Hearing Research最新文献_第6页

Anxiety-like behavior in deaf Ebf1 conditional knockout mice 耳聋Ebf1条件敲除小鼠的焦虑样行为。

IF 2.5 2区医学 Q1 AUDIOLOGY & SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY

Hearing Research

Pub Date : 2026-01-01 Epub Date: 2025-12-16 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2025.109510

Ashton N. Baxter , Sarah E. Hunter , Rachel D. Penrod , Brent A. Wilkerson

Introduction

Hearing is critical for communication and clinical evidence suggests that hearing loss can lead to poorer mental well-being including social isolation, anxiety, depression, and cognitive decline. Deaf animal models offer opportunities to investigate the impact of hearing loss on behavioral correlates of mental health while controlling for genetic variability and shared etiological factors such as environmental stressors, aging, and metabolic diseases. We previously showed that conditional deletion of Ebf1 in the inner ear causes deafness. We hypothesize that otic-specific Ebf1 knockout (KO) mice recapitulate neurobehavioral alterations experienced in congenital deafness.

Methods

Slc26a9P2A-Cre and Ebf1 floxed mice were crossed previously to generate the otic-specific Ebf1 conditional KO. We measured auditory brainstem response and behavior in groups of otic-specific Ebf1 conditional KO mice and Cre-negative littermate controls (WT). We performed behavioral tests including elevated plus maze, acoustic startle, locomotor activity, forced swim, and Y-maze.

Results

We found that the KO mice spend significantly less time than WT mice in the open arms of the elevated plus maze. KO mice also show significantly increased latency to enter the open arms. Acoustic startle response was decreased in KO mice vs. WT controls and pre-pulse inhibition was also reduced in the KO, consistent with elevated hearing thresholds. We found no significant differences in exploratory behavior, forced swim immobility time, or other behavioral measures examined.

Conclusions

Our findings demonstrate that deaf otic-specific KO mice are indeed a model for the study of effects of hearing loss on clinically relevant behavioral correlates. Our results provide new empirical evidence that hearing loss contributes to anxiety, which is consistent with clinical evidence that anxiety is associated with hearing loss in older adults.

听力对沟通至关重要，临床证据表明，听力损失会导致心理健康状况恶化，包括社会孤立、焦虑、抑郁和认知能力下降。聋人动物模型为研究听力损失对心理健康行为相关因素的影响提供了机会，同时控制遗传变异和共同的病因因素，如环境压力源、衰老和代谢疾病。我们之前的研究表明，内耳Ebf1的条件缺失会导致耳聋。我们假设光特异性Ebf1敲除（KO）小鼠再现先天性耳聋所经历的神经行为改变。方法：预先将Slc26a9P2A-Cre与Ebf1固定小鼠杂交，产生光特异性Ebf1条件KO。我们测量了听觉特异性Ebf1条件KO小鼠组和cre阴性的同窝对照组（WT）的听觉脑干反应和行为。我们进行了行为学测试，包括高架+迷宫、声惊吓、运动活动、强迫游泳和y形迷宫。结果：我们发现KO小鼠在高架+迷宫中张开双臂的时间明显少于WT小鼠。KO小鼠进入张开双臂的潜伏期也明显增加。与WT对照组相比，KO小鼠的声惊吓反应降低，脉冲前抑制也减少，这与听力阈值升高一致。我们发现探索性行为、强迫游泳静止时间或其他行为测量没有显著差异。结论：我们的研究结果表明，聋哑听觉特异性KO小鼠确实是研究听力损失对临床相关行为影响的模型。我们的研究结果提供了新的经验证据，证明听力损失会导致焦虑，这与临床证据一致，即焦虑与老年人听力损失有关。

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引用次数: 0

Ethanol exacerbates noise-induced cochlear injury: Effects on hearing thresholds and hair cell loss 乙醇加重噪声诱导的耳蜗损伤：对听力阈值和毛细胞损失的影响。

IF 2.5 2区医学 Q1 AUDIOLOGY & SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY

Hearing Research

Pub Date : 2026-01-01 Epub Date: 2025-12-17 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2025.109511

