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Audiology & Neuro-otology Mar 2024We aimed to investigate the clinical significance of loudness discomfort level (LDL) test in tinnitus patients and its relationship with pure-tone audiometry,...
INTRODUCTION
We aimed to investigate the clinical significance of loudness discomfort level (LDL) test in tinnitus patients and its relationship with pure-tone audiometry, tinnitogram and questionnaires.
METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 320 tinnitus patients who visited a tertiary university hospital's tinnitus clinic and completed LDL tests between March 2020 and December 2022. Epidemiological data and psychoacoustic test results were collected.
RESULTS
LDL showed no significant differences between frequencies for both ears. Mean LDL did not correlate with mean pure-tone average or hearing thresholds at each frequency. The hearing loss group had higher LDL at 8 kHz compared to the normal hearing group (p<0.01). Objective sound intolerance was found in a quarter, correlating with subjective hyperacusis, anxiety, and depression. Weak negative correlations were found between most of questionnaire's scores and LDL on the left side. Tinnitus loudness weak negatively correlated with LDL at most frequencies, except 8 kHz.
DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION
Our findings suggest a notable association between LDL levels and emotional factors in tinnitus patients, rather than with auditory thresholds. While lateralized differences in LDL responses were observed, specifically on the left side, these preliminary results do not confirm a causal link and thus do not warrant changes to current clinical testing protocols without further research.
PubMed: 38432195
DOI: 10.1159/000538128 -
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine :... Mar 2024Hypoglossal nerve stimulation is an established therapy for sleep apnea syndrome. Whether or not this therapy on snoring and nighttime noise exposure is effective and... (Clinical Trial)
Clinical Trial
STUDY OBJECTIVES
Hypoglossal nerve stimulation is an established therapy for sleep apnea syndrome. Whether or not this therapy on snoring and nighttime noise exposure is effective and how strong this effect may be has not been objectively investigated thus far and was the aim of this study.
METHODS
In 15 participants (14 males; age: 30-72 years; mean: 51.7 years), polysomnography and acoustic measurements were performed before and after hypoglossal nerve stimulation.
RESULTS
The therapy led to a significant improvement in sleep apnea (apnea-hypopnea index from 35.8 events/h to 11.2 events/h, < .001). Acoustic parameters showed a highly significant reduction in the average sound pressure level (42.9 db[A] to 36.4 db[A], < .001), averaged sound energy, A-weighted (LAeq; 33.1 db[A] to 28.7 db[A], < .001), snoring index (1,068 to 506, < .001), percentage snoring time (29.7-14.1%, < .001), and psychoacoustic snore score, the latter being a measure of annoyance due to snoring (47.9 to 24.5, < .001).
CONCLUSIONS
This study was able to show for the first time by means of objective acoustic and psychoacoustic parameters that hypoglossal nerve stimulation can not only cause a significant improvement in sleep apnea but also has a positive effect on snoring and thus noise annoyance experienced by the bed partner.
CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION
Registry: German Clinical Trials Register; Name: Effect of Hypoglossal Nerve Stimulation on Snoring: An Evaluation Using Objective Acoustic Parameters; URL: https://drks.de/search/de/trial/DRKS00032354; Identifier: DRKS00032354.
CITATION
Fischer R, Vielsmeier V, Kuehnel TS, et al. Effect of hypoglossal nerve stimulation on snoring: an evaluation using objective acoustic parameters. . 2024;20(3):363-370.
Topics: Adult; Aged; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Acoustics; Hypoglossal Nerve; Polysomnography; Sleep Apnea Syndromes; Snoring; Female
PubMed: 38426848
DOI: 10.5664/jcsm.10868 -
Attention, Perception & Psychophysics Apr 2024There is an increasing body of evidence suggesting that there are low-level perceptual processes involved in crossmodal correspondences. In this study, we investigate...
There is an increasing body of evidence suggesting that there are low-level perceptual processes involved in crossmodal correspondences. In this study, we investigate the involvement of the superior colliculi in three basic crossmodal correspondences: elevation/pitch, lightness/pitch, and size/pitch. Using a psychophysical design, we modulate visual input to the superior colliculus to test whether the superior colliculus is required for behavioural crossmodal congruency effects to manifest in an unspeeded multisensory discrimination task. In the elevation/pitch task, superior colliculus involvement is required for a behavioural elevation/pitch congruency effect to manifest in the task. In the lightness/pitch and size/pitch task, we observed a behavioural elevation/pitch congruency effect regardless of superior colliculus involvement. These results suggest that the elevation/pitch correspondence may be processed differently to other low-level crossmodal correspondences. The implications of a distributed model of crossmodal correspondence processing in the brain are discussed.
