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Hearing Research Apr 2022There is a large amount of variability in performance in masked-speech reception tasks, as well as in psychophysical auditory temporal processing tasks, between...
There is a large amount of variability in performance in masked-speech reception tasks, as well as in psychophysical auditory temporal processing tasks, between listeners with normal or relatively normal low-frequency hearing. In this study we used a cross-sectional dataset collected on 102 listeners (34 young, 34 middle-aged, 34 older) to assess whether variance in these tasks could be explained by variance in subcortical electrophysiological measures of auditory function (auditory brainstem responses and frequency following responses), and whether variance in speech-reception performance could be explained by variance in auditory temporal processing tasks. The potential confounding effect of high-frequency sensitivity was strictly controlled for by using highpass masking noise. Because each high-level construct (masked-speech reception, auditory temporal processing, and subcortical electrophysiological function) was indexed by several variables, we used principal component analyses to reduce the dimensionality of the dataset. Multiple-regression models were then used to assess the associations between the extracted principal components while controlling for a range of possible confounders including age and audiometric thresholds. We found that masked-speech reception was credibly associated with psychophysical auditory temporal processing abilities. No credible associations were found between masked-speech reception and electrophysiological measures of subcortical auditory function, or between psychophysical measures of auditory temporal processing and electrophysiological measures of subcortical auditory function. These results suggest that either the electrophysiological measures of subcortical auditory function used were not sufficiently sensitive to the subcortical neural processes limiting performance in the speech-reception and psychophysical auditory temporal-processing tasks, or that variance in these tasks is largely unrelated to variance in subcortical neural processes in listeners with near-normal hearing.
Topics: Auditory Threshold; Cross-Sectional Studies; Hearing; Humans; Middle Aged; Perceptual Masking; Speech; Speech Perception; Time Perception
PubMed: 35149333
DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2022.108456 -
The Journal of the Acoustical Society... Mar 2023In recent years, experimental studies have demonstrated that malfunction of the inner-hair cells and their synapse to the auditory nerve is a significant hearing loss...
In recent years, experimental studies have demonstrated that malfunction of the inner-hair cells and their synapse to the auditory nerve is a significant hearing loss (HL) contributor. This study presents a detailed biophysical model of the inner-hair cells embedded in an end-to-end computational model of the auditory pathway with an acoustic signal as an input and prediction of human audiometric thresholds as an output. The contribution of the outer hair cells is included in the mechanical model of the cochlea. Different types of HL were simulated by changing mechanical and biochemical parameters of the inner and outer hair cells. The predicted thresholds yielded common audiograms of hearing impairment. Outer hair cell damage could only introduce threshold shifts at mid-high frequencies up to 40 dB. Inner hair cell damage affects low and high frequencies differently. All types of inner hair cell deficits yielded a maximum of 40 dB HL at low frequencies. Only a significant reduction in the number of cilia of the inner-hair cells yielded HL of up to 120 dB HL at high frequencies. Sloping audiograms can be explained by a combination of gradual change in the number of cilia of inner and outer hair cells along the cochlear partition from apex to base.
Topics: Humans; Hair Cells, Auditory, Inner; Auditory Threshold; Hearing Loss; Cochlea; Audiometry; Hair Cells, Auditory, Outer; Deafness
PubMed: 37002110
DOI: 10.1121/10.0017627 -
Journal of the American Academy of... Jan 2019
Topics: Audiometry, Evoked Response; Audiometry, Pure-Tone; Auditory Threshold; Cochlea; Cochlear Implantation; Cochlear Implants; Cochlear Microphonic Potentials; Electrodes, Implanted; Humans; Reoperation
PubMed: 30620705
DOI: 10.3766/jaaa.30.1.1 -
Developmental Neuropsychology Jul 2020We compared the performance of children with ADHD and typically developing children on two temporal tasks, a bisection task and a reproduction task, in auditory and...