Seokhwan Lee , Jieun Kang , Sung-Won Choi , Hyun-Min Lee , Se-Joon Oh

Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a common auditory disorder, and acute alcohol consumption may exacerbate its severity. This study investigated whether concurrent ethanol exposure worsens NIHL, focusing on auditory brainstem response (ABR) threshold shifts and outer hair cell (OHC) loss in a rat model. Twenty-six male rats were randomly assigned to four groups: control, noise-only, ethanol-only, and noise with ethanol (N + E). Ethanol (1.5 g/kg intraperitoneally) was administered 30 min before a 2 h noise exposure at 116 dB sound pressure level (SPL) in the N + E group. ABR thresholds at multiple frequencies were measured at baseline and at 1, 7, 28, 56, and 84 days post-exposure. Cochlear OHC loss was quantified histologically at 12 weeks post-exposure. The results showed that the N + E group exhibited significantly greater initial ABR threshold shifts across all tested frequencies compared with the noise-only group. Threshold recovery in the N + E group remained incomplete at high frequencies (8–32 kHz) even after 12 weeks, whereas the noise-only group largely recovered to baseline by 12 weeks. All exposure groups exhibited OHC loss relative to controls, including the ethanol-only group. The N + E group had the most extensive OHC loss, particularly in the basal cochlear regions. In conclusion, concurrent ethanol exposure during loud noise leads to more severe and persistent ABR threshold elevations and greater cochlear hair cell loss than noise exposure alone, indicating that ethanol exacerbates NIHL. These findings suggest that alcohol consumption may heighten vulnerability to acoustic trauma in loud recreational settings, underscoring its public health implications.

噪声性听力损失（NIHL）是一种常见的听觉障碍，急性饮酒可加重其严重程度。本研究调查了同时暴露于乙醇是否会加重NIHL，重点关注大鼠模型中听觉脑干反应（ABR）阈值移位和外毛细胞（OHC）损失。将26只雄性大鼠随机分为4组：对照组、纯噪声组、纯乙醇组和含乙醇噪声组（N + E）。N + E组小鼠在116 dB声压级（SPL）噪声暴露2 h前30 min腹腔注射乙醇（1.5 g/kg）。在基线和暴露后1、7、28、56和84天测量多个频率的ABR阈值。暴露后12周对耳蜗OHC损失进行组织学量化。结果表明，与仅噪声组相比，N + E组在所有测试频率上表现出更大的初始ABR阈值偏移。即使在12周后，N + E组在高频率（8-32 kHz）下的阈值恢复仍然不完全，而仅噪声组在12周后基本恢复到基线。所有暴露组均表现出相对于对照组的OHC损失，包括纯乙醇组。N + E组OHC损失最广泛，特别是在耳蜗基底区。综上所述，与单独暴露于噪音相比，同时暴露于高噪音环境中的乙醇会导致更严重和持续的ABR阈值升高和更大的耳蜗毛细胞损失，这表明乙醇会加剧NIHL。这些发现表明，在嘈杂的娱乐环境中，饮酒可能会增加对声创伤的脆弱性，强调其对公共卫生的影响。

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引用次数: 0

Social context in misophonia: Does misophonia impact social judgements (& do social judgements impact misophonia)? 恐音症的社会环境：恐音症是否影响社会判断（以及社会判断是否影响恐音症）？

IF 2.5 2区医学 Q1 AUDIOLOGY & SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY

Hearing Research

Pub Date : 2026-01-01 Epub Date: 2025-12-17 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2025.109512

Maya Humolli, Giulia Poerio, Julia Simner

Misophonia is a sound sensitivity disorder characterised by strong negative reactions to specific sounds (e.g., chewing). Previous studies have suggested a link between social judgements and misophonia, in that misophonia arises not simply from auditory/acoustic processing but also from how an individual interprets the meaning of trigger sounds within their social world. In our study, we experimentally manipulated our participants’ social perceptions of various people making sounds, to explore its impact on misophonia. In reverse, we also examined how sounds influenced misophonics’ social evaluations of those same individuals, revealing a bidirectional relationship between sound intolerance and social cognition. We found that social judgements affected the aversiveness of trigger sounds, since sounds were judged as more aversive if they came from people who had been depicted as socially negative. We also found that—when no sounds were present—social judgements made by people with misophonia were entirely typical (i.e., no different from controls). Finally, misophonics perceived people as less pleasant if they produced noisy eating sounds, and these differences were especially apparent if prior perceptions of those people were positive. Together, our findings suggest that unpleasant sounds are harder to tolerate for misophonics when they come from unlikeable individuals, and that even highly likeable people can be judged more harshly if they produce trigger sounds.

