Audiology Research最新文献

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the subjective experiences of adults with different cochlear implant (CI) configurations-unilateral cochlear implant (UCI), bilateral cochlear implant (BCI), and bimodal stimulation (BM)-focusing on their perception of speech in quiet and noisy environments, music, environmental sounds, people's voices and tinnitus.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 130 adults who had undergone UCI, BCI, or BM was conducted. Participants completed a six-item online questionnaire, assessing difficulty levels and psychological impact across auditory domains, with responses measured on a 10-point scale. Statistical analyses were performed to compare the subjective experiences of the three groups.

Results: Patients reported that understanding speech in noise and tinnitus perception were their main concerns. BCI users experienced fewer difficulties with understanding speech in both quiet (p < 0.001) and noisy (p = 0.008) environments and with perceiving non-vocal sounds (p = 0.038) compared to UCI and BM users; no significant differences were found for music perception (p = 0.099), tinnitus perception (p = 0.397), or voice naturalness (p = 0.157). BCI users also reported less annoyance in quiet (p = 0.004) and noisy (p = 0.047) environments, and in the perception of voices (p = 0.009) and non-vocal sounds (p = 0.019). Tinnitus-related psychological impact showed no significant differences between groups (p = 0.090).

Conclusions: Although speech perception in noise and tinnitus remain major problems for CI users, the results of our study suggest that bilateral cochlear implantation offers significant subjective advantages over unilateral implantation and bimodal stimulation in adults, particularly in difficult listening environments.

Background/Objectives: Adults with hearing loss demonstrate poorer overall health outcomes (e.g., physical health, cognitive functioning and wellbeing) and lower levels of physical activity/function compared to those without hearing loss. Hearing aids have the potential to improve cognitive and wellbeing factors, but there is a dearth of evidence on their impact on physical health outcomes. Evidence on the association between hearing aid provision and physical activity is mostly limited to cross-sectional studies. This research aimed to assess whether a study can be performed to identify whether the provision of hearing aids can improve physical activity. Methods: This study employed a preregistered observational (prospective cohort) study design of ten older adults (51-75 years) completed assessments at baseline and again at a six-week follow-up. The participants wore an accelerometer (ActiGraph GT9X) without feedback for the full duration of the study. Feasibility was determined using pre-defined criteria, including study drop-out, adherence to accelerometer use and willingness. A battery of health outcomes was also assessed at baseline and follow-up. Conclusions: Overall, this study was perceived favourably, with all participants reporting that they enjoyed taking part. Participant retention was 100%, and adherence to the wrist-worn accelerometers was "good" (70%). However, recruitment was challenging, and some participants found the accelerometers to be burdensome. Descriptive statistics for all outcome measures showed non-significant changes in the expected direction (e.g., improved physical activity, cognition and wellbeing). Although the study was well received by participants, modifications to the recruitment strategy and activity tracking procedures are necessary before future large-scale trials assessing the effectiveness of hearing aids on physical activity can be undertaken.

Background: Tinnitus is a frequent symptom, and is present in 10-15% of people who suffer from chronic tinnitus, defined as heard every day for at least 6 months. Among these, 1-2% develop a strong emotive reaction, anxiety, and depression, leading to poor quality of life.

Objectives: to evaluate the comorbidities in tinnitus sufferers.

Methods: In our retrospective study, we collected data on 1156 subjects with tinnitus present for at least 3 months, including age, audiometric exam, THI questionnaire, vascular disorders, fluctuations, causal factors, lifetime psychiatric disorders, and the presence of migraine. A linear regression model was used to assess the independent role of these variables on the THI total score representing tinnitus annoyance. A lifetime history of psychiatric disorders and migraine were predictive for the development of a disabling tinnitus.

Results: Among comorbidities a history of previous psychiatric disorders was predictive for developing tinnitus. Moreover, no correlation has been found between hearing level and THI total score.

Conclusions: Our data are not inconsistent with the hypothesis that psychological disorders and a particular personality trait may be the main causal factors for tinnitus annoyance.

Peripheral hearing loss is associated with the cross-modal re-organization of the auditory cortex, which can occur in both pre- and post-lingual deaf cases.

Background/objectives: Whether to rely on the visual cues in cases with severe hearing loss with adequate amplification is a matter of debate. So, this study aims to study visual evoked potentials (VEPs) in children with severe or profound HL, whether fitted with HAs or CIs.

Methods: This study included three groups of children matched in age and gender: normal hearing, children with hearing thresholds >70 dBHL and fitted with power HAs, and children fitted with CIs. All cases were subjected to pure tone audiometry (aided and unaided), speech discrimination scores, ophthalmic examinations, and visual evoked potentials (VEPs).

