine whether the electrically evoked acoustic change complex (EACC) could be used to assess sensitivity to changes in stimulus level in cochlear implant recipients. Twelve postlingually deafened adults using Nucleus CI24 participated in this study. The stimulus consisted of an 800 msec burst of a 1000 pps biphasic pulse train. A change in the stimulus level was introduced 400 msec after stimulus onset. EACCs could be recorded from cochlear implant users in response to both increases and decreases in stimulation level. Increases in stimulus level elicited more robust EACC responses than...
Source: Ear and Hearing - April 30, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (996 K) Source Type: journals

Changes in Transient-Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions in the First Month of Life.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Overall TEOAE levels and half-octave frequency bands centered at 1.5, 2, 3, and 4 kHz were measured for 79 neonates before leaving the hospital and again at 1 mo of age. TEOAE levels increased between test sessions, with greater increases in higher frequency bands. Infants who failed the screening at birth but passed at 1 mo had significantly lower TEOAEs at the rescreening than infants who passed at birth, although pass status was only a weak predictor of TEOAEs at 1 mo. No significant correlation was found between TEOAE changes and judgments of ear-canal debris.Page: 330DOI: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e31819c4000Authors: Prieve, B...
Source: Ear and Hearing - April 30, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (706 K) Source Type: journals

The Effect of Instantaneous Input Dynamic Range Setting on the Speech Perception of Children with the Nucleus 24 Implant.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The ability of children to understand speech at soft and conversational levels with two instantaneous input dynamic range (IIDR) settings (30 & 40) on the Freedom Cochlear Implant Processor™ was examined for thirty children (age 7-17). Aided threshold and recorded speech perception testing was conducted using FM tones, noise-bands, Ling 6 sounds, loudness scaling, CNC words at 50 & 60 dB SPL and the BKB-SIN. Results revealed that mean group thresholds were 6-8 dB better with the 40 IIDR. Group mean CNC word scores at 50 dB SPL were significantly better with the 40 IIDR (59.2% vs. 47.8%) while the CNC w...
Source: Ear and Hearing - April 30, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (834 K) Source Type: journals

Infant Air and Bone Conduction Tone Burst Auditory Brain Stem Responses for Classification of Hearing Loss and the Relationship to Behavioral Thresholds.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The objectives of this study were to evaluate the use of a clinical protocol designed to meet early intervention guidelines and to provide normative infant tone burst auditory brainstem response (TBABR) and behavioral responses during infancy. TBABR air-bone thresholds and latencies were different for infants with and without conductive hearing loss. TBABR thresholds in early infancy were highly correlated with behavioral thresholds also measured during infancy. The results present evidence of a feasible clinical protocol for the critical task of diagnosing hearing loss in young infants and provide important normative data...
Source: Ear and Hearing - April 30, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (840 K) Source Type: journals

Utility Measures of Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients Treated for Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The Utility Measures for Audiology Application (UMAA) is a measure of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) incorporating utilities. The purpose of this study was to determine if the UMAA is a stable, valid, and sensitive measure of the effects of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) and its treatment on HRQoL. Results indicate that the UMAA is a stable, valid, and comparable with a disease-specific measure, the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI). Post-treatment utilities also indicated that the UMAA was sensitive to improvement in HRQoL after BPPV treatment. The UMAA should allow for comparison of audiologic and n...
Source: Ear and Hearing - April 30, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (453 K) Source Type: journals

Uniform Degradation of Auditory Acuity in Subjects with Normal Hearing Leads to Unequal Precedence Effects.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
We investigated whether a controlled reduction in auditory acuity, created by the insertion of specially designed earplugs in participants with normal hearing, would lead to unequal responses on a precedence effect task. The measurement of lag-burst thresholds was used to characterize the precedence effect. Participants with normal hearing were tested with and without the insertion of earplugs. Whereas performance was stable across participants in the condition without the earplug, it was highly variable under the earplug condition. These results suggest that uniformly degraded auditory acuity leads to increased variabilit...
Source: Ear and Hearing - April 30, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (216 K) Source Type: journals