恐音症是一种声音敏感性障碍，其特征是对特定声音（如咀嚼）产生强烈的负面反应。先前的研究表明，社会判断和恐音症之间存在联系，因为恐音症不仅仅是由听觉/声学处理引起的，而且还来自于个人在社交世界中如何解释触发声音的含义。在我们的研究中，我们通过实验操纵参与者对不同声音的社会感知，以探索其对恐音症的影响。反过来，我们也研究了声音是如何影响恐音者对这些人的社会评价的，揭示了声音不耐受和社会认知之间的双向关系。我们发现，社会判断会影响对触发声音的厌恶程度，因为如果声音来自被描述为社会消极的人，则会被认为更令人厌恶。我们还发现，当没有声音出现时，恐音症患者的社会判断完全是典型的（也就是说，与对照组没有区别）。最后，如果人们发出嘈杂的吃饭声音，恐音者会认为他们不那么令人愉快，如果他们之前对这些人的看法是积极的，这种差异就会特别明显。总之，我们的研究结果表明，当不受欢迎的人发出不愉快的声音时，对误音者来说更难忍受，即使是非常受欢迎的人，如果他们发出触发音，也会受到更严厉的评判。

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引用次数: 0

Impact of age and sensorineural hearing loss on sound transmission to the inner ear based on analysis of air-bone gaps 基于气骨间隙分析的年龄和感音神经性听力损失对内耳声音传递的影响

IF 2.5 2区医学 Q1 AUDIOLOGY & SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY

Hearing Research

Pub Date : 2026-01-01 Epub Date: 2025-11-24 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2025.109488

Stefan Stenfelt, Filip Wiman

Air-bone gaps (ABGs) provide a clinical marker of middle ear transmission efficiency, yet their dependence on age and sensorineural hearing loss remains unclear. We retrospectively analyzed 24,570 audiograms (13,417 patients, 4–102 years) collected at three Swedish audiology clinics between 2018 and 2019, excluding ears with evidence of conductive pathology. ABGs were computed from pure-tone air conduction (AC) and bone conduction (BC) thresholds at 250–4000 Hz. Mean ABGs deviated significantly from 0 dB at all six test frequencies, with clinically relevant differences at 250, 1000, 3000, and 4000 Hz. Children and adolescents showed systematically larger ABGs than adults, consistent with age-dependent craniofacial and BC transmission differences. In adults, ABGs decreased with age at 500 Hz and 2 kHz and increased at 250 Hz, 3 kHz, and 4 kHz, with differences depending on whether analyses included all adults or only adults with normal hearing. These age-dependent patterns likely reflect changes in soft tissue at the BC transducer and middle ear stiffness. Threshold-related effects were strongest at 250 and 500 Hz when ABGs were referenced to AC thresholds, where BC transducer distortion and vibrotactile responses likely contributed. Across frequencies, ABG distributions were predominantly positively skewed, with values ranging between -0.21 and 0.55. These findings demonstrate that even if ABGs vary with age and hearing threshold, the influence from middle ear transmission is minor. Instead, most of the systematic variations of ABGs relate to methodological constraints, underscoring the importance of careful interpretation of ABGs in clinical diagnostics.

