Socioeconomic status and pediatric cochlear implant usage during COVID-19.

Objective: COVID-19 (COVID) delayed access to speech and hearing services. The objective of this study was to identify interactions between socioeconomic status (SES) and cochlear implant (CI) usage during COVID.

Methods: Consecutive pediatric patients (age 0-17) with CI and audiology visits between 2019 and 2022 at a tertiary care children's hospital were reviewed.

A 15-Year Review of 260 Children With Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder: I. Demographic and Diagnostic Characteristics.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to review the demographic and clinical characteristics of all pediatric patients diagnosed with auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD) by a pediatric health care system from 2005 to 2020 and examine whether or not our diagnostic capabilities in an ANSD population have evolved as our institutional experience has grown and knowledge in the field has expanded.

Design: This was a retrospective study reviewing the demographic data, medical history, imaging studies, audiological and speech-language data, type of audiological intervention and mode of communication in 260 pediatric patients diagnosed with ANSD over a 15-year period.

Results: The study revealed that male and female children were equally affected with all levels of hearing detection being represented and that about 40% of affected children were premature and most were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit.

A 15-year Review of 260 Children With Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder: II. Management and Outcomes.

Objectives: Following a review of the demographic and clinical characteristics of all pediatric patients diagnosed with auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD) by a pediatric health care system from 2005 to 2020, the present report highlights the type and timing of intervention and outcomes in the same 260 patients with ANSD.

Design: This was a retrospective study reviewing the demographic data, medical history, imaging studies, audiological and speech language data, type of audiological intervention (hearing aids or cochlear implants), and mode of communication in 260 pediatric patients diagnosed with ANSD over a 15-year period.

Results: A significant decrease over time in the age at hearing aid fitting was observed.

Audiovisual Interactions in Stereo Sound Localization for Individuals With Unilateral Hearing Loss.

This study investigated the effects of unilateral hearing loss (UHL), of either conductive or sensorineural origin, on stereo sound localization and related visual bias in listeners with normal hearing, short-term (acute) UHL, and chronic UHL. Time-delay-based stereophony was used to isolate interaural-time-difference cues for sound source localization in free field. Listeners with acute moderate (<40 dB for tens of minutes) and chronic severe (>50 dB for more than 10 years) UHL showed poor localization and compressed auditory space that favored the intact ear.

Binaural ambiguity amplifies visual bias in sound source localization.

Auditory spatial perception relies on more than one spatial cue. This study investigated the effects of cue congruence on auditory localization and the extent of visual bias between two binaural cues-interaural time differences (ITDs) and interaural level differences (ILDs). Interactions between these binaural cues were manipulated by stereophonic techniques.