Compatibility of a Magnetic Position Tracker with a Cochlear Implant System.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Tracking of positions in space allows innovative and intuitive experiments and magnetic trackers have become increasingly popular for research on spatial hearing. Because cochlear implant (CI) systems are susceptible to magnetic interspersion, this article aims to quantify the impact of the Polhemus Liberty Latus tracking system on an Advanced Bionics HiRes 90k CI with Platinum Series speech processor. The intention was to reveal alterations in the output signals of the CI system due to interspersion of the magnetic tracker to prevent corrupted or even harmful signals reaching the CI user. No such systematic alterations we...
Source: Ear and Hearing - April 30, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (433 K) Source Type: journals

The Auditory Steady-State Response: Generation, Recording, and Clinical Applications.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Page: 384DOI: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e31819c42d8Authors: Burkard, Robert
Source: Ear and Hearing - April 30, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: HTML PDF (149 K) Source Type: journals

Digital Hearing Aids.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Page: 385DOI: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e31819c42e9Authors: Abrams, Harvey B.
Source: Ear and Hearing - April 30, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: HTML PDF (149 K) Source Type: journals

Hearing Aid Handbook 2008-2009.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Page: 386DOI: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e31819f32c4Authors: Hogan, Cynthia
Source: Ear and Hearing - April 30, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: HTML PDF (149 K) Source Type: journals

An Introduction to the Physiology of Hearing, Third Edition.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Page: 386DOI: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e31819c4665Authors: Sininger, Yvonne S.
Source: Ear and Hearing - April 30, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: HTML PDF (149 K) Source Type: journals

Test-Retest Reliability of the Acoustic Stapedial Reflex Test in Healthy Neonates.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study aimed to evaluate the test-retest reliability of the acoustic stapedial reflex (ASR) test in healthy neonates. ASRs were elicited by presenting a 2-kHz pure tone and broadband noise (BBN) separately to the test ear in an ipsilateral stimulation mode. For both stimuli, the ASR test showed high test-retest reliability as demonstrated by intracorrelation coefficients across the test-retest conditions of 0.83 for the 2-kHz pure tone and 0.76 for the BBN stimulus. The high intracorrelation coefficients obtained in this study illustrate the reliability of the ASR test. Given the high test-retest reliability, the ASR t...
Source: Ear and Hearing - April 30, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (270 K) Source Type: journals

Cochlear Implant Melody Recognition as a Function of Melody Frequency Range, Harmonicity, and Number of Electrodes.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Cochlear implant melody recognition is best when listening to high-frequency melodies (414-1046 Hz) as opposed to low- or middle- frequency melodies (104-262 and 207-523 Hz) and when listening to pure tones instead of complex harmonic tones. The number of electrodes had no effect on low- and middle-frequency melody recognition, but affected high-frequency melody recognition in a way similar to phoneme recognition. Similar to speech recognition, cochlear implant melody recognition exhibited large individual variability. The source of the large variability in melody recognition seems to be different from the source of the va...
Source: Ear and Hearing - March 4, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (872 K) Source Type: journals

Lexical Tone Perception with HiResolution and HiResolution 120 Sound-Processing Strategies in Pediatric Mandarin-Speaking Cochlear Implant Users.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Previous studies have shown that fine structure information and detailed spectral information can be beneficial for lexical tone recognition. The present study examined tone recognition of Mandarin-Chinese-speaking children with cochlear implants who used the HiRes and then HiRes 120 sound-processing strategies. Results from 20 prelingually deafened children showed that there were large individual differences in tone recognition using either strategy. Some of the children achieved high-level tone-recognition performance with HiRes and some more of the children achieved high-level performance with HiRes 120. Children who be...
Source: Ear and Hearing - March 4, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (662 K) Source Type: journals

Sound Localization, Sound Lateralization, and Binaural Masking Level Differences in Young Children with Normal Hearing.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Procedures for measuring sound localization, sound lateralization, and binaural masking level differences in young children were developed. The modified tests were administered to large groups of children aged between 4 and 9 yr and results showed that the procedures were suitable for testing children from the age of 4 to 5. Furthermore, on these binaural hearing tests 5-yr-old children performed similar to adults. Differences between 4-yr-olds and older subjects on localization and BMLD, or between 4 to 9-yr-olds and adults on lateralization were probably attributable to both a development in binaural hearing and to nonau...
Source: Ear and Hearing - March 4, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (875 K) Source Type: journals

