A Comparative Study of Auditory Processing and Working Memory Profiles in Young and Older Adults.

Purpose: This study aimed to profile and compare the auditory processing and working memory skills of young and older adults with near-normal hearing thresholds (up to 2000 Hz) and cognition. This was done to investigate the effect of aging on these skills despite exhibiting near-normal peripheral hearing in low frequencies and normal cognitive skills.

Method: Twenty-five young adults (18 to 35 years) and 35 older adults (56 to 79 years) were recruited for the study.

Sensory Gating in the Auditory System: Classical and Novel Stimulus Paradigms.

Purpose: Sensory gating is a phenomenon where the cortical response to the second stimulus in a pair of identical stimuli is inhibited. It is most often assessed in a conditioning-testing paradigm. Both active and passive neuronal mechanisms have been implicated in sensory gating.

Listening Effort for Speech in Noise Perception Using Pupil Dilation: A Comparison Among Percussionists, Non-Percussionists, and Non-Musicians.

Background And Objectives: Most studies in literature attribute the benefits of musical training on speech in noise (SIN) perception to "experience-based" plasticity, which assists in the activation of speech-processing networks. However, whether musicianship provides an advantage for the listening effort (LE) required to comprehend speech in degraded environments has received less attention. The current study aimed to understand the influence of Indian classical music training on SIN perception and its related LE across percussionists, non-percussionists, and non-musicians.

Speech Perception in Noise and Medial Olivocochlear Reflex: Effects of Age, Speech Stimulus, and Response-Related Variables.

Purpose: The role of the medial olivocochlear system in speech perception in noise has been debated over the years, with studies showing mixed results. One possible reason for this could be the dependence of this relationship on the parameters used in assessing the speech perception ability (age, stimulus, and response-related variables).

Methods: The current study assessed the influence of the type of speech stimuli (monosyllables, words, and sentences), the signal-to-noise ratio (+5, 0, -5, and -10 dB), the metric used to quantify the speech perception ability (percent-correct, SNR-50, and slope of the psychometric function) and age (young vs old) on the relationship between medial olivocochlear reflex (quantified by contralateral inhibition of transient evoked otoacoustic emissions) and speech perception in noise.

Musician-Advantage on Listening Effort for Speech in Noise Perception: A Dual-Task Paradigm Measure.

Background And Objectives: Speech in noise (SIN) perception is essential for effective day-to-day communication, as everyday conversations seldom transpire in silent environments. Numerous studies have documented how musical training can aid in SIN discrimination through various neural-pathways, such as experience-dependent plasticity and overlapping processes between music and speech perception. However, empirical evidence regarding the impact of musical training on SIN perception remains inconclusive.

Role of the medial olivocochlear efferent auditory system in speech perception in noise: a systematic review and meta-analyses.

Objective: The study investigated the relationship between the strength of the medial olivocochlear reflex (measured via contralateral inhibition of otoacoustic emissions) and speech perception in noise (obtained from behavioural identification task) through meta-analyses.

Design: A systematic review and random-effects meta-analysis of studies investigating the relationship in neurotypical adults was performed.

Study Sample: The systematic search (in PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct and Google Scholar databases) revealed 21 eligible studies, which were critically appraised using the NIH tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies.

Sensory Gating to Speech and Nonspeech Stimulus and Its Relationship to Speech Perception in Noise.

Purpose: Sensory gating is the cortical phenomenon that involves selective inhibition of responses to task-irrelevant stimuli. Perceiving speech in noise, a situation commonly encountered by humans, requires the irrelevant noise to be inhibited while processing the relevant speech stimulus. We hypothesized that the two (sensory gating and speech perception in noise [SPiN]) might be related and that sensory gating may provide evidence of cortical inhibition involved in SPiN.

Prediction of behavioral MCL using electrophysiological responses in children using MED-EL implant.

The present study aimed to correlate the various electrophysiological tests of ECAP, EABR and ESRT with programming parameters. If there is a correlation between them, fitting formulae to be derived to predict programming parameters. Further this fitting formula was validated on a clinical population.

