Knowledge of and Attitudes Toward Hearing Loss Among Primary Care Physicians in the Public Health Sector of Mauritius.

 Primary care physicians are essential first points of contact for patients with hearing loss. Thus, knowledge of hearing loss and related aspects is essential to ensure the optimal management of individuals with suspected hearing loss.  This study aimed to determine the knowledge of and attitudes toward hearing loss among primary care physicians in the public health sector in Mauritius.

The public healthcare sector of Mauritius: knowledge of and attitudes toward hearing loss among community health workers.

Mauritius does not have community health workers trained in identifying risk factors for hearing loss or in referring patients for diagnostic testing. It is crucial to gather information about the knowledge of and attitudes toward hearing loss among community health workers before involving them in the identification and intervention of hearing loss in Mauritius. To describe the knowledge of and attitudes toward hearing loss among community health workers in Mauritius.

Speech perception in noise in children with learning difficulties: A scoping review.

Background: Children with learning difficulties (LD) face multiple challenges in classrooms settings while having to meet various auditory demands, such as understanding verbal instructions in the presence of background noise. These challenges pose a risk for academic failure, underachievement, and underemployment. Well-developed skills regarding speech perception in noise promote learning, communication, and academic success.

The use of the to identify auditory processing disorders in South African children: a comparative study.

Objective: Development of the (FS) has created a cost-effective, accessible form of assessment through tele-audiology. As accessibility to reliable, cost-effective assessment of auditory processing (AP) skills is limited in South Africa (SA), this study aims to establish whether there is correlation between the FS and traditional tests of AP viz. Frequency Pattern and Dichotic Digits Test, and to establish its relevance to the SA population.

Effects of language experience on selective auditory attention and speech-in-noise perception among English second language learners: Preliminary findings.

Objective: The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of language experience on selective auditory attention and speech-in-noise perception in English Second Language (ESL) learners aged seven to eight years.

Method: A quantitative, descriptive, comparative cross-sectional research design was used to determine the effect of age of exposure to English on the selective auditory attention abilities and speech-in-noise perception skills of 40 children with normal hearing in first or second grade (aged seven to eight years). The control group comprised of 20 English first language (EFL) learners (mean age = 7.

Listening Effort in School-Age Children With Normal Hearing Compared to Children With Limited Useable Hearing Unilaterally.

Objectives Children with limited hearing unilaterally might experience more listening effort than children with normal hearing, yet previous studies have not confirmed this. This study compared listening effort in school-age children with normal hearing and children with limited hearing unilaterally using behavioral and subjective listening effort measures. Design Two groups of school-age children (aged 7-12 years) participated: 19 with limited hearing unilaterally and 18 with normal hearing bilaterally.

Listening Effort in School-Aged Children With Limited Useable Hearing Unilaterally: Examining the Effects of a Personal, Digital Remote Microphone System and a Contralateral Routing of Signal System.

Technology options for children with limited hearing unilaterally that improve the signal-to-noise ratio are expected to improve speech recognition and also reduce listening effort in challenging listening situations, although previous studies have not confirmed this. Employing behavioral and subjective indices of listening effort, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of two intervention options, remote microphone system (RMS) and contralateral routing of signal (CROS) system, in school-aged children with limited hearing unilaterally. Nineteen children (aged 7-12 years) with limited hearing unilaterally completed a digit triplet recognition task in three loudspeaker conditions: midline, monaural direct, and monaural indirect with three intervention options: unaided, RMS, and CROS system.

Listening Effort in Native and Nonnative English-Speaking Children Using Low Linguistic Single- and Dual-Task Paradigms.

Purpose It is not clear if behavioral indices of listening effort are sensitive to changes in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for young children (7-12 years old) from multilingual backgrounds. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of SNR on listening effort in multilingual school-aged children (native English, nonnative English) as measured with a single- and a dual-task paradigm with low-linguistic speech stimuli (digits). The study also aimed to explore age effects on digit triplet recognition and response times (RTs).

