Relationship between pure-tone audiogram findings and speech perception among older Japanese persons.

Objective: To clarify how the pure-tone threshold (PTT) on the PTA predicts speech perception (SP) in elderly Japanese persons.

Methods: Data on PTT and SP were cross-sectionally analyzed in Japanese persons (656 ears in 353 patients, aged ≥65 years). Correlations of SP and average PTT in all tested frequencies were evaluated by Pearson's correlation coefficient and simple linear regression.

Subjective hearing-related quality-of-life is a major factor in the decision to continue using hearing aids among older persons.

Conclusion: Audiological parameters alone do not determine the choice to use hearing aids (HA). Subjective hearing-related QoL is a major factor that determines whether or not an older person will continue to wear HA.

Objective: This study aimed to identify which audiological parameters and quality-of-life (QoL) measures determine whether or not older persons will continue wearing HA.

Pediatric central auditory processing disorder showing elevated threshold on pure tone audiogram.

Central auditory processing disorder (CAPD) is a condition in which dysfunction in the central auditory system causes difficulty in listening to conversations, particularly under noisy conditions, despite normal peripheral auditory function. Central auditory testing is generally performed in patients with normal hearing on the pure tone audiogram (PTA). This report shows that diagnosis of CAPD is possible even in the presence of an elevated threshold on the PTA, provided that the normal function of the peripheral auditory pathway was verified by distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE), auditory brainstem response (ABR), and auditory steady state response (ASSR).

Characteristics of audiogram configuration in multiple-system atrophy C and cortical cerebellar atrophy.

Conclusion: The prevalence of low-tone hearing loss (LTHL) is significantly high in spinocerebellar degeneration (SCD) with cerebellar predominance, including multiple-system atrophy C (MSA-C) and cortical cerebellar atrophy (CCA).

Objective: This study aimed to test the hypothesis that SCD with cerebellar predominance, MSA-C and CCA may cause auditory symptoms.

Methods: The shape and threshold of pure-tone audiograms were evaluated for MSA-C (n = 47; mean (± SD) age, 61.

Impact of early intervention on comprehensive language and academic achievement in Japanese hearing-impaired children with cochlear implants.

Objectives: Early hearing detection and intervention (EHDI) is critical for achievement of age-appropriate speech perception and language development in hearing-impaired children. It has been 15 years since newborn hearing screening (NHS) was introduced in Japan, and its effectiveness for language development in hearing-impaired children has been extensively studied. Moreover, after over 20 years of cochlear implantation in Japan, many of the prelingual cochlear implant (CI) users have reached school age, and the effect of CI on language development have also been assessed.

[Assessment of hearing aid outcome using CADL].

The presence of hearing impairment deteriorates patients' quality of life by affecting their daily-life communication. Several self-report assessments are available to evaluate the subjective outcome of hearing aids, however, the procedures to evaluate the impairment of communication induced by hearing impairment has not been well established. A PC-recorded audio file prepared to evaluate the communication ability of hearing aid users, by extracting fifteen spoken language items from the Communication ADL Test: sp-CADL.

Syntactic development in Japanese hearing-impaired children.

Objectives: This study examined syntactic development of auditory comprehension of sentences in Japanese-speaking school-age children with and without hearing impairment.

Methods: In total, 592 preschool and school-age children (421 normal-hearing and 171 hearing-impaired) were included in this cross-sectional observation study conducted using the Syntactic Processing Test for Aphasia for Japanese language users. Linear regression analysis was used to determine the estimated age at which each syntactic structure was acquired.

[Multicenter clinical study of bone-anchored hearing aids in Japan--application for congenital auricular atresia].

The effectiveness of bone anchored hearing aid (BAHA) for the patients with congenital aural atresia was evaluated by multicenter clinical study in Japan. Twenty patients (17 bilateral and 3 hemilateral) of congenital auricular atresia were registered for this study and finally, 18 of them (15 bilateral and 3 unilateral) were subjected to further evaluation. Primary endpoint of this study was free sound-field pure-tone audiometory and speech threshold hearing test in quiet and noisy circumstances.

Developmental dysgraphia with profound hearing impairment: intervention by auditory methods enabled by cochlear implant.

Learning disability combined with hearing impairment (LDHI) is a poor prognostic factor for the language development of hearing impaired children after educational intervention. A typical example of a child with LDHI and effective interventions provided by cochlear implants are presented in this report. A case of congenital cytomegaloviral infection that showed dysgraphia as well as profound deafness was reported and an underlying visual processing problem diagnosed in the present case caused the patient's dysgraphia.

Comprehension of abstract words among hearing impaired children.

Introduction: This study examines the ability and development in the comprehension of abstract words with hearing impaired children. The ability to understand abstract words is quite important for their academic learning and adaptation in their school life. Here, we qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed the development of abstract vocabulary in hearing impaired children using The Standardized Comprehension Test for Abstract Words (SCTAW).

Longitudinal formant analysis after cochlear implantation in school-aged children.

Introduction: The purpose of this investigation was to describe the correlation between vocal and hearing development by longitudinal analysis of sound spectrograms, as a basic system for evaluating progress in vocal development.

Subjects And Methods: Two school-aged children with prelingual deafness were evaluated diachronically to assess speech perception and speech intelligibility after cochlear implantation. One child had non-syndromic hearing impairment without any known neurological deficit except for hearing loss, while the other had hearing impairment accompanied by mild mental retardation and attention deficit disorder.

Monosyllable speech perception of Japanese hearing aid users with prelingual hearing loss: implications for surgical indication of cochlear implant.

Objective: The monosyllable speech perception ability after years of educational intervention was compared between prelingually deafened pediatric hearing aid users and their cochlear implant counterparts.

Design: An open-set monosyllabic speech perception test was conducted on all subjects. The test required subjects to indicate a corresponding Japanese character to that spoken by the examiner.

Language development of a multiply handicapped child after cochlear implantation.

The presence of additional handicaps in hearing-impaired children makes the prediction of language ability after cochlear implantation unreliable. Only limited follow-up data on developmental improvement after implantation among multiply handicapped children is available. The present study reports the course of development (audiological and linguistic) after cochlear implantation in one subject with moderate mental retardation.

Better speech performance in cochlear implant patients with GJB2-related deafness.

Objective: We applied mutation screening in seven cochlear implant users to identify those persons with GJB2-related deafness to determine whether etiology of deafness was predictive of speech performance after implantation.

Methods: Direct sequence of GJB2 was conducted over seven cochlear implant users with prelingual hearing impairment and their speech, language and cognitive performance was examined.

Results: The three persons with GJB2-related deafness had a mean vocabulary of 1243 words compared to a mean vocabulary of 195 words in the four children with GJB2-unrelated deafness, although the number of patients examined here was limited.