In quiet environments, hearing aids improve the perception of low-intensity sounds. However, for high-intensity sounds in background noise, the aids often fail to provide a benefit to the wearer. Here, using large-scale single-neuron recordings from hearing-impaired gerbils-an established animal model of human hearing-we show that hearing aids restore the sensitivity of neural responses to speech, but not their selectivity. Rather than reflecting a deficit in supra-threshold auditory processing, the low selectivity is a consequence of hearing-aid compression (which decreases the spectral and temporal contrasts of incoming sound) and amplification (which distorts neural responses, regardless of whether hearing is impaired). Processing strategies that avoid the trade-off between neural sensitivity and selectivity should improve the performance of hearing aids.
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7612903 | PMC |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41551-021-00707-y | DOI Listing |
Otol Neurotol
February 2025
Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Donders Center for Neuroscience, Radboud University Medical Center, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Objective: To compare the 3-year outcomes of the modified minimally invasive Ponto surgery (m-MIPS) to both the original MIPS (o-MIPS) and linear incision technique with soft tissue preservation (LIT-TP) for inserting bone-anchored hearing implants (BAHIs).
Study Design: Prospective study with three patient groups: m-MIPS, o-MIPS, and LIT-TP.
Setting: Tertiary referral center.
Otol Neurotol
February 2025
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
Objective: To analyze the use of electrical field imaging (EFI) in the detection of extracochlear electrodes in cochlear implants (CI).
Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.
Setting: Tertiary academic medical center.
Objective: The aim of this study is to test the feasibility of a custom 3D-printed guide for performing a minimally invasive cochleostomy for cochlear implantation.
Study Design: Prospective performance study.
Setting: Secondary care.
Otol Neurotol
February 2025
Department of Surgery, Section of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Chicago Medicine, Chicago, Illinois.
Objective: This study aims to evaluate the potential association of perioperative hearing outcomes with frailty by Modified 5-Item Frailty Index (mFI-5).
Design: Retrospective cross-sectional study.
Setting: Single-institutional study conducted at a tertiary care hospital between January 2018 and January 2022.
Otol Neurotol
February 2025
Department of ORL-Head & Neck Surgery and Audiology, Odense University Hospital, Odense C, Denmark.
Objective: To investigate the association between postoperative antibiotic prophylaxis and the risk of infections leading to implant explantation or hospitalization, with a follow-up of up to 12 years.
Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.
Setting: Tertiary medical institution.
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