International Journal of Audiology最新文献

Objective: To evaluate an online version of the 25-item Hearing Handicap Inventory (HHI) in terms of reliability and potential effects of item order.

Design: Participants completed a Danish translation of the HHI online. Two different item orders were compared: (1) the conventional order and (2) an experimental order where items were presented in blocks starting with the 10-item Hearing Handicap Inventory Screener (HHI-S). Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were also examined. Bland-Altman limits of agreement were calculated for different degrees of hearing-related well-being ("auditory wellness").

Study sample: Participants aged 50 and above with a wide range of hearing abilities (N = 194).

Results: No effects of item order were found. The HHI and HHI-S both showed excellent internal consistency and good test-retest reliability. Bland-Altman limits of agreement broadened as auditory wellness worsened.

Conclusion: HHI scores appear unaffected by the item order. The HHI-S can be extracted from the full HHI without changing the results. The test-retest reliability of the HHI varies with auditory wellness.

Objectives: To identify in a clinical hearing loss population (i) how, and to what extent, hearing-specific empowerment is associated with demographics (e.g. age, gender, employment), hearing factors, social isolation and loneliness, emotional and mental health, and cognition, and (ii) the impact of hearing aids on hearing-specific empowerment.

Design: A prospective, cross-sectional study collected data via an online survey (RedCAP). Multiple regression analyses used the 15-item Empowerment Audiology Questionnaire (EmpAQ-15) as the dependent variable.

Study sample: Adults (n = 693) who attended four audiology clinics or were invited from a research database.

Results: Across the whole sample, hearing aid use, social satisfaction, emotional and cognitive measures were most highly correlated with the EmpAQ-15. Similar results were seen for a subset of hearing aid users (n = 472), with additional effects seen for both hearing aid use and residual hearing disability. There was no relationship between EmpAQ-15 and measures of mental health, social isolation or loneliness, nor demographic variables.

Conclusions: Hearing-specific empowerment in adults with hearing loss is predicted by social, emotional, and cognitive measures. Those who wore hearing aids were more empowered than those who did not. Measuring hearing-specific empowerment has potential to provide a holistic patient-centred approach to assessing adults attending audiology clinics.

Objective: This study investigates the learning trajectories of primary caregivers of children with hearing loss in acquiring aural-oral teaching and behavioural skills through a structured parent training program.

Design: Study employed a longitudinal design to track the progression of caregiver skills over time. Data were collected at multiple time points to capture changes in caregivers' abilities to recognise, interpret, and respond to their children's communicative behaviours.

Study sample: A longitudinal evaluation was conducted involving the primary caregivers of 271 children with severity range from unilateral to profound of bilateral hearing loss who participated in Auditory-Verbal Intervention between October 1, 2021, and February 18, 2025.

Results: Findings reveal a progressive pattern of skill development, beginning with the recognition and response to children's communicative intent within the first month of training. By the fourth month, caregivers demonstrated increased awareness of child interests, followed by the ability to assess developmental capabilities and apply appropriate strategies by the sixth to eighth month. More advanced skills emerged between the twelfth and twenty-first months.

Conclusions: At least eight months are needed for effective integration of strategies, with full mastery taking up to two years. Sustained support is essential for family success.

Objectives: To establish normative data and investigate the impact of age and sex in children for five new tests of auditory processing that do not involve speech, but which include stimuli as acoustically complex as speech. The tests are: Adaptive within-channel gap detection (WCGD), Adaptive between-channel gap detection (BCGD), Spectro-temporal resolution - Sweep (STR-S), Spectro-temporal resolution - Duration (STR-D), and Adaptive Temporal Fine Structure (TFS) tests.

Design: A cross-sectional study.

Study sample: 194 normally-hearing 6-to-11-year-old children, who spoke English either natively or as a Second Language (ESL) completed a randomly assigned subset of tests: WCGD (n = 115), BCGD (n = 111), STR-S (n = 120), STR-D (n = 116), and TFS (n = 100).

