Journal of Audiology and Otology最新文献

Background and objectives: Otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) are low-intensity sounds generated by the cochlea and associated with the function of the outer hair cells. Since OAE measurements do not require active participation of a listener, OAEs are considered an objective measure of cochlear function. While distortion-product OAEs (DPOAEs) are commonly used in clinical practice, limited information is available on the performance of various clinical devices. This study compared two commercial clinical devices, Titan and Eclipse from Interacoustics, and collected normative data for DPOAEs in people with normal hearing. The data collection and analysis were focused on signal and noise amplitudes as well as signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs).

Subjects and methods: Sixty-three participants with normal hearing (age 23.2±2.0 years) were included in the study. DPOAEs were measured at 31 frequencies ranging from 500 to 10,000 Hz.

Results: DPOAE amplitude differed across frequencies. Additionally, a high number of unreliable responses were observed at the edge frequencies (<828 Hz and >6,072 Hz). There were no significant differences between the two devices in terms of DPOAE amplitudes, but the recorded-noise levels (amplitude) differed significantly. SNRs of the recorded OAEs were frequency dependent (higher frequencies showed larger SNRs), and significant differences in terms of SNR were found between the two devices.

Conclusions: Despite the above-mentioned differences, the OAEs recorded with both devices met the pass criteria for the SNR (≥6 dB) consistently across frequencies, and thus the differences do not compromise the test outcomes. The frequency dependence of the OAE amplitudes and the corresponding SNRs may be relevant for clinical practice.

Background and objectives: Dizziness and the accompanying complaints, including sleep disorders and depression, are common among the elderly. This study investigated the effect of vestibular rehabilitation on complaints of dizziness, sleep problems, and the severity of depression in older people with chronic dizziness.

Subjects and methods: The study included 25 participants with chronic dizziness accompanied by comorbid sleep disturbance (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index [PSQI] global score >5). Participants completed the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (three sub-scales: physical, emotional, and functional), the PSQI, and the Persian version of the shortened Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-13) before and after the vestibular rehabilitation.

Results: The findings showed that the handicap caused by dizziness, the severity of depression, and the quality of sleep in the study participants improved significantly after the intervention (p<0.05).

Conclusions: Vestibular rehabilitation is an effective intervention to reduce dizziness handicap, comorbid sleep disturbance, and depression.

Background and objectives: Cochlear implants (CIs) are well known to improve audibility and speech recognition in individuals with hearing loss, but some individuals still struggle with many aspects in communication, such as prosody. This study explores how prosodic elements are perceived by those with normal hearing (NH) and CIs.

Subjects and methods: Thirteen individuals with NH and thirteen CI users participated in this study and completed speech perception, speech prosody perception, speech prosody production, pitch difference discrimination, and melodic contour perception testing.

Results: NH listeners performed significantly better than CI users on speech perception, speech prosody perception (except for words with neutral meaning and a negative prosody change and when words were repeated twice), pitch difference discrimination, and melodic contour perception testing. No statistical significance was observed for speech prosody production for both groups.

Conclusions: Compared to NH listeners, CI users had limited ability to recognize prosodic elements. The study findings highlight the necessity of an assessment tool and signal processing algorithm for CIs, specifically targeting prosodic elements in clinical settings.

Background and objectives: Chloroquine and its analog hydroxychloroquine are derivatives of 4-aminoquinoline and are regularly used in the treatment of malaria and autoimmune diseases. Among the side effects of these drugs, alterations associated with the auditory system are frequently mentioned. Thus, the aim of this systematic review is to systematically review publications on hearing disorders and chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine use.

Materials and methods: Inclusion criteria were observational or interventional studies on audiological assessment in participants who were using chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine. The methodological quality was independently assessed by two reviewers using the Meta-Analysis of Statistics: assessment and review Instrument. The certainty of the evidence was assessed using the GRADE tool.

Results: A total of 1,372 non-duplicate papers were screened, out of which 17 were included in the final qualitative synthesis, and 5 studies in the meta-analysis. The odds ratio for the two subgroups evaluated did not show significance with no heterogeneity between the effects observed between the different diseases (I2=0%) and obtaining the global estimate of 0.76 (95% confidence interval [CI]=0.41-1.39; p>0.05). Despite the inclusion of papers with different disease samples, the heterogeneity observed in the analysis was low (I2= 0%) and prediction interval (95% PI=0.32-1.80; p>0.05) remained close to that estimated by the CI (95% CI=0.41-1.39; p>0.05). The certainty of the evidence assessed by the GRADE tool was considered very low due to the risk of bias, indirect evidence, and imprecision.

Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that the use of chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine is not associated with hearing disorders.

Intralabyrinthine schwannomas (ILSs) are rare tumors involving the otic capsule. Notably, they are often misdiagnosed because their symptoms mimic those of other, more common inner ear pathologies. Diagnosis requires high-resolution contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which reveals filling defects (using a T2-weighted MRI sequence) or focal enhancement (using a T1-weighted MRI sequence with gadolinium enhancement) in the inner ear. A 52-year-old male patient with intractable vertigo or single-sided deafness should raise suspicion of this clinical entity as a differential diagnosis. Translabyrinthine excision of the tumor along with auditory rehabilitation using a cochlear implant can provide good outcomes with minimal morbidity in carefully selected cases. Here, we present an interesting case of a transmodiolar ILS mimicking Meniere's disease, wherein surgery using the translabyrinthine approach and an extended cochleostomy yielded favorable outcomes.

Background and objectives: Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSHL) is a rapid loss of hearing, exceeding 30 dB in at least 3 consecutive frequencies within 3 days, without any identifiable cause despite thorough investigations. Currently, the etiology and pathogenesis of ISSHL have not been fully elucidated. This study aimed to assess the size of the cochlear nerve in patients with ISSHL and explore its relationship with pretreatment audiograms and treatment response. Subjects and.

Methods: A total of 125 patients (59 [47.2%] women; mean age 47.7±13.8 years [minimum-maximum: 21-76]) and 60 healthy participants (27 [45%] women; mean age 45.7±16.8 years [minimum-maximum: 20-76]) as a control group were included in this study. The size of the cochlear nerve was assessed on the affected side, compared to the control group, as well as on the unaffected side. Pretreatment and posttreatment audiological values were also analyzed.

Results: The cross-sectional area (CSA), vertical diameter (VD), and horizontal diameter (HD) of the CN were found to be smaller on the affected side of ISSHL patients compared to the control group (p<0.01; p=0.04; p=0.02, respectively). In the study group (affected side of ISSHL patients), there were no significant differences in VD, HD, and CSA values between pretreatment audiogram types (p=0.23; p=0.53; p=0.39, respectively), and initial hearing levels (p=0.16; p=0.22; p=0.23, respectively). Furthermore, there were no significant differences in VD, HD, and CSA values between the recovery groups according to Furuhashi criteria (p=0.18; p=0.37; p=0.27, respectively).

Conclusions: The size of the CN may be a risk factor for ISSHL, but it does not affect the type of audiogram curves and was not prognostic in terms of treatment response.