Predicting Auditory Skill Outcomes After Pediatric Cochlear Implantation Using Preoperative Brain Imaging.

Purpose: Our study used preoperative neuroanatomical features to predict auditory development in Chinese-learning children with cochlear implants (CIs).

Method: T1-weighted whole-brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were obtained from 17 Chinese-learning pediatric CI candidates (12 females and five males, age at MRI = 23.0 ± 15.

Relationship Between Working Memory, Compression, and Beamformers in Ideal Conditions.

Objectives: Previous research has shown that speech recognition with different wide dynamic range compression (WDRC) time-constants (fast-acting or Fast and slow-acting or Slow) is associated with individual working memory ability, especially in adverse listening conditions. Until recently, much of this research has been limited to omnidirectional hearing aid settings and colocated speech and noise, whereas most hearing aids are fit with directional processing that may improve the listening environment in spatially separated conditions and interact with WDRC processing. The primary objective of this study was to determine whether there is an association between individual working memory ability and speech recognition in noise with different WDRC time-constants, with and without microphone directionality (binaural beamformer or Beam versus omnidirectional or Omni) in a spatial condition ideal for the beamformer (speech at 0 , noise at 180 ).

The Ins and Outs of Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emission Growth: A Review.

Otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) are low-level signals generated from active processes related to outer hair cell transduction in the cochlea. In current clinical applications, OAEs are typically used to detect the presence or absence of hearing loss. However, their potential extends far beyond hearing screenings.

A transient memory lapse in humans 1-3 h after training.

In many non-human species, learning retention decreases temporarily following training. This has led to the suggestion that these lapses reflect a fundamental component of memory formation. If so, transient memory lapses should also be prevalent in humans, and should occur for all types of learning.

Hearing Loss and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Profiles: Data from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos.

Background:  Individual cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors (RFs) have been associated with hearing loss (HL). The relationship to aggregate risk is poorly understood and has not been explored in the Hispanic/Latino population.

Purpose:  The aim of this study was to characterize the association between aggregate CVD RF burden and hearing among Hispanics/Latinos.

Musicians have an advantage on a spatial-hearing task only when they are highly trained, start training early, and continue to play.

Musicians perform better than non-musicians on a variety of non-musical sound-perception tasks. Whether that musicians' advantage extends to spatial hearing is a topic of increasing interest. Here we investigated one facet of that topic by assessing musicians' and non-musicians' sensitivity to the two primary cues to sound-source location on the horizontal plane: interaural-level-differences (ILDs) and interaural-time-differences (ITDs).

Verification of Outer Hair Cell Motor Protein, Prestin, as a Serological Biomarker for Mouse Cochlear Damage.

The motor protein prestin, found in the inner ear's outer hair cells (OHCs), is responsible for high sensitivity and sharp frequency selectivity in mammalian hearing. Some studies have suggested that prestin could be a serological biomarker for cochlear damage, as OHCs are highly vulnerable to damage from various sources. However, the reported data are inconsistent and lack appropriate negative controls.

Effects of Temporal Processing on Speech-in-Noise Perception in Middle-Aged Adults.

Auditory temporal processing is a vital component of auditory stream segregation, or the process in which complex sounds are separated and organized into perceptually meaningful objects. Temporal processing can degrade prior to hearing loss, and is suggested to be a contributing factor to difficulties with speech-in-noise perception in normal-hearing listeners. The current study tested this hypothesis in middle-aged adults-an under-investigated cohort, despite being the age group where speech-in-noise difficulties are first reported.

Early-stage use of hearing aids preserves auditory cortical structure in children with sensorineural hearing loss.

Hearing is critical to spoken language, cognitive, and social development. Little is known about how early auditory experiences impact the brain structure of children with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. This study examined the influence of hearing aid use and residual hearing on the auditory cortex of children with severe to profound congenital sensorineural hearing loss.

The Effects of Signal to Noise Ratio, T60 , Wide-Dynamic Range Compression Speed, and Digital Noise Reduction in a Virtual Restaurant Setting.

Objectives: Hearing aid processing in realistic listening environments is difficult to study effectively. Often the environment is unpredictable or unknown, such as in wearable aid trials with subjective report by the wearer. Some laboratory experiments create listening environments to exert tight experimental control, but those environments are often limited by physical space, a small number of sound sources, or room absorptive properties.

Exploring Electrode Placements to Optimize the Identification and Measurement of Early Auditory Evoked Potentials.

Cochlear synaptic loss (termed cochlear synaptopathy) has been suggested to contribute to suprathreshold hearing difficulties. However, its existence and putative effects in humans remain inconclusive, largely due to the heterogeneous methods used across studies to indirectly evaluate the health of cochlear synapses. There is a need to standardize proxies of cochlear synaptopathy to appropriately compare and interpret findings across studies.

Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions in Mice Above and Below the Eliciting Primaries.

