Vocal Tract Morphology in Inhaling Singing: An MRI-Based Study.

Objectives/hypothesis: Inhaling singing is a recently developed singing technique explored by the soprano singer Françoise Vanhecke. It is based on an inspiratory airflow instead of an expiratory airflow. This article describes the anatomical structural differences of the vocal tract between inhaling and exhaling singing.

Combined electric and acoustic hearing performance with Zebra® speech processor: speech reception, place, and temporal coding evaluation.

Objective: To assess the auditory performance of Digisonic(®) cochlear implant users with electric stimulation (ES) and electro-acoustic stimulation (EAS) with special attention to the processing of low-frequency temporal fine structure.

Method: Six patients implanted with a Digisonic(®) SP implant and showing low-frequency residual hearing were fitted with the Zebra(®) speech processor providing both electric and acoustic stimulation. Assessment consisted of monosyllabic speech identification tests in quiet and in noise at different presentation levels, and a pitch discrimination task using harmonic and disharmonic intonating complex sounds ( Vaerenberg et al.

Clinical assessment of pitch perception.

Objective: The perception of pitch has recently gained attention. At present, clinical audiologic tests to assess this are hardly available. This article reports on the development of a clinical test using harmonic intonation (HI) and disharmonic intonation (DI).

Experiences of the use of FOX, an intelligent agent, for programming cochlear implant sound processors in new users.

Objective: This report describes the application of the software tool "Fitting to Outcomes eXpert" (FOX) in programming the cochlear implant (CI) processor in new users. FOX is an intelligent agent to assist in the programming of CI processors. The concept of FOX is to modify maps on the basis of specific outcome measures, achieved using heuristic logic and based on a set of deterministic "rules".

Development of a software tool using deterministic logic for the optimization of cochlear implant processor programming.

Objective: An intelligent agent, Fitting to Outcomes eXpert, was developed to optimize and automate Cochlear implant (CI) programming. The current article describes the rationale, development, and features of this tool.

Background: Cochlear implant fitting is a time-consuming procedure to define the value of a subset of the available electric parameters based primarily on behavioral responses.

Normative data of the A(section)E discrimination and identification tests in preverbal children.

The A(section)E((R)) is a set of suprathreshold tests for the auditory evaluation of the hearing impaired. A particular population of interest is the hearing-impaired preverbal child. This paper reports on normative data of the A(section)E((R)) discrimination test in children aged 10 months and of the A(section)E((R)) identification tests in children aged 2 to 4 years.

Auditory speech sounds evaluation (A(section)E): a new test to assess detection, discrimination and identification in hearing impairment.

This paper describes a set of suprathreshold tests, available as a software package (A(section)E((R))), for the auditory evaluation of the hearing impaired. It uses isolated speech sounds as test material for a discrimination, identification and detection test, and is specifically suited to test preverbal children. All tests allow strict analytical interpretation.

Basic fitting and evaluation parameters of a newly designed cochlear implant electrode.

Objective: To validate a newly designed cochlear implant electrode (TRACE) in the standard monopolar mode and compare it to a patient group implanted with a standard Nucleus Contour cochlear implant electrode. The electrode contacts of the TRACE electrode have the same active surface area for stimulation, but the position in the scala tympani is different from that of the Nucleus Contour electrode.

Material And Methods: The following parameters, used in cochlear implant fitting and evaluation procedures, were determined: the threshold and comfort stimulation current levels; the electrode impedances; and the phoneme discrimination and speech recognition scores using the ACE speech algorithm.

Cochlear implantation between 5 and 20 months of age: the onset of babbling and the audiologic outcome.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the onset of prelexical babbling and the audiologic outcome of 10 deaf children who received a cochlear implant (CI) before the age of 20 months.

Study Design: A prospective longitudinal observation and analysis.

Patients: Ten congenitally deaf infants implanted at an age between 6 and 18 months.

Cochlear implants in aplasia and hypoplasia of the cochleovestibular nerve.

Objective: To report on the outcome of four patients with aplasia or hypoplasia of the cochleovestibular nerve who have received a cochlear implant.

Study Design: Retrospective case review.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.

Long-term evaluation of the effect of intracochlear steroid deposition on electrode impedance in cochlear implant patients.

Objective: To evaluate the long-term effect of intracochlear steroid deposition on electrode impedance in patients with cochlear implants.