Topics: Humans; Superior Colliculi; Male; Female; Adult; Young Adult; Pattern Recognition, Visual; Size Perception; Attention; Pitch Discrimination; Association; Psychoacoustics; Orientation
PubMed: 38418807
DOI: 10.3758/s13414-024-02866-x -
BioRxiv : the Preprint Server For... Feb 2024Recognizing speech in noise, such as in a busy street or restaurant, is an essential listening task where the task difficulty varies across acoustic environments and...
Recognizing speech in noise, such as in a busy street or restaurant, is an essential listening task where the task difficulty varies across acoustic environments and noise levels. Yet, current cognitive models are unable to account for changing real-world hearing sensitivity. Here, using natural and perturbed background sounds we demonstrate that spectrum and modulations statistics of environmental backgrounds drastically impact human word recognition accuracy and they do so independently of the noise level. These sound statistics can facilitate or hinder recognition - at the same noise level accuracy can range from 0% to 100%, depending on the background. To explain this perceptual variability, we optimized a biologically grounded hierarchical model, consisting of frequency-tuned cochlear filters and subsequent mid-level modulation-tuned filters that account for central auditory tuning. Low-dimensional summary statistics from the mid-level model accurately predict single trial perceptual judgments, accounting for more than 90% of the perceptual variance across backgrounds and noise levels, and substantially outperforming a cochlear model. Furthermore, perceptual transfer functions in the mid-level auditory space identify multi-dimensional natural sound features that impact recognition. Thus speech recognition in natural backgrounds involves interference of multiple summary statistics that are well described by an interpretable, low-dimensional auditory model. Since this framework relates salient natural sound cues to single trial perceptual judgements, it may improve outcomes for auditory prosthetics and clinical measurements of real-world hearing sensitivity.
PubMed: 38405870
DOI: 10.1101/2024.02.13.579526 -
Seminars in Hearing Feb 2024Tinnitus acoustic therapy is defined as any use of sound where the intent is to alter the tinnitus perception and/or the reactions to tinnitus in a clinically beneficial... (Review)
Review
Tinnitus acoustic therapy is defined as any use of sound where the intent is to alter the tinnitus perception and/or the reactions to tinnitus in a clinically beneficial way. The parameters of sound that may cause beneficial effects, however, are currently only theorized with limited data supporting their effectiveness. Residual inhibition is the temporary suppression or elimination of tinnitus that is usually observed following appropriate auditory stimulation. Our pilot study investigated the effects of a therapeutic acoustic stimulus that was individually customized to maximize residual inhibition of tinnitus and extend its duration to determine if there could be a sustained suppression of the tinnitus signal (i.e., reduced tinnitus loudness) and a reduction in the psychological and emotional reactions to tinnitus. This pilot study had two objectives: (1) to evaluate the feasibility of residual inhibition technique therapy through daily use of hearing aids and (2) to determine its effects by measuring reactionary changes in tinnitus with the Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI) and perceptual changes in tinnitus loudness. A total of 20 adults (14 males, 6 females; mean age: 58 years, SD = 12.88) with chronic tinnitus were enrolled in a four-visit study that consisted of the following: (1) baseline visit and initiation of the intervention period, (2) a 1-month postintervention visit, (3) 2-month postintervention visit and initiation of a wash-out period, and (4) a 3-month visit to assess the wash-out period and any lasting effects of the intervention. The intervention consisted of fitting bilateral hearing aids and creating an individualized residual inhibition stimulus that was streamed via Bluetooth from a smartphone application to the hearing aids. The participants were instructed to wear the hearing aids and stream the residual inhibition stimulus all waking hours for the 2-month intervention period. During the wash-out period, the participants were instructed to use the hearing aids for amplification, but the residual inhibition stimulus was discontinued. At all visits, the participants completed the TFI, study-specific self-report measures to document perceptions of tinnitus, a psychoacoustic test battery consisting of tinnitus loudness and pitch matching, and a residual inhibition test battery consisting of minimum masking and minimum residual inhibition levels. At the end of the trial, participants were interviewed about the study experience and acceptability of the residual inhibition treatment technique. Repeated measures analyses of variance (ANOVA) were conducted on the two main outcomes (TFI total score and tinnitus loudness) across all four visits. The results showed a significant main effect of visit on the TFI total score ( < 0.0001). Specifically, the results indicated a significant reduction in TFI total scores from baseline to the 1-month post-intervention period, which remained stable across the 2-month post-intervention period and the wash-out period. The ANOVA results did not show a significant change in tinnitus loudness as a function of visit ( = 0.480). The majority of the participants reported a positive experience with the study intervention at their exit interview. This pilot study demonstrated that residual inhibition as a sound therapy for tinnitus, specifically through the daily use of hearing aids, was feasible and acceptable to individuals suffering from chronic tinnitus. In addition, participants showed improvement in reactions to tinnitus as demonstrated by sustained reduction in TFI scores on average over the course of the treatment period. Achieving residual inhibition may also provide patients a feeling of control over their tinnitus, and this may have a synergistic effect in reducing the psychological and emotional distress associated with tinnitus. There was no significant reduction in long-term tinnitus loudness resulting from the residual inhibition treatment; however, the current pilot study may not have had sufficient power to detect such a change. The combination of tinnitus suppression and improved psychosocial/emotional reactions to tinnitus may result in a better quality of life in both the short and long term. A larger-scale study is needed to determine the validity of using residual inhibition as a clinical therapy option and to ascertain any effects on both perception and reactions to tinnitus.
