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American Journal of Audiology Jun 2023Common clinical application of auditory brainstem response (ABR) testing is limited to 0.25-4 kHz. Prior research has demonstrated associations between ABR and...
PURPOSE
Common clinical application of auditory brainstem response (ABR) testing is limited to 0.25-4 kHz. Prior research has demonstrated associations between ABR and behavioral thresholds for tone burst stimuli > 4 kHz in adults, but there are no comparable data for children. The ability to predict behavioral thresholds > 4 kHz clinically based on the ABR would provide valuable audiologic information for individuals who are unable to provide behavioral thresholds. This study included children with hearing loss and children with normal hearing to determine the association between ABR and behavioral thresholds at 6 and 8 kHz.
METHOD
ABR and behavioral thresholds were obtained for children ages 4.7-16.7 years ( = 10.5, = 3.4) with sensorineural hearing loss ( = 24) or normal hearing sensitivity ( = 16) and for adults ages 18.4-54.4 years ( = 32.7, = 10.4) with sensorineural hearing loss ( = 13) or normal hearing sensitivity ( = 11). Thresholds obtained for 6 and 8 kHz using ABR and conventional audiometry were compared.
RESULTS
Differences between ABR and behavioral thresholds averaged 5-6 dB for both children and adults for both test frequencies, with differences of ≤ 20 dB in all instances. Linear mixed modeling for data from participants with hearing loss suggested that ABR threshold is a good predictor of behavioral threshold at 6 and 8 kHz for both children and adults. Test specificity was 100%; no participants with behavioral thresholds ≤ 20 dB HL had ABR thresholds > 25 dB nHL.
CONCLUSIONS
Initial evidence suggests that ABR testing at 6 and 8 kHz is reliable for estimating behavioral threshold in listeners with hearing loss and accurately identifies normal hearing sensitivity. The results of this study contribute to efforts to improve outcomes for vulnerable populations by reducing barriers to clinical implementation of ABR testing at > 4 kHz.
Topics: Adult; Child; Humans; Audiometry; Audiometry, Pure-Tone; Auditory Threshold; Deafness; Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem; Hearing Loss; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural; Child, Preschool; Adolescent; Young Adult; Middle Aged
PubMed: 37040345
DOI: 10.1044/2023_AJA-22-00180 -
Environmental Health Perspectives Apr 1982Many drugs, chemical substances and agents are potentially toxic to the human auditory system. The extent of toxicity depends on numerous factors. With few exceptions,... (Review)
Review
Many drugs, chemical substances and agents are potentially toxic to the human auditory system. The extent of toxicity depends on numerous factors. With few exceptions, toxicity in the auditory system affects various organs or cells within the cochlea or vestibular system, with brain stem and other central nervous system involvement reported with some chemicals and agents. This ototoxicity usually presents as a decrease in auditory sensitivity, tinnitus and/or vertigo or loss of balance. Classical and newer audiological techniques used in clinical assessment are beneficial in specifying the site of lesion in the cochlea, although auditory test results, themselves, give little information regarding possible pathology or etiology within the cochlea. Typically,, ototoxicity results in high frequency hearing loss, progressive as a function of frequency, usually accompanied by tinnitus and occasionally by vertigo or loss of balance. Auditory testing protocols are necessary to document this loss in auditory function.
Topics: Acoustic Impedance Tests; Audiometry, Pure-Tone; Audiometry, Speech; Auditory Pathways; Brain Stem; Hearing Disorders; Hearing Tests; Humans
PubMed: 7044778
DOI: 10.1289/ehp.824467 -
Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) May 2024Besides classical stapedotomy, reverse stapedotomy has been used for many years in the management of otosclerosis. Our study aims to investigate whether reversing the...