Effects of Negative Middle Ear Pressure on Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions and Application of a Compensation Procedure in Humans.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
DPOAEs were measured for f2 = 600 to 8000 Hz before and after the subjects voluntarily induced negative middle-ear pressures (MEPs) (-40 to -420 daPa). The negative MEP significantly decreased the DPOAE level for low and some middle frequencies, but had minimal effect at 2000 Hz. As the negative MEP was compensated by applying an equivalent amount of negative pressure into the ear canal, normal DPOAE levels were re-established. The study suggests that the compensation procedure is effective and could be valuable in clinical applications. The results also provide insight into resonance characteristics of the middle ear.Page...
Source: Ear and Hearing - March 4, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (697 K) Source Type: journals

Spatial Benefit of Bilateral Hearing Aids.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Observed and predicted sentence recognition in babble and benefit of spatial separation were measured as a function of low-pass cutoff frequency with and without bilateral hearing aids. Predictions were determined with an importance-weighted speech-audibility metric (aided audibility index). Hearing aid benefit improved significantly as cutoff frequency increased, but only with spatial separation. Likewise, spatial benefit improved significantly as cutoff frequency increased, but only when aided. Hearing aid benefit was significantly less than predicted, whereas spatial benefit was significantly greater than predicted. Que...
Source: Ear and Hearing - March 4, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (954 K) Source Type: journals

Energy Reflectance and Tympanometry in Normal and Otosclerotic Ears.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Sixty-two normal-hearing adults and 28 patients diagnosed with otosclerosis served as subjects. Overall, energy reflectance (ER) in the otosclerotic ears was statistically higher than ER in the normal ears between 400 and 1000 Hz. Analysis of receiver operating characteristic plots revealed that ER is potentially useful in differentiating otosclerotic ears from normal ears. More importantly, comparison of the test performance in individual otosclerotic ears between ER and tympanometric measures revealed that the information provided by ER is supplemental to the information provided by tympanometry. Therefore, combination o...
Source: Ear and Hearing - March 4, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (1.039 M) Source Type: journals

Binaural Loudness Summation for Speech and Tones Presented via Earphones and Loudspeakers.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Conclusions support loudness assessment for hearing-aid fittings. A subjective effect may result from expectations about loudness, termed Binaural Loudness Constancy.Page: 234DOI: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e3181976993Authors: Epstein, Michael 1,2,3; Florentine, Mary 2,4
Source: Ear and Hearing - March 4, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (188 K) Source Type: journals

Interactions Between Unsupervised Learning and the Degree of Spectral Mismatch on Short-Term Perceptual Adaptation to Spectrally Shifted Speech.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The present study investigated interactions between unsupervised learning and the degree of spectral mismatch on short-term perceptual adaptation to spectrally shifted vowels. Normal-hearing listeners were repeatedly tested over a 5-day study period while listening to acoustic cochlear-implant simulations; no feedback or explicit training was provided. The results from this study suggest that listeners are able to passively adapt to spectral shifts of up to 6 mm. For a spectral shift of 8.3 mm, some automatic adaptation was observed with mixed exposure to a smaller spectral shift, even at the expense of some low-frequency ...
Source: Ear and Hearing - March 4, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (850 K) Source Type: journals

Measuring Sound Detection and Reaction Time in Infant and Toddler Cochlear Implant Recipients Using an Observer-Based Procedure: A First Report.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In this study, young CI-users' sound-detection ability was assessed using the observer-based psychophysical procedure. Detection accuracy and reaction time were examined. A stimulation method was developed to present single-electrode stimulation with concurrent ambient sound processing on other electrodes. Detection accuracy generally increased, and in some children, reaction time decreased, with increasing stimulus level. Asymptotic detection accuracy was comparable with that reported for normal-hearing children. Psychometric function slopes were comparable or shallower than those reported for adult CI users.Page: ...
Source: Ear and Hearing - March 4, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (518 K) Source Type: journals

The Influence of Age, Hearing, and Working Memory on the Speech Comprehension Benefit Derived from an Automatic Speech Recognition System.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study evaluated the speech comprehension benefit obtained from partly incorrect subtitles generated by automatic speech recognition. Listeners with normal hearing and listeners with hearing impairment performed auditory-alone speech reception threshold (SRT) tests, and audiovisual SRT tests (auditory sentences plus subtitles); the difference between both SRTs was defined as the benefit. Participants also rated the listening effort. Age and hearing loss did not influence the benefit and effort scores. Lower automatic speech recognition accuracies and higher text delays decreased the benefit and increased the effort. A ...
Source: Ear and Hearing - March 4, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (775 K) Source Type: journals