Results: Normative ranges and z-score were established for all tests. Analyses showed moderate correlations between BCGD and WCGD (r = 0.43), BCGD and STR-S (r = 0.38), BCGD and STR-D (r = 0.44), BCGD and TFS (r = 0.38), WCGD and TFS (r = 0.34) and STR-S and STR-D (r = 0.53), and a weak correlation between STR-S and TFS (r = 0.20). A multi-linear regression showed effects of age but not sex on all five test thresholds.

Conclusions: These validated tests allow audiologists to assess children as young as six years old and thereby identify difficulties early as an initial step to intervention.

Objective and design: With this cross-sectional study, we aimed to assess whether cochlear implant (CI) users have different occupational well-being than individuals with hearing loss (HL) without CI (HL group) and those with typical hearing (TH). We used validated questionnaires to assess all outcomes.

Study sample: We included 98 CI users (mean age 51 y), 52 HL group participants (mean age 49 y) and 54 TH group participants (mean age 46 y).

Results: Capabilities, physical and psychosocial working conditions were similar overall across the three groups. However, compared to the HL group, the CI group had significantly better outcomes on a range of variables, reporting fewer psychosomatic symptoms, better health, higher acceptance of their HL, better verbal coping strategies, fewer interruptions during work, and lower perceived noise level. There were no variables indicating that CI users performed worse than their peers from the HL group.

Conclusions: Overall, CI users show occupational well-being and capabilities comparable to those of other groups. However, CI users appear to be more advanced in their progress towards acceptance of their HL, use of verbal coping strategies, are better adjusted at work, and report better health than individuals with HL without a CI.

Objective: To achieve a multi-dimensional characterisation of normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listeners' hearing abilities, including standard audiological conditions and virtual acoustic scenes for the evaluation of hearing aids.

Design: Within-subjects design, including speech intelligibility and listening effort measurements in two standard conditions and four virtual acoustic scenes, and assessments of loudness scaling, tone-in-noise detection thresholds, and HEAR-COMMAND tool questionnaire.

Study sample: 76 age-matched listeners, including 20 normal-hearing, 25 hearing-impaired without hearing aids, and 31 hearing aid users.

Results: Speech intelligibility and hearing aid benefit in virtual acoustic scenes fell between the results of the standard audiological conditions S0N0 and S0N90. The S0N0 and underground station environment were the most challenging conditions regarding speech intelligibility and listening effort. The pure-tone average explained most of the differences between the listener groups in loudness perception and tone-in-noise detection thresholds. Moderate to strong correlations were found between the HEAR-COMMAND tool speech scores and speech intelligibility.

Conclusions: The study established a unique measurement database including complex virtual acoustic scenes and demonstrated a connection between speech intelligibility, hearing aid benefit, and other perceptual auditory measures. The database and findings provide a valuable foundation for advancing hearing aid evaluation and can serve as a benchmark in computational audiology.

Objectives: This scoping review provides an overview of aural rehabilitation with communication partners and analyses it using the Dyadic Regulation Connectivity Model.

Design: A scoping review.

Methods: Of 2,808 studies retrieved from five electronic databases up to August 2025, 17 were selected. These studies were analysed for aural rehabilitation content, implementation strategies, and partner roles. A theory-based analysis further examined Representations, Coping Behaviours, and Outcome hubs within the Dyadic Regulation Connectivity Model.

Results: Family members were the most common communication partners of older adults with hearing loss. Aural rehabilitation programs included auditory training, communication strategy training, and individual or group lectures. Most aural rehabilitation interventions were multimodal, with varying levels of partnership (Representations). In terms of Coping Behaviours, patients and their partners developed strategies to manage hearing loss and adapted their behaviours accordingly. Aural rehabilitation interventions improved patients' communication ability despite hearing loss and related challenges. Although aural rehabilitation improved partners' knowledge, attitudes, and responses towards hearing loss, few studies examined interaction or interdependence (Outcomes).