Besides classical stapedotomy, reverse stapedotomy has been used for many years in the management of otosclerosis. Our study aims to investigate whether reversing the surgical steps in stapedotomy impacts vestibular function and hearing improvement. A cohort of 123 patients underwent either classic or reverse stapedotomy procedures utilizing a fiber-optic argon laser. Audiological assessments, following the guidelines of the Committee on Hearing and Equilibrium, were conducted, including pure tone average, air-bone (AB) gap, overclosure, and AB gap closure. Vestibular evaluation involved pre- and postoperative comparison of rotatory test parameters, including frequency, amplitude, and slow phase velocity of nystagmus. The study demonstrated an overall median overclosure of 3.3 (3.3, 5.0) dB and a mean AB gap closure of 20.3 ± 8.8 dB. Postoperative median AB gap was 7.5 (7.5, 11.3) dB in the reverse stapedotomy group and 10.0 (10.0, 12.5) dB in the classic stapedotomy group. While overclosure and AB gap closure were marginally superior in the reverse stapedotomy group, these differences did not reach statistical significance. No significant disparities were observed in the frequency, slow phase velocity, or amplitude of nystagmus in the rotational test. Although not always possible, reverse stapedotomy proved to be a safe surgical technique regarding postoperative outcomes. Its adoption may mitigate risks associated with floating footplate, sensorineural hearing loss, and incus luxation/subluxation, while facilitating the learning curve for less experienced ear surgeons.
Topics: Humans; Stapes Surgery; Male; Female; Middle Aged; Adult; Otosclerosis; Audiometry; Cohort Studies; Treatment Outcome; Audiometry, Pure-Tone; Aged; Vestibular Function Tests
PubMed: 38792986
DOI: 10.3390/medicina60050803 -
Clinical Interventions in Aging 2019The aim of this study was to investigate the satisfaction of age-related hearing loss (ARHL) or presbycusis patients with individual, accurate, and precise fitting...
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to investigate the satisfaction of age-related hearing loss (ARHL) or presbycusis patients with individual, accurate, and precise fitting progress, which is a priority for bilateral hearing aids, and to explore the related influencing factors and their role in predicting the efficiency of hearing aids.
METHODS
A total of 73 cases of presbycusis patients aged 60-95 years old underwent pure tone audiometry and speech recognition ability examination to obtain the pure tone audiometry of the better ear (BPTA) and maximum speech recognition rate of the better ear (BSRR) in quiet environment before hearing aid fitting. Audiologists evaluated the efficiency and satisfaction of participants according to the International Outcome Inventory for Hearing Aids (IOI-HA) questionnaire scores by face-to-face or telephone investigations after using the hearing aids for at least 3 months. The data were analyzed related to possible influencing factors.
RESULTS
Total satisfaction percentage according to IOI-HA scores was 86.3%. There was no significant correlation between age, first fitting age, unilateral or bilateral hearing aids, BPTA, and IOI-HA total score. BSRR was strongly correlated to total IOI-HA scores (=0.768). According to the multiple linear regression analysis, BPTA and BSRR both had a statistically significant effect on the total IOI-HA scores after hearing aid intervention.
CONCLUSION
ARHL patients with accurate hearing aid fitting will have high satisfaction and bilateral hearing aids are better than unilateral ones. Age and first fitting age are not meaningful to satisfaction with hearing aids. A higher maximum speech recognition rate before hearing aids fitting could predict better efficiency and satisfaction with hearing aids. Therefore, completing speech recognition ability examination before fitting would make a great contribution to the efficiency of hearing aids, and help ARHL patients have realistic expectations.
Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Audiometry, Pure-Tone; Audiometry, Speech; Female; Hearing Aids; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Patient Satisfaction; Presbycusis; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 30880929
DOI: 10.2147/CIA.S190651 -
The Journal of the Acoustical Society... Apr 2018Performance was measured on seven common psychoacoustical tasks for about 75 highly trained subjects. Because some psychoacoustical outcomes varied by race, the subjects...
Performance was measured on seven common psychoacoustical tasks for about 75 highly trained subjects. Because some psychoacoustical outcomes varied by race, the subjects were partitioned into White and Non-White categories for analysis. Sex, race, and menstrual-cycle differences in performance are described in a companion paper [McFadden, Pasanen, Maloney, Leshikar, and Pho (2018). J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 143, 2338-2354]. Also measured for all subjects were three types of otoacoustic emissions (OAEs): spontaneous otoacoustic emissions (SOAEs), click-evoked otoacoustic emissions (CEOAEs), and distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs). The experimental question was whether and how OAEs were correlated with psychoacoustical performance. In accord with past findings, the SOAEs and CEOAEs exhibited substantial sex and race differences, but the DPOAEs did not. Somewhat surprisingly, the correlations between OAEs and psychoacoustical performance were generally weak. No form of OAE was highly correlated with any psychoacoustical task for both sexes within a race category. Thus, there was no compelling evidence that the mechanisms underlying OAEs also contribute systematically to performance in any of the simultaneous or temporal masking tasks studied here. Especially surprising were the weak correlations between OAEs and detection of a tone in the quiet. Apparently individual differences in psychoacoustical performance reside more in post-cochlear (neural) mechanisms than in individual differences in the cochlear ("mechanical") mechanisms underlying the OAEs measured here.
