Virtual reality games for spatial hearing training in children and young people with bilateral cochlear implants: the "Both Ears (BEARS)" approach.

Spatial hearing relies on the encoding of perceptual sound location cues in space. It is critical for communicating in background noise, and understanding where sounds are coming from (sound localization). Although there are some monoaural spatial hearing cues (i.

Factors Influencing Stream Segregation Based on Interaural Phase Difference Cues.

Interaural time differences are often considered a weak cue for stream segregation. We investigated this claim with headphone-presented pure tones differing in a related form of interaural configuration-interaural phase differences (ΔIPD)-or/and in frequency (ΔF). In experiment 1, sequences comprised 5 × ABA- repetitions (A and B = 80-ms tones, "-" = 160-ms silence), and listeners reported whether integration or segregation was heard.

Rate dependent neural responses of interaural-time-difference cues in fine-structure and envelope.

Advancements in cochlear implants (CIs) have led to a significant increase in bilateral CI users, especially among children. Yet, most bilateral CI users do not fully achieve the intended binaural benefit due to potential limitations in signal processing and/or surgical implant positioning. One crucial auditory cue that normal hearing (NH) listeners can benefit from is the interaural time difference (ITD), .

Protocol for a multicentre randomised controlled trial of STeroid Administration Routes For Idiopathic Sudden sensorineural Hearing loss: The STARFISH trial.

Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) is the rapid onset of reduced hearing due to loss of function of the inner ear or hearing nerve of unknown aetiology. Evidence supports improved hearing recovery with early steroid treatment, via oral, intravenous, intratympanic or a combination of routes. The STARFISH trial aims to identify the most clinically and cost-effective route of administration of steroids as first-line treatment for ISSNHL.

A Multicenter Comparison of 1-yr Functional Outcomes and Programming Differences Between the Advanced Bionics Mid-Scala and SlimJ Electrode Arrays.

Objective: To determine if there is a difference in hearing outcomes or stimulation levels between Advanced Bionics straight and precurved arrays.

Study Design: Retrospective chart review across three implant centers.

Setting: Tertiary centers for cochlear and auditory brainstem implantation.

A 20-year population study of peripartum cardiomyopathy.

Background And Aims: The epidemiology of peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) in Europe is poorly understood and data on long-term outcomes are lacking. A retrospective, observational, population-level study of validated cases of PPCM in Scotland from 1998 to 2017 was conducted.

Methods: Women hospitalized with presumed de novo left ventricular systolic dysfunction around the time of pregnancy and no clear alternative cause were included.

Healthcare utilization and adverse outcomes stratified by sex, age and long-term care residency using the Alberta COVID-19 Analytics and Research Database (ACARD): a population-based descriptive study.

Background: Understanding the epidemiology of Coronavirus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) in a local context is valuable for both future pandemic preparedness and potential increases in COVID-19 case volume, particularly due to variant strains.

Methods: Our work allowed us to complete a population-based study on patients who tested positive for COVID-19 in Alberta from March 1, 2020 to December 15, 2021. We completed a multi-centre, retrospective population-based descriptive study using secondary data sources in Alberta, Canada.

Test-Retest Reliability of the Coordinate Response Measure in Adults with Normal Hearing or Cochlear Implants.

Background: Speech perception in noise is especially challenging for cochlear implant (CI) recipients; thus, speech in noise tests are used to clinically evaluate functional hearing with CIs. The coordinate response measure (CRM) corpus can be utilized in an adaptive speech perception test with competing speakers as the masker. Determining the critical difference for CRM thresholds can enable it to be used to evaluate changes in CI outcomes for clinical and research purposes.

Advanced neonatal procedural skills: a simulation-based workshop: impact and skill decay.

Background: Trainees aiming to specialize in Neonatal Perinatal Medicine (NPM), must be competent in a wide range of procedural skills as per the Royal College of Canada. While common neonatal procedures are frequent in daily clinical practice with opportunity to acquire competence, there are substantial gaps in the acquisition of advanced neonatal procedural skills. With the advent of competency by design into NPM training, simulation offers a unique opportunity to acquire, practice and teach potentially life-saving procedural skills.

Diagnostic value of preoperative measures in selecting post-lingually deafened candidates for cochlear implantation - a different approach.

Objectives: We examined which preoperative diagnostic measure is most suited to serve as a selection criterion to determine adult cochlear implantation (CI) candidacy.

Design: Preoperative diagnostic measures included pure tone audiometry (PTA; 0.5, 1, 2, 4 kHz), speech perception tests (SPT) unaided with headphones and with best-aided hearing aids (in quiet and in noise).

