Effects of AUT00063, a Kv3.1 channel modulator, on noise-induced hyperactivity in the dorsal cochlear nucleus.

The purpose of this study was to test whether a Kv3 potassium channel modulator, AUT00063, has therapeutic potential for reversing noise-induced increases in spontaneous neural activity, a state that is widely believed to underlie noise-induced tinnitus. Recordings were conducted in noise exposed and control hamsters from dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) fusiform cells before and following intraperitoneal administration of AUT00063 (30 mg/kg). Fusiform cell spontaneous activity was increased in sound-exposed animals, approximating levels that were nearly 50% above those of controls.

Induction of enhanced acoustic startle response by noise exposure: dependence on exposure conditions and testing parameters and possible relevance to hyperacusis.

There has been a recent surge of interest in the development of animal models of hyperacusis, a condition in which tolerance to sounds of moderate and high intensities is diminished. The reasons for this decreased tolerance are likely multifactorial, but some major factors that contribute to hyperacusis are increased loudness perception and heightened sensitivity and/or responsiveness to sound. Increased sound sensitivity is a symptom that sometimes develops in human subjects after acoustic insult and has recently been demonstrated in animals as evidenced by enhancement of the acoustic startle reflex following acoustic over-exposure.

Assessing outcomes of tinnitus intervention.

Background: It has been estimated that as many as 50 million Americans do experience or have experienced tinnitus. For approximately 12 million of these individuals, tinnitus makes it impossible for them to carry out normal everyday activities without limitation. These are the patients that present to audiology clinics for assessment and management.

A comparison of benefit and economic value between two sound therapy tinnitus management options.

Background: Sound therapy coupled with appropriate counseling has gained widespread acceptance in the audiological management of tinnitus. For many years, ear level sound generators (SGs) have been used to provide masking relief and to promote tinnitus habituation. More recently, an alternative treatment device was introduced, the Neuromonics Tinnitus Treatment (NTT), which employs spectrally-modified music in an acoustic desensitization approach in order to help patients overcome the disturbing consequences of tinnitus.

The tinnitus functional index: development of a new clinical measure for chronic, intrusive tinnitus.

Objectives: Chronic subjective tinnitus is a prevalent condition that causes significant distress to millions of Americans. Effective tinnitus treatments are urgently needed, but evaluating them is hampered by the lack of standardized measures that are validated for both intake assessment and evaluation of treatment outcomes. This work was designed to develop a new self-report questionnaire, the Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI), that would have documented validity both for scaling the severity and negative impact of tinnitus for use in intake assessment and for measuring treatment-related changes in tinnitus (responsiveness) and that would provide comprehensive coverage of multiple tinnitus severity domains.

Tinnitus: patients do not have to 'just live with it'.

Tinnitus is distressing and affects the quality of life for many patients. Because primary care physicians may be the entry point for patients seeking help for tinnitus, we urge them to acknowledge this symptom and its potential negative impact on the patient's health and quality of life. Physicians should actively listen to the patient and provide hope and encouragement, but also provide realistic expectations about the course of treatment.

Evaluation of a customized acoustical stimulus system in the treatment of chronic tinnitus.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of a customized acoustical stimulus (Neuromonics) system in the treatment of chronic tinnitus.

Study Design: Multi-institutional prospective.

Setting: Nine U.

Longitudinal benefit from and satisfaction with the Baha system for patients with acquired unilateral sensorineural hearing loss.

Objective: To analyze the short-, medium-, and long-term benefits from and satisfaction with the Baha for patients with profound unilateral sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL).

Design: Prospective clinical study.

Setting: Head and Neck Institute at the Cleveland Clinic.

Development and psychometric adequacy of the screening version of the tinnitus handicap inventory.

Objective: To develop a screening version of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI-S) and establish its psychometric characteristics.

Design: : Prospective clinical study to analyze 1) the level of predictability between THI and THI-S; 2) test-retest reliability of the THI-S; 3) 95% confidence intervals (critical difference scores) for the THI-S; and 4) a THI-S cutoff score used for referral purposes.

Setting: Head and Neck Institute at the Cleveland Clinic, a tertiary care medical center.

Hearing loss is often undiscovered, but screening is easy.

Screening for hearing loss should be part of the routine physical examination, but it is often not done because of time constraints. We present a quick and easy office screening test that measures the functional impact of hearing loss. We also review the steps of audiologic management that follow referral by the primary care physician.

Vestibular nerve sectioning for intractable vertigo: efficacy of simplified retrosigmoid approach.

Objective: To determine the surgical efficacy of a simplified retrosigmoid approach for vestibular nerve sectioning.

Study Design: A retrospective analysis.

Setting: Tertiary academic referral center.

Benefit From, Satisfaction With, and Cost-Effectiveness of Three Different Hearing Aid Technologies.

Clinical decision-making has become more complex as newer, more costly, hearing aid (HA) technologies become available. The expanding array of more expensive HAs demands that clinical researchers continue to justify the value of these instruments relative to the substantial increase in cost to both the provider and consumer.In the present report, 25 current conventional HA users with adult onset of sensorineural hearing loss were fitted with: (a) a one-channel linear HA; (b) a two-channel, nonlinear HA; and (c) a seven-band, two-channel digital signal processing (DSP) HA.