Topics: Acoustic Stimulation; Adult; Audiometry; Auditory Pathways; Differential Threshold; Female; Humans; Male; Menstrual Cycle; Otoacoustic Emissions, Spontaneous; Psychoacoustics; Racial Groups; Sex Factors; Young Adult
PubMed: 29716248
DOI: 10.1121/1.5030999 -
Scandinavian Journal of Work,... Nov 2018Objectives The objective of this systematic review was to compare otoacoustic emissions (OAE) with audiometry in their effectiveness to monitor effects of long-term...
Objectives The objective of this systematic review was to compare otoacoustic emissions (OAE) with audiometry in their effectiveness to monitor effects of long-term noise exposure on hearing. Methods We conducted a systematic search of MEDLINE, Embase and the non-MEDLINE subset of PubMed up to March 2016 to identify longitudinal studies on effects of noise exposure on hearing as determined by both audiometry and OAE. Results This review comprised 13 articles, with 30-350 subjects in the longitudinal analysis. A meta-analysis could not be performed because the studies were very heterogeneous in terms of measurement paradigms, follow-up time, age of included subjects, inclusion of data points, outcome parameters and method of analysis. Overall there seemed to be small changes in both audiometry and OAE over time. Individual shifts were detected by both methods but a congruent pattern could not be observed. Some studies found that initial abnormal or low-level emissions might predict future hearing loss but at the cost of low specificity due to a high number of false positives. Other studies could not find such predictive value. Conclusions The reported heterogeneity in the studies calls for more uniformity in including, reporting and analyzing longitudinal data for audiometry and OAE. For the overall results, both methods showed small changes from baseline towards a deterioration in hearing. OAE could not reliably detect threshold shifts at individual level. With respect to the predictive value of OAE, the evidence was not conclusive and studies were not in agreement. The reported predictors had low specificity.
Topics: Audiometry; Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced; Humans; Noise; Otoacoustic Emissions, Spontaneous
PubMed: 29542804
DOI: 10.5271/sjweh.3725 -
BMC Public Health Jan 2013A number of studies have demonstrated that solvents may induce auditory dysfunction. However, there is still little knowledge regarding the main signs and symptoms of...
BACKGROUND
A number of studies have demonstrated that solvents may induce auditory dysfunction. However, there is still little knowledge regarding the main signs and symptoms of solvent-induced hearing loss (SIHL). The aim of this research was to investigate the association between solvent exposure and adverse effects on peripheral and central auditory functioning with a comprehensive audiological test battery.
METHODS
Seventy-two solvent-exposed workers and 72 non-exposed workers were selected to participate in the study. The test battery comprised pure-tone audiometry (PTA), transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE), Random Gap Detection (RGD) and Hearing-in-Noise test (HINT).
RESULTS
Solvent-exposed subjects presented with poorer mean test results than non-exposed subjects. A bivariate and multivariate linear regression model analysis was performed. One model for each auditory outcome (PTA, TEOAE, RGD and HINT) was independently constructed. For all of the models solvent exposure was significantly associated with the auditory outcome. Age also appeared significantly associated with some auditory outcomes.
CONCLUSIONS
This study provides further evidence of the possible adverse effect of solvents on the peripheral and central auditory functioning. A discussion of these effects and the utility of selected hearing tests to assess SIHL is addressed.
Topics: Adult; Audiometry; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Hearing Loss; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Occupational Diseases; Occupational Exposure; Solvents; Young Adult
PubMed: 23324255
DOI: 10.1186/1471-2458-13-39 -
Human Brain Mapping Feb 2021The objective of this study was to investigate alterations to brain activity and functional connectivity in patients with tinnitus, exploring neural features in the...