PubMed: 38370522
DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-1770153 -
Nature Communications Feb 2024The phenomenon of musical consonance is an essential feature in diverse musical styles. The traditional belief, supported by centuries of Western music theory and...
The phenomenon of musical consonance is an essential feature in diverse musical styles. The traditional belief, supported by centuries of Western music theory and psychological studies, is that consonance derives from simple (harmonic) frequency ratios between tones and is insensitive to timbre. Here we show through five large-scale behavioral studies, comprising 235,440 human judgments from US and South Korean populations, that harmonic consonance preferences can be reshaped by timbral manipulations, even as far as to induce preferences for inharmonic intervals. We show how such effects may suggest perceptual origins for diverse scale systems ranging from the gamelan's slendro scale to the tuning of Western mean-tone and equal-tempered scales. Through computational modeling we show that these timbral manipulations dissociate competing psychoacoustic mechanisms underlying consonance, and we derive an updated computational model combining liking of harmonicity, disliking of fast beats (roughness), and liking of slow beats. Altogether, this work showcases how large-scale behavioral experiments can inform classical questions in auditory perception.
Topics: Humans; Psychoacoustics; Music; Auditory Perception; Emotions; Judgment; Acoustic Stimulation
PubMed: 38369535
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45812-z -
Data in Brief Apr 2024The present database contains brain activity of subjective tinnitus sufferers at identifying their sound tinnitus. The main objective of this database is to provide...
The present database contains brain activity of subjective tinnitus sufferers at identifying their sound tinnitus. The main objective of this database is to provide spontaneous Electroencephalographic (EEG) activity at rest, and evoked EEG activity when tinnitus sufferers attempt to identify their sound tinnitus among 54 tinnitus sound examples. For the database, 37 volunteers were recruited: 15 ones without tinnitus (Control Group - CG), and 22 ones with tinnitus (Tinnitus Group - TG). For EEG recording, 30 channels were used to record two conditions: 1) , where the volunteer remained in a state of rest with the open eyes for two minutes; and 2) , where the volunteer must have identified his/her sound stimulus by pressing a key. For the active condition, a sound-tinnitus library was generated in accordance with the most typical acoustic properties of tinnitus. The library consisted in ten pure tones (250 Hz, 500 Hz, 1 kHz, 2 kHz, 3 kHz, 3.5 kHz, 4 kHz, 6 kHz, 8 kHz, 10 kHz), a White Noise (WN), a Narrow Band noise-High frequencies (NBH, 4 kHz-10 kHz), a Narrow Band noise-Medium frequencies (NBM,1 kHz-4 kHz), a Narrow-Band noise Low frequencies (NBL, 250 Hz-1 kHz), ten pure tones combined with WN, ten pure tones superimposed with NBH, ten tones with NBM and ten pure tones combined with NBL. In total, 54 sound-tinnitus were applied for both groups. In the case of CG, volunteers must have identified a sound at 3.5 kHz. In addition to EEG information, a csv-file with audiometric and psychoacoustic information of volunteers is provided. For TG, this information refers to: 1) hearing level, 2) type of tinnitus, 3) tinnitus frequency, 4) tinnitus perception, 5) Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and 6) Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI). For CG, the information refers to: 1) hearing level, and 2) HADS.
PubMed: 38357451
DOI: 10.1016/j.dib.2024.110142 -
The Journal of the Acoustical Society... Feb 2024Dealing with newborns' health is a delicate matter since they cannot express needs, and crying does not reflect their condition. Although newborn cries have been studied...
