Hearing loss and cognitive decline in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil) during eight years of follow-up.

BackgroundHearing loss (HL) of moderate or higher grades is common in older adults with increasing prevalence as people age, rising from 12% at the age of 60 years to over 58% at 90 years. HL in midlife is one of the main potentially modifiable risk factors for dementia. It is estimated that 7% of dementia cases globally could be avoided if this risk factor was eliminated.

Evaluation of cognitive functions in the elderly with and without central auditory processing disorder.

Purpose: Evaluate and compare the performance of cognitive functions between elderly with and without auditory processing disorders.

Methods: Twenty-eight healthy elderly (14 Control group and 14 Auditory Processing Disorder group - APD group) participated in the study. All elderly were submitted to (central) auditory processing evaluation, P300 event-related potential and brief cognitive battery (BCB).

ELSA-Brasil: a 4-year incidence of hearing loss in adults with and without hypertension.

Objective: To compare the incidence of hearing loss among adults stratified by the occurrence of hypertension, and to investigate the association between hypertension and hearing loss.

Methods: Longitudinal observational study, part of the Estudo Longitudinal da Saúde do Adulto (ELSA-Brasil, Longitudinal Study on Adult's Health). Data from the first and second waves were analyzed, including information from audiological assessment and general health of the subjects.

Hearing Loss and Cognitive Function: Baseline Findings From the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health: ELSA-Brasil.

Objective: Hearing loss (HL) has been associated with cognitive impairment in high-income countries. However, no study has investigated this association in low- and middle-income countries. Therefore, our aim was to investigate the association between cognitive function and HL in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health.

Hearing loss, tinnitus, and hypertension: analysis of the baseline data from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil).

Objectives: To investigate the association among hypertension, tinnitus, and sensorineural hearing loss and evaluate the influence of other covariates on this association.

Methods: Baseline data (2008-2010) from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil) were analyzed. Altogether, 900 participants were evaluated.

Effects of hearing protector devices on speech intelligibility: the importance of individualized assessment.

This study aimed to compare speech intelligibility in noise with and without hearing protection devices (HPDs). . Fifty-one workers were distributed into three groups: noise-induced hearing loss group (NIHLG), normally hearing noise-exposed group (NG) and normally hearing non-exposed to noise group (CG).

Personal Audio System: Hearing Symptoms, Habits, and Sound Pressure Levels Measured in Real Ear and a Manikin.

Purpose The aims of this study were to characterize hearing symptoms, habits, and sound pressure levels (SPLs) of personal audio system (PAS) used by young adults; estimate the risk of developing hearing loss and assess whether instructions given to users led to behavioral changes; and propose recommendations for PAS users. Method A cross-sectional study was performed in 50 subjects with normal hearing. Procedures included questionnaire and measurement of PAS SPLs (real ear and manikin) through the users' own headphones and devices while they listened to four songs.

Ongoing maturation in the time-compressed speech test.

Objectives: To verify the neuromaturational influence in the ability of auditory closure, that is, to verify the performance of children and young adults in the ability of auditory closure, through the time compressed speech test (TCS).

Methods: Thirty children (8 to 10 years old) and 30 young adults (16 to 24 years old) with normal hearing without complaints (neurological, cognitive, auditory processing) who performed TFC (monosyllables and disyllables) with a compression ratio of 60% in both ears. Statistical analysis was performed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and ANOVA with repeated measures with a significance level of 0.

Tablet-based tele-audiometry: Automated hearing screening for schoolchildren.

Introduction: To assess the performance of a tablet-based tele-audiometry method for automated hearing screening of schoolchildren through a comparison of the results of various hearing screening approaches.

Methods: A total of 244 children were evaluated. Tablet-based screening results were compared with gold-standard pure-tone audiometry.

Auditory Processing Performance of the Middle-Aged and Elderly: Auditory or Cognitive Decline?

Background: Despite the well-established relationship between aging and auditory processing decline, identifying the extent to which age effect is the main factor on auditory processing performance remains a great challenge due to the co-occurrence of age-related hearing loss and age-related cognitive decline as potential confounding factors.

Purpose: To investigate the effects of age-related hearing loss and working memory on the clinical evaluation of auditory processing of middle-aged and elderly.

Research Design: Cross-sectional study.

Effect of education on listening comprehension of sentences on healthy elderly: analysis of number of correct responses and task execution time.

Purpose: To analyze the effect of education on sentence listening comprehension on cognitively healthy elderly.

Methods: A total of 111 healthy elderly, aged 60-80 years of both genders were divided into two groups according to educational level: low education (0-8 years of formal education) and high education (≥9 years of formal education). The participants were assessed using the Revised Token Test, an instrument that supports the evaluation of auditory comprehension of orders with different working memory and syntactic complexity demands.

Association between language and hearing disorders - risk identification.

Objective:: To identify children at risk for hearing and/or language disorders and to investigate the association between these risks by conducting pre-validated hearing and language screenings.

Methods:: The study was conducted during a polio vaccination campaign in August of 2013 in basic health units in western São Paulo. Parents of children between 2 and 5 years of age were asked to complete two screening tools: a hearing questionnaire (regarding hearing development) and a language production and comprehension scale (including the major language development milestones).