The Effects of Aging and Interaural Delay on the Detection of a Break in the Interaural Correlation between Two Sounds.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In this study, we measured both the ability to detect a short break in interaural correlation when there was a zero intersound delay, and the longest delay at which a 100-msec break in interaural correlation was detectable in both younger adults and older adults with clinically normal hearing. The age-related more rapid decay in the storage of waveform details, combined with the lesser sensitivity to change in correlation and to spectral cues, suggest that older adults may not be as capable as younger adults in parsing auditory scenes.Page: 273DOI: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e318198703dAuthors: Li, Liang 1; Huang, Juan 1; Wu, Xihong...
Source: Ear and Hearing - March 4, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (981 K) Source Type: journals

Estimation of Equivalent Noise Exposure Level Using Hearing Threshold Levels of a Population.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This article describes the conceptual basis of an approach for using ANSI S3.44-1996 to predict hearing thresholds in a population even when noise exposure levels and durations are not precisely known, and to demonstrate the initial application of this approach to a single military population. This approach uses retrospective hearing threshold data of a population to estimate the equivalent noise exposure level for use in the ANSI S3.44-1996 algorithm.Page: 287DOI: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e3181942732Authors: Tufts, Jennifer B. 1; Weathersby, Paul K. 2; Marshall, Lynne 2
Source: Ear and Hearing - March 4, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (336 K) Source Type: journals

The Risks of Amplified Music for Disc-Jockeys Working in Nightclubs.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The acoustic measurements in the Disc-Jockeys booths show average equivalent sound levels of 98.7 dB (A) Leq, with high sound levels in the bass frequencies (114.3 dB (Z) at 125 Hz). The Disc-Jockeys studied here are mainly young men who work in nightclubs for 6 years during 3 nights a week. Three quarters of them have tinnitus with a pitch corresponding to the frequency of hearing loss. In addition to the expected dip at 6 kHz, there is also a loss in the low frequencies audiogram, a phenomenon that has not previously been described as a consequence of excessive noise.Page: 291DOI: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e31819769fcAuthors: Pot...
Source: Ear and Hearing - March 4, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (221 K) Source Type: journals

Genetic Studies on Noise-Induced Hearing Loss: A Review.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a condition that is influenced by both environmental factors and genetic factors. Association studies have identified the first genetic factors that may influence one's susceptibility to NIHL. In this review, we discuss the general properties of NIHL and mainly focus on the results of these first genetic association studies for NIHL.Page: 151DOI: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e3181987080Authors: Konings, Annelies; Laer, Lut Van; Camp, Guy Van
Source: Ear and Hearing - March 4, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (441 K) Source Type: journals

Audiological Findings Among Workers from Brazilian Small-Scale Fisheries.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study examined the noise exposure and hearing of fishermen from small-scale fisheries in Brazil. Participants included 141 male fishermen, and 136 controls matched by socioeconomic group, age, and gender. Fishermen with current or a history of occupational noise exposure had significantly poorer thresholds and more prevalent abnormal otoacoustic emissions than controls or unexposed participants. The results suggest a need for noise control, audiological care and hearing loss prevention services to be made available to workers from small-scale fisheries.Page: 8DOI: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e31818fba17Authors: Paini, Michele C....
Source: Ear and Hearing - January 6, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (404 K) Source Type: journals

The Influence of Temporal Stimulus Changes on Speech-Evoked Potentials Revealed by Approximations of Tone-Evoked Waveforms.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The aim was to investigate whether cortical auditory-evoked potentials in response to monosyllabic words can be approximated by a composition of single, subsequent N1/P2 complexes considering the voice-onset time. The N1/P2 complexes used for the approximation were derived from the cortical responses to tone bursts. The approximations were fitted toward the measured speech-evoked potentials by means of an optimization procedure. Close matches could be gained. Hence, an acoustic change complex could be shown even in the case of strong temporal overlap of the constituting N1 and P2 components.Page: 16DOI: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e3...
Source: Ear and Hearing - January 6, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (408 K) Source Type: journals

Bone Conduction Auditory Steady State Response: Investigations into Reducing Artifact.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Auditory steady state responses (ASSRs) can be recorded in sleeping neonates and can be used to estimate hearing thresholds. However, artifactual responses can contaminate recordings, particularly when recording bone conduction ASSRs. Using a simulation of a patient and the research MASTER system, this investigation studied the presence of artifact in bone conduction ASSRs and methods of eliminating it. It was determined that in situations where the sampling rate cannot be altered to prevent aliasing of the artifact to the modulation rates, screening and grounding the B-71 transducer and cable can significantly reduce arti...
Source: Ear and Hearing - January 6, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (897 K) Source Type: journals