Results: SD% scores significantly improved with the use of VCs in both CI and HL groups, and a significantly higher P100 amplitude of VEPs in both CI and HL groups (more in children fitted with CIs).

Conclusions: Cross-modal reorganization in severe degrees of HL is of great benefit whether they are fitted with HAs or CIs.

Objectives: The present study aims to identify potential predictive factors for developing sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in individuals with congenital Cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection.

Methods: A retrospective study was performed on 50 subjects with cCMV infection (symptomatic and asymptomatic), followed at the Audiology Service of Sant'Anna Hospital (University Hospital of Ferrara). The following data were analyzed: the type of maternal Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection (primary versus non-primary), time of in utero infection, systemic signs and symptoms or laboratory test anomalies due to cCMV infection, and signs and symptoms of central nervous system (CNS) involvement at birth. In particular, brain ultrasonography and encephalic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were evaluated, searching for possible links between imaging findings and SNHL.

Results: The statistical analysis showed a significantly higher risk of developing SNHL in subjects with signs and symptoms of CNS involvement at birth (p = 0.009 *). The presence of brain MRI abnormalities significantly influenced the onset of SNHL in patients with symptomatic cCMV infection (p = 0.012 *). Brain ultrasonography, the type of maternal CMV infection, systemic signs/symptoms and laboratory test anomalies at birth, and sex resulted in nonsignificant correlations in the analysis.

Conclusions: The presence of neurological symptoms at birth and of detectable abnormalities in brain MRI are predictors of SNHL developing in symptomatic cCMV infection. Further investigation on this topic is necessary.

Background: Hearing loss in children can have a detrimental impact on their development, thus lowering the psychological well-being of parents. This study examined the amount of parental stress, learned helplessness, and perceived social support in mothers of children with hearing loss (MCHL) and mothers of typically developing children (MTDC), as well as the relationship between various possible contributing factors to parental stress such as learned helplessness and perceived social support. Method: Three questionnaires measured parental stress (Parental Stress Scale; PSS), learned helplessness (Learned Helplessness Scale; LHS), and perceived social support (Perceived Social Support-Friends PSS-Fr and Perceived Social Support-Family PSS-Fa Scale) in 100 MCHL and 90 MTDC. All mothers had normal hearing and children aged 1 to 12 years. Mothers of children with any degree of bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, using hearing aids and/or cochlear implants, were included in the MCHL group. Children with hearing loss did not have any additional disabilities. Results: Parental stress and learned helplessness were not significantly different between the groups. The perceived social support was significantly lower in MCHL as compared to MTDC. Pearson correlation analysis with pooled data from both groups showed a small but significant negative correlation between parental stress and perceived social support. A moderately significant positive correlation existed between learned helplessness and parental stress. The relationship between learned helplessness and perceived social support was negative, being small but significant. Conclusions: The study findings indicate that parental stress was similar in both groups. As perceived social support increased, parental stress and learned helplessness decreased. Thus, the present study findings indicate the need for developing greater social support for MCHL.

Objectives: to retrospectively evaluate the clinical relevance of the 1000/500 Hz inter-frequency amplitude ratio (IFAR) in cervical and ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (cVEMPs and oVEMPs) in patients with unilateral definite Ménière's disease (MD) to identify the pathological ear. Method: cVEMPs and oVEMPs results obtained at 500 Hz and 1000 Hz were retrospectively analyzed in 28 patients with unilateral definite MD. 1000/500 Hz IFAR were calculated and compared for each ear. Spearman correlation tests between patient age and 1000/500 Hz IFAR were also performed. Results: No significant difference was observed between the 1000/500 Hz IFAR calculated in both pathological and healthy ears when the cVEMPs were performed (p = 0.74; Wilcoxon signed-rank test). 1000/500 Hz IFAR results obtained in healthy and pathological ears were also not different for oVEMPs (p = 0.73; Wilcoxon signed-rank test). Analysis of modified 1000/500 Hz IFARs for healthy and pathological ears showed no difference in both cVEMPs and oVEMPs (p = 0.44; p = 0.95, respectively; Wilcoxon signed-rank test). There was a significant positive correlation between IFARs, modified IFARs, and patient age for cVEMPs (p = 0.017; p = 0.012, respectively, Spearman's correlation test). A significant positive correlation was also found between modified IFARs and the subject age in oVEMPs (p = 0.019, Spearman's correlation test). Conclusions: We did not observe any significant increase of 1000/500 Hz IFARs and 1000/500 Hz modified IFARs in ears affected by definite MD compared to healthy ears. Moreover, our research suggests that the age of the participants may influence IFAR results, which may lead to misdiagnosis in the elderly. It is, therefore, essential to conduct further prospective studies in larger cohorts, stratifying results by participant age, to better understand the role of 1000/500 Hz IFAR values in the diagnosis of MD.

