Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Ear Hear 2019 Jan 17. Epub 2019 Jan 17.

Manchester Centre for Audiology and Deafness, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.

Objectives: Hearing impairment is ranked fifth globally for years lived with disability, yet hearing aid use is low among individuals with a hearing impairment. Identifying correlates of hearing aid use would be helpful in developing interventions to promote use. To date, however, no studies have investigated a wide range of variables, this has limited intervention development. Read More

Clin Toxicol (Phila) 2019 Jan 21:1-7. Epub 2019 Jan 21.

a NSW Poisons Information Centre , The Children's Hospital at Westmead , Sydney , Australia.

Context: Button battery ingestion is a worldwide problem, with evidence of increasing harms and deaths in recent decades. Australian Poisons Information Centre (PIC) experience includes cases of treatment delay due to lack of healthcare professional recognition of risks, and/or lack of local resources. This study aims to characterise Australian button battery exposures, focusing on exposure circumstances, and preventable health system shortcomings. Read More

J Korean Med Sci 2019 Jan 4;34(3):e19. Epub 2019 Jan 4.

Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Eulji University Medical Center, Eulji University School of Medicine, Daejeon, Korea.

Background: This study assessed the therapeutic effect of adjunctive bifrontal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in patients with tinnitus.

Methods: Forty-four patients who visited our university hospital with a complaint of non-pulsatile subjective tinnitus in January through December 2016 were enrolled. All patients received directive counseling and sound therapy, such as a sound generator or hearing aids, and/or oral clonazepam. Read More

J Epidemiol 2019 Jan 19. Epub 2019 Jan 19.

Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Background: The association of sensory loss with mortality remains unclear. We aimed to explore the association of hearing loss (HL), visual loss (VL), and dual sensory loss (DSL) with survival.

Methods: Data came from the Komo-Ise study cohort in Gunma prefecture, Japan, where the community-dwelling residents aged 40-69 years were followed up from 1993 to 2010. Read More

Assist Technol 2019 Jan 17:1-12. Epub 2019 Jan 17.

b Human Factors Research Group , The University of Nottingham , Nottingham , United Kingdom.

Assistive technologies (ATs) offer capabilities that were previously inaccessible to individuals with severe and profound hearing loss who have no or limited access to hearing aids and implants. This literature review aims to explore existing ATs and identify what still needs to be done. It is found that there is a lack of focus on the overall objectives of ATs. Read More

Audiol Neurootol 2019 Jan 16;23(6):316-325. Epub 2019 Jan 16.

Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.

Objective: To evaluate the long-term safety and performance of four different vibroplasty couplers (round window, oval window, CliP and Bell coupler) in combination with an active middle ear implant.

Methods: This was a multicentre, prospective, long-term study including 5 German hospitals. Thirty adult subjects suffering from conductive or mixed hearing loss were initially enrolled for the study, 24 of these were included in the final analysis with up to 36 months of postsurgical follow-up data. Read More

Int Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2019 Jan 11;23(1):12-17. Epub 2018 Oct 11.

Secretaria de Saúde do Distrito Federal, Brasília, DF, Brazil.

 The bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA) is a bone conduction system that transmits the sound directly to the inner ear by surpassing the skin impedance and the subcutaneous tissue. It is indicated for patients with mixed, conductive and unilateral sensorineural hearing loss who did not benefit from conventional hearing aids (HAs). Although the benefits from BAHA are well demonstrated internationally, this field still lacks studies in Brazil. Read More

Med J Malaysia 2018 Dec;73(6):365-370

The University of British Columbia, Faculty of Medicine, School of Audiology & Speech Sciences, Vancouver, Canada.

Introduction: Modulation-based noise reduction (MBNR) is one of the common noise reduction methods used in hearing aids. Gain reduction in high frequency bands may occur for some implementations of MBNR and fricatives might be susceptible to alteration, given the high frequency components in fricative noise. The main objective of this study is to quantify the acoustic effect of MBNR on /s, z/. Read More

J Am Geriatr Soc 2019 Jan 14. Epub 2019 Jan 14.

Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.

Objective: Hearing care services for older adults with hearing aids are underutilized and are not covered by the Medicare program. Little information exists to the value of hearing care services for older adults with hearing aids. The objective of this analysis is to estimate the potential costs and benefits to the Medicare program of covering hearing care services. Read More

HNO 2019 Jan 11. Epub 2019 Jan 11.

Hals‑, Nasen‑, Ohrenklinik, Kopf- und Halschirurgie, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Waldstr. 1, 91054, Erlangen, Deutschland.