Simultaneous subcortical and cortical electrophysiological recordings of spectro-temporal processing in humans.

Objective assessment of auditory discrimination has often been measured using the Auditory Change Complex (ACC), which is a cortically generated potential elicited by a change occurring within an ongoing, long-duration auditory stimulus. In cochlear implant users, the electrically-evoked ACC has been used to measure electrode discrimination by changing the stimulating electrode during stimulus presentation. In addition to this cortical component, subcortical measures provide further information about early auditory processing in both normal hearing listeners and cochlear implant users.

Cross-modal functional connectivity supports speech understanding in cochlear implant users.

Sensory deprivation can lead to cross-modal cortical changes, whereby sensory brain regions deprived of input may be recruited to perform atypical function. Enhanced cross-modal responses to visual stimuli observed in auditory cortex of postlingually deaf cochlear implant (CI) users are hypothesized to reflect increased activation of cortical language regions, but it is unclear if this cross-modal activity is "adaptive" or "mal-adaptive" for speech understanding. To determine if increased activation of language regions is correlated with better speech understanding in CI users, we assessed task-related activation and functional connectivity of auditory and visual cortices to auditory and visual speech and non-speech stimuli in CI users (n = 14) and normal-hearing listeners (n = 17) and used functional near-infrared spectroscopy to measure hemodynamic responses.

Factors Affecting the Use of Speech Testing in Adult Audiology.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate hearing health care professionals' (HHPs) speech testing practices in routine adult audiology services and better understand the facilitators and barriers to speech testing provision.

Design: A cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted.

Study Sample: A sample ( = 306) of HHPs from the public (64%) and private (36%) sectors in the United Kingdom completed the survey.

Cardioneuroablation for vasovagal syncope: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Cardioneuroablation (CNA) has emerged as promising therapy for patients with refractory vasovagal syncope (VVS).

Objective: The purpose of this study was to provide a freedom from syncope estimate for CNA, including subgroup analysis by method and target of ablation.

Methods: A systematic search was performed in MEDLINE and EMBASE according to the PRISMA guidelines until February 14, 2022.

Risk Stratification of Acute Invasive Fungal Rhinosinusitis in Patients With Hematologic Pathology.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to identify objective perioperative diagnostic factors for acute invasive fungal rhinosinusitis (AIFS) to create a diagnostic scoring system using objective criteria.

Methods: Retrospective case-control study performed at an academic, tertiary care center. Biopsy-proven cases of AIFS identified from pathology records (2015-2019) were compared to patients the otolaryngology service was consulted to "Rule out AIFS" in the year 2019, only including those with underlying hematologic malignancy.

From Microphone to Phoneme: An End-to-End Computational Neural Model for Predicting Speech Perception With Cochlear Implants.

Goal: Advances in computational models of biological systems and artificial neural networks enable rapid virtual prototyping of neuroprostheses, accelerating innovation in the field. Here, we present an end-to-end computational model for predicting speech perception with cochlear implants (CI), the most widely-used neuroprosthesis.

Methods: The model integrates CI signal processing, a finite element model of the electrically-stimulated cochlea, and an auditory nerve model to predict neural responses to speech stimuli.

Evaluating Spatial Hearing Using a Dual-Task Approach in a Virtual-Acoustics Environment.

Spatial hearing is critical for communication in everyday sound-rich environments. It is important to gain an understanding of how well users of bilateral hearing devices function in these conditions. The purpose of this work was to evaluate a Virtual Acoustics (VA) version of the Spatial Speech in Noise (SSiN) test, the SSiN-VA.

A Smartphone-Based Model of Care to Support Patients With Cardiac Disease Transitioning From Hospital to the Community (TeleClinical Care): Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Patients hospitalized with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) or heart failure (HF) are frequently readmitted. This is the first randomized controlled trial of a mobile health intervention that combines telemonitoring and education for inpatients with ACS or HF to prevent readmission.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the feasibility, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness of a smartphone app-based model of care (TeleClinical Care [TCC]) in patients discharged after ACS or HF admission.

Stringency of containment and closures on the growth of SARS-CoV-2 in Canada prior to accelerated vaccine roll-out.

Background: Many studies have examined the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) on SARS-CoV-2 transmission worldwide. However, less attention has been devoted to understanding the limits of NPIs across the course of the pandemic and along a continuum of their stringency. In this study, we explore the relationship between the growth of SARS-CoV-2 cases and an NPI stringency index across Canada before the accelerated vaccine roll-out.