气骨间隙（ABGs）是中耳传输效率的临床标志，但其与年龄和感音神经性听力损失的关系尚不清楚。我们回顾性分析了2018年至2019年期间在瑞典三家听力学诊所收集的24,570张听图（13,417例患者，4-102岁），排除了有传导性病理证据的耳朵。ABGs由250-4000 Hz的纯音空气传导（AC）和骨传导（BC）阈值计算。在所有6个测试频率下，平均ABGs都明显偏离0 dB，在250、1000、3000和4000 Hz时存在临床相关差异。儿童和青少年表现出系统性的比成人更大的abg，这与年龄依赖性颅面和BC传播差异一致。在成人中，ABGs在500 Hz和2 kHz时随年龄下降，在250 Hz、3 kHz和4 kHz时增加，差异取决于分析是否包括所有成年人或仅包括听力正常的成年人。这些与年龄相关的模式可能反映了BC换能器和中耳硬度软组织的变化。当ABGs参考交流阈值时，阈值相关效应在250和500 Hz时最强，其中BC换能器失真和振动触觉响应可能起作用。跨频率，ABG分布主要为正偏斜，其值在-0.21至0.55之间。这些发现表明，即使ABGs随年龄和听力阈值而变化，中耳传播的影响也很小。相反，大多数abg的系统性变异与方法学上的限制有关，这强调了在临床诊断中仔细解释abg的重要性。

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引用次数: 0

Impaired prepulse inhibition in APP/PS1 mice is accompanied by substantial morphological changes in neurons of the central auditory system and hippocampus APP/PS1小鼠脉冲前抑制功能受损，伴有中枢听觉系统和海马神经元的大量形态学改变

IF 2.5 2区医学 Q1 AUDIOLOGY & SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY

Hearing Research

Pub Date : 2026-01-01 Epub Date: 2025-11-20 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2025.109484

Jana Svobodová Burianová , Daniela Černotová , Tereza Klausová , Oliver Profant , Jakub Fuksa , Josef Syka , Jan Svoboda

Auditory dysfunction is increasingly recognized as a non-cognitive feature of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We examined auditory processing and neuronal morphology in APPswe/PSEN1dE9 (APP/PS1) transgenic mice, a model of AD. Ten-month-old male APP/PS1 and wild-type (WT) littermates were tested for auditory thresholds using auditory brainstem responses (ABR) and for sensorimotor gating using prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the acoustic startle reflex.

ABR thresholds did not differ between groups across tested frequencies (2–16 kHz), indicating preserved peripheral hearing. In contrast, APP/PS1 mice showed significantly impaired PPI at 4, 12, and 20 kHz prepulses and displayed exaggerated startle responses to high-intensity stimuli. Exploratory and anxiety-like behavior, assessed in the open field and elevated plus maze, did not differ between groups. Morphological analysis of Golgi–Cox-stained neurons revealed widespread dendritic pathology in the inferior colliculus, medial geniculate body and auditory cortex, as well as in hippocampal CA1. Compared with WT, APP/PS1 neurons exhibited shorter dendrites, reduced branching, and lower spine density, accompanied by markedly decreased dendritic complexity in Sholl analyses.

These findings demonstrate that sensorimotor gating deficits in APP/PS1 mice are accompanied by degeneration in central auditory and hippocampal circuits; however, a contribution of peripheral degeneration cannot be excluded. The data highlights the vulnerability of auditory midbrain and thalamic structures in this model of AD and suggests that dendritic alterations along the auditory pathway may contribute to central auditory dysfunction and serve as potential early biomarkers of disease.

听觉功能障碍越来越被认为是阿尔茨海默病（AD）的一种非认知特征。我们对APP/PS1转基因AD小鼠的听觉加工和神经元形态进行了检测。采用听觉脑干反应（ABR）测试10月龄雄性APP/PS1和野生型（WT）幼崽的听觉阈值，用声惊吓反射的脉冲前抑制（PPI）测试感觉运动门控。ABR阈值在测试频率（2-16 kHz）组之间没有差异，表明周围听力得到保留。相比之下，APP/PS1小鼠在4、12和20 kHz预脉冲时PPI明显受损，对高强度刺激表现出夸张的惊吓反应。在开阔场地和高架加迷宫中评估的探索性和焦虑样行为在两组之间没有差异。高尔基-考克斯染色神经元形态学分析显示，下丘、内侧胫状体、听觉皮层以及海马CA1区广泛存在树突状病变。与WT相比，APP/PS1神经元表现出更短的树突，分支减少，脊柱密度降低，同时在Sholl分析中树突复杂性明显降低。这些发现表明APP/PS1小鼠的感觉运动门控缺陷伴随着中央听觉和海马回路的退化；然而，不能排除外周变性的影响。这些数据强调了听觉中脑和丘脑结构在这种AD模型中的脆弱性，并表明沿听觉通路的树突改变可能导致中枢性听觉功能障碍，并可作为疾病的潜在早期生物标志物。