Objective: This study investigated the speech perception of cochlear implant (CI) recipients with measurable preoperative ipsilateral speech perception. These data should support improved individual counselling of CI candidates.

Materials And Methods: Pre- and postoperative speech audiometric parameters were analyzed, including maximum score for phonemically balanced words (PB) and monosyllabic score at a normal conversational level of 65 dB, with hearing aids one hand and CI on the other. Read More

Am J Med Genet C Semin Med Genet 2019 Jan 10. Epub 2019 Jan 10.

Department of Clinical science, Intervention and Technology, Division of Otorhinolaryngology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

Hearing loss is one of the major medical concerns in girls and women with Turner syndrome (TS) and has a negative effect on well-being and quality of everyday life. Sensorineural hearing loss is the most common type of hearing loss, affecting more than half of adults with TS. Karyotypes with a loss of the short p-arm on the X-chromosome are more prone to ear and hearing problems. Read More

PLoS One 2019 7;14(1):e0210457. Epub 2019 Jan 7.

China Rehabilitation Research Center for Hearing and Speech Impairment, Beijing, China.

Objective: The study aimed to explore the characteristics of auditory mismatch response (MMR) in hearing-impaired children on the day when the cochlear implant (CI) was started (power-up) and the speech processor was programmed, and to investigate the effects of wearing hearing aids (HAs) before cochlear implantation on the early stage of postoperative auditory cortex plasticity, providing some demonstrative data for the objective evaluation of postoperative early auditory ability in children who underwent cochlear implantation.

Methods: The participants were 34 children with profound sensorineural hearing loss, who underwent cochlear implantation. The classical passive Oddball paradigm was adopted, using a pair of vowels which only have different lexical tones. Read More

Health Aff (Millwood) 2019 Jan;38(1):124-131

Frank R. Lin is an associate professor in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and in the Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

The Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Act of 2017 will soon allow people to purchase hearing aids without an audiologist or hearing aid dispenser acting as a go-between. Under this new arrangement there will be no guarantee that purchasers with hearing loss will have access to the hearing care services that are often needed to optimize hearing and communication with the devices. Using data for 2013 from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey, we examined existing barriers to accessing those services among older Medicare beneficiaries who owned and used hearing aids. Read More

Ear Hear 2019 Jan 2. Epub 2019 Jan 2.

Auditory Prostheses and Perception Lab, Center for Hearing Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, Nebraska, USA.

Objectives: Emotional communication is a cornerstone of social cognition and informs human interaction. Previous studies have shown deficits in facial and vocal emotion recognition in older adults, particularly for negative emotions. However, few studies have examined combined effects of aging and hearing loss on vocal emotion recognition by adults. Read More

Otolaryngol Clin North Am 2019 Jan 3. Epub 2019 Jan 3.

ENT and Allergy Associates, 261 5th Avenue, Suite 901, New York, NY 10016, USA. Electronic address:

This article examines and evaluates methods, from an audiologist's perspective, of reducing common complaints with conventional hearing aids and issues such as the occlusion effect, acoustic feedback, discomfort, and insufficient gain. Although often successful, reducing one problem may have the tradeoff of causing another issue. This article is meant to provide information to the reader regarding modern conventional hearing aids, the means to alleviate common problems in the clinic, and when middle ear implants and osseointegrated implants can be beneficial. Read More

Adv Gerontol 2018 ;31(4):563-568

Audiology Center Aeron, 1а, Narvskaya str., Moscow, 125130, Russian Federation.

The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of rehabilitation of hearing impaired elderly patients using hearing aids with frequency lowering technology called Frequency Composition ™. 23 hearing aid users (mean age 64 years) with moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss were tested. All participants were divided into two groups according to configuration of audiogram: 11 people with averaged slope of 27,9 dB per an octave within frequency range of 1-2 kHz (the 1st group) and 12 people with slope of 24,1 dB at 2-4 kHz (the 2nd group). Read More

Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 2018 Dec 21;118:97-102. Epub 2018 Dec 21.

Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing, World Hearing Center, Otorhinolaryngology Surgery Clinic, Mokra 17 Str., 05-830, Kajetany, Poland.

Introduction: For children with conductive or mixed hearing loss, in whom use of conventional hearing aids is impossible or limited, use of bone conduction devices is recommended. The choice between the available types of devices depends mostly on the degree of hearing loss, age, and anatomical conditions. One device application in children older than 5 years is the Bonebridge implant. Read More

Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2018 12 27;12:CD013094. Epub 2018 Dec 27.

NIHR Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Division of Clinical Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Ropewalk House, 113 The Ropewalk, Nottingham, UK, NG1 5DU.

