American Journal of Audiology最新文献

Purpose: The present study examined masseteric vestibular evoked myogenic potential (mVEMP) responses in children and compared these results with those of adults, using both air- and bone-conduction modes of stimulation.

Method: Fifteen children and fifteen adults with hearing thresholds below 15 dB HL were considered for the study. Ipsilateral 500-Hz narrow-band chirp (NB CE-chirp) evoked mVEMP responses were elicited via a zygomatic montage through both air- and bone-conduction modes of stimulation. Therefore, the recorded responses were analyzed for various mVEMP parameters, namely, absolute P11 and N21 peak latencies, the peak-to-peak amplitude of the P11-N21 complex, and the interaural asymmetry ratio.

Results: NB CE-chirp-evoked mVEMPs were 100% present at 500 Hz using both air- and bone-conduction modes of stimulation. No significant differences were found in mVEMP parameters between ears, genders, or modes of stimulation in both children and adults. However, a significant P11-N21 amplitude difference was observed between the two groups.

Conclusion: The findings of the study highlighted the need to incorporate age-appropriate reference values for interpreting mVEMP responses for children and adults across air- and bone-conduction modes.

Purpose: Prior work estimating sound exposure dose from earphone use has typically measured earphone use time with retrospective questionnaires or device-based tracking, both of which have limitations. This research note presents an exploratory analysis of sound exposure dose from earphone use among college-aged adults using real-ear measures to estimate exposure level and ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to estimate use time.

Method: Earphone levels were measured at the ear drum of 53 college students using their own devices, earphones, and preferred music and speech stimuli at their normal listening volume. Participants completed 1 week of EMA, where they reported on their minutes of earphone use every 2 hr. Based on the EMAs and their measured earphone levels, sound exposure doses from earphone use were calculated.

Results: Compliance on EMA was 73%, comparable to most studies using this method in audiology research. Earphone levels were lower than those reported by most prior literature. The average listening level across music and speech, with A-weighting and diffuse-field corrections, was 60 dBA. Earphone use time was also lower than most prior work. Most participants had doses under 1%.

Conclusions: Using EMA to track earphone use is a potentially simple way to facilitate measurements of sound exposure from earphone use without relying on retrospective questionnaires or limiting the sample to specific devices, earphones, or apps. Evidence was also found for potentially lower sound levels and sound exposure doses from earphone use among college-aged adults than previously reported.

Supplemental material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.28205072.

Purpose: Infants needing neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) intervention have protracted timelines for diagnosis after not passing their newborn hearing screening despite being at higher risk for congenital hearing loss. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of early hearing detection for infants with a history of NICU admission. The secondary aim was to determine if diagnostic audiology services within the NICU setting accelerated diagnosis and intervention.

Method: A retrospective chart review was completed for infants referred for diagnostic audiologic testing from 2018 to 2021 at a tertiary urban-setting children's hospital. After exclusion criteria were applied, 367 infants with NICU history were included in the analysis. Various factors were recorded from electronic medical records. Time to diagnosis was derived and compared across (a) NICU location, (b) insurance type, and (c) race/ethnicity.

Results: Analysis of infants with NICU history revealed that 70% of infants had a diagnosis by 3 months corrected age. The level of in-NICU audiologic care did not significantly impact corrected age at diagnosis; however, loss to follow-up (LTFU) rates were higher for NICUs that did not provide in-hospital diagnostic services (10.0%) when compared to the NICU setting with inpatient audiology services (6.8%). In-NICU testing occurred on average 5.7 weeks prior to discharge, expediting diagnosis of hearing status compared to having to wait for an outpatient evaluation after discharge.

Conclusions: Timely hearing detection is feasible in the medically complex NICU population. Inpatient audiology diagnostic testing may help reduce LTFU and facilitate early hearing detection and intervention.

Purpose: Unilateral cochlear implant (CI) recipients with limited hearing in the contralateral ear are deprived of the advantages of binaural hearing. To address speech recognition challenges arising from the head shadow effect, a contralateral routing of signal (CROS) device can be used; however, less is known of the broader impact of a CROS device on an individual's quality of life (QoL) or that of their frequent communication partners (FCPs). This preliminary study aimed to evaluate the impact of CROS on speech recognition in noise and its influence on the QoL of unilateral CI recipients and their FCPs.

