Comparison of hearing-aid effectiveness based on user-operated versus traditional audiometry: a randomised clinical trial.

Objective: To investigate whether hearing-aid fitting based on user-operated audiometry is non-inferior to hearing-aid fitting based on traditional audiometry.

Design: This non-inferiority randomised clinical trial, took place at Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark. In a first visit, participants were tested with traditional audiometry as well as user-operated audiometry and filled in the Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ12) at baseline.

Audiogram Estimation Performance Using Auditory Evoked Potentials and Gaussian Processes.

Objectives: Auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) play an important role in evaluating hearing in infants and others who are unable to participate reliably in behavioral testing. Discriminating the AEP from the much larger background activity, however, can be challenging and time-consuming, especially when several AEP measurements are needed, as is the case for audiogram estimation. This task is usually entrusted to clinicians, who visually inspect the AEP waveforms to determine if a response is present or absent.

The Audible Contrast Threshold (ACT) test: A clinical spectro-temporal modulation detection test.

Over the last decade, multiple studies have shown that hearing-impaired listeners' speech-in-noise reception ability, measured with audibility compensation, is closely associated with performance in spectro-temporal modulation (STM) detection tests. STM tests thus have the potential to provide highly relevant beyond-the-audiogram information in the clinic, but the available STM tests have not been optimized for clinical use in terms of test duration, required equipment, and procedural standardization. The present study introduces a quick-and-simple clinically viable STM test, named the Audible Contrast Threshold (ACT™) test.

Multi-modal deep learning for joint prediction of otitis media and diagnostic difficulty.

Objectives: In this study, we propose a diagnostic model for automatic detection of otitis media based on combined input of otoscopy images and wideband tympanometry measurements.

Methods: We present a neural network-based model for the joint prediction of otitis media and diagnostic difficulty. We use the subclassifications acute otitis media and otitis media with effusion.

A spectro-temporal modulation test for predicting speech reception in hearing-impaired listeners with hearing aids.

Spectro-temporal modulation (STM) detection sensitivity has been shown to be associated with speech-in-noise reception in hearing-impaired (HI) individuals. Based on previous research, a recent study [Zaar, Simonsen, Dau, and Laugesen (2023). Hear Res 427:108650] introduced an STM test paradigm with audibility compensation, employing STM stimulus variants using noise and complex tones as carrier signals.

Toward a clinically viable spectro-temporal modulation test for predicting supra-threshold speech reception in hearing-impaired listeners.

The ability of hearing-impaired listeners to detect spectro-temporal modulation (STM) has been shown to correlate with individual listeners' speech reception performance. However, the STM detection tests used in previous studies were overly challenging especially for elderly listeners with moderate-to-severe hearing loss. Furthermore, the speech tests considered as a reference were not optimized to yield ecologically valid outcomes that represent real-life speech reception deficits.

A Deep Learning Approach for Detecting Otitis Media From Wideband Tympanometry Measurements.

Objective: In this study, wepropose an automatic diagnostic algorithm for detecting otitis media based on wideband tympanometry measurements.

Methods: We develop a convolutional neural network for classification of otitis media based on the analysis of the wideband tympanogram. Saliency maps are computed to gain insight into the decision process of the convolutional neural network.

Inter-rater reliability of the diagnosis of otitis media based on otoscopic images and wideband tympanometry measurements.

Objectives: This study aims to investigate the inter-rater reliability and agreement of the diagnosis of otitis media with effusion, acute otitis media, and no effusion cases based on an otoscopy image and in some cases an additional wideband tympanometry measurement of the patient.

Methods: 1409 cases were examined and diagnosed by an otolaryngologist in the clinic, and otoscopy examination and wideband tympanometry (WBT) measurement were conducted. Afterwards, four otolaryngologists (Ear, Nose, and Throat doctors, ENTs), who did not perform the acute examination of the patients, evaluated the otoscopy images and WBT measurements results for diagnosis (acute otitis media, otitis media with effusion, or no effusion).

Do Room Acoustics Affect the Amplitude of Sound-Field Auditory Steady-State Responses?

The sound-field auditory steady-state response (ASSR) is a promising measure for the objective validation of hearing-aid fitting in patients who are unable to respond to behavioral testing reliably. To record the sound-field ASSR, the stimulus is reproduced through a loudspeaker placed in front of the patient. However, the reverberation and background noise of the measurement room could reduce the stimulus modulation used for eliciting the ASSR.

Equivalent threshold sound pressure levels for click and CE-Chirp stimuli delivered by the SnapPROBE™.

Objective: To estimate the equivalent threshold sound pressure levels (ETSPLs) for nine stimuli used today and in the future for universal newborn hearing screening and diagnostics delivered by the Interacoustics SnapPROBE™.

Design: The Click and eight variants of the CE-Chirp were included to establish ETSPLs when delivered by the SnapPROBE™. The short duration stimuli were presented at a 20/s repetition rate for about 1-2 s following the international standards for establishing ETSPLs.

Potential Destructive Binaural Interaction Effects in Auditory Steady-State Response Measurements.

An aided sound-field auditory steady-state response (ASSR) has the potential to be used to objectively validate hearing-aid (HA) fittings in clinics. Each aided ear should ideally be tested independently, but it is suspected that binaural testing may be used by clinics to reduce test time. This study simulates dichotic ASSR sound-field conditions to examine the risk of making false judgments due to unchecked binaural effects.

