Changes in Tinnitus Characteristics and Residual Inhibition following Cochlear Implantation: A Prospective Analysis.

This study aims to explore the effect of cochlear implantation on tinnitus perception. A prospective study was conducted on 72 adult hearing-impaired patients to evaluate tinnitus perception before and after cochlear implantation, using standardized tinnitus questionnaires (the tinnitus sample case-history questionnaire, tinnitus functional index (TFI), and tinnitus handicap inventory (THI)). A large variety of demographic and hearing- and implant-related data was collected from patient hospital records to explore possible associations with the implantation effect.

Identifying non-otologic risk factors for tinnitus: A systematic review.

Background: The origin of tinnitus has been attributed to a peripheral auditory lesion, inducing bottom-up changes and resulting in the perception of a "phantom sound." However, non-auditory factors can co-exist as well, and can even lie at the origin of tinnitus development. An increasing body of literature focuses on psychological, (neuro)muscular, cardiovascular and many other influences and their respective associations with tinnitus prevalence.

Invasive Neuromodulation as a Treatment for Tinnitus: A Systematic Review.

Objective: Although the prevalence and burden of tinnitus is high, none of the available tinnitus treatments has been proven to be effective for the majority of tinnitus patients so far. Neuromodulation is currently gaining more interest to explore as tinnitus treatment. Because noninvasive neuromodulation has been shown to be effective in some tinnitus patients in the short term, more invasive techniques have been applied with variable success and without clear clinical applicability.

The P300 auditory event-related potential as a method to assess the benefit of contralateral hearing aid use in bimodal listeners: a proof-of-concept.

Bimodal listeners vary in the amount of benefit they receive from wearing the contralateral hearing aid. This may partially depend on the listener's auditory processing capacities. The current study explores whether the P300 event-related potential can provide insight into the mechanisms underlying the benefits of wearing a contralateral hearing aid.

Test-Retest Reproducibility of Response Duration in Tinnitus Patients With Positive Residual Inhibition.

Purpose Functional imaging is often used to try to elucidate the pathophysiological mechanism of tinnitus. Residual inhibition, the temporary suppression of tinnitus after application of a masking noise, could be an interesting technique to modulate tinnitus perception in functional imaging paradigms. The purposes of this study were to primarily assess reproducibility of the (partial) positive residual inhibition response duration in patients with tinnitus and to explore its utility in experimental designs.

Bilateral cochlear implantation or bimodal listening in the paediatric population: Retrospective analysis of decisive criteria.

Introduction: In children with bilateral severe to profound hearing loss, bilateral hearing can be achieved by either bimodal stimulation (CIHA) or bilateral cochlear implantation (BICI). The aim of this study was to analyse the audiologic test protocol that is currently applied to make decisions regarding the bilateral hearing modality in the paediatric population.

Methods: Pre- and postoperative audiologic test results of 21 CIHA, 19 sequential BICI and 12 simultaneous BICI children were examined retrospectively.

Phenotype of a Belgian Family With 6p25 Deletion Syndrome.

Background: The 6p25 deletion syndrome is one of the many syndromes with both hearing impairment as well as vision impairment. However, the audiometric characteristics and radiological findings of patients with 6p25 deletions are only scarcely described in literature. This study focused on characterizing the audiometric and radiological features of a Belgian family with a chromosome 6p25 deletion.

Age-Related Changes in Binaural Interaction at Brainstem Level.

Objectives: Age-related hearing loss hampers the ability to understand speech in adverse listening conditions. This is attributed to a complex interaction of changes in the peripheral and central auditory system. One aspect that may deteriorate across the lifespan is binaural interaction.

Binaural interaction in the auditory brainstem response: a normative study.

Objective: Binaural interaction can be investigated using auditory evoked potentials. A binaural interaction component can be derived from the auditory brainstem response (ABR-BIC) and is considered evidence for binaural interaction at the level of the brainstem. Although click ABR-BIC has been investigated thoroughly, data on 500 Hz tone-burst (TB) ABR-BICs are scarce.

Temporal bone imaging in osteogenesis imperfecta patients with hearing loss.

Objectives/hypothesis: Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is an autosomal-dominant connective-tissue disorder, predominantly characterized by bone fragility. Conductive hearing loss develops in half of the OI patients and often progresses to mixed loss. Findings of computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the temporal bone in the largest series of OI patients to date are presented and correlated with the audiograms.

Hearing impairment in Stickler syndrome: a systematic review.

Background: Stickler syndrome is a connective tissue disorder characterized by ocular, skeletal, orofacial and auditory defects. It is caused by mutations in different collagen genes, namely COL2A1, COL11A1 and COL11A2 (autosomal dominant inheritance), and COL9A1 and COL9A2 (autosomal recessive inheritance). The auditory phenotype in Stickler syndrome is inconsistently reported.

Stapes surgery in osteogenesis imperfecta: retrospective analysis of 34 operated ears.

Intraoperative findings of stapes surgery in 34 ears from 22 patients with genetically confirmed osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) are reported, as well as the audiometric results after the longest postoperative follow-up published to date. Twenty-nine out of 34 ears underwent primary stapes surgery and 5 ears revision surgery. Postoperative audiometric follow-up ranged from 6 months to 37 years.

Association between bone mineral density and hearing loss in osteogenesis imperfecta.

Objectives/hypothesis: Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a heritable connective tissue disorder, predominantly characterized by bone fragility. In half of the patients, progressive hearing loss develops, which is associated with abnormal bony changes involving the middle ear ossicles and stapes footplate. In the present study, we investigated whether the development of hearing loss in OI may be related to the overall aberrant bone quality.

Osteogenesis Imperfecta: the audiological phenotype lacks correlation with the genotype.

Background: Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) is a heritable connective tissue disorder mainly caused by mutations in the genes COL1A1 and COL1A2 and is associated with hearing loss in approximately half of the cases. The hearing impairment usually starts between the second and fourth decade of life as a conductive hearing loss, frequently evolving to mixed hearing loss thereafter. A minority of patients develop pure sensorineural hearing loss.

Audiologic phenotype of osteogenesis imperfecta: use in clinical differentiation.

Objectives: To describe the audiologic phenotype in osteogenesis imperfecta (OI).

Study Design: Observational study.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.

Audiometric, surgical, and genetic findings in 15 ears of patients with osteogenesis imperfecta.

Objectives/hypothesis: To provide data on the outcome of stapes surgery in patients with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). The audiometric results of 15 ears (12 patients), in which a stapes operation was performed, are presented and compared with results from literature.

Study Design: Retrospective study.

Otologic disease in turner syndrome.

Objective: This study involved the assessment of the otologic and audiologic characteristics of a group of patients with Turner syndrome.

Study Design: Prospective study consisting of a questionnaire (77 of 123 responders) and an otologic and audiologic evaluation in patients with Turner syndrome (41 participants).

Setting: Tertiary academic medical setting.

Risk factors for the development of otitis media.

Otitis media (OM) is the most frequently diagnosed disease in infants and young children. Large, prospective studies suggest an increase in incidence of this disease during the past 10 to 20 years, possibly reflecting a change in host and environmental risk factors for the development of OM. Good knowledge of host (intrinsic) and environmental (extrinsic) risk factors for the development of otitis media is important in identifying a child at risk for recurrent and persistent OM.

Cochlear implantation in a patient with superficial siderosis of the central nervous system.

Objective: To perform an assessment of the viability of cochlear implantation in a patient with superficial siderosis of the brain.

Study Design: Case review.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.