Effects of Hearing Loss and Spectral Shaping on Identification and Neural Response Patterns of Stop-Consonant Stimuli in Young Adults.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The goal of this study was to define the effects of hearing loss, separate from age, on perception, and neural response patterns of dynamic spectral cues. In young adults with and without hearing loss, psychometric functions and N1-P2 cortical-evoked potentials were compared. Responses were evoked by consonant-vowel stimuli with and without frequency-dependent amplification that enhanced F2 relative to the rest of the stimulus. Results show hearing loss, separate from aging, negatively impacts identification, and neural representation of time-varying spectral cues. Enhancing the audibility of the F2 formant transition rela...
Source: Ear and Hearing - January 6, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (885 K) Source Type: journals

Frequency Tuning Curves Derived from Auditory Steady State Evoked Potentials: A Proof-of-Concept Study.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Tuning curves were measured in 10 sedated dogs and six sleeping human adults by plotting the masking function of steady state potentials evoked by an amplitude-modulated tone. Canine auditory steady state evoked potential-derived (ASSEP) tuning curves were quantitatively and qualitatively similar to electrophysiologic tuning curves reported in other species. Human ASSEP tuning curves were slightly wider than psychophysical ones obtained in the same subjects, but sharper than published neurophysiologic ones using other methods. Psychophysical results did not suggest that the use of an amplitude-modulated tone affected tunin...
Source: Ear and Hearing - January 6, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (933 K) Source Type: journals

The Derivation of Optimum Criteria for Use in the Monothermal Caloric Screening Test.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Using a clinical sample and videonystagmographic recording, we derived optimum criteria for use in the monothermal caloric test. We then assessed the performance of the warm and cool monothermal tests to accurately predict whether the bithermal test result would be normal. Using our recommended criteria, the warm test provided a sensitivity of 95% with 29% of patients with normal bithermal results having to undergo the bithermal test. The cool test performed less well and we do not recommend its routine clinical use. We believe that the warm/cool monothermal test difference is probably a consequence of the interrelationshi...
Source: Ear and Hearing - January 6, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (869 K) Source Type: journals

Widespread Auditory Deficits in Tune Deafness.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Eight hundred and sixty-five randomly selected individuals were screened to determine those who scored poorly on the Distorted Tunes Test (DTT). Thirty-five individuals with tune deafness constituted the experimental group. Thirty-four individuals with normal hearing and normal DTT scores, matched for age, gender, handedness, and education, and without overt or reported psychiatric disorders made up the normal control group. Results demonstrate that a wide variety of auditory processing deficits exist in tune deaf individuals. These include pure tone frequency discrimination, pitch and duration pattern discrimination, and ...
Source: Ear and Hearing - January 6, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (1.021 M) Source Type: journals

Smoke Alarms for Sleeping Adults Who are Hard-of-Hearing: Comparison of Auditory, Visual, and Tactile Signals.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The waking effectiveness of auditory, visual, or tactile alarms in the hard-of-hearing was compared, using signals of increasing intensities. A 520-Hz square wave auditory signal awoke 92%, compared with 56% for the high-pitched current smoke alarm (both 75 dBA). Bed/pillow shakers awoke 80 to 84% at the purchased intensity. Strobe lights awoke 27% at an intensity above the US standard, indicating that they are unreliable for waking people who are hard-of-hearing. The literature shows that the low-frequency square wave is the best alarm signal in all populations tested, and it is argued that it should be adopted as the nor...
Source: Ear and Hearing - January 6, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (892 K) Source Type: journals

Middle Ear Application of a Sodium Hyaluronate Gel Loaded with Neomycin in a Guinea Pig Model.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Establishing methods for topical administration of drugs to the inner ear have great clinical relevance and potential even in a relatively short perspective. We evaluated the efficacy of sodium hyaluronate (HYA) as a vehicle for drugs that could be used for topical treatment of inner ear disorders through the round window membrane (RWM). Neomycin was chosen as a tracer for drug release and pharmacodynanic effect. The resulting hair cell loss shows a clear dose-dependence and confirm that that HYA is a safe vehicle for drugs aimed to pass into the inner ear through the RWM.Page: 81DOI: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e31818ff98eAuthors: S...
Source: Ear and Hearing - January 6, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (1.359 M) Source Type: journals