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引用次数: 0

3D Otoscope: toward an extra diagnostic dimension for middle-ear related issues 3D耳镜：为中耳相关问题提供额外的诊断维度

IF 2.5 2区医学 Q1 AUDIOLOGY & SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY

Hearing Research

Pub Date : 2026-01-01 Epub Date: 2025-11-23 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2025.109485

William Keustermans , Peter ter Heerdt , Joris JJ Dirckx , Sam Van der Jeught

We present an industrially manufacturable digital otoscope designed to measure the three-dimensional shape of the tympanic membrane while being compatible with standard examination procedures. The system employs optical profilometry and overcomes the limitations of previous work by integrating single-shot surface reconstruction strategies—from classical Fourier profilometry to modern deep learning methods—thereby eliminating the need for multi-pattern projection and, in the latter case, even phase unwrapping. A full-field three-dimensional surface map enables the assessment of the tympanic membrane’s conical shape and mobility – both early indicators of pathologies such as local spots of high or low compliance, inflammation, or Eustachian tube dysfunction. This approach enables a drastically simplified hardware setup. As a result, the technology could in the future even be integrated into existing diagnostic instruments. This paper describes the optical and design considerations that guided the development of the prototype. Integration of the optical engine and simplified projection unit into a demonstrator device marks a crucial step toward dynamic deformation and volumetric displacement measurements of the tympanic membrane in clinical practice.

我们提出了一种工业制造的数字耳镜，用于测量鼓膜的三维形状，同时与标准检查程序兼容。该系统采用光学轮廓术，并通过集成单镜头表面重建策略（从经典的傅立叶轮廓术到现代深度学习方法）克服了先前工作的局限性，从而消除了对多模式投影的需求，在后者的情况下，甚至不需要相位展开。全景三维表面图可以评估鼓膜的锥形形状和活动性，这两者都是病理的早期指标，如局部斑点的高或低顺应性、炎症或咽鼓管功能障碍。这种方法大大简化了硬件设置。因此，这项技术在未来甚至可以集成到现有的诊断仪器中。本文描述了指导原型开发的光学和设计考虑。将光学引擎和简化投影单元集成到演示装置中，标志着在临床实践中向鼓膜动态变形和体积位移测量迈出了关键的一步。

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引用次数: 0

Automated high-fidelity 3D reconstruction of middle-ear ossicles from low-resolution clinical CT using a deep learning pipeline 利用深度学习管道对低分辨率临床CT进行中耳小骨自动高保真三维重建。

IF 2.5 2区医学 Q1 AUDIOLOGY & SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY

Hearing Research

Pub Date : 2026-01-01 Epub Date: 2025-11-26 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2025.109492

Jongyeon Yoon , Jeongsan Kim , Jongwoo Lim , Ivo Dobrev , Christof Röösli , Seungchul Lee , Il Joon Moon , Namkeun Kim

This study validates an automated deep learning framework for generating high-fidelity 3D models of the middle-ear ossicles from low-resolution clinical CT images. The framework employs a sequential three-stage pipeline: (1) accurate Region of Interest (ROI) detection using YOLOv5x, (2) 4x super-resolution of the ROI with a Deep Back-Projection Network (DBPN), and (3) slice interpolation using a 2.5D U-Net to create a dense volumetric dataset. To ensure robust reconstruction from incomplete data, the interpolation stage integrates a "hint channel" that leverages anatomical priors. The framework demonstrated high accuracy, achieving a mean Average Precision (mAP50) of 0.9835 for ROI detection and producing final 3D models with a high degree of anatomical fidelity (Dice coefficient: 0.85; and mean surface distance: 4.8 µm). The hint channel's efficacy was most evident on an external inference set, where it successfully generated complete ossicular structures that were otherwise omitted due to sparse source information, demonstrating the model's strong generalization. Furthermore, the entire automated process, from CT scan to final 3D model, was completed within 5 min, offering a substantial improvement in workflow efficiency compared to manual methods that require approximately more than 20 min. The proposed framework is thus validated as a rapid, accurate, and robust tool for generating patient-specific 3D ossicle models from standard clinical CTs. This technology is expected to enhance the accuracy of biomechanical finite element simulations and serves as a foundational step toward advancing precision medicine in otologic surgery and custom prosthesis design.