We compared the performance of children with ADHD and typically developing children on two temporal tasks, a bisection task and a reproduction task, in auditory and visual modalities. Children with ADHD presented a larger variability when performing auditory and visual temporal tasks. Moreover, they overestimated the durations in bisection tasks and underproduced duration intervals in the visual reproduction task. In the context of the pacemaker-accumulator model, these results suggest that temporal deficits might result from a dysfunction in the switch and/or memory impairment.
Topics: Adolescent; Attention; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; Auditory Threshold; Case-Control Studies; Child; Female; Humans; Male; Memory Disorders
PubMed: 32412304
DOI: 10.1080/87565641.2020.1764566 -
Scientific Reports May 2023Deterrents that use acoustics to guide fish away from dangerous areas depend on the elicitation of avoidance in the target species. Acoustic deterrents select the...
Deterrents that use acoustics to guide fish away from dangerous areas depend on the elicitation of avoidance in the target species. Acoustic deterrents select the optimum frequency based on an assumption that highest avoidance is likely to occur at the greatest sensitivity. However, such an assumption may be unfounded. Using goldfish (Carassius auratus) as a suitable experimental model, this study tested this as a null hypothesis. Under laboratory conditions, the deterrence thresholds of individual goldfish exposed to 120 ms tones at six frequencies (250-2000 Hz) and four Sound Pressure Levels (SPL 115-145 dB) were quantified. The deterrence threshold defined as the SPL at which 25% of the tested population startled was calculated and compared to the hearing threshold obtained using Auditory Evoked Potential and particle acceleration threshold data. The optimum frequency to elicit a startle response was 250 Hz; different from the published hearing and particle acceleration sensitivities based on audiograms. The difference between the deterrence threshold and published hearing threshold data varied from 47.1 dB at 250 Hz to 76 dB at 600 Hz. This study demonstrates that information obtained from audiograms may poorly predict the most suitable frequencies at which avoidance behaviours are elicited in fish.
Topics: Animals; Acoustic Stimulation; Auditory Threshold; Hearing; Evoked Potentials, Auditory; Fishes; Acoustics
PubMed: 37202429
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-33423-5 -
CoDAS May 2017To verify the auditory processing abilities and occurrence of the suppression effect of Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) in individuals who stutter. (Observational Study)
Observational Study
PURPOSE
To verify the auditory processing abilities and occurrence of the suppression effect of Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) in individuals who stutter.
METHODS
The study sample comprised 15 adult individuals who stutter, aged 18-40 years, with stuttering severity ranging from mild to severe, paired according to gender, age, and schooling with individuals without speech complaint or disorder. All participants underwent conventional clinical evaluation, specific stuttering assessment, and basic (audiometry, imitanciometry, and measurement of acoustic reflexes) and specific (auditory processing evaluation and measurement of suppression effect of OAEs) audiological assessments. Data were statistically analyzed with application of the Fisher's Exact Test and the Mann-Whitney Test.
RESULTS
The group of individuals who stutter (Study Group - SG) presented higher incidence of auditory processing disorders. The auditory processing assessments used to differentiate the groups of stutterers and non-stutterers (Control Group - CG) were the Nonverbal Dichotic Test and the Frequency Pattern Test. The SG presented higher incidence of absence of suppression effect of OAEs, indicating abnormal functioning of the efferent medial olivocochlear system.
