Audiology and Neuro-Otology最新文献

Introduction: Bone conduction implants have been indicated for patients with conductive hearing loss, mixed hearing loss, and even profound unilateral sensorineural hearing loss. With the introduction of Bonebridge®, new transcutaneous implant options emerged. The latest is Osia®, a direct-drive variant or active systems, where the implant directly generates and applies vibration to the bone.

Materials and methods: Retrospective study of two cohorts of patients treated with active bone conduction implants at a single center, one with the Bonebridge® device and the other with Osia®.

Outcomes: Fourteen patients were included, seven in each group (n = 14). The Bonebridge® group showed an average hearing gain in tonal intelligibility thresholds of 32.43 ± 21.39 dB and a gain in the average intelligibility threshold (with 50% discrimination) of 26.29 ± 19.10 dB. In the Osia® group, there was a gain in average tonal thresholds of 41.49 ± 14.16 dB and 23.72 ± 6.98 dB in average intelligibility thresholds. Both devices contributed to improvements in patients' quality of life, as assessed with APHAB in all the variables studied in the test. Both devices offer rehabilitation for hearing loss as an alternative to hearing aids. The Osia® system shows statistically significant (p < 0.05) improvements in mid and high frequencies, but Bonebridge® slightly outperforms in speech understanding at 50%. Differences in average tonal thresholds and quality of life are not statistically significant.

Conclusions: While auditory improvement is observed postimplantation, other aspects, such as intelligibility thresholds and quality of life, lack statistical significance. Given the limited experience with Osia® and the small sample size, the choice of the device should be personalized. Although the literature is inconsistent due to small sample sizes and variable approaches, some studies suggest potential advantages of the Osia® system, especially in speech comprehension in different environments and greater hearing gain compared to Bonebridge®.

Introduction: Cochlear implants (CIs) can restore binaural hearing in cases of single-sided deafness (SSD). However, studies with a high level of evidence in support of this phenomenon are lacking. The aim of this study is to analyze the effectiveness of CIs using several spatialized speech-in-noise tests and to identify potential predictors of successful surgery.

Methods: Ten cases underwent standard CI surgery (MEDEL-Flex24). The speech-in-noise test was used in three different spatial configurations. The noise was presented from the front (N0), toward the CI (NCI), and toward the ear (Near), while the speech was always from the front (S0). For each test, the speech-to-noise ratio at 50% intelligibility (SNR50) was evaluated. Seven different effects were assessed (summation, head shadow [HS], speech released of masking [SRM], and squelch for the CI and for the ear).

Results: A significant summation effect of 1.5 dB was observed. Contralateral PTA was positively correlated with S0N0-B and S0NCI-B (CIon and unplugged ear). S0N0-B results were positively correlated with S0N0-CIoff (p < 0.0001) and with S0Near-CIoff results (p = 0.004). A significant positive correlation was found between delay post-activation and HS gain for the CI (p = 0.005). Finally, the HS was negatively correlated with the squelch effect for the ear.

Conclusion: CI benefits patients with SSD in noise and can improve the threshold for detecting low-level noise. Contralateral PTA could predict good postoperative results. Simple tests performed preoperatively can predict the likelihood of surgical success in reversing SSD.

Introduction: This study investigated the effect of different auditory stimuli and cognitive tasks on balance in healthy young adults.

Methods: Thirty-three participants, aged 23.33 ± 2.43 years, were included in the study. The hearing levels of the participants were determined. Static and dynamic postural stability and limits of stability (LOS) tests were performed in the absence of auditory stimuli, in the presence of spondee word lists at 70 dB(A) and in the presence of spondee+white noise (-6 dB signal-to-noise ratio [SNR]), while auditory stimuli were presented bilaterally with supra-aural headphones. Participants were asked to repeat the words they listened to while performing balance-related tasks.

Results: No significant differences between the three conditions were observed in the postural stability and LOS results. Increase in total repetition error was observed as the listening task became more difficult.

Conclusion: The presence of auditory stimuli and the cognitive tasks did not cause any changes in the participants' balance.

Introduction: Spatial navigation, the ability to move through one's environment, is a complex skill utilized in everyday life. The effects of specific vestibular end-organ deficits and hearing impairments on spatial navigation have received little to no attention. We hypothesized that hearing impairment adversely affects spatial navigation and that bimodal impairments (vestibular and hearing) further impair navigation ability.

