Auditory Profile-Based Hearing Aid Fitting: Self-Reported Benefit for First-Time Hearing Aid Users.

Although hearing aids (HAs) can compensate for reduced audibility, functional outcomes and benefits vary widely across individuals. As part of the Danish 'Better hEAring Rehabilitation' (BEAR) project, four distinct auditory profiles differing in terms of audiometric thresholds and supra-threshold hearing abilities were recently identified. Additionally, profile-specific HA-fitting strategies were proposed.

Difference in SII provided by initial fit and NAL-NL2 and its relation to self-reported hearing aid outcomes.

Objective: The speech intelligibility index (SII) is used to quantify the audibility of the speech. This study examined the relationship between self-reported hearing aid (HA) outcomes and the difference in aided SII (SII) calculated from the initial fit (IF) gain and that prescribed as per the second generation of National Acoustic Laboratory Non-Linear (NAL-NL2).

Design: A prospective observational study.

Usability of the inductive tongue computer interface: Internet use, speaking, and drinking - evaluated by two users with disabilities.

Tongue computer interfaces have shown promising for both computer control and for control of assistive technologies and robotics. Still, evidence is lacking in relation to their usability resulting in speculations on their effectiveness for general computer use and their impact on other activities such as speaking, drinking, and eating. This paper presents the results of such a usability study performed with two individuals with tetraplegia.

A history of occupational noise exposure is associated with steep-slope audiograms and poorer self-reported hearing-aid outcomes.

Objective: To investigate the effects of previous occupational noise exposure in older adults with hearing loss on (1) audiometric configuration and acoustic reflex (AR) thresholds and (2) self-reported hearing abilities and hearing aid (HA) effectiveness.

Design: A prospective observational study.

Study Sample: The study included 1176 adults (≥60 years) with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss.

Adapting to New Hearing Aids and Hearing Aid Adjustments in Adult Danish Users.

Purpose: This study was aimed at understanding the effect of time taken to adapt to the new hearing aids (HAs) and the timeline of HA adjustments performed over more than a year of rehabilitation on self-reported HA outcomes.

Method: A self-report of the time it took to get accustomed to the new HAs and adjustment of the HAs during a year of rehabilitation collected from 690 HA users using a nonstandardized questionnaire were analyzed. The abbreviated version of the Speech, Spatial, and Quality of Hearing questionnaire and the International Outcome Inventory for Hearing Aids were used as the self-reported HA outcome.

Impact of hearing aid technology level at first-fit on self-reported outcomes in patients with presbycusis: a randomized controlled trial.

To provide clinical guidance in hearing aid prescription for older adults with presbycusis, we investigated differences in self-reported hearing abilities and hearing aid effectiveness for premium or basic hearing aid users. Secondly, as an explorative analysis, we investigated if differences in gain prescription verified with real-ear measurements explain differences in self-reported outcomes. The study was designed as a randomized controlled trial in which the patients were blinded towards the purpose of the study.

The effect of hearing aid treatment on health-related quality of life in older adults with hearing loss.

Objective: To investigate the effect of hearing aid (HA) intervention on long-term health-related quality of life (HRQoL) changes in first-time and experienced HA users using the 15D questionnaire. Secondly, the study explored the relationship between clinical parameters and changes in 15D scores.

Design: A prospective observational study.

Value Propositions of Public Adult Hearing Rehabilitation in Denmark.

To obtain and evaluate detailed descriptions of potential value propositions as seen by adults undergoing hearing rehabilitation with hearing aids. Semi-structured interviews with patients and audiologists, a literature search, and the inclusion of domain knowledge from experts and scientists were used to derive value propositions. A two-alternative forced-choice paradigm and probabilistic choice models were used to investigate hearing aid users' preferences for the value propositions through an online platform.

Self-Reported Hearing-Aid Use Patterns in an Adult Danish Population.

The retrospective reporting of users' hearing aid (HA) usage can provide insight into individualized HA usage patterns. Understanding these HA usage patterns can help to provide a tailored solution to meet the usage needs of HA users. This study aims to understand the HA usage pattern in daily-life situations from self-reported data and to examine its relationship to self-reported outcomes.

On the change in Speech Quality and Speed with a Tongue Interface for Control of Rehabilitation Robotics - A Case report.

Previous studies have described inductive tongue computer interfaces (ITCI) as a way to manipulate and control assistive robotics, and at least one commercial company is manufacturing ITCI today. This case report investigates the influence of an ITCI on the speed and quality of speech. An individual with tetraplegia read aloud a short part of "The Ugly Duckling", a well-known story by Hans Christian Andersen, in her native language Danish.

Eyes-Free Tongue Gesture and Tongue Joystick Control of a Five DOF Upper-Limb Exoskeleton for Severely Disabled Individuals.

Spinal cord injury can leave the affected individual severely disabled with a low level of independence and quality of life. Assistive upper-limb exoskeletons are one of the solutions that can enable an individual with tetraplegia (paralysis in both arms and legs) to perform simple activities of daily living by mobilizing the arm. Providing an efficient user interface that can provide full continuous control of such a device-safely and intuitively-with multiple degrees of freedom (DOFs) still remains a challenge.