Dealing with newborns' health is a delicate matter since they cannot express needs, and crying does not reflect their condition. Although newborn cries have been studied for various purposes, there is no prior research on distinguishing a certain pathology from other pathologies so far. Here, an unsophisticated framework is proposed for the study of septic newborns amid a collective of other pathologies. The cry was analyzed with music inspired and speech processing inspired features. Furthermore, neighborhood component analysis (NCA) feature selection was employed with two goals: (i) Exploring how the elements of each feature set contributed to classification outcome; (ii) investigating to what extent the feature space could be compacted. The attained results showed success of both experiments introduced in this study, with 88.66% for the decision template fusion (DTF) technique and a consistent enhancement in comparison to all feature sets in terms of accuracy and 86.22% for the NCA feature selection method by drastically downsizing the feature space from 86 elements to only 6 elements. The achieved results showed great potential for identifying a certain pathology from other pathologies that may have similar effects on the cry patterns as well as proving the success of the proposed framework.
Topics: Infant, Newborn; Humans; Psychoacoustics; Crying
PubMed: 38310608
DOI: 10.1121/10.0024618 -
Hearing Research Mar 2024Spectro-temporal modulation (STM) detection sensitivity has been shown to be associated with speech-in-noise reception in hearing-impaired (HI) individuals. Based on...
Spectro-temporal modulation (STM) detection sensitivity has been shown to be associated with speech-in-noise reception in hearing-impaired (HI) individuals. Based on previous research, a recent study [Zaar, Simonsen, Dau, and Laugesen (2023). Hear Res 427:108650] introduced an STM test paradigm with audibility compensation, employing STM stimulus variants using noise and complex tones as carrier signals. The study demonstrated that the test was suitable for the target population of elderly individuals with moderate-to-severe hearing loss and showed promising predictions of speech-reception thresholds (SRTs) measured in a realistic set up with spatially distributed speech and noise maskers and linear audibility compensation. The present study further investigated the suggested STM test with respect to (i) test-retest variability for the most promising STM stimulus variants, (ii) its predictive power with respect to realistic speech-in-noise reception with non-linear hearing-aid amplification, (iii) its connection to effects of directionality and noise reduction (DIR+NR) hearing-aid processing, and (iv) its relation to DIR+NR preference. Thirty elderly HI participants were tested in a combined laboratory and field study, collecting STM thresholds with a complex-tone based and a noise-based STM stimulus design, SRTs with spatially distributed speech and noise maskers using hearing aids with non-linear amplification and two different levels of DIR+NR, as well as subjective reports and preference ratings obtained in two field periods with the two DIR+NR hearing-aid settings. The results indicate that the noise-carrier based STM test variant (i) showed optimal test-retest properties, (ii) yielded a highly significant correlation with SRTs (R=0.61) exceeding and complementing the predictive power of the audiogram, (iii) yielded significant correlation (R=0.51) with the DIR+NR-induced SRT benefit, and (iv) did not provide significant correlation with subjective preference for DIR+NR settings in the field. Overall, the suggested STM test represents a valuable tool for diagnosing speech-reception problems that remain when hearing-aid amplification has been provided and the resulting need for and benefit from DIR+NR hearing-aid processing.
Topics: Humans; Aged; Speech; Hearing Aids; Speech Perception; Hearing Loss; Hearing; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural
PubMed: 38281473
DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2024.108949 -
Journal of Speech, Language, and... Feb 2024The study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of amplification with hearing aids for people with chronic subjective tinnitus and mild hearing loss. (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
PURPOSE
The study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of amplification with hearing aids for people with chronic subjective tinnitus and mild hearing loss.
METHOD
In this randomized, controlled, three-arm trial, 38 subjects with a primary complaint of tinnitus were randomly assigned to one of the three treatment groups. Twelve subjects received informational counselling (IC) only, 13 received IC with hearing aid fitting, and 13 subjects received IC with individualized music stimulation for 12 months. The primary efficacy analysis in tinnitus severity was based on the change from baseline to 12 months after the 1st day of the intervention. Secondary outcome measures included tinnitus impact, psychological and mental health effects, subjective ratings, and psychoacoustically measured tinnitus loudness.
RESULTS
A statistically significant treatment difference among the three groups in the Chinese Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI-CH) total score at the predefined end point in Month 12 was observed ( = 3.34, = .04, partial η = .16). Reductions in the TFI-CH scores in both the hearing aid and the customized music group were more prominent than in the IC-only group. Only the hearing aid group showed a significantly greater treatment effect than the IC-only group.
CONCLUSION
Results from this study support that a combination of hearing aid use and IC can help improve tinnitus in people with mild hearing loss.
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL
https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25015979.
Topics: Humans; Tinnitus; Acoustic Stimulation; Hearing Aids; Music; Hearing Loss; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 38271299
DOI: 10.1044/2023_JSLHR-23-00031