Methods: Data from 182 participants in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging who had interpretable results for the video head impulse test (vHIT), cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (cVEMP) and ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (oVEMP), audiometric testing, and the triangle completion test (TCT) were retrospectively analyzed. Multiple linear regression, controlling for age, sex, and cognition, was employed to identify predictors of TCT performance in terms of end-point error, angle deviation, and distance walked.

Results: oVEMP abnormalities were associated with larger end-point error (p = 0.008) and larger angle deviation (p = 0.002) but were not associated with distance walked (p = 0.392). Abnormalities on cVEMP testing and vHIT were not associated with distance walked (p = 0.835, p = 0.300), end-point error (p = 0.256, p = 0.808), or angle deviation (p = 0.192, p = 0.966). Compared with normal-hearing adults, hearing-impaired adults walked a shorter distance during the TCT (p = 0.049) but had a similar end-point error (p = 0.302) and angle deviation (p = 0.466). There was no interaction between vestibular and hearing function for predicting spatial navigation ability.

Conclusion: In this cohort analysis, utricular dysfunction and hearing impairment were associated with poorer spatial navigation performance. We postulate that hearing impairment negatively affects one's ability to use real-time, intrinsic auditory cues and/or prior experience to guide navigation.

Introduction: The objective of this study was to identify and clinically characterize patients treated in an Otoneurology Unit who experienced vestibular ototoxicity as a result of using aminoglycoside ear drops during outbreaks of superinfection in chronic otitis media.

Material and methods: An observational retrospective study was conducted, including patients with perforated eardrums who developed vestibular ototoxicity within the past 10 years following the application of topical ear aminoglycosides in a tertiary referral center. The study encompassed the assessment of the clinical presentation, treatment, quality of life, and evolution after treatment of the identified individuals.

Results: During the study period, 6 patients, aged between 33 and 71 years, developed vestibular ototoxicity following the use of topical aminoglycoside drops due to infection flares in chronic otitis media. All cases involved the use of gentamicin. Two cases were unilateral, and 4 were unilateral. The onset of symptoms occurred within one to four weeks of using the drops, resulting in all patients experiencing instability without vertigo attacks. After discontinuing the drops and undergoing vestibular rehabilitation, 4 patients experienced sequelae, with 2 patients (both with bilateral vestibular hypofunction) suffering significant impairment in their quality of life.

Conclusions: Vestibular ototoxicity due to the topical application of aminoglycosides during acute exacerbations of chronic otitis media is a rare occurrence. However, given its potential for severe consequences and the fact that we are still encountering patients with this condition, healthcare professionals should explore alternative antibacterial agents that offer similar efficacy.

Background: Auditory neuropathy (AN) is a nosological entity of unknown etiology, which is associated with fluctuations in rates of speech discrimination. Its diagnosis is based on presence of otoacoustic emissions and lack of, or abnormal, brainstem auditory evoked potential. With respect to treatment, we have variable results in the literature about development of speech perception and skills, in children with AN and cochlear implant (CI) rehabilitation.

Objectives: Comparatively assessing results recorded for the development of auditory and speech skills in children with auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD), who were subjected to cochlear implantation, in comparison to results recorded for children with sensorineural hearing loss associated with other causes was the objective of this study.

Method: A systematic literature review with meta-analysis was performed, with studies published from 1975 to 2023.

Results: Nineteen studies were included in the systematic review, and eight were selected for the meta-analysis, which showed there was no evidence allowing the conclusion that the two groups were different from each other about results in speech performance after 1 year of CI placement.

Conclusion: Therefore, this study shows that CI provides the comparable benefit to children with ANSD in comparison to children with neurosensory hearing loss associated with other causes in their speech development.

Introduction: Mefloquine is an antimalarial medicine used to prevent and treat malaria. This medicine has some side effects, including ototoxicity. This study, which was designed in two phases, aimed to investigate the side effects of mefloquine and evaluate the preventive effects of electrical stimulation on these side effects.

Methods: In the first phase, two doses of mefloquine (50 and 200 μM) were injected into male rats, and after 7 days, they were evaluated by an auditory brainstem response (ABR) test. In the second phase, electrical stimulation was applied for 10 days, and then a toxic dose of mefloquine was injected. Similar to the first phase of the study, the animals were evaluated by an ABR test after 7 days.

Results: In the first phase, the results showed that a high dose of mefloquine increased the ABR threshold and wave I latency; however, these changes were not observed in the second phase.

Conclusion: Application of electrical stimulation could prevent the ototoxic effects of mefloquine. According to the findings of the present study, electrical stimulation can be used as a preconditioner to prevent the ototoxic effects of mefloquine.

