Publications by authors named "Enrico Apa"

: Hearing loss is a highly prevalent condition in the world population that determines emotional, social, and economic costs. In recent years, it has been definitely recognized that the lack of physiological binaural hearing causes alterations in the localization of sounds and reduced speech recognition in noise and reverberation. This study aims to explore the psycho-social profile of adult workers affected by single-sided deafness (SSD), without other major medical conditions and otological symptoms, through comparison to subjects with normal hearing.

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Studies about the effects of SARS-CoV-2 on pregnant women and children born to positive women are controversial with regard to possible inner ear-related damage but most of them do not detect the involvement of this virus in auditory function. However, only a few studies on long-term effects on language development are currently available because of the recent onset of the pandemic. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on perceptual and expressive abilities and the emerging development of communication in young children.

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Introduction: Congenital deafness is a pathological entity that represents an economical and social burden, affecting up to 0.2% of newborns in Europe. Sensorineural hearing loss (SHL) is caused by a variety of factors, including congenital abnormalities, perinatal infectious diseases and genetic syndromes.

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Background And Objectives: Tinnitus affects millions of adults. Many therapies, including complementary and alternative medicine and tinnitus retraining therapies, have been trialed, but an effective option, particularly for chronic subjective tinnitus (CTS), is still lacking.

Materials And Methods: This study investigated the effects of alpha-lipoic acid (600 mg.

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Objective: Validate the Italian version of the Hearing Handicap Inventory for Elderly - Screening version (HHIE-S-It).

Methods: After translation, psychometric properties and attributes were analysed by administering the HHIE-S-It to 167 elderly outpatients together with the Psychological General Well-Being Index (PGWBI).

Results: The Cronbach's α coefficient was 0.

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Objective: translate and validate the Penn Acoustic Neuroma Quality of Life Scale into Italian language (PANQOL-It).

Methods: the instrument was translated and psychometric properties were subsequently assessed by administering the PANQOL-It to 124 outpatients together with the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS21) and the Understanding and Communicating domain of the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule II (WHODAS II-D1). The internal consistency, test-retest reliability, construct and criterion-related validity were assessed.

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Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of the Italian translation of the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly (HHIE).

Methods: A sample of 275 adults, aged > 65 years, filled out the Italian version of the HHIE (HHIE-It) together with the MOS 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Seventy-one participants answered the questionnaire a second time after six weeks.

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Article Synopsis
  • Gestational SARS-CoV-2 infection can impact the health of both mothers and newborns, with potential consequences for hearing, although the exact effects on the auditory system are still being studied.
  • A study conducted at University Modena Hospital evaluated the hearing function of infants born to mothers who had COVID-19 during pregnancy, assessing their auditory responses at birth and one year later.
  • Findings showed that while initial hearing thresholds were slightly elevated in some newborns, these issues largely resolved, and no cases of moderate to severe hearing loss were identified at the one-year follow-up, indicating a need for further research on any possible late-onset hearing loss.
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: Cochlear implantation (CI) following endoscopic transcanal infrapromontorial vestibular schwannoma (VS) dissection is a feasible intervention in intracanalicular VS, with minimal extension into the cerebellopontine angle, but no audiologic results have ever been reported in the literature. From 2015 to 2021 in the Otorhynolaryngology Departments of Modena and Verona, three patients underwent this intervention. All were suffering from sporadic left-sided intracanalicular Koos I VS.

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Increased noise sensitivity refers to the abnormal subjective response to external sounds, with a prevalence of between 8% and 15.2% in the adult population as suggested by epidemiological studies. The basic neural mechanism of hyperacusis still remains obscure, so therapies for this often-devastating symptom remain elusive.

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Background: The survival of extremely low birth weight infants (ELBW) has increased worldwide. Even in the absence of major disabilities, ELBW infants show difficulty in simple language functions. It is relevant to assess early abilities, which are the base of early linguistic skills, in order to implement customized intervention programs in ELBW infants.

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Objective: This retrospective study aimed to verify the outcomes of stabilising occlusal splint therapy prescribed to 22 patients with unilateral definite Ménière's disease and comorbid temporomandibular joint disorder.

Methods: The results of a battery of audiometric and vestibular tests were recorded before and after 6 months of treatment, as well as the scores of disease-specific questionnaires.

Results: The average hearing threshold in the affected ear and the acoustic immittance were unchanged.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Vestibular migraine (VM) is identified as the most common cause of episodic vertigo in children, where symptoms such as vertigo, nausea, and dizziness can occur with or without headaches.
  • - The study used posturography to analyze how children with VM respond to visual stimuli compared to those with primary headaches and healthy controls, finding that children with VM showed greater body sway in response to visual conditions.
  • - The results indicated that children with VM have an abnormal sensitivity to moving visual scenes which leads to instability in posture, highlighting the need for awareness of these risks in clinical settings.
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