本研究验证了一种自动深度学习框架，用于从低分辨率临床CT图像中生成中耳小骨的高保真3D模型。该框架采用了一个连续的三阶段管道：(1)使用YOLOv5x进行精确的感兴趣区域（ROI）检测，(2)使用深度反向投影网络（DBPN）对感兴趣区域进行4倍的超分辨率检测，以及(3)使用2.5D U-Net进行切片插值，以创建密集的体积数据集。为了确保不完整数据的鲁棒重建，插值阶段集成了一个利用解剖先验的“提示通道”。该框架具有很高的精度，ROI检测的平均平均精度（mAP50）为0.9835，最终生成的3D模型具有很高的解剖保真度（Dice系数：0.85，平均表面距离：4.8µm）。提示通道的有效性在外部推理集上最为明显，它成功地生成了完整的听骨结构，否则由于源信息稀疏而被忽略，这证明了模型的强泛化性。此外，从CT扫描到最终3D模型的整个自动化过程在5分钟内完成，与需要大约20多分钟的手动方法相比，大大提高了工作流程效率。因此，该框架被证实是一种快速、准确和强大的工具，可从标准临床ct生成患者特异性的3D听骨模型。这项技术有望提高生物力学有限元模拟的准确性，并作为推进耳科外科和定制假体设计的精准医学的基础步骤。

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引用次数: 0

Dynamic microtomography of human tympanic membrane motions 人鼓膜运动的动态显微断层扫描。

IF 2.5 2区医学 Q1 AUDIOLOGY & SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY

Hearing Research

Pub Date : 2026-01-01 Epub Date: 2025-12-16 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2025.109508

Griffin Rodgers , Cecilia Lotto , Changling Li , Margaux Schmeltz , Aleksandra Ivanovic , Christian M. Schlepütz , Marco Stampanoni , Lukas Anschuetz , Anne Bonnin

Understanding middle ear biomechanics is crucial for clarifying sound transmission and surgical techniques. Conventional interferometry-based techniques for motion quantification are highly sensitive but are often limited to small surfaces, while conventional microtomography is volumetric but cannot adequately resolve soft tissues and temporal dynamics. We used dynamic synchrotron-based X-ray phase-contrast microtomography on three fresh-frozen human temporal bones under acoustic stimulation at 128, 256, and 512 Hz with sound pressure levels of 120, 126, 141, and 151 dB. This method achieved micrometer spatial and

kHz

temporal resolution, allowing 4D visualization of the ossicles and tympanic membrane (TM). Non-rigid registration quantified micrometer-scale TM motion and was validated with anatomical landmarks. Displacement ‘hot spots’ were consistently observed in the posterosuperior quadrant of the TM and the pars flaccida, although their relative contributions varied between specimens. Displacement amplitudes also varied strongly between specimens, with peaks ranging from

< 0.15

to nearly 2

μ

m/Pa. The magnitude of displacement changed with the level and frequency of the sound pressure, while the motion patterns remained stable. These findings demonstrate that dynamic synchrotron-based X-ray phase-contrast microtomography is a reliable and powerful approach for studying the non-rigid motion of TM. The variability between samples underscores the need for correlative imaging to characterize both motion and tissue microstructure such as fiber orientation and density. Future studies should also investigate how the motion of the TM correlates with the movement of the umbo and entire ossicular chain to provide a more complete understanding of the mechanics of the middle ear.