Background/objectives: Adult hearing-impaired patients qualifying for cochlear implants typically exhibit less than 60% sentence recognition under the best hearing aid conditions, either in quiet or noisy environments, with speech and noise presented through a single speaker. This study examines the influence of deep neural network-based (DNN-based) noise reduction on cochlear implant evaluation.

Methods: Speech perception was assessed using AzBio sentences in both quiet and noisy conditions (multi-talker babble) at 5 and 10 dB signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) through one loudspeaker. Sentence recognition scores were measured for 10 hearing-impaired patients using three hearing aid programs: calm situation, speech in noise, and spheric speech in loud noise (DNN-based noise reduction). Speech perception results were compared to bench analyses comprising the phase inversion technique, employed to predict SNR improvement, and the Hearing-Aid Speech Perception Index (HASPI v2), utilized to predict speech intelligibility.

Results: The spheric speech in loud noise program improved speech perception by 20 to 32% points as compared to the calm situation program. Thus, DNN-based noise reduction can improve speech perception in noisy environments, potentially reducing the need for cochlear implants in some cases. The phase inversion method showed a 4-5 dB SNR improvement for the DNN-based noise reduction program compared to the other two programs. HASPI v2 predicted slightly better speech intelligibility than was measured in this study.

Conclusions: DNN-based noise reduction might make it difficult for some patients with significant residual hearing to qualify for cochlear implantation, potentially delaying its adoption or eliminating the need for it entirely.

Background: Hearing loss is a highly prevalent condition in the world population that determines emotional, social, and economic costs. In recent years, it has been definitely recognized that the lack of physiological binaural hearing causes alterations in the localization of sounds and reduced speech recognition in noise and reverberation. This study aims to explore the psycho-social profile of adult workers affected by single-sided deafness (SSD), without other major medical conditions and otological symptoms, through comparison to subjects with normal hearing. Methods: This is a cross-sectional, case-control study. Subjects aged between 24 and 65 years, all currently employed and affected by SSD, were enrolled. They were administered both disease-specific and psychometric tests, such as the Hearing Handicap Inventory for Adults (HHIA), the Profile Questionnaire for Rating Communicative Performance, the Psychological General Well-Being Index (PGWBI), and the Social Functioning Questionnaire (SFQ). Results: A total of 149 subjects (mean age = 49.9; SD ± 8.5) were enrolled in the period 2021-2023; 68 were males (45.6%), and 81 were females (54.4%). The normal hearing group was composed of 95 subjects, and the SSD sample was composed of 54 subjects. The results of our study show that the levels of psychological well-being and social functioning in subjects with SSD are statistically worse than in the group of subjects with normal hearing in most subscales. Conclusions: This study definitely outlined evidence for a significantly worse psychological health status and a poorer social attitude of working adults affected by SSD with respect to their normal-hearing counterparts. Understanding the impact of SSD on patients' work environment suggests a multidisciplinary approach to such patients in order to increase their quality of life through adequate counseling, acceptance, and role modeling.

Background/Objectives: Conventional audiometry assesses hearing in the frequency range of 250-8000 Hz, while humans can detect sounds from 20 to 20,000 Hz. Hearing sensitivity above 8000 Hz can be assessed through "Extended high-frequency audiometry (EHFA)", which is useful for early detection and monitoring of hearing loss and counseling for tinnitus patients. Despite its usefulness, age significantly affects hearing sensitivity. Currently, there are no standard hearing thresholds in the EHF range categorized by age groups in Thailand. In this study, the aim was to determine normative EHFA data across different age groups in a healthy Thai population. Methods: This study included 134 participants aged 18-70 years, categorized into five age groups. All participants had normal hearing thresholds and type A tympanograms bilaterally. Following this, EHFA measurement was performed. Results: Across all age groups, there was an observed increase in median hearing thresholds as age increased. In comparison, no significant difference in median hearing thresholds was found between individuals aged 18-30 and >30-40 years. However, those over 40 years had significantly higher median thresholds across all frequencies compared to those under 40 years (p < 0.05). Based on these findings, we propose two new subgroups of 18-40 years and >40-70 years. Median hearing thresholds for those aged 18-40 was ≤20 dB HL across most frequencies, except at 16,000 Hz (30 dB HL). In the >40-70 age group, thresholds ranged from 20 dB HL at 9000 Hz to 70 dB HL at 14,000 and 16,000 Hz. However, no significant differences were found in hearing thresholds between sexes and ear sides. Conclusions: In this study, normative EHFA data were established for healthy Thai adults, appropriately divided into two groups (18-40 and >40-70 years) for clinical use. Further studies with more participants per age group are also needed to validate the results.