Hearing, audiology

OBJECTIVE: In 2022, the Food and Drug Administration established a new regulatory category for over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids for mild to moderate hearing loss. Herein, we aim to better compare the safety and efficacy of these devices to that of prescription hearing aids. STUDY DESIGN: Comparative-effectiveness model. SETTING: Academic Audiology Center. METHODS: The safety and efficacy of prescription and OTC hearing aids was compared using the AudioScan Verifit 2 Testbox software...

OBJECTIVE: To identify associations between cochleovestibular anatomy findings and hearing outcomes found in children with imaging evidence of an absent or hypoplastic cochlear nerve treated with cochlear implantation (CI). STUDY DESIGN: retrospective review. SETTING: Cochlear implant program at tertiary care center. METHODS: A retrospective review was performed to identify children with imaging evidence of cochlear nerve absence or deficiency who underwent CI evaluation...

OBJECTIVES: Children with cochlear implants (CIs) face challenges in perceiving fundamental frequency (F0) information because CIs do not transmit F0 effectively. In Mandarin, F0 can contrast meanings at the word level, that is, via lexical tones with distinct F0 contours, and signal contrastive relations between words at the utterance-level, that is, via contrastive focus with expanded F0 range and longer duration. Mandarin-speaking children with CIs have been reported to face challenges in producing distinct F0 contours across tones, but early implantation facilitates tonal acquisition...

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to verify the influence of speech stimulus presentation and speed on auditory recognition in cochlear implant (CI) users with poorer performance. METHODS: The cross-sectional observational study applied auditory speech perception tests to fifteen adults, using three different ways of presenting the stimulus, in the absence of competitive noise: monitored live voice (MLV); recorded speech at typical speed (RSTS); recorded speech at slow speed (RSSS)...

PURPOSE: Hearing aids play a pivotal role in mitigating the impact of hearing loss, yet their adoption and consistent usage remains suboptimal. Understanding the hearing aid needs of individuals with hearing loss is important to support uptake, use, and outcomes. The current study describes users' perspectives on how hearing aids can be improved. METHOD: A cross-sectional, qualitative, content analysis design was used for an open-ended question from an online survey, exploring user perspectives on hearing aid improvements...

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate the short- and long-term effects of a new cognitive sound exposure therapy (CSET) in patients with hyperacusis. METHOD: A new therapy was developed to reduce hyperacusis using sound exposure combined with breathing and relaxation strategies from both acceptance and commitment therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. Patients who were referred to the Speech and Hearing Centers located in Hengelo and Zwolle in the Netherlands and aged ≥ 18 years with hyperacusis as main complaint and no or mild hearing loss were included in this study...

OBJECTIVE: Children with hearing loss experience greater difficulty understanding speech in the presence of noise and reverberation relative to their normal hearing peers despite provision of appropriate amplification. The fidelity of fundamental frequency of voice (f0) encoding-a salient temporal cue for understanding speech in noise-could play a significant role in explaining the variance in abilities among children. However, the nature of deficits in f0 encoding and its relationship with speech understanding are poorly understood...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate speech recognition in school-age children with early-childhood otitis media (OM) in conditions with noise or speech maskers with or without interaural differences. To also investigate the effects of three otologic history factors. DESIGN: Using headphone presentation, speech recognition thresholds (SRTs) were measured with simple sentences. As maskers, stationary speech-shaped noise (SSN) or two-talker running speech (TTS) were used. The stimuli were presented in a monaural and binaural condition (SSN) or a co-located and spatially separated condition (TTS)...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the benefit of remote-microphone (RM) systems for adults with sensory hearing loss. DESIGN: Speech recognition in quiet and in background noise was assessed. Participants with hearing loss underwent testing in two device conditions: hearing aids (HAs) alone and HAs with a RM. Normal hearing participants completed testing in the unaided condition. Predictive speech intelligibility modelling using the Hearing-Aid Speech Perception Index (HASPI) was also performed on recordings of HA processed test material...

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to provide a conceptual model to understand what typifies the lived experience of hearing loss. DESIGN: A grounded theory informed study of adults with hearing loss ( n  = 46) who participated in individual interviews. The data were analysed in line with the constant comparative approach of grounded theory. A substantial patient and public engagement (PPIE) strategy underpinned decisions and processes throughout. STUDY SAMPLE: Adults were recruited from age bands (16-29; 30-49;50-79 and 80 upwards) to provide different lived experience...

