Perceptions of Adults With Hearing Loss About the Communication Difficulties Generated by the COVID-19 Preventive Measures: A Qualitative Study.

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic led to the implementation of preventive measures that exacerbated communication difficulties for individuals with hearing loss. This study aims to explore the perception of adults with hearing loss about the communication difficulties caused by the preventive measures and about their experiences with communication 1 year after the adoption of these preventive measures.

Method: Individual semistructured interviews were conducted via videoconference with six adults who have hearing loss from the province of Québec, Canada.

Pilot evaluation of a protocol and a clinical tool developed to assess the audiological needs of adults with hearing loss.

Objective: To evaluate the Québec Audiological Assessment Protocol for Younger and Older Adults (QAAP-YOA) and its accompanying clinical tool efficacy to assess the needs of individuals with hearing loss in a simulated context. This study is the Phase 2 in the development of the QAAP-YOA.

Design: Participants completed two needs assessments with simulated clients and wrote audiological reports, while applying the QAAP-YOA with and without the use of its clinical tool.

Spatio-temporal distribution and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Tunis Lagoon: Concentrations in sediments and Marphysa sanguinea body and excrement.

Despite international recognition as an important coastal wetland, Tunis Lagoon is still subjected to anthropogenic pressures. This article provides valuable data on the spatio-temporal distribution, toxicity, and origins of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the Tunis Lagoon complex. PAHs' concentrations were measured in Marphysa sanguinea body and excrements, as well as in surface sediments.

Communication during the COVID-19 pandemic: the hearing-impaired perspective.

Objective: To understand the communicational and psychosocial effects of COVID-19 protective measures in real-life everyday communication settings.

Design: An online survey consisting of close-set and open-ended questions aimed to describe the communication difficulties experienced in different communication activities (in-person and telecommunication) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Study Sample: 172 individuals with hearing loss and 130 who reported not having a hearing loss completed the study.

Bioaccumulation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in Polychaeta Marphysa sanguinea in the anthropogenically impacted Tunis Lagoon: DNA damage and immune biomarkers.

This work assessed the impact of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on the polychaeta Marphysa sanguinea in Tunis Lagoon. Highest PAHs concentrations were accumulated at station E with maximum Σ PAH of 6028,87 ng/g DW. Changes in animal physiology were clearly related to bioaccumulated PAH.

Intracorporeal versus extracorporeal anastomosis in laparoscopic right hemicolectomy: a retrospective cohort study of anastomotic complications.

Purpose: Laparoscopic right hemicolectomy (LRH) can be performed with an intracorporeal anastomosis (IA) or extracorporeal anastomosis (EA). It is not clear which technique is best. This study evaluated the impact of each anastomosis technique on perioperative safety and postoperative evolution.

Development of a protocol and a clinical tool to assess the audiological needs of younger and older adults with hearing loss.

Objective: To develop a protocol and a clinical tool to assess the audiological needs of younger and older adults with hearing loss.

Design: A needs assessment protocol was developed based on recommendations of an expert panel, existing literature, the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, client-centered care and goal setting. The protocol was reviewed by the expert panel.

Communication With Older Adults in Times of a Pandemic: Practical Suggestions for the Health Care Professionals.

In order to limit the spread of the coronavirus, several protective measures have been put in place in the community, in private and public residences and in health care centers. Some measures have a negative impact on communication. They include physical distancing, the use of face masks and shields as well as the increased use of telephone and videoconferencing for distance communication.

Under ice spills of conventional crude oil and diluted bitumen: Physiological resilience of the blue mussel and transgenerational effects.

Spillages at sea of diluted bitumen (dilbit) from oil sands have received little attention until now. To our best knowledge, there are no reports on the impact of a severe exposure to dilbit on the Blue mussel (Mytilus edulis). In this study, adult Blue mussels were exposed to one conventional crude oil (Heidrun) and two dilbits (Cold Lake Blend and Access Western Blend) for a period of 7 days in an ice-covered environment and then maintained for three months until the spawning season.

Association Between the Right Ear Advantage in Dichotic Listening and Interaural Differences in Sensory Processing at Lower Levels of the Auditory System in Older Adults.

Objective: Current evidence suggests that an enhanced right ear advantage (REA) in dichotic listening (DL) among older adults may originate from age-related structural changes in the corpus callosum and age-related decline in cognitive processes. Less is known about the effect of information processing at lower portions of the auditory system on DL performance. The present study investigates whether interaural differences (ID) in sensory processing at lower levels of the auditory system are associated with the magnitude of the REA in DL among older adults.

Auditory brainstem response asymmetries in older adults: An exploratory study using click and speech stimuli.

Background: Some evidence suggests that young adults exhibit a selective laterality of auditory brainstem response (ABR) elicited with speech stimuli. Little is known about such an auditory laterality in older adults.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate possible asymmetric auditory brainstem processing between right and left ear presentation in older adults.

Changing the narrative for hearing health in the broader context of healthy living: a call to action.

Objective: To discuss the steps necessary to facilitate hearing health care in the context of well-being and healthy living.