Introduction: The prevalence of hearing loss in Canada is high, with many patients requiring implantable hearing devices (IHDs) as treatment for their disease severity. Despite this need, many eligible patients do not pursue these interventions. The objective of this study was to examine rates of IHD based on geographic location to understand locoregional variation in access to care.

Study design: This was a retrospective population-based cohort study.

Setting: All hospitals in the Canadian province of Ontario.

Methods: Of all patients with IHD between April 1, 1992, and March 31, 2021, cochlear implants (CIs) (4,720) and bone-anchored hearing aids (BAHA) (1,125) cohorts were constructed. Place of residence was categorized based on Local Health Integrated Network (LHIN). Summary statistics for place of surgical institution based on LHIN at first surgery, name of institution of first surgery and "as the crow flies" distance (in km) between place of residence and surgical institution were calculated. Rate of implantations was calculated for LHIN regions based on number of surgeries per 1,000,000 persons/years.

Results: Toronto Central, Central, Central East, and Champlain regions had >10% of patients undergoing BAHA and CI. 1,019 (90.6%) and 4,232 (89.7%) of patients receiving BAHA and CI, respectively, resided in urban/suburban regions and 94 patients (8.4%) and 436 (9.2%) resided in rural regions. The median distance between residential location and the institution was 46.4 km (interquartile range [IQR], 18.9-103.6) and 44.7 km (IQR, 15.7-96.9) for BAHA and CI, respectively. From 1992 to 2021, the number of CI and BAHA performed across Ontario increased by 17 folds and 6 folds, respectively.

Conclusion: This large comprehensive population study provides longitudinal insight into the access to care of IHD based on geographic factors. Our findings of the present population-based study indicate an overall increase in access to devices with disproportionate access to care based on geographic locations. Further work is needed to characterize barriers to IHD access to align with demands.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the originally applied frequency allocation of cochlear implant electrodes assigned by default at the time of activation with a more recent frequency allocation that is anatomy-based by a software called OTOPLAN®. Based on a computed tomography scan of the temporal bone, this software calculates the position of each electrode in the cochlea and its corresponding tonotopic frequency. We also evaluated whether patients with a significant mismatch between these two allocations present poorer speech intelligibility.

Materials and methods: Patients who underwent cochlear implantation from 2016 to 2021 at the University Hospital of Liege were included in this retrospective study. We used OTOPLAN® to calculate the tonotopic frequency allocation of each electrode according to its exact position in the cochlear duct. This anatomical frequency mapping was compared with the default frequency mapping at the time of cochlear implant activation. Finally, we compared the mismatch with the patients' auditory performance, represented by the Auditory Capacity Index (ACI).

Results: Thirteen patients were included in the study. All patients had a mismatch between the two frequency maps, to a variable extent (200 Hz-1,100 Hz). Frequency shift was significantly inversely correlated with ACI and with the time needed to improve speech intelligibility.

Conclusion: Our primary results show that patients with a larger mismatch between default frequency mapping and anatomically assigned frequency mapping experience poorer hearing performance and slower adaptation to a cochlear implant.

Introduction: Assessing cochlear implantation's impact on cell loss and preventing post-implant cochlear damage are key areas of focus for hearing preservation research. The preservation of auditory neuronal and sensory neural hearing cells has a positive impact on auditory perception after implantation. This study aimed to provide details on a semi-automated spiral ganglion neuronal cell counting method, developed using whole implanted gerbil cochlea acquisitions with light-sheet microscopy.

Methods: Mongolian gerbils underwent right cochlear implantation with an electrode array whose silicone was loaded with dexamethasone or not and were euthanized 10 weeks after implantation. The cochleae were prepared according to a 29-day protocol, with the electrode array in place. Light-sheet microscopy was used for acquisition, and Imaris software was employed for three-dimensional analysis of the cochleas and semi-automatic quantification of spiral ganglion cells. The imaJ software was used for the manual quantification of these cells.

Results: Six cochleae were acquired by light-sheet microscopy, allowing good identification of cells. There was no significant difference between the mean number of spiral ganglion cells obtained by manual and semi-automatic counting (p = 0.25).

Conclusion: Light-sheet microscopy provided complete visualization of the spiral ganglion and cell identification. The semi-automated counting method developed using Imaris software tools proved reliable and efficient and could be applied to a larger sample to assess post-cochlear implant cell damage and the efficacy of protective drugs delivered to the inner ear.