Method: This preliminary study enrolled seven adult unilateral CI recipients and their FCPs. All CI recipients were fitted with CROS devices during their initial appointments. Speech recognition testing was conducted in noise with and without the CROS device in a sound booth before a take-home trial. Participants used the CROS devices for approximately 1 year, with device fitting occurring before and continuing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants completed two QoL questionnaires, the Auditory Performance and Satisfaction Scale for Single-Sided Deafness (APS-SSD) and the Nijmegen Cochlear Implant Questionnaire (NCIQ), twice: once prior to CROS device use and once after the take-home trial. Additionally, the FCPs of each CI recipient completed the Significant Other Scale of Hearing Disability (SOS-HEAR) Questionnaire twice, once before and once after extended CROS device use.

Results: When noise was directed toward the CI ear and speech toward the non-CI ear, speech recognition improved by 32% with the CROS device (p = .001). CI recipients reported significant median improvement in the "general" domain of the APS-SSD after the take-home trial (Wilcoxon Z = 12.0, p < .05). FCPs reported a significant median reduction in concerns related to their partner's hearing when the CI recipient used the CROS device (Wilcoxon Z = 2.0, p < .05).

Conclusions: This preliminary study demonstrates the benefit of CROS devices for unilateral CI recipients in noisy environments. Additionally, it highlights the positive impact of CROS devices on the QoL of both CI recipients and their FCPs. These findings emphasize the importance of considering CROS devices as a valuable solution for unilateral CI recipients to enhance their hearing experience, overall well-being, and that of their FCPs.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to provide proof of concept for at-home measurements of the tinnitus spectrum.

Method: Nineteen participants completed pitch similarity ratings in the laboratory and at home. All participants first completed laboratory tests (at 500-16000 Hz) and then later completed at-home tests (at 250-8000 Hz) using their own personal computers and headphones. Six participants repeated these measurements after at least 3 weeks.

Results: Tinnitus spectra (plots of pitch similarity rating vs. frequency) were analyzed using linear regression and Bland-Altman plots for frequencies that were common to both environments (500-8000 Hz). Although the Bland-Altman plots indicated that absolute ratings used by participants differed in the two settings with online ratings tending to be higher than lab ratings, the regression analysis indicated that the tinnitus spectra had similar shapes (evidenced by significantly positive slopes) between the two environments for 14 of the 19 participants. Similar results were evident for test-retest reliability of the six returning participants in both settings.

Conclusions: We conclude that the pitch similarity rating method is potentially viable for measuring tinnitus pitch at home. At-home implementation could expedite clinical tinnitus assessments and could be used in conjunction with at-home implementations of tinnitus treatment strategies. However, future studies should include participants who are tested at home prior to being tested in the lab and include an evaluation of extended high frequencies at home.

Purpose: Our study used preoperative neuroanatomical features to predict auditory development in Chinese-learning children with cochlear implants (CIs).

Method: T1-weighted whole-brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were obtained from 17 Chinese-learning pediatric CI candidates (12 females and five males, age at MRI = 23.0 ± 15.0 months). Voxel-based morphometry was applied to examine the children's whole-brain structure. Machine learning was employed using neuroanatomical features to predict children's auditory skills up to 24 months after CI. The whole-brain neural model and auditory/visual cortex neural model were compared with a nonneural model using gender, age at CI activation, and preoperative residual hearing as predictors. Model performance was quantified using the mean square error (MSE) between predicted values and observations.

Results: The model with preoperative neuroanatomical features showed a significantly smaller MSE than the nonneural model in predicting auditory skills in children with CIs. Specifically, the auditory-related area played an important role in predicting post-CI outcomes.

Conclusions: The preoperative neuroanatomical features outperformed the nonneural features in predicting auditory skills in children with CIs. These results indicate that neural structure holds the potential to serve as an objective and effective feature for predicting post-CI outcomes.

Supplemental material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.28012046.

Purpose: The goal of this study was to provide evidence of the inherent variability associated with monitored live voice (MLV) presentation methods and encourage audiologists to more closely follow best practice of using recorded stimuli. To accomplish the goal, administration times for word recognition testing were compared between MLV and MP3 recorded stimuli presented directly from an audiometer (computer assisted, CA). Furthermore, the variability of administration time across testers was evaluated.

Method: Fifty-word NU-6 lists were presented via MLV and CA to listeners with typical hearing (TH; defined as a four-frequency [500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz] pure-tone average [PTA] of 20 dB HL or better) and hearing loss (HL; defined as a four-frequency PTA poorer than 20 dB HL). Audiologists and doctor of audiology students administered the word lists. Administration times were compared between the two presentation methods (MLV and CA).

