Use of a Smartphone App for Cochlear Implant Patients With Tinnitus.

Purpose Smartphone apps for tinnitus relief are now emerging; however, research supporting their use and effectiveness is lacking. Research has shown that Tinnitus Therapy sounds intended for individuals with acoustic hearing provide relief to some patients using cochlear implants (CIs) with tinnitus. Here, we evaluated the use and acceptability of a smartphone app to help CI patients with tinnitus.

Establishing a Group Educational Session for Hyperacusis Patients.

Purpose Audiologists should be treating hyperacusis patients. However, it can be difficult to know where to begin because treatment protocols and evidence-based treatment studies are lacking. A good place to start in any tinnitus and hyperacusis clinic is to incorporate a group educational session.

Listening Effort Measured in Adults with Normal Hearing and Cochlear Implants.

Background: Studies have examined listening effort in individuals with hearing loss to determine the extent of the impairment. Regarding cochlear implants (CIs), results suggest that listening effort is improved using bilateral CIs compared to unilateral CIs. Few studies have investigated listening effort and outcomes related to the hybrid CI.

Self-reported spatial hearing abilities across different cochlear implant profiles.

Purpose: The goal of this study was to determine how self-reported spatial hearing abilities differ across various cochlear implant (CI) profiles and to examine the degree of subjective benefit following cochlear implantation across different groups of CI users.

Method: This was a retrospective study of subjective spatial hearing ability of CI recipients. The subjects consisted of 99 unilateral CI users, 49 bilateral CI users, 32 subjects with a CI and contralateral hearing aid (bimodal users), and 37 short-electrode CI users.

The spatial hearing questionnaire: data from individuals with normal hearing.

Purpose: Although a number of questionnaires are available to assess hearing aid benefit and general hearing disability, relatively few investigate spatial hearing ability in more complex listening situations. The aim of this study was to document the performance of individuals with normal hearing using the Spatial Hearing Questionnaire (SHQ; Tyler, Perreau, & Ji, 2009) and to compare performance with published data from cochlear implant (CI) users.

Method: Fifty-one participants with normal hearing participated.

The contribution of a frequency-compression hearing aid to contralateral cochlear implant performance.

Background: Frequency-lowering signal processing in hearing aids has re-emerged as an option to improve audibility of the high frequencies by expanding the input bandwidth. Few studies have investigated the usefulness of the scheme as an option for bimodal users (i.e.

Effects of lower frequency-to-electrode allocations on speech and pitch perception with the hybrid short-electrode cochlear implant.

Because some users of a Hybrid short-electrode cochlear implant (CI) lose their low-frequency residual hearing after receiving the CI, we tested whether increasing the CI speech processor frequency allocation range to include lower frequencies improves speech perception in these individuals. A secondary goal was to see if pitch perception changed after experience with the new CI frequency allocation. Three subjects who had lost all residual hearing in the implanted ear were recruited to use an experimental CI frequency allocation with a lower frequency cutoff than their current clinical frequency allocation.

Validation of the Spatial Hearing Questionnaire.

Objectives: Subjective questionnaires are informative in understanding the difficulties faced by patients with hearing loss. Our intent was to establish and validate a new questionnaire that encompasses situations emphasizing binaural hearing. The Spatial Hearing Questionnaire is a self-report assessment tool with eight subscales representing questions; pertaining to the perception of male, female, and children's voices; music in quiet; source localization; understanding speech in quiet; and understanding speech in noise.

A daily alternating method for comparing different signal-processing strategies in hearing aids and in cochlear implants.

Background: Although we always want to select the best signal-processing strategy for our hearing-aid and cochlear-implant patients, no efficient and valid procedure is available. Comparisons in the office are without listening experience, and short-term take-home trials are likely influenced by the order of strategies tried.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate a new procedure for comparing signal-processing strategies whereby patients listen with one strategy one day and another strategy the next day.

Selection strategies for binaural and monaural cochlear implantation.

Purpose: We propose theoretical guidelines for cochlear implant selection criteria in adults and children that emphasize the contribution of each ear to the binaural advantage. The guidelines outline options for implanting one ear only, implanting one ear plus use of a contralateral hearing aid, and implanting both ears.

Method: Our method for selecting the best cochlear implant or hearing aid outcome is derived from the amount of usable hearing of the patient.