Development of a Mandarin Monosyllable Recognition Test.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study applied an innovative approach to design Mandarin monosyllable recognition test word lists from familiar and homogeneous monosyllables, in which the familiarity, homogeneity, and phonemic balance of the six 25-item and nine 50-item word lists were strictly controlled. These word lists exhibit interlist equivalence with respect to their psychometric functions and five psychometric characteristics; moreover, their interitem and intersubject variability are lower than those of previously reported lists. In this way, we believe that the Mandarin monosyllable recognition test lists would be able to have better reliab...
Source: Ear and Hearing - January 6, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (1.021 M) Source Type: journals

Multiple Auditory Steady State Responses (80-101 Hz): Effects of Ear, Gender, Handedness, Intensity and Modulation Rate.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Auditory steady-state responses to multiple stimuli presented simultaneously are affected by the intensity frequency and rate of the stimuli. At 73 dB SPL, multiple stimuli presented simultaneously evoke smaller responses than when the stimuli are presented singly, particularly for carrier frequencies 1000 and 2000 Hz. Dichotically presented stimuli evoke responses 0.3 msec earlier than monotically presented stimuli. When stimuli with the same carrier frequency but different modulation rates are presented to the two ears, the stimulus with the faster modulation rate will evoke a larger response, provided the carrier freque...
Source: Ear and Hearing - January 6, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (434 K) Source Type: journals

Correlation between Audiovestibular Function Tests and Hearing Outcomes in Severe to Profound Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Eighty-eight patients with severe to profound sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL) were enrolled. Pre-treatment hearing levels, results of audiovestibular function tests and hearing outcomes were recorded from chart reviews. Multivariate analyses showed that both present ABR and VEMP waveforms were significantly correlated with better hearing outcomes in the group of severe SSHL, while the presence of vertigo was the only significant negative prognostic factor in the group of profound SSHL. Age, gender, Diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and delay of treatment, were not significantly related to hearing outcomes. A presum...
Source: Ear and Hearing - January 6, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (205 K) Source Type: journals

Relation of Electrically Evoked Compound Action Potential Thresholds to Behavioral T- and C-Levels in Children with Cochlear Implants.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
NRT thresholds were compared to T- and C-levels in children's optimized MAPs. Forty-one children (2 to 14 yr) with stable electrical hearing participated. At least 1 yr postactivation, visual (vNRT) and predicted (tNRT) thresholds were obtained and compared to children's T- and C-levels. The group average vNRT and tNRT thresholds in the upper half of the dynamic range agrees with previous studies. The profile of vNRT thresholds did not parallel the profiles of Ts and Cs across electrodes for most children. Hierarchical linear modeling analysis showed substantial and significant heterogeneity in the relations between vNRT a...
Source: Ear and Hearing - January 6, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (1.442 M) Source Type: journals

Receptive Vocabulary Development in Deaf Children with Cochlear Implants: Achievement in an Intensive Auditory-Oral Educational Setting.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The current study examined how implanted children educated in an auditory-oral environment compared with hearing peers on a receptive vocabulary measure (PPVT) in overall achievement and growth rates. We also investigated the effect of age at implant on vocabulary development. On average, implanted children had smaller vocabularies than hearing peers, but demonstrated substantial growth, making more than 1 yr worth of progress in a year. Age at implantation significantly affected vocabulary development. Growth curves indicated that children who are implanted under the age of 2 yr can achieve receptive vocabulary skills wel...
Source: Ear and Hearing - January 6, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (414 K) Source Type: journals

Perception of Envelope-Enhanced Speech in the Presence of Noise by Individuals with Auditory Neuropathy.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Speech perception is significantly impaired, in quiet as well as in noise, in individuals with auditory neuropathy. The recent signal processing strategies have shown that enhancing the envelope of speech may improve speech perception in quiet for these individuals. The present study assessed speech perception with unprocessed and envelope-enhanced speech in noise. Results revealed that speech identification improved significantly both in quiet and in the presence of noise with envelope-enhanced speech. Results suggest that envelope enhancement may be a viable option for the rehabilitation of individuals with auditory neur...
Source: Ear and Hearing - January 6, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (685 K) Source Type: journals