Results: MLV administration time was significantly shorter than CA presentation time for both the TH and HL groups. There was also a significant difference in word recognition scores (WRS) between the TH and HL groups only when using the CA method. Most notably, there was significantly more variability in the administration time for MLV presentation across testers compared to the CA method. Data were compared to Mendel and Owen (2011), and MLV administration time was found to be significantly shorter than CA and compact disk (CD) administration time.

Conclusions: Despite the shorter average administration time for MLV presentation compared to CA or CD, the significant variability in administration time among individual testers limits the clinical value of the test results. In addition, WRS for those with hearing loss were significantly poorer than those with TH when using CA but not for MLV, indicating that MLV is not sensitive to the presence of sensorineural hearing loss. Thus, using recorded word recognition is strongly recommended.

Purpose: We aim to determine the prevalence and characteristics of developmental disabilities among the clinical population of children who receive hearing health care in the United States.

Method: Using electronic health records of 131,709 children (0-18 years), we identified those with a diagnosis of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, vision differences, cerebral palsy, chromosomal abnormalities, delayed milestones, Down syndrome, or intellectual disability. We determined prevalence, age of first audiology encounter, age of diagnosis for the developmental disability, and hearing status based on the specific disability and the number of diagnoses. Binomial and multinomial logistic regressions were performed.

Results: One in four children had a diagnosed developmental disability. The most common disabilities were delayed milestones (11.3%), vision differences (7.4%), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (6.6%), and autism spectrum disorder (6.2%). Half of the children with developmental disabilities had at least one diagnosis before their first audiology encounter. Children with developmental disabilities were more likely to have a reduced hearing or an unknown hearing status than children without developmental diagnoses. For children with reduced hearing, those with developmental disabilities had higher rates of bilateral configurations and poorer hearing severity levels.

Conclusions: Developmental disabilities are common among children who seek hearing health care. Moreover, developmental disabilities often co-occur with reduced hearing. Further research and advocacy efforts are critical for creating clinical practices that are inclusive of, and equitable for, children with complex and diverse developmental profiles.

Supplemental material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.27857847.

Purpose: Although burnout among audiologists has been studied in various countries, there is no research yet that examines this issue in Türkiye, where working conditions and sociodemographic factors may differ from those in other countries. Considering the unique working conditions and sociodemographic factors, this study aimed to investigate the burnout levels of Turkish audiologists. Additionally, this study will explore the impact of various sociodemographic variables on burnout, work-related quality of life, and depression to gain a deeper understanding of the specific challenges faced by audiologists in Türkiye.

Method: A total of 193 audiologists, with a median age of 27 (interquartile range: 25-29) years, working in different working areas, such as clinical practice, academic institutions, rehabilitation centers, and amplification services in Türkiye, were included. Audiologists were invited to participate in this study via several online forums and hospital notice boards. All participants completed the sociodemographic data form and then the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), Work-Related Quality of Life Scale (WRQoL), and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI).

Results: Differences between MBI, WRQoL, and BDI scores were analyzed according to gender, level of education, area of work, and title of audiologist. There are significant differences in the subscale scores of the MBI and WRQoL scales and in the BDI scores between groups according to gender, education, and area of work. There are also significant differences in BDI scores according to title. There is a significant correlation between the MBI, WRQoL, and BDI scores of audiologists.

Conclusions: This study represents the initial exploration of burnout, quality of work life, and depression levels among audiologists employed in Türkiye. A low quality of work life can increase the risk of burnout and depression. Enhancements in the work environment can lessen burnout and depression while also improving employees' general quality of life.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe the factors related to dizziness in workers with noise-induced hearing loss in Brazil.

Method: A cross-sectional study was carried out with a sample from noise-induced hearing loss reports (2007-2019). The dependent variable in this study was dizziness, and the independent variables were sociodemographic characteristics, comorbidities, symptoms, and noise characteristics in the work environment. Logistic regression analysis was performed.

Results: A total of 3,824 individuals with noise-induced hearing loss in Brazil were analyzed. The prevalence of dizziness was 23.4% in the sample. Factors associated with dizziness were women (odds ratio [OR]: 2.10; 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.64, 2.69]), hypertension (OR: 1.68; 95% CI [1.38, 2.06]), headache (OR: 6.31; 95% CI [5.26, 7.57]), tinnitus (OR: 3.46; 95% CI [2.82, 4.25]), and continuous noise at the work environment (OR: 1.54; 95% CI [1.22, 1.94]).

Conclusions: The factors associated with the outcome-dizziness-were gender (female), systemic arterial hypertension, headache, tinnitus, and continuous exposure to workplace noise. Such findings demonstrate the importance of promoting a multifactorial approach to understanding dizziness among workers exposed to occupational noise.