Audiology & Neuro-otology

INTRODUCTION: Purpose of our study is to compare two competing methods of performing bisyllabic words speech audiometry for the detection of the 50% speech reception threshold in noise (SRT50). METHODS: Classic method is performed submitting multiple words lists at fixed signal to noise ratio. A newer Fast method - Italian Fast Speech Reception Threshold 50 (IFastSRT50) - is performed by means of a program software with a single list of bisyllabic words and noise intensity shifting...

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 ten years following the application of topical ear aminoglycosides in a tertiary referral center...

OBJECTIVE: The acoustic reflex is the active response of the middle ear to loud sounds, altering the mechanical transfer function of the acoustic energy into the inner ear. Our goal is to observe the effect of the acoustic reflex on the tympanic membrane by identifying a significant nonlinear increase in membrane oscillations. DESIGN: By using interferometric spectrally encoded endoscopy we record the membrane oscillations over time in response to a loud, 200-ms-long acoustic stimulus...

INTRODUCTION: Studies have identified a greater risk of sensory neural hearing loss in individuals with COPD compared to healthy individuals, but it is unclear whether they are at increased risk of hearing loss with impaired speech recognition. The aim of this study was to assess whether COPD is associated with hearing loss that affects speech recognition. METHODS: This is a case-control study. We screened individuals from health facilities in the municipality of Jundiai...

INTRODUCTION: Auditory performance in noise of cochlear implant recipients can be assessed with the adaptive Matrix test (MT); however, when the speech-to-noise ratio (SNR) exceeds 15 dB, the background noise has any negative impact on the speech recognition. Here, we aim to evaluate the predictive power of aided pure-tone audiometry and speech recognition in quiet, and establish cut-off values for both tests that indicate whether auditory performance in noise can be assessed using the Matrix sentence test in a diffuse noise environment...

INTRODUCTION: Difficulties in understanding speech in noise is the most common complaint of people with hearing impairment. Thus, there is a need for tests of speech-in-noise ability in clinical settings, which have to be evaluated for each language. Here, a reference dataset is presented for a quick speech-in-noise test in the French language (Vocale Rapide dans le Bruit, VRB; Leclercq, Renard & Vincent, 2018). METHODS: A large cohort (N=641) was tested in a nationwide multicentric study...

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 bi-modal 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 (cVEMP) and ocular (oVEMP) vestibular evoked myogenic potentials, audiometric testing, and the triangle completion test (TCT) were retrospectively analyzed...

BACKGROUND: Correct individual tonotopic frequency stimulation of the cochlea plays an important role in the further development of anatomy based cochlear implantation. In this context frequency specific fitting of the basal electrode contact with a normal insertion depth can be difficult since it is often placed in a frequency range higher than 10 kHz and current audio processors only stimulate for frequencies up to 8.5 kHz due to microphone characteristics. This results in a mismatch of the high frequencies...

INTRODUCTION: Gap detection tests are crucial clinical tools for identifying auditory processing disorders that result from abnormalities in the central auditory nervous system. These tests assess the ability to resolve temporal information in sounds, which aids in the diagnosis of auditory temporal processing issues. This study explores the directional effects of marker frequencies on gap detection tasks with respect to the conditions of long and short frequency disparity (separation)...

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) using the video head impulse test (vHIT) as a vestibular function assessment method in patients with unilateral chronic otitis media (COM). METHODS: Twenty-eight patients with unilateral COM scheduled for middle ear surgery, including 12 males and 16 females with a mean age of 54.5 years, successfully underwent preoperative vHIT. vHIT variables, including VOR gain, VOR gain asymmetry, and the incidence of corrective saccades, were compared between the ipsilesional and contralesional ears...

INTRODUCTION: Active aging emphasizes optimizing health and participation for a better quality of life as people age. This paper explores the significant impact of hearing loss and balance disorders on the elderly. Age-related hearing loss is thought to contribute to communication breakdown and cognitive dysfunctions. The "hearing and balance in healthy aging" project focuses on early detection, mitigation, and advocacy. Objectives include exploring epidemiological traits, evaluating overall well-being impact, proving positive intervention effects, and advocating societal care for the elderly with hearing loss and balance disorders, aiming to reduce their broader impact on cognition, independence, and sociability...

INTRODUCTION: Cochlear implantation is the standard treatment for severe to profound hearing loss. While cochlear implant (CI) users can communicate effectively in quiet environments, speech understanding in noise remains challenging. Bimodal hearing, combining a CI in one ear and a hearing aid (HA) in the other, has shown advantages over unilateral electrical hearing, especially for speech understanding in noisy conditions. Beamforming is a technique used to improve speech understanding in noise by detecting sound direction and enhancing frontal (speech) sounds while attenuating background noise...

INTRODUCTION: Aging deteriorates peripheral and central auditory structures and functions. In elders, for an accurate audiological evaluation, it is important to explore beyond the cochlear receptor. Audiograms provide an estimation of hearing thresholds, while the amplitudes and latencies of supra-threshold auditory brainstem response (ABR) can offer noninvasive measures of the auditory pathways functioning. Regarding ABR, in young populations, level-specific chirp (LS CE-chirp) stimulus has been proposed as an alternative synchronizing method to obtain larger ABR responses than those evoked by clicks...

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...

INTRODUCTION: Several studies have reported that the number of patients with Bell's palsy varied significantly by month and season. However, few studies have reported the monthly variation in Bell's palsy based on the whole population. We investigated the monthly variation in Bell's palsy in Korea during a long-term period based on whole population data. METHODS: This retrospective study used the data of the National Health Insurance Service of Korea, which included the entire Korean population from 2008 to 2020...

INTRODUCTION: For the treatment of single-sided deafness (SSD), common treatment choices include a contralateral routing of signals (CROS) hearing aid, a bone conduction device (BCD), and a cochlear implant (CI). The primary aim of this study was to compare speech understanding in noise and binaural benefits in adults with postlingual SSD between preoperative unaided baseline, preoperative CROS and BCD trial devices, and CI, following recommendations from a consensus protocol. In addition, we investigated the effect of masker type on speech understanding...

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®...

OBJECTIVE: The aims of the present study were to evaluate postural balance performance of the subjects on the time-restricted feeding (TRF) and reveal the effect of TRF on the vestibular system by comparing the results to those of traditional daily dietary (DD) condition. METHODS: Sixteen adults (3 males, 13 females; mean age 25.4 ± 4) who had experienced at least one month of TRF were included in the study. Sensory Organization Test (SOT) and Head-Shake Sensory Organization Test (HS-SOT) -which evaluate proprioceptive, visual and vestibular systems- were performed on TRF and DD conditions via the Computerized Dynamic Posturography System...

INTRODUCTION: The mechanism of non-osseous bone conduction pathways, involving the intracranial contents (ICC) of the skull, is still not well understood. This study aims to investigate the influence of the ICC on the skull bone wave propagation, including dependence on stimulation location and coupling. METHODS: Three Thiel embalmed whole-head cadaver specimens were studied before and after the removal of the ICC. Stimulation was via the electromagnetic actuators from commercial bone conduction hearing aids...

INTRODUCTION: Optimal cochlear implant (CI) outcomes are due to, at least in part, appropriate device programming. Objective measures, such as electrically-evoked stapedial reflex thresholds (ESRTs), can be used to more accurately set programming levels. However, underlying factors that contribute to ESRT levels are not well understood. The objective of the current study is to analyze how demographic variables of patient sex and age, along with cochlear implant electrode location, influence electrically-evoked stapedial reflex thresholds (ESRTs) in adult cochlear implant users...