Spatial rehabilitation using virtual auditory space training paradigm in individuals with sensorineural hearing impairment.

Purpose: The present study aimed to quantify the effects of spatial training using virtual sources on a battery of spatial acuity measures in listeners with sensorineural hearing impairment (SNHI).

Methods: An intervention-based time-series comparison design involving 82 participants divided into three groups was adopted. Group I ( = 27, SNHI-spatially trained) and group II ( = 25, SNHI-untrained) consisted of SNHI listeners, while group III ( = 30) had listeners with normal hearing (NH).

Effects of Maturation and Chronological Aging on Auditory Spatial Processing: A Cross-Sectional Study Across Life Span.

Objective: The primary aim of the research was to document spatial acuity changes across the life span using a battery of psychoacoustical and perceptual tests. The secondary aim was to identify the optimal metric for measuring spatial processing changes across the life span (ages 10-70 years).

Design And Study Sample: A cross-sectional study comprising 115 participants with clinically normal hearing was conducted.

Effect of Age on Informational Masking: Differential Effects of Phonetic and Semantic Information in the Masker.

Purpose: Speech recognition in noise is a ubiquitous problem in older listeners. Speech, the most commonly encountered noise in the real world, causes greater masking than noise maskers, a phenomenon called informational masking (IM). This is due to the lexical-semantic and/or acoustic-phonetic information present in speech maskers.

Effect of modified programming parameters on sound field thresholds, speech perception and CAEP among children using CP802 processor.

Optimizing and validating programming parameters of Thresholds(T) and most comfortable levels(C) is very important in young children using a cochlear implant who may not be able provide behavioral responses. The present study attempts to describe the changes in T/C level with behavioral and Cortical Auditory Evoked Potentials (CAEP) responses. Twenty participants using CI24RE (ST) implant with CP802 speech processor participated in the study.

Distortion product otoacoustic emissions in very preterm infants: A longitudinal study.

Background: Very preterm infants are at a greater risk of developing neurodevelopmental impairments such as neuro-motor delays, vision and hearing deficits (Roze and Breart, 2004; Saigal and Doyle, 2008) [1,2]. The hearing difficulties in preterm infants vary depending on the co-morbid conditions. However, prematurity itself is considered as a risk factor that influence the functioning of auditory system.

Changes in Auditory Brainstem Response in very preterm and late preterm infants.

Aim: Aim of this study was to compare the absolute and interpeak latencies of Auditory Brainstem Responses (ABR) in very preterm and late preterm infants at 1 month and 3 months of corrected age.

Method: ology: ABR traces were obtained from 80 preterm infants (40 very preterm and 40 late preterm) at 1 month and 3 months of corrected age in a prospective, comparative cohort study. Auditory click stimuli at 70 dBnHL and 30 dBnHL, with repetition rate of 11.

Auditory brainstem response in very preterm, moderately preterm and late preterm infants.

Background: Auditory brainstem response across preterm infants help in understanding difference if any in auditory maturation.

Objective: To analyze and compare absolute and interpeak latencies of ABR in very preterm, moderate preterm and late preterm infants at term age.

Method: ABR traces were obtained from 148 ears of preterm infants (52 of very preterm, 44 of moderately preterm & 52 of late preterm) at term age.

Binaural Interaction Component in Speech Evoked Auditory Brainstem Responses.

Objective: This article aims to describe the characteristics of the binaural interaction component (BIC) of speech-evoked auditory brainstem response (ABR).

Materials And Methods: All 15 subjects had normal peripheral hearing sensitivity. ABRs were elicited by speech stimulus /da/.

The relationship of perceived severity of tinnitus with depression, anxiety, hearing status, age and gender in individuals with tinnitus.

Introduction: The present study investigated the relationship between the perceived tinnitus severity, depressive and anxiety symptoms in individuals with tinnitus. An attempt was also made to see if any relationship exists between the perceived tinnitus severity and the age, gender or hearing status of the sufferer.

Materials And Methods: Fifty individuals (31 males, 19 females) with tinnitus (age range 19 to 60 years) were enrolled in the study.