Deep metric learning for otitis media classification.

In this study, we propose an automatic diagnostic algorithm for detecting otitis media based on otoscopy images of the tympanic membrane. A total of 1336 images were assessed by a medical specialist into three diagnostic groups: acute otitis media, otitis media with effusion, and no effusion. To provide proper treatment and care and limit the use of unnecessary antibiotics, it is crucial to correctly detect tympanic membrane abnormalities, and to distinguish between acute otitis media and otitis media with effusion.

Reproducing ear-canal reflectance using two measurement techniques in adult ears.

Clinical diagnostic applications of ear-canal reflectance have been researched extensively in the literature, however, the measurement uncertainty associated with the conventional measurement technique using an insert ear probe is unknown in human ear canals. Ear-canal reflectance measured using an ear probe is affected by multiple sources of error, including incorrect estimates of the ear-canal cross-sectional area and oblique ear-probe insertions. In this paper, ear-canal reflectance measurements are reproduced in an occluded-ear simulator and in 54 adult ear canals using two different measurement techniques: a conventional ear probe and a two-microphone probe that enables the separation of reverse- and forward-propagating plane waves.

Compensating for oblique ear-probe insertions in ear-canal reflectance measurements.

Measurements of the ear-canal reflectance using an ear probe require estimating the characteristic impedance of the ear canal in situ. However, an oblique insertion of the ear probe into a uniform waveguide prevents accurately estimating its characteristic impedance using existing time-domain methods. This is caused by the non-uniformity immediately in front of the ear probe when inserted at an oblique angle, resembling a short horn loading, and introduces errors into the ear-canal reflectance.

A coupler-based calibration method for ear-probe microphones.

The calibration of ear-probe microphones can increase the precision of calibrating stimulus levels and of measuring acoustic responses from the ear. This paper proposes a methodology to measure the sensitivity of an ear-probe microphone, requiring only an acoustic coupler and a calibrated reference microphone. The input impedance of the coupler is measured, enabled by a preliminary acoustic Thévenin calibration of the ear probe, and the plane-wave transfer impedance of the coupler is calculated analytically.

On the Cost of Introducing Speech-Like Properties to a Stimulus for Auditory Steady-State Response Measurements.

Validating hearing-aid fittings in prelingual infants is challenging because typical measures (aided audiometry, etc.) are impossible with infants. One objective alternative uses an aided auditory steady-state response (ASSR) measurement.

Compensating for evanescent modes and estimating characteristic impedance in waveguide acoustic impedance measurements.

The ear-canal acoustic impedance and reflectance are useful for assessing conductive hearing disorders and calibrating stimulus levels in situ. However, such probe-based measurements are affected by errors due to the presence of evanescent modes and incorrect estimates or assumptions regarding characteristic impedance. This paper proposes a method to compensate for evanescent modes in measurements of acoustic impedance, reflectance, and sound pressure in waveguides, as well as estimating the characteristic impedance immediately in front of the probe.

Incorporating evanescent modes and flow losses into reference impedances in acoustic Thévenin calibration.

This paper proposes an alternative approach to acoustic Thévenin calibration of an ear probe. An existing methodology derives the Thévenin-equivalent source parameters from the measured probe pressures in a number of short waveguides by solving an overdetermined system of equations. This existing methodology is affected by errors caused by evanescent modes when the waveguide model lengths are estimated.

Sensitivity to Angular and Radial Source Movements as a Function of Acoustic Complexity in Normal and Impaired Hearing.

In contrast to static sounds, spatially dynamic sounds have received little attention in psychoacoustic research so far. This holds true especially for acoustically complex (reverberant, multisource) conditions and impaired hearing. The current study therefore investigated the influence of reverberation and the number of concurrent sound sources on source movement detection in young normal-hearing (YNH) and elderly hearing-impaired (EHI) listeners.

Selection of test-setup parameters to target specific signal-to-noise regions in speech-on-speech intelligibility testing.

Objective: To investigate the magnitude of the change in speech-reception threshold (SRT) provided by altering four different test-setup parameters. Furthermore, to determine whether these changes in SRT are of a sufficient magnitude, such that they can be used to design a test-setup in future experiments that target a predefined signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) region. This could be particularly important if the test contrast investigated is confounded with test SNR.

Temporal Fine-Structure Coding and Lateralized Speech Perception in Normal-Hearing and Hearing-Impaired Listeners.

This study investigated the relationship between speech perception performance in spatially complex, lateralized listening scenarios and temporal fine-structure (TFS) coding at low frequencies. Young normal-hearing (NH) and two groups of elderly hearing-impaired (HI) listeners with mild or moderate hearing loss above 1.5 kHz participated in the study.

Minimum Audible Angles Measured with Simulated Normally-Sized and Oversized Pinnas for Normal-Hearing and Hearing-Impaired Test Subjects.

The human pinna introduces spatial acoustic cues in terms of direction-dependent spectral patterns that shape the incoming sound. These cues are specifically useful for localization in the vertical dimension. Pinna cues exist at frequencies above approximately 5 kHz, a frequency range where people with hearing loss typically have their highest hearing thresholds.