Design: Common themes among the articles in this special supplement of the International Journal of Audiology were used to identify issues that must be addressed if audiology is to move from being hearing-focussed to taking a holistic perspective of hearing care in the context of healthy aging. These are discussed within the context of other published literature.

Impact of the introduction of formal D2 lymphadenectomy for gastric cancer in a Western setting.

Background: Two members from an academic tertiary hospital went to the National Cancer Institute in Tokyo, Japan, to learn how to perform an adequate D2 lymphadenectomy and to then introduce this technique in the surgical care of patients undergoing surgery for gastric cancer at a Western hospital. We aimed to compare the perioperative outcomes and long-term survival of Western patients who underwent gastric resection, performed by these 2 surgeons, before and after the surgeons' shortcourse technical training in Japan.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective comparative study of all patients (n = 27 before training and n = 79 after training) who underwent gastric resection for cancer by the same 2 surgeons between September 2007 and December 2017 at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec - Université Laval (Québec, Canada).

Comparative biomarker responses to urban pollution in three polychaete species: Perinereis cultrifera, Diopatra neapolitana, and Marphysa sanguinea from the lagoon of Tunis.

Coastal lagoons are among the most vulnerable ecosystems as they are often exposed to different anthropogenic activities. The Polychaetes, which are dominant components in macrobenthic community, are particularly exposed to contamination. The current study was designed to assess and compare the sensitivity of different polychaetes species towards urban pollution.

The Impact of Aging on Spatial Abilities in Deaf Users of a Sign Language.

Research involving the general population of people who use a spoken language to communicate has demonstrated that older adults experience cognitive and physical changes associated with aging. Notwithstanding the differences in the cognitive processes involved in sign and spoken languages, it is possible that aging can also affect cognitive processing in deaf signers. This research aims to explore the impact of aging on spatial abilities among sign language users.

Acclimatization to Hearing Aids by Older Adults.

Objectives: Audiologists and hearing aid users (HAUs) generally agree that an adaptation period is needed following the first hearing aid (HA) experience. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the acclimatization of older adult listeners with hearing loss to HAs using listening effort and behavioral measures.

Design: Participants (N=47) were older adults with mild to moderately severe sensorineural hearing loss.

The Effort Required to Comprehend a Short Documentary in Noise: A Comparison of Younger and Older Francophones.

Speech processing is more effortful under difficult listening conditions. Using a dual-task paradigm, it has been shown that older adults deploy more listening effort than younger adults when performing a speech recognition task in noise. Purpose The primary purpose of this study was to investigate whether a dual-task paradigm could be used to investigate differences in listening effort for an audiovisual speech comprehension task.

The effects of using hearing aids and a frequency modulated system on listening effort among adolescents with hearing loss.

To develop a web-based application for a colour pattern memory recognition task as the secondary task of a dual-task paradigm and to compare the listening effort required by adolescents with hearing loss (HL) under two conditions (HA and HA + FM system), to adolescents with normal hearing (NH). Cohort study. The participants underwent a dual-task paradigm, including the Hearing in Noise Test as the primary task and a colour memory task as the secondary task.

Spatio-temporal variability of biomarker responses and lipid composition of Marphysa sanguinea, Montagu (1813) in the anthropic impacted lagoon of Tunis.

In this study the Polychaeta Marphysa sanguinea, was tested to investigate the impact of metal pollution on the environmental state of a coastal Mediterranean lagoon, Tunis Lagoon (Tunisia). A multi-biomarker approach comprising glutathione-stransferase, cyclooxygenase, lysozyme activity, and lipid class composition of the Polychaeta was employed on a seasonal basis in the present investigation. The multivariate statistical approach (principal component analysis and Pearson correlation) clearly demonstrated different spatial patterns in biomarker values and lipid class concentrations.

Reported benefits of peer support group involvement by adults with hearing loss.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to better understand the benefits of self-help group involvement by adults with hearing loss.

Design: A secondary content analysis of interview transcripts of participants from a previous study on the impact of stigma on help-seeking was carried out.

Study Sample: Ten members (aged 55-76 years) of self-help groups for persons with hearing loss in the United States of America and Canada participated in the interviews.

The Effects of Age and Hearing Loss on Dual-Task Balance and Listening.

Objectives: Among older adults (OA), hearing loss is associated with an increased risk for falls. The aim of the present study was to experimentally investigate the cognitive compensation hypothesis, wherein decreased auditory and motor functioning are compensated by the recruitment of cognitive resources.

Method: Twenty-nine younger adults (YA), 26 OA, and 32 OA with age-related hearing loss (ARHL) completed a dual-task paradigm consisting of cognitive and balance recovery tasks performed singly and concurrently.

Behavioral Assessment of Listening Effort Using a Dual-Task Paradigm.

Published investigations ( n = 29) in which a dual-task experimental paradigm was employed to measure listening effort during speech understanding in younger and older adults were reviewed. A summary of the main findings reported in the articles is provided with respect to the participants' age-group and hearing status. Effects of different signal characteristics, such as the test modality, on dual-task outcomes are evaluated, and associations with cognitive abilities and self-report measures of listening effort are described.