OBJECTIVES: The first objective of the study was to compare approaches to eardrum electrode insertion as they relate to the likelihood of introducing an acoustic leak between the ear canal and eartip. A common method for placing a tympanic membrane electrode involves securing the electrode in the canal by routing it underneath a foam eartip. This method is hypothesized to result in a slit leak between the canal and foam tip due to the added bulk of the electrode wire. An alternative approach involves creating a bore in the wall of the foam tip that the electrode can be threaded through...

OBJECTIVE: Listening difficulty (LiD) refers to the challenges individuals face when trying to hear and comprehend speech and other sounds. LiD can arise from various sources, such as hearing sensitivity, language comprehension, cognitive function, or auditory processing. Although some children with LiD have hearing loss, many have clinically normal audiometric thresholds. To determine the impact of hearing and cognitive factors on LiD in children with a clinically normal audiogram, we conducted a longitudinal study...

BACKGROUND: Otosclerosis is a bone disorder affecting the labyrinthine capsule that leads to conductive and occasionally sensorineural hearing loss. The etiology of otosclerosis remains unknown; factors such as infection, hormones, inflammation, genetics, and autoimmunity have been discussed. Treatment consists primarily of surgical stapes replacement and cochlear implantation. High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) is routinely used to visualize bone pathology. In the present study, we used synchrotron radiation phase-contrast imaging (SR-PCI) to examine otosclerosis plaques in a temporal bone for the first time...

Combining cochlear implants with binaural acoustic hearing via preserved hearing in the implanted ear(s) is commonly referred to as combined electric and acoustic stimulation (EAS). EAS fittings can provide patients with significant benefit for speech recognition in complex noise, perceived listening difficulty, and horizontal-plane localization as compared to traditional bimodal hearing conditions with contralateral and monaural acoustic hearing. However, EAS benefit varies across patients and the degree of benefit is not reliably related to the underlying audiogram...

The sensory epithelia of the auditory and vestibular systems of vertebrates have shared developmental and evolutionary histories. However, while the auditory epithelia show great variation across vertebrates, the vestibular sensory epithelia appear seemingly more conserved. An exploration of the current knowledge of the comparative biology of the amniote utricle, a vestibular sensory epithelium that senses linear acceleration, shows interesting instances of variability between birds and mammals. The distribution of sensory hair cell types, the position of the line of hair bundle polarity reversal and the properties of supporting cells show marked differences, likely impacting vestibular function and hair cell regeneration potential...

In recent studies, psychophysiological measures have been used as markers of listening effort, but there is limited research on the effect of hearing loss on such measures. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of hearing acuity on physiological responses and subjective measures acquired during different levels of listening demand, and to investigate the relationship between these measures. A total of 125 participants (37 males and 88 females, age range 37-72 years, pure-tone average hearing thresholds at the best ear between -5...

PURPOSE: Audiological services are underused, possibly because patients need to drive long distances to see a provider. In this study, we measured the association of drive times to the nearest audiologist with population density, income, ethnicity, race, and distance to the nearest audiology graduate program. METHOD: Drive times for each census block group to the nearest audiologist were measured using census data, the National Provider Identifier Registry, and a geographic analyzing tool called ArcGIS for all block groups within the United States...

Technological and therapeutic advances have allowed many children who are born hard-of-hearing (HoH) to start school with age-appropriate spoken language skills, yet many of these children continue to find everyday conversations challenging. This scoping review maps the evidence related to development of conversation and pragmatic skills in children who are HoH and learning spoken language. The review followed Arksey and O'Malley's methodological framework and the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines...

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to investigate whether prediction models built by de Graaff et al. (2020) can be used to improve speech recognition in experienced adult postlingual implanted Cochlear CI users. de Graaff et al. (2020) found relationships between elevated aided thresholds and a not optimal electrical dynamic range (<50 CL or >60 CL), and poorer speech recognition in quiet and in noise. The primary hypothesis of the present study was that speech recognition improves both in quiet and in noise when the sound processor is refitted to match targets derived from the prediction models from de Graaff et al...

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