Publications by authors named "Mertens G"

Climate anxiety is a phenomenon that is gaining importance due to the general public's increased awareness of the worsening climate crisis. At present, climate anxiety is not operationalized consistently across the existing literature. It is important to gain more consensus on the definition and operationalization of climate anxiety to facilitate reliable and generalizable research and to further develop interventions.

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Objective: This study assessed the relevance of auditory brainstem response (ABR) thresholds in evaluating cochlear implantation (CI) candidacy by studying their correlation with functional hearing in patients with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL).

Design And Study Sample: In this retrospective study, we examined correlations between ABR thresholds, speech perception scores in quiet and pure-tone audiometry in 191 adults. We compared these correlations between individuals with different degrees of SNHL to discern differences in potential CI candidates and individual with less severe SNHL.

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Panic disorder (PD) is a debilitating mental health condition, characterized by a preoccupation with the occurrence of panic attacks. Previous research has found that PD patients display increased fear generalization, which entails inflated fear responses to ambiguous stimuli (e.g.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study focuses on how otolaryngologists approach testing for congenital sensorineural hearing loss, specifically looking at cCMV infection and genetic testing methods.
  • A survey of 20 otolaryngologists showed that 90% use cCMV and genetic tests, with 95% applying cCMV testing in their practices, and many pursue broader genetic screening if initial tests return negative.
  • The findings also highlight reimbursement rates for these tests, revealing that a majority of respondents receive coverage for cCMV, genetic variant testing, and wider genetic screening.
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Article Synopsis
  • Approximately 400 million people worldwide experience hearing loss, which is linked to cognitive decline, often influenced by factors like vestibular dysfunction, anxiety, and depression.
  • A study involving 42 older adults with moderate-to-severe hearing loss and 42 matched normal-hearing controls assessed cognitive functioning using various tests, revealing significant cognitive deficits in those with hearing loss.
  • The findings showed that participants with hearing loss scored lower on overall cognitive tests, particularly in visuospatial skills and attention, suggesting that hearing loss adversely impacts cognitive abilities in older adults, regardless of vestibular function.
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Background: While cochlear implantation (CI) and electric acoustic stimulation (EAS) have a positive outcome in most cases, their effectiveness varies depending on the etiology of the hearing loss. Among the various etiologies, genetic factors are the leading cause of hearing loss and may impact CI and EAS outcomes.

Aims/objectives: To reveal the genetic background of the hearing loss in CI/EAS patients in each ethnic population, we undertook a multi-center study involving the genetic testing of hearing loss in CI/EAS patients from 10 centers.

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Purpose: In cochlear implantation (CI) surgery, there are a wide variety of intraoperative tests available. However, no clear guide exists on which tests must be performed as the minimum intraoperative testing battery. Toward this end, we studied the usage patterns, recommendations, and attitudes of practitioners toward intraoperative testing.

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Objectives: Hearing loss is a worldwide health problem that currently affects around 20% of the world's population. Untreated hearing loss can have a significant impact on daily life, it can cause social isolation, loneliness, frustration, and higher anxiety and depression rates. Furthermore, older adults with hearing impairment have a higher risk for accelerated cognitive decline compared with normal-hearing individuals.

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Objectives: A wide variety of intraoperative tests are available in cochlear implantation. However, no consensus exists on which tests constitute the minimum necessary battery. We assembled an international panel of clinical experts to develop, refine, and vote upon a set of core consensus statements.

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Objectives: Prior studies show that long COVID has a heterogeneous presentation. Whether specific risk factors are related to subclusters of long COVID remains unknown. This study aimed to determine pre-pandemic predictors of long COVID and symptom clustering.

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Purpose: To study outcome after cochlear implantation using the Cochlear Implant (CI) outcome assessment protocol based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) model (CI-ICF).

Methods: Raw data of a prospective, longitudinal, multicenter study was analyzed. Seventy-two CI candidates were assessed preoperatively and six months postoperatively using the CI-ICF protocol.

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Rationale: Unintentional weight loss and malnutrition are common among cancer patients. Malnutrition has been associated with impaired health-related quality of life, less well-tolerated chemotherapy regimens and shorter life duration. In Belgium there is a lack of epidemiological data on malnutrition in oncology patients at advanced stages of the disease.

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Background: The current study aims to enhance insight into the heterogeneity of long COVID by identifying symptom clusters and associated socio-demographic and health determinants.

Methods: A total of 458 participants (M 36.0 ± 11.