了解中耳生物力学对于明确声音传输和手术技术至关重要。传统的基于干涉测量的运动量化技术是高度敏感的，但通常仅限于小表面，而传统的微断层扫描是体积的，但不能充分解决软组织和时间动态。在128、256和512Hz声压级分别为120、126、141和151dB的声压刺激下，我们对3块新鲜冷冻的人类颞骨进行了基于动态同步加速器的x射线相对比显微断层扫描。该方法实现了微米级的空间分辨率和千赫级的时间分辨率，实现了听骨和鼓膜（TM）的四维可视化。非刚性配准量化了微米尺度的TM运动，并通过解剖标志进行了验证。位移“热点”一致地观察到在TM的后上象限和松垮部，尽管它们的相对贡献在标本之间有所不同。位移振幅在不同的试样之间也有很大的差异，峰值范围从

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引用次数: 0

Exploring the relationship between task difficulty, head-related transfer function and spatial release from masking in a speech-on-speech experiment 在语音对语音实验中探讨任务难度、头部相关传递函数和空间释放与掩蔽的关系。

IF 2.5 2区医学 Q1 AUDIOLOGY & SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY

Hearing Research

Pub Date : 2026-01-01 Epub Date: 2025-12-06 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2025.109490

Thibault Vicente , Daniel González-Toledo , María Cuevas-Rodríguez , Luis Molina-Tanco , Arcadio Reyes-Lecuona , Lorenzo Picinali

It is known that individuals make use of spatial hearing cues to improve the audibility of a target signal and separate it from competing sounds. This phenomenon is known as spatial release from masking (SRM). Recent research has shown that this happens also when sources are located in the median plane, where interaural differences are limited. When assessing this within virtual conditions, it has been shown that employing individually measured head-related transfer functions (HRTFs) results in higher SRM abilities compared to using non-individual filters. In a previously published work, we found that Spanish speakers benefit from individual HRTFs when discriminating a target English speech from a single masker in the median plane. This study replicates the protocol of that previous work, varying the number of maskers and participants’ English proficiency levels to explore relationships among task difficulty and HRTF use. Results from a first experiment show that English speakers behave differently to Spanish ones; their SRM advantage is not significant. We suggest that this is due to their language proficiency, which allows them to rely on spectral glimpsing alone, that is, exploiting spectro-temporal gaps between voices rather than spectral cues introduced by spatial separation. A second experiment introduces a second speech masker, co-located with the first; by making the task more complex, participants seem to increase their reliance on spatial cues, resulting in significant effects of masker position and HRTF. This highlights a trade-off between the use of target glimpsing and spatial cues and the need for further exploration into how task difficulty influences SRM with different HRTFs.

众所周知，个体利用空间听觉线索来提高目标信号的可听性，并将其与竞争声音区分开来。这种现象被称为空间掩蔽释放（SRM）。最近的研究表明，当声源位于中间平面时也会发生这种情况，因为中间平面的内部差异有限。当在虚拟条件下评估这一点时，已经表明，与使用非单个过滤器相比，使用单独测量的头部相关传递函数（hrtf）可以获得更高的SRM能力。在之前发表的一篇文章中，我们发现说西班牙语的人在区分目标英语语音和中间平面的单个掩码时，可以从单个hrtf中受益。本研究复制了先前研究的方案，改变了蒙面者的数量和参与者的英语熟练程度，以探索任务难度和HRTF使用之间的关系。第一个实验的结果表明，说英语的人和说西班牙语的人表现不同；他们的SRM优势并不显著。我们认为这是由于他们的语言熟练程度，这使得他们能够仅仅依靠光谱瞥见，也就是说，利用声音之间的光谱-时间间隙，而不是空间分离带来的光谱线索。第二个实验引入了第二个语音掩码器，与第一个掩码器位于同一位置；通过使任务更复杂，参与者似乎增加了对空间线索的依赖，从而导致蒙面位置和HRTF的显著影响。这突出了目标瞥见和空间线索的使用之间的权衡，以及进一步探索任务难度如何影响不同hrtf的SRM的必要性。