CONCLUSION
The auditory processing abilities investigated in this study differentiate individuals who stutter from non-stutterers, with greater changes in the first. Functioning of the efferent medial olivocochlear system showed a deficit in stutterers, indicating difficulties in auditory discrimination, especially in the presence of noise.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Auditory Perception; Auditory Threshold; Cross-Sectional Studies; Educational Status; Female; Humans; Male; Otoacoustic Emissions, Spontaneous; Stuttering; Young Adult
PubMed: 28538833
DOI: 10.1590/2317-1782/20172016230 -
Journal of the American Academy of... Sep 2017Many audiologists believe that auditory processing testing must be carried out in a soundproof booth. This expectation is especially a problem in places such as... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
BACKGROUND
Many audiologists believe that auditory processing testing must be carried out in a soundproof booth. This expectation is especially a problem in places such as elementary schools. Research comparing pure-tone thresholds obtained in sound booths compared to quiet test environments outside of these booths does not support that belief. Auditory processing testing is generally carried out at above threshold levels, and therefore may be even less likely to require a soundproof booth. The present study was carried out to compare test results in soundproof booths versus quiet rooms.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to determine whether auditory processing tests can be administered in a quiet test room rather than in the soundproof test suite. The outcomes would identify that audiologists can provide auditory processing testing for children under various test conditions including quiet rooms at their school.
RESEARCH DESIGN
A battery of auditory processing tests was administered at a test level equivalent to 50 dB HL through headphones. The same equipment was used for testing in both locations.
STUDY SAMPLE
Twenty participants identified with normal hearing were included in this study, ten having no auditory processing concerns and ten exhibiting auditory processing problems. All participants underwent a battery of tests, both inside the test booth and outside the booth in a quiet room. Order of testing (inside versus outside) was counterbalanced.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Participants were first determined to have normal hearing thresholds for tones and speech. Auditory processing tests were recorded and presented from an HP EliteBook laptop computer with noise-canceling headphones attached to a y-cord that not only presented the test stimuli to the participants but also allowed monitor headphones to be worn by the evaluator. The same equipment was used inside as well as outside the booth.
RESULTS
No differences were found for each auditory processing measure as a function of the test setting or the order in which testing was done, that is, in the booth or in the room.
CONCLUSIONS
Results from the present study indicate that one can obtain the same results on auditory processing tests, regardless of whether testing is completed in a soundproof booth or in a quiet test environment. Therefore, audiologists should not be required to test for auditory processing in a soundproof booth. This study shows that audiologists can conduct testing in a quiet room so long as the background noise is sufficiently controlled.
Topics: Adult; Analysis of Variance; Audiology; Audiometry, Pure-Tone; Auditory Perception; Auditory Perceptual Disorders; Auditory Threshold; Humans; Patients' Rooms; Young Adult
PubMed: 28906239
DOI: 10.3766/jaaa.15116 -
PloS One 2015The objective was to evaluate the association of peripheral and central hearing abilities with cognitive function in older adults.
OBJECTIVE
The objective was to evaluate the association of peripheral and central hearing abilities with cognitive function in older adults.
METHODS
Recruited from epidemiological studies of aging and cognition at the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, participants were a community-dwelling cohort of older adults (range 63-98 years) without diagnosis of dementia. The cohort contained roughly equal numbers of Black (n=61) and White (n=63) subjects with groups similar in terms of age, gender, and years of education. Auditory abilities were measured with pure-tone audiometry, speech-in-noise perception, and discrimination thresholds for both static and dynamic spectral patterns. Cognitive performance was evaluated with a 12-test battery assessing episodic, semantic, and working memory, perceptual speed, and visuospatial abilities.
RESULTS
Among the auditory measures, only the static and dynamic spectral-pattern discrimination thresholds were associated with cognitive performance in a regression model that included the demographic covariates race, age, gender, and years of education. Subsequent analysis indicated substantial shared variance among the covariates race and both measures of spectral-pattern discrimination in accounting for cognitive performance. Among cognitive measures, working memory and visuospatial abilities showed the strongest interrelationship to spectral-pattern discrimination performance.
CONCLUSIONS
For a cohort of older adults without diagnosis of dementia, neither hearing thresholds nor speech-in-noise ability showed significant association with a summary measure of global cognition. In contrast, the two auditory metrics of spectral-pattern discrimination ability significantly contributed to a regression model prediction of cognitive performance, demonstrating association of central auditory ability to cognitive status using auditory metrics that avoided the confounding effect of speech materials.