Study Design: A retrospective study was carried out comparing the impedances of cochlear implant electrodes with and without a single application of steroids in the cochlea.

Patients: Ninety two implanted children with an average age of 5 years (range, 0.

Outcome of cochlear implantation at different ages from 0 to 6 years.

Objective: To evaluate the outcome of cochlear implantation in young children in relation to the age at implantation.

Study Design: A retrospective longitudinal and cross-sectional analysis of pediatric cochlear implant patients.

Patients: All children with congenital deafness who underwent implantation before the age of 6 years (n = 48 for the longitudinal analysis and n = 70 for the cross-sectional analysis)

Interventions: All children received a multichannel cochlear implant.

A Two-stage bipodal screening model for universal neonatal hearing screening.

Objective: A model is proposed for universal neonatal hearing screening.

Methods: The screening model is two-staged because it consists of a first test and, in case of failure (1.4% of the subjects), of a retest 3 weeks later.

Contralateral suppression of transient evoked otoacoustic emissions: normative data for a clinical test set-up.

Hypothesis: Contralateral suppression of transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) can be used in a clinical set-up using a procedure based on a unique and robust parameter to quantify the magnitude of suppression for a subject.

Background: TEOAEs can be suppressed by delivering contralateral white noise (WN). This suppression is thought to be mediated via the efferent nerve fibers that innervate the outer hair cells.

Neonatal hearing screening with transient evoked otoacoustic emissions--retrospective analysis on performance parameters.

The present paper reports on the implementation of a maternity based neonatal hearing-screening program in a private hospital. A retrospective analysis is performed on the test pass rate, the coverage and the number of children that become lost to follow-up. The data show a steady learning curve with a time course of several years.

Audiological findings in large vestibular aqueduct syndrome.

An enlarged vestibular aqueduct is a congenital disorder causing early onset and progressive hearing loss in children. This paper presents the audiological findings at first presentation and the audiological evolution in 10 consecutive cases presenting with hearing loss and showing a large vestibular aqueduct on imaging. The reported onset of the hearing loss is within the first few years of life.

Neonatal hearing screening with transient evoked otoacoustic emissions: a learning curve.

The present paper reports on the implementation of a neonatal hearing screening programme in a private hospital in Belgium. A maternity-based neonatal hearing screening project with transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) was started in 1993. The cost of the test was not covered by the public health insurance, so the parents had to pay the full cost for screening their child (approximately 30 Euro).

A new autosomal-dominant locus (DFNA12) is responsible for a nonsyndromic, midfrequency, prelingual and nonprogressive sensorineural hearing loss.

Objective: This study aimed to report on the audiologic findings of a nonsyndromic autosomal-dominant hearing loss of which the gene (DFNA 12) recently was found to map to chromosome 11q22-24. The study also aimed to propose and evaluate an algorithm based on the audiometric findings to discriminate between affected and unaffected family members before genetic linkage analysis.

Study Design: The study design was a retrospective analysis of the audiometric data of genetically affected and unaffected patients.

The LAURA Pediatric Cochlear Implant Program in Antwerp: what have we learnt in 5 years?

The LAURA Cochlear Implant Program at the University of Antwerp was initiated 5 years ago. Up to now 50 children have received the LAURA cochlear implant (Philips Hearing Implants). Our accumulated experience in selecting the patients, counselling their parents, implanting and fitting the device allowed us to gradually modify the inclusion/exclusion criteria for cochlear implantation and achieve very rewarding results.

Numerical assessment of TOAE screening results: currently used criteria and their effect on TOAE prevalence figures.

The literature on neonatal hearing screening by means of oto-acoustic emissions (OAE's) presents various prevalence figures, and gives little quantitative information on the procedure used to score the recordings. If the OAE test is to be interpreted by users who do not have the opportunity to develop intuitive interpretation skills through extensive training, a clear numerical decision criterion is needed. The present paper discusses the scoring procedure used by 25 teams, which together screen 22,356 neonates annually.

Neonatal hearing screening with otoacoustic emissions: an evaluation.

For several years now, it is possible to test the cochlear function immediately after birth in an easy way by means of click evoked otoacoustic emissions. Thanks to this early detection, hearing aid fitting and appropriate hearing rehabilitation can now be started at a very young age, which significantly enhances the possibility of integration of the congenitally hard of hearing in society. An international consensus is growing to endorse a universal neonatal hearing screening in western societies.