The objective of this study was to investigate alterations to brain activity and functional connectivity in patients with tinnitus, exploring neural features in the transition from acute to chronic phantom perception. Twenty-four patients with acute tinnitus, 23 patients with chronic tinnitus, and 32 healthy controls were recruited. High-density electroencephalography (EEG) was used to explore changes in brain areas and functional connectivity in different groups. When compared with healthy subjects, acute tinnitus patients had a significant reduction in superior frontal cortex activity across all frequency bands, whereas chronic tinnitus patients had a significant reduction in the superior frontal cortex at beta 3 and gamma frequency bands as well as a significant increase in the inferior frontal cortex at delta-band and superior temporal cortex at alpha 1 frequency band. When compared to the chronic tinnitus group, the acute tinnitus group activity was significantly increased in the middle frontal and parietal gyrus at the gamma-band. Functional connectivity analysis showed that the chronic tinnitus group had increased connections between the parahippocampus gyrus, posterior cingulate cortex, and precuneus when compared with the healthy group. Alterations of local brain activity and connections between the parahippocampus gyrus and other nonauditory areas appeared in the transition from acute to chronic tinnitus. This indicates that the appearance and development of tinnitus is a dynamic process involving aberrant local neural activity and abnormal connectivity in multifunctional brain networks.
Topics: Acute Disease; Adult; Audiometry; Brain; Brain Mapping; Chronic Disease; Cross-Sectional Studies; Disease Progression; Electroencephalography; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Nerve Net; Tinnitus
PubMed: 33090584
DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25238 -
Trends in Hearing Jun 2014Although many studies have looked at the effects of different listening conditions on the intelligibility of speech, their analyses have often concentrated on changes to... (Review)
Review
Although many studies have looked at the effects of different listening conditions on the intelligibility of speech, their analyses have often concentrated on changes to a single value on the psychometric function, namely, the threshold. Far less commonly has the slope of the psychometric function, that is, the rate at which intelligibility changes with level, been considered. The slope of the function is crucial because it is the slope, rather than the threshold, that determines the improvement in intelligibility caused by any given improvement in signal-to-noise ratio by, for instance, a hearing aid. The aim of the current study was to systematically survey and reanalyze the psychometric function data available in the literature in an attempt to quantify the range of slope changes across studies and to identify listening conditions that affect the slope of the psychometric function. The data for 885 individual psychometric functions, taken from 139 different studies, were fitted with a common logistic equation from which the slope was calculated. Large variations in slope across studies were found, with slope values ranging from as shallow as 1% per dB to as steep as 44% per dB (median = 6.6% per dB), suggesting that the perceptual benefit offered by an improvement in signal-to-noise ratio depends greatly on listening environment. The type and number of maskers used were found to be major factors on the value of the slope of the psychometric function while other minor effects of target predictability, target corpus, and target/masker similarity were also found.
Topics: Acoustic Stimulation; Audiometry, Speech; Comprehension; Humans; Noise; Perceptual Masking; Psychoacoustics; Psychometrics; Speech Intelligibility; Speech Perception
PubMed: 24906905
DOI: 10.1177/2331216514537722 -
CoDAS 2021To analyze auditory perception, hearing and cognition in the elderly referred for audiological evaluation and search for correlations between hearing and cognitive...
PURPOSE
To analyze auditory perception, hearing and cognition in the elderly referred for audiological evaluation and search for correlations between hearing and cognitive abilities.
METHOD
An observational and descriptive study, carried out with 135 elderly people. The participants did the auditory (tonal audiometry, speech audiometry, immittance measures, HHIE Questionnaire - Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly) and the cognitive (MMSE - Mini Mental State Examination) assessments.
RESULTS
There is a high prevalence of hearing complaints (91.85%) and hearing loss (91.85%) in the elderly referred for audiological assessment, but there was no relation between the degree of hearing loss (p = 0.537) and the auditory perception (p = 0.930) in relation to cognitive performance.
CONCLUSION
In this study, the degree of hearing loss did not influence the cognitive performance of the elderly, and the auditory handicap perception did not differ between individuals with normal or altered cognition.
Topics: Aged; Audiometry, Pure-Tone; Audiometry, Speech; Auditory Perception; Cognition; Hearing; Humans; Speech Perception
PubMed: 34320138
DOI: 10.1590/2317-1782/20202020150