Effects of Noise Exposure on Peripheral Auditory Function, Binaural Envelope Coding, and Speech Perception in Student Musicians With Normal Hearing.

Objectives: Musicians face an increased risk of hearing loss due to prolonged and repetitive exposure to high-noise levels. Detecting early signs of hearing loss, which are subtle and often elusive to traditional clinical tests like pure-tone audiometry, is essential. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of noise exposure on the electrophysiological and perceptual aspects of subclinical hearing damage in young musicians with normal audiometric thresholds.

Correlation Between the Pitch and Loudness of Tinnitus, Hearing Levels, and Tinnitus Handicap Inventory Scores in Patients with Chronic Subjective Tinnitus.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between tinnitus pitch and loudness, the frequency of hearing loss, hearing level, and the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) scores reported by patients. In total, 139 patients (50 men and 89 women; mean age ± SD, 60.19 ± 11.

Comparison of Performance for Cochlear-Implant Listeners Using Audio Processing Strategies Based on Short-Time Fast Fourier Transform or Spectral Feature Extraction.

Objectives: We compared sound quality and performance for a conventional cochlear-implant (CI) audio processing strategy based on short-time fast-Fourier transform (Crystalis) and an experimental strategy based on spectral feature extraction (SFE). In the latter, the more salient spectral features (acoustic events) were extracted and mapped into the CI stimulation electrodes. We hypothesized that (1) SFE would be superior to Crystalis because it can encode acoustic spectral features without the constraints imposed by the short-time fast-Fourier transform bin width, and (2) the potential benefit of SFE would be greater for CI users who have less neural cross-channel interactions.

Reliability of connectivity for the assessment of hearing perception in cochlear implant recipients.

Objective: The cochlear implant (CI) is the gold standard treatment for profound hearing loss with insufficient hearing aid benefit. Using regular words and sentences as verbal stimuli showed a ceiling effect in patients with optimal perceptual abilities. The objectives of the study were: (1) to evaluate the reliability of auditory perception through connectivity, comparing it to the regular audiometry in soundbooth and (2) to analyse the use of logatomes to better assess the perceptual abilities of high-performing patients.

Pure tone and speech audiometry of presbyacusis in a tertiary hospital in Kaduna, Nigeria: a cross-sectional study.

Introduction: presbyacusis is age-related hearing loss, manifesting as a bilateral symmetrical sensorineural hearing loss of adult-onset. It has different audiometric configurations and is associated with a decline in speech discrimination sensitivity. The objectives of the study were to determine the degree of hearing loss; types of presbyacusis; and speech discrimination score (SDS) of presbyacusics and to compare the SDS in different types of presbyacusis in patients seen at a tertiary hospital in Kaduna, Nigeria.

The Relationship of Pitch Discrimination with Segregation of Tonal and Speech Streams for Cochlear Implant Users.

Cochlear implant (CI) users often complain about music appreciation and speech recognition in background noise, which depend on segregating sound sources into perceptual streams. The present study examined relationships between frequency and fundamental frequency (F0) discrimination with stream segregation of tonal and speech streams for CI users and peers with no known hearing loss. Frequency and F0 discrimination were measured for 1,000 Hz pure tones and 110 Hz complex tones, respectively.

Relation Between Glycated Hemoglobin Level and Hearing Loss in Type 2 Diabetic Patients.

Background: Glycemic control and the efficacy of therapy in diabetic patients with type 2 diabetes during the previous 2-3 months are usually evaluated by measuring the glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c). Our aim is to study the correlation between serum glycated hemoglobin level (HbA1c) and the hearing thresholds in diabetic patients.

Methods: A case-control study was conducted in the Audio-Vestibular Medicine Unit, xxxx University on 82 subjects.

Consideration of Sufficient and Insufficient Benefits in Hearing Aid Fitting.

Background: During hearing aid (HA) fitting, individuals may experience better speech discrimination at normal speech levels and worse discrimination at loud speech levels than without an HA. Therefore, we investigated factors that worsen speech discrimination when the speech sound level increases.

Methods: Speech discrimination was measured in patients aged >20 years who had average hearing thresholds <90 dB on pure-tone audiometry.

Integrated speech audiometry: objective and subjective performance of elderly listeners.

Objective: This study was conducted to assess the ecological validity of the speech audiometry protocol recommended by Punch and Rakerd (2019) when implemented in older adults with hearing impairment. That protocol measures a listener's speech recognition threshold (SRT), most comfortable loudness level for speech (MCL), and uncomfortable loudness level for speech (UCL) in an integrated format that utilises single spondaic words as the stimulus set for all tests.

Design: Stimulus presentation and response collection were fully automated, test times were tracked electronically, and a short questionnaire was administered to assess subjective reactions to the test procedures.

Brain activation patterns in normal hearing adults: An fNIRS Study using an adapted clinical speech comprehension task.

