Stress classification with in-ear heartbeat sounds.

Background: Although stress plays a key role in tinnitus and decreased sound tolerance, conventional hearing devices used to manage these conditions are not currently capable of monitoring the wearer's stress level. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of stress monitoring with an in-ear device.

Method: In-ear heartbeat sounds and clinical-grade electrocardiography (ECG) signals were simultaneously recorded while 30 healthy young adults underwent a stress protocol.

Link between pharyngeal acid reflux episodes and the effectiveness of proton pump inhibitor therapy.

Background: Diagnosing laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) is challenging due to overlapping symptoms. While proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are commonly prescribed, reliable predictors of their responsiveness are unclear. Reflux monitoring technologies like dual potential of hydrogen (pH) sensors and multichannel intraluminal impedance-pH (MII-pH) could improve diagnosis.

Central auditory processing and cognitive abilities after mild traumatic brain injury in school-aged children.

Objective: The current study aimed to explore (1) school-aged children's auditory and cognitive abilities and (2) their perceptions (self-reported and parents) of listening behaviours and symptoms following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Study Sample: Twenty-one children aged 8 to 12 participated in this study.

Analysis of head and eye dynamic may explain saccades in dizzy patients with normal VOR gain.

Objective: Compare the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) gain, compensatory saccades and head and eye coordination during head impulses between patients with dizziness but normal VOR gain and healthy controls.

Methods: Video head impulses test (vHIT; ICS impulse, Otometrics, Denmark) was reviewed in 40 participants (20 patients with dizziness; 20 controls). VOR gain, saccades characteristics (frequency of occurrence, amplitude, latency) and time difference between head and eye velocity was compared.

The effects of simulated gastroesophageal reflux on infant pig oropharyngeal feeding physiology.

The neural connectivity among the oral cavity, pharynx, and esophagus is a critical component of infant feeding physiology. Central integration of oral and pharyngeal afferents alters motor outputs to structures that power swallowing, but the potential effects of esophageal afferents on preesophageal feeding physiology are unclear. These effects may explain the prevalence of oropharyngeal dysphagia in infants suffering from gastroesophageal reflux (GER), though the mechanism underlying this relationship remains unknown.

Quebec French Translation, Cultural Adaptation, and Validation of the Singing Voice Handicap Index-10 Questionnaire for Singers with Dysphonia.

Objectives/hypothesis: Dysphonia is a common voice disorder that can significantly impact a person's life; it requires a collaborative evaluation by both speech-language pathologists and otolaryngologists that takes the patient's perspective into account. The aim of this study was to translate and culturally adapt the Singing Voice Handicap Index questionnaire (SVHI-10), a reliable patient-reported outcome evaluation tool for dysphonia, for the Quebec French population. The result is the Singing Voice Handicap Index-10-QC (SVHI-10-QC).

Exploring the Differences Between an Immature and a Mature Human Auditory System Through Auditory Late Responses in Quiet and in Noise.

Children are disadvantaged compared to adults when they perceive speech in a noisy environment. Noise reduces their ability to extract and understand auditory information. Auditory-Evoked Late Responses (ALRs) offer insight into how the auditory system can process information in noise.

Click SP/AP Area Ratio Vesrus Tone Burst SP Amplitude to Diagnose Ménière's Disease Using Electrocochleography.

Objectives: To evaluate the sensitivity and the specificity of summating potential (SP)/action potential (AP) area under the curve (AUC) ratio by a transtympanic electrode and a click stimulus (TT-CS), SP/AP AUC ratio by an extratympanic electrode and a click stimulus (ET-CS) and SP amplitude value by a transtympanic electrode and tone burst stimulus (TT-TBS) in regard of Ménière's disease (MD) diagnosis. This is the first study that compares SP amplitude value performed by a TT-TBS and the SP/AP AUC ratio performed by a TT-CS.

Study Design: Retrospective comparative study.

Hearing Aid Amplification Improves Postural Control for Older Adults With Hearing Loss When Other Sensory Cues Are Impoverished.

Recent studies suggest that sound amplification via hearing aids can improve postural control in adults with hearing impairments. Unfortunately, only a few studies used well-defined posturography measures to assess balance in adults with hearing loss with and without their hearing aids. Of these, only two examined postural control specifically in the elderly with hearing loss.

Exposure to sign language prior and after cochlear implantation increases language and cognitive skills in deaf children.

Recent evidence suggests that deaf children with CIs exposed to nonnative sign language from hearing parents can attain age-appropriate vocabularies in both sign and spoken language. It remains to be explored whether deaf children with CIs who are exposed to early nonnative sign language, but only up to implantation, also benefit from this input and whether these benefits also extend to memory abilities, which are strongly linked to language development. The present study examined the impact of deaf children's early short-term exposure to nonnative sign input on their spoken language and their phonological memory abilities.

Student's Self-Reported Experience of Soundscape: The Link between Noise, Psychological and Physical Well-Being.

Extensive research has shown that noise has detrimental effects on learning in classrooms, yet schools remain noisy environments. In addition, little is known about the students' insight into their subjective reaction to noise. Students' awareness of noise, as well as their perception of its effects on their affective and bodily states, remain unanswered.

Sensory Reweighting for Postural Control in Older Adults with Age-Related Hearing Loss.

There is growing evidence linking hearing impairments and the deterioration of postural stability in older adults. To our knowledge, however, no study to date has investigated the effect of age-related hearing loss on the sensory reweighting process during postural control. In the absence of data, much is unknown about the possible mechanisms, both deleterious and compensatory, that could underly the deterioration of postural control following hearing loss in the elderly.