Topics: Acoustic Stimulation; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging; Audiometry, Pure-Tone; Auditory Threshold; Cognition; Female; Hearing; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Neuropsychological Tests
PubMed: 26237423
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0134330 -
Comparative Biochemistry and... Nov 2021Temperature affects various metabolic and physiological processes in ectothermic animals, including auditory systems. The current study investigates the effect of...
Temperature affects various metabolic and physiological processes in ectothermic animals, including auditory systems. The current study investigates the effect of temperature and thermal acclimation time on hearing sensitivities in a eurythermal and a stenothermal fish possessing accessory hearing structures. Using the auditory evoked potential (AEP) recording technique, we determined thresholds from 0.1 to 4 kHz and peak latencies of AEP-waveforms in response to a click stimulus. The goldfish Carassius auratus was chosen as a model for eurythermal and the Amazonian catfish Megalodoras uranoscopus as a model for stenothermal species. Both species were tested at two different temperatures (C. auratus: 15 °C and 25 °C, M. uranoscopus: 22 °C and 30 °C) and acclimation periods, within 22 h (unacclimated) or three to four weeks (acclimated) after reaching the target temperature. A frequency-dependent increase in auditory sensitivity and a decrease of peak latencies was recorded in both species at higher temperatures, independent of acclimation time. The change in hearing thresholds per degree Celsius was more pronounced in the stenothermal catfish. The data indicate that higher temperatures improved hearing (lower thresholds, shorter latencies), whereas acclimation had no effect on hearing in either species. The latter data contradict previous findings in the eurythermal channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus in which acclimation slightly improved hearing when raising the temperatures. A comparison of changes in hearing sensitivity per degree Celsius of all seven species tested so far revealed no differences between eurythermal and stenothermal species.
Topics: Adaptation, Physiological; Animals; Auditory Threshold; Fishes; Hearing; Reaction Time; Temperature
PubMed: 34375742
DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2021.111053 -
International Journal of Pediatric... Oct 2019The present study aimed to determine the relationship between aided cortical auditory evoked potentials and aided behavioral thresholds. Secondary aims of the study were...
OBJECTIVES
The present study aimed to determine the relationship between aided cortical auditory evoked potentials and aided behavioral thresholds. Secondary aims of the study were to investigate the relationship between age and Cortical Auditory Evoked Potentials latencies, and to analyze the relationship between the /m/, /g/ and /t/ stimuli.
METHOD
Therefore, 20 subjects (4-8 years old) who diagnosed with moderate to severe hearing loss were included in the study. Behavioral pure-tone audiometry was performed using supra-aural earphones. After verification of the settings of hearing aid settings, aided behavioral thresholds were determined in the free field. Aided CAEPs were recorded using the HEARLab system in a sound-treated room. The /m/, /g/, and /t/ speech stimuli were applied with durations of 30, 20, and 30 ms respectively.
RESULTS
A strong correlation was found between aided cortical auditory evoked responses at the level of 55 dB SPL and aided behavioral thresholds in the free field(r=0.86). We showed that the CAEP latencies were not correlated with the age (/m/ stimulus [r=-0.051; p=0.830], /g/ stimulus [r=-0.053; p=0.825], and /t/ stimulus [r=0.121; p=0,610]). The mean latency of the /m/ stimulus at 55 dB SPL intensity was longer than those of the /g/ and /t/ stimuli.
CONCLUSION
The results of the present study demonstrated that the use of the cortical auditory evoked potentials is clinically useful for measuring the hearing aid benefit. The CAEP can predict the aided behavioral thresholds in children with moderate hearing loss.
Topics: Acoustic Stimulation; Audiometry, Pure-Tone; Auditory Cortex; Auditory Threshold; Child; Child, Preschool; Evoked Potentials, Auditory; Female; Hearing Aids; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural; Humans; Male
PubMed: 31276893
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2019.05.015