Prediction of successful hearing aid treatment in first-time and experienced hearing aid users: Using the International Outcome Inventory for Hearing Aids.

Objective: Primarily to understand whether clinically relevant factors affect the International Outcome Inventory (IOI-HA) scores and to examine if IOI-HA scores improve when renewing the hearing aids (HA) for experienced users. Secondly, to estimate the overall HA effectiveness using the IOI-HA.

Design: A prospective observational study.

DNA methylation biomarkers in peripheral blood of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinomas. A systematic review.

Background: Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) are often diagnosed in advanced stages. In search of new diagnostic tools, focus has shifted towards the biological properties of the HNSCC, and the number of different biomarkers under investigation is rapidly growing.

Objectives: The objective was to review the current literature regarding aberrantly methylated DNA found in peripheral blood plasma or serum in patients with HNSCC and to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of these changes.

In Vitro Investigation of the Dependency Between Abutment Length and Implant Stability Quotient (ISQ) for Stability Measurements on Bone Anchored Hearing Implant Systems.

Hypothesis: The investigation aimed at measuring the relation between abutment length and Implant Stability Quotient (ISQ) for stability measurements on two types of bone-anchored hearing implant systems.

Background: Measuring bone-anchored hearing implant stability using the ISQ has the inherent limitation that the measurement is dependent on the length of the abutment used on the implant. This dependency has not earlier been analyzed in depth.

A high-resolution tongue-based joystick to enable robot control for individuals with severe disabilities.

Assistive robotic arms have shown the potential to improve the quality of life of people with severe disabilities. However, a high performance and intuitive control interface for robots with 6-7 DOFs is still missing for these individuals. An inductive tongue computer interface (ITCI) was recently tested for control of robots and the study illustrated potential in this field.

On the functional compartmentalization of the normal middle ear. Morpho-histological modelling parameters of its mucosa.

Background: Middle ear physiology includes both sound pressure transmission and homeostasis of its static air pressure. Pressure gradients are continuously created by gas exchange over the middle ear mucosa as well as by ambient pressure variations. Gas exchange models require actual values for regional mucosa thickness, blood vessel density, and diffusion distance.

[Workup and treatment of Eustachian tube dysfunction in adults].

Symptoms of Eustachian tube dysfunction are frequent and multiple. Therefore, clear definitions and diagnostic criteria are important in order to achieve appropriate patient flow. So far, there has been a lack of consensus on this subject, but the proposed definitions and diagnostic criteria in this review may aid to achieve this.

Speaking Ability while Using an Inductive Tongue-Computer Interface for Individuals with Tetraplegia: Talking and Driving a Powered Wheelchair - a Case Study.

This paper assesses the ability of speaking while using an inductive tongue-computer interface. Lately, tongue- computer interfaces have been proposed for computer/robotic interfacing for individuals with tetraplegia. To be useful in home settings these interfaces should be aesthetic and interfere as little as possible with the limited preserved functionality of individuals with tetraplegia.

Wireless intraoral tongue control of an assistive robotic arm for individuals with tetraplegia.

Background: For an individual with tetraplegia assistive robotic arms provide a potentially invaluable opportunity for rehabilitation. However, there is a lack of available control methods to allow these individuals to fully control the assistive arms.

Methods: Here we show that it is possible for an individual with tetraplegia to use the tongue to fully control all 14 movements of an assistive robotic arm in a three dimensional space using a wireless intraoral control system, thus allowing for numerous activities of daily living.

Error-Free Text Typing Performance of an Inductive Intra-Oral Tongue Computer Interface for Severely Disabled Individuals.

For severely paralyzed individuals, alternative computer interfaces are becoming increasingly essential for everyday life as social and vocational activities are facilitated by information technology and as the environment becomes more automatic and remotely controllable. Tongue computer interfaces have proven to be desirable by the users partly due to their high degree of aesthetic acceptability, but so far the mature systems have shown a relatively low error-free text typing efficiency. This paper evaluated the intra-oral inductive tongue computer interface (ITCI) in its intended use: Error-free text typing in a generally available text editing system, Word.

Development and functional demonstration of a wireless intraoral inductive tongue computer interface for severely disabled persons.

Purpose: Individuals with tetraplegia depend on alternative interfaces in order to control computers and other electronic equipment. Current interfaces are often limited in the number of available control commands, and may compromise the social identity of an individual due to their undesirable appearance. The purpose of this study was to implement an alternative computer interface, which was fully embedded into the oral cavity and which provided multiple control commands.

Congestion of mastoid mucosa and influence on middle ear pressure - Effect of retroauricular injection of adrenaline.

Micro-CT scanning of temporal bones has revealed numerous retroauricular microchannels, which connect the outer bone surface directly to the underlying mastoid air cells. Their structure and dimensions have suggested a separate vascular supply to the mastoid mucosa, which may play a role in middle ear (ME) pressure regulation. This role may be accomplished by changes in the mucosa congestion resulting in volumetric changes, which ultimately affect the pressure of the enclosed ME gas pocket (Boyle's law).