Number agreement processing in adolescents with and without developmental language disorder (DLD): evidence from event-related brain potentials.

In morphologically richer languages, including French, one must learn the specific properties of number agreement in order to understand the language, and this learning process continues into adolescence. This study examined similarities and differences between French-speaking adolescents with and without developmental language disorder (DLD) when processing number agreement, and investigated how morpho-syntactic regularity affected language processing. Using event-related potentials (ERP) and only grammatical sentences with audio-visual mismatches, we studied ERP correlates to three types of number agreement: (1) regular determiner agreement in noun phrases, (2) regular subject-verb plural liaison, and (3) irregular subject-verb agreement.

Role of the autonomic nervous system in young, middle-aged, and older individuals with essential hypertension and sleep-related changes in neurocardiac regulation.

Essential hypertension involves complex cardiovascular regulation. The autonomic nervous system function fluctuates throughout the sleep-wake cycle and changes with advancing age. However, the precise role of the autonomic nervous system in the development of hypertension during aging remains unclear.

Brain functional connectivity in children with a mild traumatic brain injury: A scoping review.

Introduction: The occurrence of mild traumatic brain injury(mTBI) is estimated at 0,2-0,3% cases annually. Following a mTBI, some children experience persistent symptoms, and functional connectivity(FC) changes may be implicated. However, characteristics of FC have not been widely described in this population.

The association between electrode impedance and short-term outcomes in cochlear implant recipients of slim modiolar and slim straight electrode arrays.

Objectives: Electrode impedance measurements from cochlear implants (CI) reflect the status of the electrode array as well as the surrounding cochlear environment, and could provide a clinical index of functional changes with the CI. The goals of this study were to examine (1) the impact of electrode array type on electrode impedance, and (2) the relationship between electrode impedance and short-term hearing preservation and speech recognition outcomes.

Methods: Retrospective study of 115 adult hearing preservation CI recipients of a slim modiolar or slim straight array.

Workload Versus Caseload: An Exploratory Comparison Study of Individualized Education Program Progress and Other Outcomes.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to obtain preliminary data about the effectiveness of four workload approaches (WAs) that were implemented in public school settings. The WAs were compared to each other and the caseload approach (CA).

Method: Five speech-language pathologists were selected to implement one of the four WAs, and two used the CA.

COOK technology to support meal preparation following a severe traumatic brain injury: a usability mixed-methods single-case study in a real-world environment.

Introduction: Following a traumatic brain injury (TBI), meal preparation may become challenging as it involves multiple cognitive abilities and sub-tasks. To support this population, the Cognitive Orthosis for coOKing (COOK) was developed in partnership with an alternative residential resource for people with severe TBI. However, little is known about the usability of this technology to support people with TBI living in their own homes.

Questioning the Impact of Vestibular Rehabilitation in Mal de Debarquement Syndrome.

Introduction: Mal de debarquement syndrome (MdDS) is a rare and poorly understood clinical entity defined as a persistent sensation of rocking and swaying that can severely affect the quality of life. To date, the treatment options are very limited. Even though vestibular rehabilitation (VR) efficacy following peripheral vestibular lesion is well-documented, little is known about its influence on MdDS.

Cognitive assistance to support individuals with traumatic brain injury using a minimal and personalised approach: A conversion mixed methods study using video analysis.

Introduction: Individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) frequently need assistance to manage complex everyday activities. However, little is known about the types of cognitive assistance that can be used to facilitate optimal independence. A conversion mixed method study using video analysis was conducted to describe assistance provided by trained occupational therapists during three everyday tasks carried out in the participants' homes and surrounding environments.

Long-term dance training modifies eye-head coordination in response to passive head impulse.

Long-term dance training is known to improve postural control, especially in challenging postural tasks. However, the effect of dance training on the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) has yet to be properly assessed. This study directly investigated whether VOR parameters are influenced by long-term dance training by testing dancers and controls using the video head impulse test.

Speech motor adaptation during synchronous and metronome-timed speech.

Sensorimotor integration during speech has been investigated by altering the sound of a speaker's voice in real time; in response, the speaker learns to change their production of speech sounds in order to compensate (adaptation). This line of research has however been predominantly limited to very simple speaking contexts, typically involving (a) repetitive production of single words and (b) production of speech while alone, without the usual exposure to other voices. This study investigated adaptation to a real-time perturbation of the first and second formants during production of sentences either in synchrony with a prerecorded voice (synchronous speech group) or alone (solo speech group).

Immediate cross-language transfer of novel articulatory plans in bilingual speech.

Current models of second language (L2) acquisition focus on interactions with a first language (L1) at the level of speech sound targets. In multilinguals, the degree of interaction between the articulatory plans that guide speech in each language remains unclear. Here, we directly address this question in bilingual speakers.

Vibration Thresholds Using Conventional Audiometry are Clinically Useful Indicators of Postural Instability in Older Adults.

Background:  Falls are a major health concern with potentially dramatic consequences for people over 65 years of age. One crucial determinant in the risk of falls in older adults is postural control, a complex process that requires the contribution of different sensory modalities, namely visual, vestibular, auditory, and somatosensory. While there are well-established methods to screen for age-related vision, hearing, tactile, and vestibular impairments, there are very few widely available methods to screen for somatosensory function, but studies indicate that ankle audiometry (vibration thresholds) using a common B-71 bone vibrator can serve that purpose.