Neural Correlates of Individual Differences in Speech-in-Noise Performance in a Large Cohort of Cochlear Implant Users.

Objectives: Understanding speech-in-noise (SiN) is a complex task that recruits multiple cortical subsystems. Individuals vary in their ability to understand SiN. This cannot be explained by simple peripheral hearing profiles, but recent work by our group ( Kim et al.

Validation of the Iowa Test of Consonant Perception.

Speech perception (especially in background noise) is a critical problem for hearing-impaired listeners and an important issue for cognitive hearing science. Despite a plethora of standardized measures, few single-word closed-set tests uniformly sample the most frequently used phonemes and use response choices that equally sample phonetic features like place and voicing. The Iowa Test of Consonant Perception (ITCP) attempts to solve this.

Laser plume containment during flexible transnasal laryngoscopy.

Objective: To evaluate a negative pressure microenvironment designed to contain laser plume during flexible transnasal laryngoscopy.

Methods: The Negative Pressure Face Shield (NPFS) was previously reported as well tolerated with initial use on 30 patients. Diagnostic transnasal laryngoscopy was performed on an additional 108 consecutive patients who were evaluated by questionnaires and sequential pulse oximetry.

Pre- and post-target cortical processes predict speech-in-noise performance.

Understanding speech in noise (SiN) is a complex task that recruits multiple cortical subsystems. There is a variance in individuals' ability to understand SiN that cannot be explained by simple hearing profiles, which suggests that central factors may underlie the variance in SiN ability. Here, we elucidated a few cortical functions involved during a SiN task and their contributions to individual variance using both within- and across-subject approaches.

Auditory Working Memory Explains Variance in Speech Recognition in Older Listeners Under Adverse Listening Conditions.

Introduction: Older listeners have difficulty understanding speech in unfavorable listening conditions. To compensate for acoustic degradation, cognitive processing skills, such as working memory, need to be engaged. Despite prior findings on the association between working memory and speech recognition in various listening conditions, it is not yet clear whether the modality of stimuli presentation for working memory tasks should be auditory or visual.

Presentation and Outcomes of Elderly Patients Undergoing Head and Neck Surgeries: A National Perspective.

Objectives: To examine clinical profile and outcomes of elderly patients (65-90 years) undergoing head and neck surgeries in the United States.

Study Design: A retrospective cross-sectional analysis.

Setting: The Nationwide Readmissions Database, 2010 to 2015.

Adult Cochlear Implant Recipients' Perspectives on Experiences With Music in Everyday Life: A Multifaceted and Dynamic Phenomenon.

Background: Cochlear implants (CIs), which have been designed primarily to support spoken communication of persons with severe to profound hearing loss, are highly effective in supporting speech perception in quiet listening conditions. CI users as a group achieve significantly poorer perception and appraisal of music, and speech perception is compromised when background music is present, though outcomes vary considerably across recipients. A number of factors have been identified that contribute to variable music listening experiences, but many questions remain, particularly regarding experiences in everyday life from the perspective of CI users.

Intraductal Salivary Gland Infusion With Botulinum Toxin.

Background: Administration of botulinum toxin through intraductal salivary infusion may decrease the risks of percutaneous needle injection and improve delivery to permeate the entire gland parenchyma.

Methods: The safety of intraductal salivary gland infusion was tested with prospective evaluation of two patients using interviews, clinical examination, and pressure measurement during infusion. Retrospective chart review of two subsequently treated patients assessed treatment of a parotid-cutaneous fistula and sialorrhea.

Beyond Technology: The Interaction of Perceptual Accuracy and Experiential Factors in Pediatric Music Engagement.

Background: Music engagement (the active making of music, e.g., music lessons and ensembles) is a common part of educational and community experiences.

Electric and acoustic harmonic integration predicts speech-in-noise performance in hybrid cochlear implant users.

Background: Pitch perception of complex tones relies on place or temporal fine structure-based mechanisms from resolved harmonics and the temporal envelope of unresolved harmonics. Combining this information is essential for speech-in-noise performance, as it allows segregation of a target speaker from background noise. In hybrid cochlear implant (H-CI) users, low frequency acoustic hearing should provide pitch from resolved harmonics while high frequency electric hearing should provide temporal envelope pitch from unresolved harmonics.

Utility of preoperative computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging in adult and pediatric cochlear implant candidates.

Objectives/hypothesis: Determine the utility of preoperative imaging in adult and pediatric cochlear implant candidates.

Study Design: Retrospective chart review.

Methods: Medical records of 101 consecutive adult and 20 consecutive pediatric patients who underwent 137 cochlear implantation (CI) procedures at a single institution were reviewed.