An Approach to Self-Assessed Auditory Wellness in Older Adults
No abstract available (Source: Ear and Hearing)
Source: Ear and Hearing - July 1, 2021 Category: Audiology Tags: Point of View Source Type: research
Computed Tomography–Based Measurements of the Cochlear Duct: Implications for Cochlear Implant Pitch Tuning
Objectives:
To determine the sources of variability for cochlear duct length (CDL) measurements for the purposes of fine-tuning cochlear implants (CI) and to propose a set of standardized landmarks for computed tomography (CT) pitch mapping.
Design:
This was a retrospective cohort study involving 21 CI users at a tertiary referral center. The intervention involved flat-panel CT image acquisition and secondary reconstructions of CIs in vivo. The main outcome measures were CDL measurements, CI electrode localization measurements, and frequency calculations.
Results:
Direct CT-based measurements of CI and in...
Source: Ear and Hearing - May 1, 2021 Category: Audiology Tags: Research Article Source Type: research
Investigating the Influences of Task Demand and Reward on Cardiac Pre-Ejection Period Reactivity During a Speech-in-Noise Task
Conclusions:
This study successfully implemented the measurement of PEP during a standard speech-in-noise test and included two distinct methods of PEP analysis. The results revealed for the first time that PEP reactivity varies linearly with task demand during a speech-in-noise task, although the effect size was small. No effect of reward on PEP was demonstrated. Finally, participants with a higher need for recovery score invested more effort, as shown by average PEP reactivity, than those with a lower need for recovery score. (Source: Ear and Hearing)
Source: Ear and Hearing - May 1, 2021 Category: Audiology Tags: Research Article Source Type: research
Speech Segregation in Active Middle Ear Stimulation: Masking Release With Changing Fundamental Frequency
Objectives:
Temporal fine structure information such as low-frequency sounds including the fundamental frequency (F0) is important to separate different talkers in noisy environments. Speech perception in noise is negatively affected by reduced temporal fine structure resolution in cochlear hearing loss. It has been shown that normal-hearing (NH) people as well as cochlear implant patients with preserved acoustic low-frequency hearing benefit from different F0 between concurrent talkers. Though patients with an active middle ear implant (AMEI) report better sound quality compared with hearing aids, they often struggle ...
Source: Ear and Hearing - May 1, 2021 Category: Audiology Tags: Research Article Source Type: research
Auditory Development of Frequency Discrimination at Extended High Frequencies
Conclusions:
The present study provides evidence for a similar rate of maturation of FD for EHFs and standard frequencies. FD at EHFs matures by 10 to 12 years of age. Adult listeners may not all use temporal cues up to 10 kHz. Young children are relatively inefficient in using temporal fine-structure cues for FD at frequencies above 6 kHz. (Source: Ear and Hearing)
Source: Ear and Hearing - May 1, 2021 Category: Audiology Tags: Research Article Source Type: research
Binaural Frequency Modulation Detection in School-Age Children, Young Adults, and Older Adults: Effects of Interaural Modulator Phase
Conclusion:
The difference in dichotic benefit between children and young adults is consistent with maturation of central auditory processing. Differences in the effect of noise on dichotic benefit in young children and older adults support the idea that different factors or combinations of factors limit performance in these two groups. Although dichotic FM detection appears to be more sensitive to the effects of development and aging than diotic FM detection, the positive correlation between diotic and dichotic FM detection thresholds for all listeners suggests contribution of one or more factors common to both condit...
Source: Ear and Hearing - May 1, 2021 Category: Audiology Tags: Research Article Source Type: research
Errors on a Speech-in-Babble Sentence Recognition Test Reveal Individual Differences in Acoustic Phonetic Perception and Babble Misallocations
Conclusions:
Individual differences among NH listeners arise both in terms of words accurately identified and errors committed during open-set recognition of sentences in babble maskers. Error mining to characterize individual listeners can be done automatically at the levels of acoustic phonetic perception and the misallocation of background babble words into open-set responses. Error mining can increase test information and the efficiency and accuracy of characterizing individual listeners. (Source: Ear and Hearing)
Source: Ear and Hearing - May 1, 2021 Category: Audiology Tags: Research Article Source Type: research
The Influence of Vowel Identity, Vowel Production Variability, and Consonant Environment on Envelope Following Responses
Objectives:
The vowel-evoked envelope following response (EFR) is a useful tool for studying brainstem processing of speech in natural consonant-vowel productions. Previous work, however, demonstrates that the amplitude of EFRs is highly variable across vowels. To clarify factors contributing to the variability observed, the objectives of the present study were to evaluate: (1) the influence of vowel identity and the consonant context surrounding each vowel on EFR amplitude and (2) the effect of variations in repeated productions of a vowel on EFR amplitude while controlling for the consonant context.
Design:
In...