Breastfeeding skills of full-term newborns and associated factors in a low-and-middle-income setting.

Background: Normative information on the breastfeeding of term newborns may guide clinicians in early identification of breastfeeding difficulties and oro-pharyngeal dysphagia (OPD), and may support optimal breastfeeding practices.

Objective: To describe breastfeeding skills of term newborn infants in a South African hospital, a lower-middle-income setting, and investigate associations between infants' feeding and other factors.

Method: One breastfeeding session of each of the 71 healthy newborn full-term infants (mean chronological age=1.

Oropharyngeal Dysphagia in Breastfeeding Neonates with Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy on Therapeutic Hypothermia.

To identify symptoms of oropharyngeal dysphagia (OPD) in breastfeeding neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) on therapeutic hypothermia (TH). Early identification of feeding problems in neonates with HIE by speech-language therapists (SLTs) may prevent secondary complications of OPD such as aspiration pneumonia and death. Twenty-eight full-term neonates with HIE (mean chronological age = 4.

Breastfeeding and swallowing in a neonate with mild hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy.

Background: Specific breastfeeding and swallowing characteristics in neonates with hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) have not yet been well described in the literature. Considering the relatively high incidence of HIE in resource-poor settings, speech-language therapists should be cognisant of the feeding difficulties in this population during breastfeeding.

Objective: To systematically describe the breastfeeding and swallowing of a single case of a neonate diagnosed with mild HIE from admission to discharge.

Deaf or hard of hearing children in Saudi Arabia: Status of early intervention services.

Objective: This study aims to determine the status of early intervention services provided to children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their parents/caregivers from birth to five years of age at two main state hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, based on their parents' perceptions.

Method: A descriptive quantitative research design was used to determine the status of early intervention services for deaf or hard of hearing children in Saudi Arabia based on their parents' perceptions. Semistructured interviews based on a questionnaire were conducted with 60 research participants from two main state hospitals where early detection and intervention services are provided.

Comparison of the South African Spondaic and CID W-1 wordlists for measuring speech recognition threshold.

Background: The home language of most audiologists in South Africa is either English or Afrikaans, whereas most South Africans speak an African language as their home language. The use of an English wordlist, the South African Spondaic (SAS) wordlist, which is familiar to the English Second Language (ESL) population, was developed by the author for testing the speech recognition threshold (SRT) of ESL speakers.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the pure-tone average (PTA)/SRT correlation results of ESL participants when using the SAS wordlist (list A) and the CID W-1 spondaic wordlist (list B - less familiar; list C - more familiar CID W-1 words).

The influence of non-linear frequency compression on the perception of music by adults with a moderate to sever hearing loss: subjective impressions.

Objective: To date, the main direction in frequency-lowering hearing aid studies has been in relation to speech perception abilities. With improvements in hearing aid technology, interest in musical perception as a dimension that could improve hearing aid users' quality of life has grown. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of non-linear frequency compression (NFC) on hearing aid users' subjective impressions of listening to music.

Auditory steady-state responses to bone conduction stimuli in children with hearing loss.

Objective: The auditory steady-state response (ASSR) to air-conduction (AC) stimuli has been widely incorporated into audiological test-batteries for the pediatric population. The current understanding of ASSR to bone conduction (BC) stimuli, however, is more limited, especially in the case of infants and children. There are few reports on ASSR thresholds to BC stimuli in infants and young children, and none for infants or children with hearing loss.

Infant hearing loss in South Africa: age of intervention and parental needs for support.

Hearing loss is referred to as the silent, overlooked epidemic in developing countries, and data reporting the mean age of diagnosis and intervention is virtually non-existent due to limited systematic or routine screening programs. The objective of this paper is to present findings of recent practice in early diagnosis and intervention services in an urban South African context, with specific reference to parental needs for support. Data was collected by means of questionnaire surveys for 54 parents of children with congenital or early-onset hearing loss, followed by focus group discussions conducted with 10 parents.