Conclusions: Theory-based aural rehabilitation may foster effective communication partnerships for older adults. Future research should define the active roles of partners, incorporate dyadic aural rehabilitation components, and evaluate partners' outcomes.

Objective: This study addresses conceptual issues around data standardisation in audiology, and outlines steps towards achieving it. It reports a survey of the computational audiology community on their current understanding, needs, and preferences concerning data standards. Based on survey findings and a panel discussion, recommendations are made concerning moving forward with standardisation in audiology.

Design: Mixed-methods: (1) review of existing standardisation efforts; (2) a survey of the computational audiology community; (3) expert panel discussion in a dedicated session at the 2024 Virtual Conference of Computational Audiology.

Sample: Survey: 82 members of the global community; Panel discussion: five experts.

Results: A prerequisite for any global audiology database are agreed data standards. Although many are familiar with the general idea, few know of existing initiatives, or have actively participated in them. Ninety percent of respondents expressed willingness to follow or contribute to standardisation efforts. The panel discussed relevant initiatives (e.g. OMOP, openEHR, Noah) and explored both challenges (around harmonisation) and opportunities (alignment with other medical fields and conversion among approaches).

Conclusions: Combining conceptual discussion with stakeholder views, the study offers guidance for implementing interoperable data standards in audiology. It highlights community support, key issues to address, and suggests paths for future work.

Objective: To develop items and evaluate content validity of a new patient-reported outcome measure, Living with Cochlear Implants (LivCI), designed to assess personal and psychosocial factors relevant to adult cochlear implant (CI) users and candidates.

Design: The LivCI was developed following COSMIN best practice guidelines and involved extensive stakeholder engagement. Items (n = 87) were initially generated within five key themes: convenience and management, function and participation, stigma and identity, visibility and aesthetics, and psychosocial wellbeing.

Study sample: Content validity was assessed via cognitive interviews with CI users (n = 7) and candidates (n = 7), and an online survey of CI professionals (n = 15) that evaluated item relevance, clarity and theme fit.

Results: Lived experience participants found most items relevant and clear, with some revised or removed based on ambiguity or redundancy. Experts rated items highly (mean 3.6-3.9 out of 4), following removal of seven items and reclassification of several others. Readability scores met recommended standards for public-facing health measures. Further psychometric testing has reduced items and validated the LivCI.

Conclusions: Content validity with stakeholders was a key stage in the development of the LivCI. The LivCI was shown to assess personal and psychosocial factors relevant to adult CI users and candidates.

Objective: We aimed to establish how accurately the Parent-evaluated Listening and Understanding Measure (PLUM) identifies longer-term otitis media (OM)-related hearing status in young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

Design: Retrospective review of clinical data, designed with Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, and non-Indigenous researchers and clinicians.

Study sample: De-identified audiological and demographic information gathered during 15,444 appointments with 6,716 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 7 years and younger.

Results: PLUM effectively distinguishes persistent, OM-related hearing loss requiring specialist referral (>30 dB HL better ear for >3 months) from transient and/or milder loss. Eighty-two percent of children meeting these referral criteria were "not yet on track", compared to 26% with comparable, but transient, loss. PLUM demonstrated strong performance: 82.4% sensitivity, 91.2% specificity, 98.6% negative predictive value, and 90.5% accuracy. Children "not yet on track" had 46 times higher odds of meeting hearing referral-level criteria (OR = 45.73, 95% CI: 12.60-165.93).

Conclusions: PLUM draws on parent/caregiver observations to help practitioners identify - or exclude - persistent OM-related hearing loss >30 dB HL, early in children's lives. A single assessment provides insight into longer-term hearing status, complementing point-in-time measures. This is the first accuracy evidence for a listening skills checklist using longer-term hearing as reference standard.