{"title":"Exploring the relationship between task difficulty, head-related transfer function and spatial release from masking in a speech-on-speech experiment","authors":"Thibault Vicente , Daniel González-Toledo , María Cuevas-Rodríguez , Luis Molina-Tanco , Arcadio Reyes-Lecuona , Lorenzo Picinali","doi":"10.1016/j.heares.2025.109490","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.heares.2025.109490","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>It is known that individuals make use of spatial hearing cues to improve the audibility of a target signal and separate it from competing sounds. This phenomenon is known as spatial release from masking (SRM). Recent research has shown that this happens also when sources are located in the median plane, where interaural differences are limited. When assessing this within virtual conditions, it has been shown that employing individually measured head-related transfer functions (HRTFs) results in higher SRM abilities compared to using non-individual filters. In a previously published work, we found that Spanish speakers benefit from individual HRTFs when discriminating a target English speech from a single masker in the median plane. This study replicates the protocol of that previous work, varying the number of maskers and participants’ English proficiency levels to explore relationships among task difficulty and HRTF use. Results from a first experiment show that English speakers behave differently to Spanish ones; their SRM advantage is not significant. We suggest that this is due to their language proficiency, which allows them to rely on spectral glimpsing alone, that is, exploiting spectro-temporal gaps between voices rather than spectral cues introduced by spatial separation. A second experiment introduces a second speech masker, co-located with the first; by making the task more complex, participants seem to increase their reliance on spatial cues, resulting in significant effects of masker position and HRTF. This highlights a trade-off between the use of target glimpsing and spatial cues and the need for further exploration into how task difficulty influences SRM with different HRTFs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12881,"journal":{"name":"Hearing Research","volume":"470 ","pages":"Article 109490"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145714093","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Frequency-dependent assessment of eardrum lesions using multisine OCT vibrometry 使用多正弦OCT振动仪对耳膜病变的频率依赖性评估

IF 2.5 2区医学 Q1 AUDIOLOGY & SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY

Hearing Research

Pub Date : 2026-01-01 Epub Date: 2025-11-22 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2025.109481

P. Livens , S. Van der Jeught , J.J.J. Dirckx , A. Bradu

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) vibrometry is a promising tool for middle-ear mechanics, but single-frequency approaches limit efficiency and diagnostic power. We introduce multisine OCT vibrometry in a rabbit model to capture broadband, frequency-dependent eardrum vibrations acquired in a single OCT volume. Multisine data revealed that control ears had maximal umbo displacement at 1.4 kHz with an amplitude of 86

\pm

11 nm (N=5). Proof-of-concept measurements were performed to highlight the diagnostic value of detecting pathology related shifts in umbo displacement using multisines. Local thinning of the eardrum by ablation decreased the frequency of maximal displacement to 1.0 kHz and resulted in an umbo displacement of 84

\pm

4 nm. In contrast, perforation of the eardrum caused an overall drop in displacement amplitude across frequencies, with a maximal displacement of 34

\pm

3 nm reached at 2 kHz.

Additionally, the single multisine OCT volume allowed visualization of the eardrum’s displacement across the surface for all multisine tones. Ablation and perforations caused localized changes of the eardrum’s displacement at frequencies above 4 kHz.

Thus, multisine OCT vibrometry holds promise for improved diagnosis and surgical planning: umbo frequency-displacement curves can distinguish between healthy and pathological ears, while spatial displacement maps reveal lesion-specific displacement patterns at high frequencies.

光学相干层析成像（OCT）振动测量是一种很有前途的中耳力学工具，但单频方法限制了效率和诊断能力。我们在兔子模型中引入了多正弦OCT振动仪，以捕获单个OCT体积中获得的宽带、频率相关的耳膜振动。多重正弦数据显示，对照耳在1.4 kHz时的最大肿块位移为86±11 nm （N=5）。进行概念验证测量，以强调使用多重线检测脐移位病理相关移位的诊断价值。经消融术使鼓膜局部变薄，最大位移频率降至1.0 kHz，造成84±4 nm的肿块位移。相比之下，鼓膜穿孔导致不同频率的位移幅度整体下降，在2 kHz时最大位移达到34±3 nm。此外，单个多正弦OCT体积可以显示鼓膜在所有多正弦音调表面上的位移。在频率高于4khz时，消融术和穿孔引起耳膜位移的局部改变。因此，多正弦OCT振动仪有望改善诊断和手术计划：低频位移曲线可以区分健康和病理耳朵，而空间位移图显示高频病变特异性位移模式。

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引用次数: 0