Cochlear implantation in adults with acquired single-sided deafness improves cortical processing and comprehension of speech presented to the non-implanted ears: a longitudinal EEG study.

Former studies have established that individuals with a cochlear implant (CI) for treating single-sided deafness experience improved speech processing after implantation. However, it is not clear how each ear contributes separately to improve speech perception over time at the behavioural and neural level. In this longitudinal EEG study with four different time points, we measured neural activity in response to various temporally and spectrally degraded spoken words presented monaurally to the CI and non-CI ears (5 left and 5 right ears) in 10 single-sided CI users and 10 age- and sex-matched individuals with normal hearing.

Cognitive abilities predict naturalistic speech length in older adults.

Past research has demonstrated the association between social engagement and the maintenance of cognitive abilities. However, inconsistent definitions of social engagement have posed challenges to systematically investigate this association. This paper addresses the role of social relationships in cognitive functioning among older adults, focusing on the real-life communication indicator-length of own speech-as a measure of social activity.

Deficient central mechanisms in tinnitus: Exploring the impact on speech comprehension and executive functions.

Many individuals with chronic subjective tinnitus report significant problems in comprehending speech in adverse listening situations. A large body of studies has provided evidence to support the notion that deficits in speech-in-noise (SIN) are prevalent in the tinnitus population, while some studies have challenged these findings. Elemental auditory perception is usually only minimally or not impaired.

Neurofeedback for tinnitus treatment: an innovative method with promising potential.

This scientific commentary refers to 'Does it matter what is trained? A randomized controlled trial evaluating the specificity of alpha/delta ratio neurofeedback in reducing tinnitus symptoms 'by Jensen . (https://doi.org/10.

The statistical analysis plan for the unification of treatments and interventions for tinnitus patients randomized clinical trial (UNITI-RCT).

Background: Tinnitus is a leading cause of disease burden globally. Several therapeutic strategies are recommended in guidelines for the reduction of tinnitus distress; however, little is known about the potentially increased effectiveness of a combination of treatments and personalized treatments for each tinnitus patient.

Methods: Within the Unification of Treatments and Interventions for Tinnitus Patients project, a multicenter, randomized clinical trial is conducted with the aim to compare the effectiveness of single treatments and combined treatments on tinnitus distress (UNITI-RCT).

[Functional neuroimaging options for tinnitus].

Background: The pathophysiology behind tinnitus is still not well understood. Different imaging methods help in the understanding of the complex relationships that lead to the perception of tinnitus.

Objective: Herein, different functional imaging methods that can be used in the study of tinnitus are presented.

Sex Differences in Comorbidity Combinations in the Swedish Population.

High comorbidity rates, especially mental-physical comorbidity, constitute an increasing health care burden, with women and men being differentially affected. To gain an overview of comorbidity rates stratified by sex across a range of different conditions, this study examines comorbidity patterns within and between cardiovascular, pulmonary, skin, endocrine, digestive, urogenital, musculoskeletal, neurological diseases, and psychiatric conditions. Self-report data from the LifeGene cohort of 31,825 participants from the general Swedish population (62.

Daily Contributors of Tinnitus Loudness and Distress: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study.

Background: Tinnitus is a heterogeneous condition which may be associated with moderate to severe disability, but the reasons why only a subset of individuals is burdened by the condition are not fully clear. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) allows a better understanding of tinnitus by capturing the fluctuations of tinnitus symptoms, such as distress and loudness, and psychological processes, such as emotional arousal, overall stress, mood, and concentration and how these variables interact over time. Whether any of those variables have an influence over the next day, that is, whether any of these variables are auto- or cross-correlated, is still unanswered.

Negative Associations of Stress and Anxiety Levels With Cytotoxic and Regulatory Natural Killer Cell Frequency in Chronic Tinnitus.

Background: Depression and anxiety are known to be associated with stress-induced changes in the immune system. Bothersome tinnitus can be related to stress and often co-occurs with depression and anxiety. This study investigates associations of psychological and audiological tinnitus-related factors with inflammatory parameters and immune cell subsets in chronic tinnitus patients as well as treatment-related effects.

Transcranial electric and acoustic stimulation for tinnitus: study protocol for a randomized double-blind controlled trial assessing the influence of combined transcranial random noise and acoustic stimulation on tinnitus loudness and distress.

Background: Tinnitus is the result of aberrant neuronal activity. As a novel treatment form, neuromodulation is used to modify neuronal activity of brain areas involved in tinnitus generation. Among the different forms of electric stimulation, transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) has been shown to be a promising treatment option for tinnitus.

Smartphone-Guided Educational Counseling and Self-Help for Chronic Tinnitus.

Tinnitus is an auditory phantom perception in the ears or head in the absence of a corresponding external stimulus. There is currently no effective treatment available that reliably reduces tinnitus. Educational counseling is a treatment approach that aims to educate patients and inform them about possible coping strategies.

Psychological Treatment Effects Unrelated to Hair-Cortisol and Hair-BDNF Levels in Chronic Tinnitus.

Background: Currently, there are no objective markers to measure treatment efficacy in chronic (distressing) tinnitus. This study explores whether stress-related biomarkers cortisol and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) measured in hair samples of chronic tinnitus patients change after compact multimodal tinnitus-specific cognitive behavioral therapy.