Morphology Studies of the Human Fetal Cochlea in Turner Syndrome.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The purpose of this study was to determine whether there were consistent morphological cochlear abnormailities during gestational development that could be associated with Turner Syndrome (TS). Gross morphologic examination of nine fetal TS temporal bones autopsied after spontaneous abortion failed to reveal a consistent pattern of cochlear malformations.Page: 143DOI: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e3181906c30Authors: Fish, John H. III 1; Schwentner, Ilona 1; Schmutzhard, Joachim 1; Abraham, Irene 1; Ciorba, Andrea 3; Martini, Alessandro 3; Sergi, Consolato 2; Schrott-Fischer, Anneliese 1,4; Glueckert, Rudolf 1,4
Source: Ear and Hearing - January 6, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (903 K) Source Type: journals

When an Air-Bone Gap is not a Sign of a Middle Ear Conductive Hearing Loss: RE: Watanabe, T., Bertoli, S., & Probst, R. (2008). Transmission pathways of vibratory stimulation as measured by subjective thresholds and DPOAEs. Ear Hear, 29, 667-673.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Page: 147DOI: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e318192751aAuthors: Sohmer, Haim 1; Sichel, Jean-Yves 2; Perez, Ronen 2; Adelman, Cahtia 3
Source: Ear and Hearing - January 6, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: HTML PDF (155 K) Source Type: journals

Response to Sohmer et al.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Page: 148DOI: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e3181927530Authors: Probst, Rudolf 1; Watanabe, Tomoo 2; Bertoli, Sibylle 3
Source: Ear and Hearing - January 6, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: HTML PDF (155 K) Source Type: journals

Comment on "When an Air-Bone Gap is not a Sign of a Middle-Ear Conductive Loss" By Sohmer et al.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Page: 149DOI: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e318192769fAuthors: Rosowski, John J.
Source: Ear and Hearing - January 6, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: HTML PDF (155 K) Source Type: journals

Prevalence of GJB2 (Connexin-26) and GJB6 (Connexin-30) Mutations in a Cohort of 300 Brazilian Hearing-Impaired Individuals: Implications for Diagnosis and Genetic Counseling.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Mutations or deletions in the GJB2 and GJB6 genes are reported to account for 50% of recessive deafness. Aiming at establishing the frequencies of GJB2 mutations and GJB6 deletions in the Brazilian population, we screened 300 individuals with hearing impairment. The c.35delG and del(GJB6-D13S1830) were most frequent mutations. Nineteen different sequence variations were found in the GJB2 gene (two of them were novel substitutions, p.Leu81Val and p.Met195Val). The present study demonstrated that mutations in the GJB2 gene and del(GJB6-D13S1830) are important causes of hearing impairment in Brazil. The diversity of variants ...
Source: Ear and Hearing - January 6, 2009 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (395 K) Source Type: journals

Left-Right Asymmetry in Hearing Loss Following Cisplatin Therapy in Children-The Left Ear is Slightly but Significantly More Affected.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Is hearing loss after cisplatin therapy symmetric? We compared pure tone hearing thresholds, TEOAE levels and DPOAE levels of 55 children (34 m, 21 f) before and after chemotherapy with cisplatin. After therapy, the 55 children showed slightly higher average hearing levels in the range 2000 to 8000 Hz in the left ear. The side difference was significant at 4000, 6000, and 8000 Hz. In girls, the effect was less pronounced than in boys. This result underscores the need for further research into the pathophysiology of platinum ototoxicity.Page: 830DOI: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e31818005a4Authors: Schmidt, Claus-Michael; Knief, Arne; ...
Source: Ear and Hearing - November 4, 2008 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (402 K) Source Type: journals

The Benefit Obtained from Visually Displayed Text from an Automatic Speech Recognizer During Listening to Speech Presented in Noise.Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study evaluated the influence of features of Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) output on the benefit obtained from the text during speech comprehension. Listeners performed auditory-alone speech reception threshold (SRT) tests (presenting sentences auditorily), and audiovisual SRT tests (also presenting the text). ASR features such as the provision of words versus speech sounds (phones), accuracy level, and the timing of the text were examined. Results showed that more benefit was obtained from word output than from phone output. Presenting ASR confidence levels did not influence the benefit. Delaying the text modera...
Source: Ear and Hearing - November 4, 2008 Category: Audiology Tags: Abstract HTML PDF (1.398 M) Source Type: journals