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Article Synopsis
  • * The study looks at a specific genetic hearing loss disorder called DFNA9, which affects both men and women, and how it changes with age.
  • * It found that people start to notice hearing loss in their 30s, and it gets worse quickly between ages 40 to 50, with men and women having different experiences as they age.
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Importance: The development of a vestibular implant has reached milestones and seems to be a promising therapeutic tool for bilateral vestibulopathy (BV). Given the former lack of therapeutic options for BV, the disease has received scant attention in the previous research literature. It is therefore of major importance to gain more insight into the underlying pathology of BV.

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Purpose: Recent literature suggests that tinnitus can impact cognition, but results were varied due to a diversity in investigated aspects of cognition and utilized tests, as well as the possible influence of confounding factors. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of tinnitus loudness on cognition by use of a within-subjects design in patients with a cochlear implant (CI). In this population, tinnitus loudness can be modulated by switching the CI on or off as CI is known to highly suppress tinnitus.

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This paper provides a step-by-step guide for organizing the scientific program (OSP) of international conferences. Through informal discussions, a panel of experts organizing international conferences came up with this guide, which includes a flowchart, checklist, and detailed discussions of each step. Subsequently, additional specialists were invited to evaluate this synopsis and provide their input.

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Introduction: In challenging listening situations, speech perception with a cochlear implant (CI) remains demanding and requires high levels of listening effort, which can lead to increased levels of listening-related fatigue. The body of literature on these topics increases as the number of CI users rises. This scoping review aims to provide an overview of the existing literature on listening effort, fatigue, and listening-related fatigue among CI users and the measurement techniques to evaluate them.

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Article Synopsis
  • Recent studies suggest that vestibular loss may contribute to cognitive decline and hippocampal volume loss, linking it to Alzheimer's disease risk.
  • This research aimed to compare MRI brain volumes of adults with bilateral vestibulopathy (BV) to matched controls and examine if otolith function affects hippocampal volume.
  • Findings revealed no significant differences in brain or hippocampal volumes between BV participants and controls, indicating vestibular dysfunction may not directly impact hippocampal atrophy.
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This study aimed to report quality of life (QoL) scores in unilateral cochlear implant (CI) users and to generate guidance for clinicians on using QoL measures to individualize CI counselling and rehabilitation and to increase access to CIs as a mode of rehabilitation. Participants (n = 101) were unilateral CI users with single-sided deafness (SSD; n = 17), asymmetrical hearing loss (AHL; n = 26), or bilateral hearing loss (Uni; n = 58). Generic QoL was assessed via the Health Utilities Index (HUI-3), and disease-specific QoL was assessed via the Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing scale (SSQ12) and Nijmegen CI Questionnaire (NCIQ) at preimplantation and at 6 and 12 months of CI use.

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Introduction: Untreated hearing loss is the largest potentially modifiable risk factor for dementia. Additionally, vestibular dysfunction has been put forward as a potential risk factor for accelerated cognitive decline. Patients with Deafness Autosomal Dominant 9 (DFNA9) present with progressive sensorineural hearing loss and bilateral vestibulopathy and show significantly worse results in cognitive performance compared with a cognitively healthy control group.

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We present a case of a 80-year-old patient with a catheter-related bloodstream infection caused by Chimaeribacter species. The Chimaeribacter genus represents a novel genus within the Yersiniaceae family. To the best of our knowledge, as of today, nothing is known about the pathogenicity of Chimaeribacter species, nor about the appropriate antimicrobial management.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to investigate the relationship between vestibular function and cognitive decline in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), Alzheimer's disease (AD), and healthy controls.
  • Results indicated that individuals with AD showed delayed p13 component latency in vestibular testing compared to healthy and MCI participants, though other vestibular measures did not show significant differences.
  • Clinical balance assessments revealed that more cognitively impaired participants had poorer balance scores, highlighting the potential for vestibular assessments in early dementia screening.
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Fear is an emotion triggered by the perception of danger and motivates safety behaviors. Within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were ample danger cues (e.g.

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Purpose: To evaluate the effect of anxiety and/or depression on cognition in older adults with severe-to-profound hearing loss.

Methodology: In total, 83 older subjects (age of 55 years or older) with post-lingual, bilateral, severe-to-profound hearing loss were enrolled in this study between April 2014 and March 2021. The Repeatable Battery for Assessment of Neuropsychological Status for Hearing-impaired individuals (RBANS-H) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were used to measure cognition and anxiety/depression.

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