The Neural Correlates of Central Auditory Dysfunction in Chronic Tinnitus: A Multimodal Approach.

Objectives: It was aimed at assessing the connection between tinnitus and central auditory dysfunction using both central auditory tests (CATs) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) for brain regions that are crucial for central auditory processing.

Methods: This prospective case-control study included 15 patients with persistent tinnitus and 20 healthy volunteers as controls. They underwent CATs for memory, attention, and DTI.

The effect of increased listening effort on the balance performance of patients with compensated vestibular lesion.

Objectives: This study investigated the effects of listening effort (LE) on balance in patients with compensated vestibular deficits compared to healthy peers.

Methods: The subjects included two main groups: a control group of 15 healthy subjects and a study group of 19 patients with compensated vestibular pathology. The computerized dynamic posturography test (CDP) was conducted without the speech-in-noise task as a baseline, then the participant was subjected to a dual task in which the auditory task (speech-in-noise sentences) was given as the primary task, and the balance function test was the secondary task.

Transplantation of adipose-derived stromal cells protects functional and morphological auditory nerve integrity in a model of cochlear implantation.

Cochlear implants are considered the gold standard therapy for subjects with severe hearing loss and deafness. Cochlear implants bypass the damaged hair cells and directly stimulate spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) of the auditory nerve. Hence, the presence of functional SGNs is crucial for speech perception in electric hearing with a cochlear implant.

Adipose-derived stromal cells enhance auditory neuron survival in an animal model of sensory hearing loss.

Background: A cochlear implant (CI) is an electronic prosthesis that can partially restore speech perception capabilities. Optimum information transfer from the cochlea to the central auditory system requires a proper functioning auditory nerve (AN) that is electrically stimulated by the device. In deafness, the lack of neurotrophic support, normally provided by the sensory cells of the inner ear, however, leads to gradual degeneration of auditory neurons with undesirable consequences for CI performance.