Methods: In this longitudinal study, hair-cortisol and hair-BDNF levels, self-reported tinnitus-related distress (Tinnitus Questionnaire; TQ), and perceived stress (Perceived Stress Questionnaire; PSQ-20) were assessed before and 3 months after 5 days of treatment in = 80 chronic tinnitus patients.

Hair-cortisol and hair-BDNF as biomarkers of tinnitus loudness and distress in chronic tinnitus.

The role of stress and its neuroendocrine mediators in tinnitus is unclear. In this study, we measure cortisol as an indicator of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis alterations and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) as a marker of adaptive neuroplasticity in hair of chronic tinnitus patients to investigate relationships with tinnitus-related and psychological factors. Cross-sectional data from chronic tinnitus inpatients were analyzed.

Deep Learning End-to-End Approach for the Prediction of Tinnitus based on EEG Data.

Tinnitus is attributed by the perception of a sound without any physical source causing the symptom. Symptom profiles of tinnitus patients are characterized by a large heterogeneity, which is a major obstacle in developing general treatments for this chronic disorder. As tinnitus patients often report severe constraints in their daily life, the lack of general treatments constitutes such a challenge that patients crave for any kind of promising method to cope with their tinnitus, even if it is not based on evidence.

Unification of Treatments and Interventions for Tinnitus Patients (UNITI): a study protocol for a multi-center randomized clinical trial.

Background: Tinnitus represents a relatively common condition in the global population accompanied by various comorbidities and severe burden in many cases. Nevertheless, there is currently no general treatment or cure, presumable due to the heterogeneity of tinnitus with its wide variety of etiologies and tinnitus phenotypes. Hence, most treatment studies merely demonstrated improvement in a subgroup of tinnitus patients.

Gender differentiates effects of acoustic stimulation in patients with tinnitus.

Gender constitutes a major factor to consider when tailoring subtype-based therapies for tinnitus. Previous reports showed important differences between men and women concerning basic perceptual tinnitus characteristics (i.e.

On the relationship between tinnitus distress, cognitive performance and aging.

In this study we analyzed psychometric data of 107 individuals who suffer from chronic subjective tinnitus. In particular, we elucidated the relationship between tinnitus-related distress, psychological comorbidities, age, and hearing, and the performance in cognitive concentration and interference tests. Previous research has provided first evidence that individuals with tinnitus may have deficits in cognitive tasks.

Prolonged tinnitus suppression after short-term acoustic stimulation.

Background: Tinnitus suppression following acoustic stimulation is a well-known phenomenon also termed residual inhibition (RI). Some individuals may experience prolonged RI (PRI), which can last for several hours or even days, after a single short-term acoustic stimulation. Exact mechanisms of this phenomenon are unknown and current evidence anecdotal.

Towards a unification of treatments and interventions for tinnitus patients: The EU research and innovation action UNITI.

Tinnitus is the perception of a phantom sound and the patient's reaction to it. Although much progress has been made, tinnitus remains a scientific and clinical enigma of high prevalence and high economic burden, with an estimated prevalence of 10%-20% among the adult population. The EU is funding a new collaborative project entitled "Unification of Treatments and Interventions for Tinnitus Patients" (UNITI, grant no.

Impact of personality on acoustic tinnitus suppression and emotional reaction to stimuli sounds.

Background: Acoustic stimulation was shown to be effective in short-term suppression of tinnitus. However, tinnitus cannot be suppressed in all patients. Recent insights from mental health research suggests that personality traits may be important factors in prediction of treatment outcomes or improvement of tinnitus over time.

Tinnitus and tinnitus disorder: Theoretical and operational definitions (an international multidisciplinary proposal).

As for hypertension, chronic pain, epilepsy and other disorders with particular symptoms, a commonly accepted and unambiguous definition provides a common ground for researchers and clinicians to study and treat the problem. The WHO's ICD11 definition only mentions tinnitus as a nonspecific symptom of a hearing disorder, but not as a clinical entity in its own right, and the American Psychiatric Association's DSM-V doesn't mention tinnitus at all. Here we propose that the tinnitus without and with associated suffering should be differentiated by distinct terms: "Tinnitus" for the former and "Tinnitus Disorder" for the latter.

The progression of chronic tinnitus over the years.

Little is known about the trajectory of tinnitus over time. This study addressed (1) how often tinnitus remitted in patients with chronic tinnitus; (2) how subjective reported tinnitus characteristics, such as loudness, laterality, and type and measures of burden, such as tinnitus distress, depression, and quality of life, changes over time; (3) how often tinnitus-specific treatments were undertaken and the prevalence of comorbidities, (4) if the number of treatments and comorbidities were associated to changes in tinnitus distress over time. Data from 388 patients with chronic tinnitus who visited a tertiary tinnitus clinic between 2012 and 2017 were interrogated via a mail survey in 2018.

Understanding adherence to the recording of ecological momentary assessments in the example of tinnitus monitoring.

The recording of Ecological Momentary Assessments (EMA) can assist people with chronic diseases in monitoring their health state. However, many users quickly lose interest in their respective EMA platforms. Therefore, we studied the adherence of users of the mHealth app TRACKYOURTINNITUS (TYT).