Source: Ear and Hearing - May 1, 2021 Category: Audiology Tags: Research Article Source Type: research
How to Interpret Tinnitus Functional Index Scores: A Proposal for a Grading System Based on a Large Sample of Tinnitus Patients
Objectives:
The Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI) is considered the gold standard in measuring tinnitus severity. The aim of the study was to establish reference values to improve the interpretability of TFI scores.
Design:
Results from 1114 patients with tinnitus were retrospectively analyzed. The participants were consecutive patients who attended our tertiary referral Ear, Nose, and Throat Center. The eligibility criteria were: at least 18 years old, persistent tinnitus, completed pure-tone audiometry, and answered all 25 items on the TFI. Hearing status (normal hearing vs. hearing impairment) was established a...
Source: Ear and Hearing - May 1, 2021 Category: Audiology Tags: Research Article Source Type: research
Natural Course of Residual Hearing with Reference to GJB2 and SLC26A4 Genotypes: Clinical Implications for Hearing Rehabilitation
Conclusions:
Our results suggest that there is a difference with respect to the progressive nature of residual hearing at low frequencies between the two most common genes responsible for hearing loss, which may provide clinical implications of having individualized rehabilitation and timely intervention. (Source: Ear and Hearing)
Source: Ear and Hearing - May 1, 2021 Category: Audiology Tags: Research Article Source Type: research
Normative Study of the Binaural Interaction Component of the Human Auditory Brainstem Response as a Function of Interaural Time Differences
Conclusions:
Consistent with previous studies, measurement of the BIC was time consuming and a BIC was sometimes difficult to obtain in awake normal-hearing subjects. The BIC will thus continue to be of limited clinical utility unless stimulus parameters and measurement techniques can be identified that produce a more robust response. Nonetheless, modulation of BIC characteristics by ITD supports the concept that the ABR BIC indexes aspects of binaural brainstem processing and thus may prove useful in selected research applications, e.g. in the examination of populations expected to have aberrant binaural signal proces...
Source: Ear and Hearing - May 1, 2021 Category: Audiology Tags: Research Article Source Type: research
The Cost of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Cognitive Demands on Auditory Functioning in Older Adults With Normal Hearing or Using Hearing Aids
Conclusions:
This study showed that, irrespective of the hearing status of the listener, speech performance was not affected by the amount of extrinsic cognitive demands, but was worse and required more effort under conditions with a more negative SNR. Also, increasing the extrinsic cognitive demands resulted in lower performance on one of the secondary tasks, suggesting that more complex listening environments require more effort. Although adults with NH outperformed HA users on speech understanding and auditory localization, the two groups did not differ with respect to secondary task costs. (Source: Ear and Hearing)
Source: Ear and Hearing - May 1, 2021 Category: Audiology Tags: Research Article Source Type: research
Cognitive Improvement After Cochlear Implantation in Older Adults With Severe or Profound Hearing Impairment: A Prospective, Longitudinal, Controlled, Multicenter Study
Conclusion:
Intervention with a CI improved cognitive functioning (domain Attention in particular) in older adults with severe hearing impairment compared to that of the matched controls with hearing impairment without a CI. However, older CI users did not, in terms of cognition, bridge the performance gap with adults with normal hearing after 1 year of CI use. The fact that experienced, older CI users still present subnormal cognitive functioning may highlight the need for additional cognitive rehabilitation in the long term after implantation. (Source: Ear and Hearing)
Source: Ear and Hearing - May 1, 2021 Category: Audiology Tags: Research Article Source Type: research
Comparison of Bone-Conducted Cervical VEMPs Elicited by B71 and B81 Bone Vibrators
Discussion:
The present study found statistically significant differences in BC-cVEMP amplitude and threshold between the B71 and B81, but results were not what we hypothesized. In general, the B71 elicited larger BC-cVEMP amplitudes and lower thresholds compared with the B81. Additionally, 500 Hz was found to be the best frequency for both BC transducers, contrasting previous studies suggesting lower frequencies yield larger BC-cVEMP amplitudes. It is possible that these average differences could also be clinically significant when looking at individual amplitude differences. Larger peak to peak amplitudes at 500 Hz m...
Source: Ear and Hearing - May 1, 2021 Category: Audiology Tags: Research Article Source Type: research
Slower Speaking Rate Reduces Listening Effort Among Listeners With Cochlear Implants
Conclusions:
Slowed speaking rate provides release from listening effort when hearing an utterance, particularly relieving effort that would have lingered after a sentence is over. Context arguably provides even more release from listening effort when speaking rate is slower. The pattern of prolonged pupil dilation for faster speech is consistent with increased need to mentally correct errors, although that exact interpretation cannot be verified with intelligibility data alone or with pupil data alone. A pattern of needing to dwell on a sentence to disambiguate misperceptions likely contributes to difficulty in runnin...
Source: Ear and Hearing - May 1, 2021 Category: Audiology Tags: Research Article Source Type: research
