Incidence of Self-Reported Bothersome Tinnitus Versus Tinnitus Diagnosis Among U.S. Army Soldiers.

Purpose: U.S. Army Soldiers undergo annual audiometric surveillance to facilitate prevention of auditory injury.

The effects of extended-wear hearing aids on the localization accuracy of listeners with normal audiometric thresholds.

Extended-wear hearing aids (EWHAs) are small broadband analog amplification devices placed deeply enough in the ear canal to preserve most of the cues in the head-related transfer function. However, little is known about how EWHAs affect localization accuracy for normal hearing threshold (NHT) listeners. In this study, eight NHT participants were fitted with EWHAs and localized broadband sounds of different durations (250 ms and 4 s) and stimulus intensities (40, 50, 60, 70, and 80 dBA) in a spherical speaker array.

Rapid Assessment of Tinnitus Complaints with a Modified Version of the Tinnitus and Hearing Survey.

The objective of this project was to establish cutoff scores on the tinnitus subscale of the Tinnitus and Hearing Survey (THS) using a large sample of United States service members (SM) with the end goal of guiding clinical referrals for tinnitus evaluation. A total of 4,589 SM undergoing annual audiometric surveillance were prospectively recruited to complete the THS tinnitus subscale (THS-T). A subset of 1,304 participants also completed the Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI).

Increasing Hearing Readiness Using Boothless Audiometry.

Introduction: U.S. Army regulations require all soldiers to undergo annual audiometric testing to maintain hearing readiness.

Rapid Assessment of Subjective Hearing Complaints With a Modified Version of the Tinnitus and Hearing Survey.

Hearing difficulties are frequently reported by patients in audiology clinics, including patients with normal audiometric thresholds. However, because all individuals experience some difficulty understanding speech in noisy environments, it can be difficult to assess hearing complaints objectively across patients. Normative values help address this issue by providing an objective cutoff score for determining what is or is not clinically significant.

Prevalence of Self-Reported Bothersome Tinnitus in U.S. Army Soldiers From January 1, 2015, Through September 30, 2019.

Purpose: Tinnitus is a symptom of auditory dysfunction or injury and can be a precursor to permanent hearing loss. Tinnitus can interfere with communication, sleep, concentration, and mood; when this occurs, it is referred to as bothersome tinnitus. Annual hearing surveillance in the U.

Assessment methods for determining small changes in hearing performance over time.

Although the behavioral pure-tone threshold audiogram is considered the gold standard for quantifying hearing loss, assessment of speech understanding, especially in noise, is more relevant to quality of life but is only partly related to the audiogram. Metrics of speech understanding in noise are therefore an attractive target for assessing hearing over time. However, speech-in-noise assessments have more potential sources of variability than pure-tone threshold measures, making it a challenge to obtain results reliable enough to detect small changes in performance.

Functional impact of bothersome tinnitus on cognitive test performance.

Objective: Individuals with bothersome tinnitus frequently report their concentration is affected. Given that tinnitus is the leading service-connected disability compensated by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it is essential to determine whether tinnitus has a functional impact on the operational performance of Service members. Previous studies demonstrated that people with tinnitus perform more poorly on cognitive tests of selective attention and memory than those without tinnitus.

Evaluation of Extended-Wear Hearing Aids as a Solution for Intermittently Noise-Exposed Listeners With Hearing Loss.

Objectives: Many individuals with noise-related hearing loss continue working in environments where they are periodically exposed to high levels of noise, which increases their risk for further hearing loss. These individuals often must remove their hearing aids in operational environments because of incompatibility with the mandated personal protective equipment, thus reducing situational awareness. Extended-wear hearing aids might provide a solution for these individuals because they can be worn for weeks or months at a time, protect users from high-level noise exposures, and are compatible with communication headsets, earmuffs, and other types of personal protective equipment.

Presence of hearing loss is predictive of return for further stages of tinnitus therapy following initial education and counseling.

Objective: Identify clinical factors that predict the likelihood of patients returning for further evaluation and treatment following stage 1 education and counselling in a staged tinnitus habituation program.

Design: Retrospective cross-sectional study. Demographics, audiometric findings and Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) scores were used for predictive modelling to determine the likelihood of patients returning for subsequent therapy.

Current Device-based Clinical Treatments for Tinnitus.

Device-based clinical treatments for tinnitus are predominantly sound based and include ear-level sound generators, hearing aids, cochlear implants, and tinnitus treatment devices. They are intended for patients with bothersome tinnitus. Bothersome tinnitus is characterized by problems with sleep, concentration, and mood.

Retrospective Assessment of the Efficacy of Modified Progressive Tinnitus Management Skills Education in a Military Medical Treatment Facility.