Normal hearing is associated with cochlear nonlinearity. When two tones (f1 and f2) are presented, the intracochlear response contains additional components that can be recorded from the ear canal as distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs). Although the most prominent intermodulation distortion component is at 2f1-f2, other cubic distortion products are also generated.

Statins protect mice from high-decibel noise-induced hearing loss.

No medical interventions for noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (USA). Here, we evaluate statins in CBA/CaJ mice as potential drugs for hearing loss. Direct delivery of fluvastatin to the cochlea and oral delivery of lovastatin were evaluated.

Evidence that anterograde learning interference depends on the stage of learning of the interferer: blocked versus interleaved training.

Training on one task (task A) can disrupt learning on a subsequently trained task (task B), illustrating anterograde learning interference. We asked whether the induction of anterograde learning interference depends on the learning stage that task A has reached when the training on task B begins. To do so, we drew on previous observations in perceptual learning in which completing all training on one task before beginning training on another task (blocked training) yielded markedly different learning outcomes than alternating training between the same two tasks for the same total number of trials (interleaved training).

The role of working memory in speech recognition by hearing-impaired older listeners: does the task matter?

Objective: Working memory refers to a cognitive system that holds a limited amount of information in a temporarily heightened state of availability, for use in ongoing cognitive tasks. Research suggests a link between working memory and speech recognition. In this study, we investigated this relationship using two working memory tests that differed in regard to the operationalisation of the link between working memory and attention: the (AVDAT) and the widely used reading span test.

Discrimination thresholds for interaural-time differences and interaural-level differences in naïve listeners: Sex differences and learning.

The two primary cues to sound-source location on the horizontal plane are interaural time differences (ITDs) and interaural level differences (ILDs). Here we asked whether the ability to discriminate small changes in each of these interaural cues differs between the sexes. We tested one group of males (n = 43) and females (n = 94) on ITD discrimination at 0.

Feasibility of Tablet-Based Remote Data Collection Method for Measuring Hearing Aid Preference.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of a tablet-based remote data collection method for measuring preference for hearing aid signal processing features.

Method: Participants were nine individuals with bilateral mild to moderately severe sensorineural hearing loss. Stimuli were spatialized low-context sentences mixed with six-talker babble at two realistic signal-to-noise ratios (3 and 8 dB) and processed through a hearing aid simulator.

Preference for Combinations of Hearing Aid Signal Processing.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine how types of signal processing activated influence listeners' preferences.

Method: Participants were adults with mild to moderately severe sensorineural hearing loss. Stimuli were spatialized low-context sentences mixed with six-talker babble at 3 and 8 dB signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs).

Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emission Component Behavior as a Function of Primary Frequency Ratio and Primary Level.

Objectives: Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) are composed of distortion and reflection components. Much is known about the influence of the stimulus frequency ratio (f 2 /f 1 ) on the overall/composite DPOAE level. However, the influence of f 2 /f 1 on individual DPOAE components is not as well examined.

Vestibular Hair Cells Require CAMSAP3, a Microtubule Minus-End Regulator, for Formation of Normal Kinocilia.

Kinocilia are exceptionally long primary sensory cilia located on vestibular hair cells, which are essential for transmitting key signals that contribute to mammalian balance and overall vestibular system function. Kinocilia have a "9+2" microtubule (MT) configuration with nine doublet MTs surrounding two central singlet MTs. This is uncommon as most mammalian primary sensory cilia have a "9+0" configuration, in which the central MT pair is absent.

Updating the Spectral Correlation Index: Integrating Audibility and Band Importance Using Speech Intelligibility Index Weights.

The original Spectral Correlation Index ( ) is a measure of amplitude envelope distortion that has been used in several studies to predict behavioral results. Because the original did not account for the differential contribution of particular frequency bands to speech intelligibility (i.e.

Harnessing the Power of Artificial Intelligence in Otolaryngology and the Communication Sciences.

Use of artificial intelligence (AI) is a burgeoning field in otolaryngology and the communication sciences. A virtual symposium on the topic was convened from Duke University on October 26, 2020, and was attended by more than 170 participants worldwide. This review presents summaries of all but one of the talks presented during the symposium; recordings of all the talks, along with the discussions for the talks, are available at https://www.

American Cochlear Implant Alliance Task Force Guidelines for Clinical Assessment and Management of Cochlear Implantation in Children With Single-Sided Deafness.

More children with single-sided deafness (SSD) are receiving cochlear implants (CIs) due to the expansion of CI indications. This unique group of pediatric patients has different needs than the typical recipient with bilateral deafness and requires special consideration and care. The goal of cochlear implantation in these children is to provide bilateral input to encourage the development of binaural hearing.

Statins and hearing.

Statins are a class of drugs that are widely used for the treatment of hyperlipidemia and the prevention of heart attack and stroke. These drugs inhibit the rate-limiting step in the synthesis of cholesterol, HMG-CoA reductase. In addition, statins have effects unrelated to cholesterol, stemming from the non-cholesterol synthesizing arms of the HMG-CoA reductase pathway and the regulation of gene expression.