Objectives: Understanding brain processing of auditory and visual speech is essential for advancing speech perception research and improving clinical interventions for individuals with hearing impairment. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is deemed to be highly suitable for measuring brain activity during language tasks. However, accurate data interpretation also requires validated stimuli and behavioral measures.

The Cost Evaluation of Day-Case Compared With Inpatient Stapes Surgery for Otosclerosis: Subanalysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: To evaluate the difference in overall, hospital, and out-of-hospital cost difference of day-case stapes surgery, compared with inpatient stapes surgery, while maintaining equal hearing outcomes and quality of life (QoL).

Study Design: A single-center, nonblinded, randomized controlled trial in a tertiary referral center.

Methods: A total of 112 adult patients planned for primary or revision stapes surgery for clinically suspected otosclerosis were randomly assigned to either the day-case or inpatient treatment group.

Digit-in-Noise Test as a Hearing Screening Test for Individuals With Intellectual Disability.

Background: Diagnosis of intellectual disability (ID) may overshadow, or co-occur with, hearing impairment, but screening is frequently inaccessible due to various factors that prevent successful test execution. There is a pressing need for easily, locally administered hearing tests. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of the digit-in-noise (DIN) test, as well as three variations of it, as a hearing screening for individuals with mild to moderate ID.

Stimulus Rate Effect on Electrocochleogram Components in Adults with High Risk for Noise Exposure.

Background:  Hidden hearing loss (HHL) is a newly described condition that has been associated with hearing thresholds within normal limits and poorer speech-in-noise (SIN) performance. Furthermore, HHL has been associated with an elevated or absent middle ear muscle reflex (MEMR). One of the leading factors causing HHL is exposure to noise, specifically in patients who experience temporary threshold shift.

From Pure Tones to Complex Sounds: Expanding Audiology Tools to Better Address Speech and Language Development.

This editorial highlights the limitations of relying solely on pure-tone audiometry for diagnosing and managing hearing loss, particularly in the fields of speech-language pathology and audiology. While pure-tone audiometry has long been the gold standard for assessing hearing sensitivity, its capacity to fully capture the complexities of hearing impairments is increasingly called into question. The article examines the profound impact of hearing loss on language development, psychosocial well-being, and quality of life, especially in infants and toddlers, who are at risk of significant delays in speech and language development.

[Research progress on hidden hearing loss].

Hidden hearing loss (HHL) is a type of hearing impairment characterized by normal pure tone threshold audiometry (PTA) but impaired speech recognition and coding ability in noisy environments. At present, synaptic and nerve damage is the most likely pathological mechanism of HHL. Noise exposure, aging and ototoxic drugs may affect the occurrence of HHL, but its clinical manifestations and routine examinations have no obvious abnormalities, which may easily lead to missed diagnosis of HHL.

Follow-Up of Neonatal Hearing Screening in the Risk Factor Group for Hearing Loss: Results from a Tertiary Medical Center.

Introduction: Universal newborn hearing screening has been successfully implemented in many places around the world, and it is recommended that cases with risk factors for hearing loss be followed-up regardless of hearing screening results. However, there is a need for clarity regarding the recommended rate of follow-up and which tests should be performed. The aim of this study was to assess the audiologic follow-up program for the group with risk factors.

Intrasubject variability in potential early markers of sensorineural hearing damage.

The quest for noninvasive early markers for sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) has yielded diverse measures of interest. However, comprehensive studies evaluating the test-retest reliability of multiple measures and stimuli within a single study are scarce, and a standardized clinical protocol for robust early markers of SNHL remains elusive. To address these gaps, this study explores the intra-subject variability of various potential electroencephalogram- (EEG-) biomarkers for cochlear synaptopathy (CS) and other SNHL-markers in the same individuals.

Bone-conduction Hearing Aids: A Scoping Review.

Unlabelled: Aim of this paper is to present a literature review among bone conduction hearing aids particularly focusing on their surgical and functional outcomes.

Methods: A detailed review of the English literature to date on bone conduction hearing aids and outcomes have been performed using Pubmed, Scopus, Google Scholar and Medline databases. The literature review was performed using the guidelines proposed by the study "Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA)" for scoping review.

Prevalence of and Risk Factors for Hearing Impairment in Craniofacial Microsomia.

Background: While ear anomalies and hearing impairment are common in patients with craniofacial microsomia (CFM), their prevalence, characteristics, and relationship to speech-language development remain unclear.

Purpose: This study analyzed the prevalence and risk factors for hearing impairment in patients with CFM.

Study Design, Setting, Sample: This retrospective cohort study included patients with unilateral or bilateral CFM from a single center between January 1980 and July 2023 who had evidence of a hearing assessment at <18 years.

Testing the role of temporal coherence on speech intelligibility with noise and single-talker maskers.

Temporal coherence, where sounds with aligned timing patterns are perceived as a single source, is considered an essential cue in auditory scene analysis. However, its effects have been studied primarily with simple repeating tones, rather than speech. This study investigated the role of temporal coherence in speech by introducing across-frequency asynchronies.