Tablet-Based Hearing Screening Test.

Introduction: Hearing loss (HL) affects people worldwide, many of whom are children. Especially in developing countries, epidemiological data on the prevalence of HL are insufficient to implement effective health promotion programs. In this preliminary study with young adults, we describe and validate a tablet-based hearing screening test developed for interactive remote hearing screening and compare the performance of an audiometry screening tablet application with conventional audiometry.

Diabetes mellitus and sensorineural hearing loss: is there an association? Baseline of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil).

Objectives:: Although several studies have investigated the effects of diabetes on hearing loss, the relationship between these two conditions remains unclear. Some studies have suggested that diabetes may cause sensorineural hearing loss, whereas others have failed to find an association. The biggest challenge in investigating the association between diabetes and hearing loss is the presence of confounding variables and the complexity of the auditory system.

Can speech-evoked Auditory Brainstem Response become a useful tool in clinical practice?

Purpose: To discuss the clinical applicability of the speech-evoked Auditory Brainstem Response (speech-evoked ABR) to help identifying auditory processing disorders.

Methods: We analyzed the records of 27 children and adolescents, aged between seven and 15, who presented abnormal speech-evoked ABR. Then, the data from the behavioral auditory processing evaluation of these individuals were surveyed.

Auditory training program in subjects with tinnitus.

Unlabelled: Tinnitus may be defined as the conscious perception of sound or noise, without the presence of external acoustic stimulation. Given the damage caused by tinnitus and the lack of effective treatment, alternatives are necessary to rehabilitate subjects with tinnitus. There is an assumption that auditory training (AT) could lead to a plastic reorganization of this system, thus promoting an improvement of the symptom.

Impact of Educational Level on Performance on Auditory Processing Tests.

Research has demonstrated that a higher level of education is associated with better performance on cognitive tests among middle-aged and elderly people. However, the effects of education on auditory processing skills have not yet been evaluated. Previous demonstrations of sensory-cognitive interactions in the aging process indicate the potential importance of this topic.

Interaction between diabetes mellitus and hypertension on hearing of elderly.

Introduction: Chronic diseases and metabolic changes may act as accelerating factor in the degeneration of the auditory system due to age. However, studies involving an association between hearing loss and diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension (HA) in the elderly have shown controversial conclusions. Thus, further studies on this topic are needed in order to elucidate the effect of these chronic diseases on the auditory system.

Healthy Aging and Compensation of Sentence Comprehension Auditory Deficits.

Objectives: To analyze the effect of aging on sentence auditory comprehension and to study the relationship between this language skill and cognitive functions (attention, working memory, and executive functions).

Methods: A total of 90 healthy subjects were divided into three groups: adults (50-59 years), young-old (60-69 years), and old-old (70-80 years). Subjects were assessed using the Revised Token Test.

Temporal resolution in individuals with neurological disorders.

Objective: Temporal processing refers to the ability of the central auditory nervous system to encode and detect subtle changes in acoustic signals. This study aims to investigate the temporal resolution ability of individuals with mesial temporal sclerosis and to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the gaps-in-noise test in identifying this type of lesion.

Method: This prospective study investigated differences in temporal resolution between 30 individuals with normal hearing and without neurological lesions (G1) and 16 individuals with both normal hearing and mesial temporal sclerosis (G2).

Cortical inhibition effect in musicians and non-musicians using P300 with and without contralateral stimulation.

Introduction: Musicians have more robust and efficient neural responses in the cortical and sub-cortical regions, demonstrating that musical experience benefits the processing of both non-linguistic and linguistic stimuli.

Objective: This study aimed to verify P300's latency and amplitude behavioral using contralateral stimulation in musicians and non-musicians.

Methods: This was a case-control study.

P300 in workers exposed to occupational noise.

Unlabelled: The harm upon the central auditory pathways of workers exposed to occupational noise has been scarcely studied.

Objective: To assess the central auditory pathways by testing the long latency auditory evoked potentials (P300) of individuals exposed to occupational noise and controls.

Method: This prospective study enrolled 25 individuals with normal hearing thresholds.

Audiological and electrophysiological assessment of professional pop/rock musicians.

In the present study, we evaluated peripheral and central auditory pathways in professional musicians (with and without hearing loss) compared to non-musicians. The goal was to verify if music exposure could affect auditory pathways as a whole. This is a prospective study that compared the results obtained between three groups (musicians with and without hearing loss and non-musicians).

Gaps-in-Noise test: gap detection thresholds in 9-year-old normal-hearing children.

Purpose: To establish the standard criteria for the Gaps-in-Noise (GIN) test in 9-year-old normal-hearing children; to obtain the mean gap detection thresholds; and to verify the influence of the variables gender and ear on the gap detection thresholds.

Methods: Forty normal-hearing individuals, 20 male and 20 female, with ages ranging from 9 years to 9 years and 11 months, were evaluated. The procedures performed were: anamnesis, audiological evaluation, acoustic immittance measures (tympanometry and acoustic reflex), Dichotic Digits Test, and GIN test.