Introduction: The number-one service-connected disability is tinnitus. Tinnitus currently has no cure, but the functional impact of tinnitus has been shown to be mitigated by Progressive Tinnitus Management (PTM), a multi-level management approach. The duration of PTM Level 3 skills education (PTM-SE) and the inclusion of mental health providers have been identified as barriers to implementation of PTM-SE in Department of Defense (DOD) medical treatment facilities.

A Sound Therapy-Based Intervention to Expand the Auditory Dynamic Range for Loudness among Persons with Sensorineural Hearing Losses: Case Evidence Showcasing Treatment Efficacy.

Case evidence is presented that highlights the clinical relevance and significance of a novel sound therapy-based treatment. This intervention has been shown to be efficacious in a randomized controlled trial for promoting expansion of the dynamic range for loudness and increased sound tolerance among persons with sensorineural hearing losses. Prior to treatment, these individuals were unable to use aided sound effectively because of their limited dynamic ranges.

Relations among Auditory Brainstem and Middle Latency Response Measures, Categorical Loudness Judgments, and Their Associated Physical Intensities.

This study characterizes changes in response properties of toneburst-evoked auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) and/or middle latency responses (MLRs) as a function of perceived loudness and physical intensity of these stimuli and delineates the range of levels corresponding to categorical loudness judgments for these stimuli. ABRs/MLRs were recorded simultaneously to 500- and 2,000-Hz tonebursts in 10 normal-hearing adults at levels corresponding to each listener's loudness judgments for four categories on Contour Test of Loudness. Group mean ABR wave V and MLR wave Pa latency values increased significantly as loudness judgments decreased.

Auditory Brainstem and Middle Latency Responses Measured Pre- and Posttreatment for Hyperacusic Hearing-Impaired Persons Successfully Treated to Improve Sound Tolerance and to Expand the Dynamic Range for Loudness: Case Evidence.

In this report of three cases, we consider electrophysiologic measures from three hyperacusic hearing-impaired individuals who, prior to treatment to expand their dynamic ranges for loudness, were problematic hearing aid candidates because of their diminished sound tolerance and reduced dynamic ranges. Two of these individuals were treated with structured counseling combined with low-level broadband sound therapy from bilateral sound generators and the third case received structured counseling in combination with a short-acting placebo sound therapy. Each individual was highly responsive to his or her assigned treatment as revealed by expansion of the dynamic range by at least 20 dB at one or more frequencies posttreatment.

Considerations in the Development of a Sound Tolerance Interview and Questionnaire Instrument.

Most clinicians approach the objective fitting of hearing aids with three goals in mind: audibility, comfort, and tolerance. When these three amplification goals have been met, the hearing aid user is more likely to adapt to and perceive benefit from hearing aid use. However, problems related to the loudness of sounds and reduced sound tolerance, which may or may not be reported by the aided user, can adversely impact adaptation to amplification and the individual's quality of life.

Intra- and Intersubject Variability in Audiometric Measures and Loudness Judgments in Older Listeners with Normal Hearing.

This research was to document intra- and intersubject variability in measures of pure tone thresholds, loudness discomfort levels, and the Contour test of loudness for tonal and speech stimuli across 8 to 10 repeated test sessions over a period of almost 1 year in a group of 11 normal-hearing, older middle-aged adults (39 to 73 years, mean of 56 years). The measured pure tone thresholds and loudness discomfort levels were determined to be stable across sessions, with variability on the order of 5 dB. The categorical judgments for the Contour test for both warbled tones and spondaic speech stimuli decreased over time in level required for categories greater than comfortable.

A Sound Therapy-Based Intervention to Expand the Auditory Dynamic Range for Loudness among Persons with Sensorineural Hearing Losses: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial.

The primary aim of this research was to evaluate the validity, efficacy, and generalization of principles underlying a sound therapy-based treatment for promoting expansion of the auditory dynamic range (DR) for loudness. The basic sound therapy principles, originally devised for treatment of hyperacusis among patients with tinnitus, were evaluated in this study in a target sample of unsuccessfully fit and/or problematic prospective hearing aid users with diminished DRs (owing to their elevated audiometric thresholds and reduced sound tolerance). Secondary aims included: (1) delineation of the treatment contributions from the counseling and sound therapy components to the full-treatment protocol and, in turn, the isolated treatment effects from each of these individual components to intervention success; and (2) characterization of the respective dynamics for full, partial, and control treatments.

Estimates of loudness, loudness discomfort, and the auditory dynamic range: normative estimates, comparison of procedures, and test-retest reliability.

The purpose of this series of experiments was to establish normative reference values for absolute and relative judgements of loudness discomfort and for the auditory dynamic range (DR), and to evaluate intersubject variability and intra-subject test-retest reliability for the respective measures of loudness discomfort. To establish the normal auditory DR, audiometric thresholds and loudness discomfort levels (LDLs) were measured from a group of 59 normal-hearing adults without sound tolerance problems. The resulting estimates of the LDL and DR were on the order of 100 dB HL and 95 dB, respectively.