Background: Tinnitus affects 10% to 15% of the adult population, with about 20% of these experiencing symptoms that negatively affect quality of life. In England alone there are an estimated ¾ million general practice consultations every year where the primary complaint is tinnitus, equating to a major burden on healthcare services. Clinical management strategies include education and advice, relaxation therapy, tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT), cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), sound enrichment using ear-level sound generators or hearing aids, and drug therapies to manage co-morbid symptoms such as insomnia, anxiety or depression. Read More

Audiol Res 2018 Oct 21;8(2):215. Epub 2018 Nov 21.

Institute of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.

Hearing loss can negatively influence the spatial hearing abilities of hearing-impaired listeners, not only in static but also in dynamic auditory environments. Therefore, ways of addressing these deficits with advanced hearing aid algorithms need to be investigated. In a previous study based on virtual acoustics and a computer simulation of different bilateral hearing aid fittings, we investigated auditory source movement detectability in older hearing- impaired (OHI) listeners. Read More

Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 2019 Feb 14;117:57-60. Epub 2018 Nov 14.

Centro Hospitalar do Porto, Portugal.

DOOR syndrome is an extremely rare genetic disorder. "DOOR″ is an acronym to describe the combination of: deafness, onychodystrophy, osteodystrophy and mental retardation. We present a patient, with all of the above-mentioned main symptoms, that was rehabilitated with convencional hearing aids. Read More

Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 2019 Feb 8;117:17-25. Epub 2018 Nov 8.

Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology (CLINTEC), Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Otoneurology, Karolinska University Hospital, 141 86 Stockholm, Sweden. Electronic address:

Objectives: The primary aim was to investigate whether computer-assisted reading intervention somehow can affect event-related potentials (ERP) and mismatch negativity (MMN) in hearing impaired (HI) children with hearing aids (HAs) and normal hearing (NH) children.

Methods: The study included 15 HI children with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) using bilateral HAs and 14 NH children as a reference group; all children between the ages of 5 and 8. A multi-feature MMN-paradigm, Optimum-1, with a standard stimulus alternating with 5 different deviants was used. Read More

Ear Hear 2018 Dec 19. Epub 2018 Dec 19.

Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA.

Objectives: To investigate the effectiveness of an at-home frequent-word auditory training procedure for use with older adults with impaired hearing wearing their own hearing aids.

Design: Prospective, double-blind placebo-controlled randomized trial with three parallel branches: an intervention group who received the at-home auditory training; an active control group who listened to audiobooks using a similar platform at home (placebo intervention); and a passive control group who wore hearing aids and returned for outcomes, but received no intervention. Outcome measures were obtained after a 5-week period. Read More

IEEE Trans Biomed Circuits Syst 2018 Dec 20. Epub 2018 Dec 20.

A computationally efficient, low power (107.6μW@1.1V), small core area (2. Read More

Sci Rep 2018 Dec 20;8(1):18004. Epub 2018 Dec 20.

Department of Otolaryngology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.

Given our aging society and the prevalence of age-related hearing loss that often develops during adulthood, hearing loss is a common public health issue affecting almost all older adults. Moderate-to-moderately severe hearing loss can usually be corrected with hearing aids; however, severe-to-profound hearing loss often requires a cochlear implant (CI). However, post-operative CI results vary, and the performance of the previous prediction models is limited, indicating that a new approach is needed. Read More

Acta Otorrinolaringol Esp 2018 Dec 17. Epub 2018 Dec 17.

Servicio de Otorrinolaringología, Hospital Clínico Universitario, Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, España.

Osseointegrated hearing devices Power and SuperPower present indications for bone thresholds of 55 and 65 dB respectively. We conducted a prospective observational study of a series of six cases with mixed hearing loss for whom implantation of the DAO Ponto™ Super-Power was performed. Tonal and verbal evaluations without and with background noise (HINTS) were performed prior to implantation and six months after adaptation. Read More

Otol Neurotol 2019 Feb;40(2):171-176

World Hearing Center, Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing, Warsaw/Kajetany.

Objective: To report the improvement in hearing preservation and speech understanding of five pediatric patients who received cochlear implantation via Electro-natural Stimulation Partial Deafness Treatment, the largest group so far treated.

Study Design: Retrospective case review.

Setting: Tertiary referral center. Read More

Iran J Pharm Res 2018 ;17(4):1523-1536

Proteomics Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Advancing in genome sequencing has greatly propelled the understanding of the living world; however, it is insufficient for full description of a biological system. Focusing on proteomics has emerged as another large-scale platform for improving the understanding of biology. Proteomic experiments can be used for different aspects of clinical and health sciences such as food technology, biomarker discovery and drug target identification. Read More

Braz J Otorhinolaryngol 2018 Dec 10. Epub 2018 Dec 10.

Kuliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences International Islamic University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Introduction: Hearing acuity, central auditory processing and cognition contribute to the speech recognition difficulty experienced by older adults. Therefore, quantifying the contribution of these factors on speech recognition problem is important in order to formulate a holistic and effective rehabilitation.

Objective: To examine the relative contributions of auditory functioning and cognition status to speech recognition in quiet and in noise. Read More

BMC Nephrol 2018 Dec 17;19(1):364. Epub 2018 Dec 17.

Central Laboratory, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, 1677 Wutaishan Road, Qingdao, 266555, China.

Background: Distal renal tubular acidosis (dRTA) is a heterogeneous disorder characterized by normal anion gap metabolic acidosis. Autosomal recessive dRTA is usually caused by mutations occurring in ATP6V1B1 and ATP6V0A4 genes,encoding subunits B1 and a4 of apical H-ATPase, respectively. The heterogeneous clinical manifestations of dRTA have been described in different ethnic groups harboring distinct mutations. Read More

Ear Hear 2018 Dec 14. Epub 2018 Dec 14.

School of Audiology & Speech Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Objectives: As hearing aid outcome measures move from retrospective to momentary assessments, it is important to understand how contextual factors influence subjective ratings. Under laboratory-controlled conditions, we examined whether subjective ratings changed as a function of acoustics, response timing, and task variables.

Design: Eighteen adults (age 21 to 85 years; M = 51. Read More

Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 2019 Jan 26;116:130-134. Epub 2018 Oct 26.

Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, St. Vincent's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address:

Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe and predict hearing aid uptake and retention in Korean pediatric patients with unilateral hearing loss (UHL) in a secondary referral hospital.

Methods: This was a retrospective study using clinical data collected at the time of UHL diagnosis. The study included data collected from 2009 to 2016. Read More

Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 2019 Jan 23;116:114-117. Epub 2018 Oct 23.

Cleveland Clinic, Head and Neck Institute, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH, 44995, USA. Electronic address:

Objective: Health care disparities are noted between different socioeconomic groups; it is crucial to recognize and correct disparities, if present, that extend to children with hearing loss. The objective of the study is to evaluate the effect of socioeconomic status (SES) on access to hearing rehabilitation and speech and language therapy and outcomes in children with hearing loss.

Methods: Retrospective Chart Review of children diagnosed with hearing loss at 3 tertiary care academic centers from 2010 to 2012. Read More

J Am Acad Audiol 2018 Nov 29. Epub 2018 Nov 29.

Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Lamar University, Beaumont, TX.

Background: Communication during clinical consultations is an important factor that facilitates decision-making by patients and family members. For clinicians, these interactions are opportunities to build rapport and to facilitate appropriate decision-making.

Purpose: This article presents the literature review of studies focusing on communication between audiologist, patients, and their family members during initial audiology consultations and rehabilitation planning sessions. Read More

J Acoust Soc Am 2018 Nov;144(5):2662

Starkey Hearing Research Center, 2150 Shattuck Avenue, Number 408, Berkeley, California 94704, USA.

While wide dynamic range compression (WDRC) is a standard feature of modern hearing aids, it can be difficult to fit compression settings to individual hearing aid users. The goal of the current study was to develop a practical test to learn the preference of individual listeners for different compression ratio (CR) settings in different listening conditions (speech-in-quiet and speech-in-noise). While it is possible to exhaustively test different CR settings, such methods can take many hours to complete, making them impractical. Read More

J Acoust Soc Am 2018 Nov;144(5):2896

Hearing Systems Group, Department of Electrical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Ørsteds Plads, Building 352, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.

Cubick and Dau [(2016). Acta Acust. Acust. Read More

Acta Neurochir (Wien) 2019 Jan 8;161(1):79-83. Epub 2018 Dec 8.

Academic Neurosurgery, Department of Neurosciences, University Hospital of Padova, Via Giustiniani 2, 35128, Padova, Italy.

Background: Current imaging modalities enable early diagnosis of a large number of small acoustic neuromas in patients with well-preserved hearing, whose best management is still a debatable matter.

Methods: Comparing the hearing outcome of the various therapeutical approaches, including observation, radiosurgery, or resective surgery, is not easy because of the numerous classifications measuring hearing in different ways. In this review, a literature review was performed and papers selected dealing with small tumors, short- and long-term hearing, tumor control or radical resection, and effect of pre-treatment hearing and size on outcome. Read More

Am J Audiol 2018 Dec 10:1-11. Epub 2018 Dec 10.

Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Syracuse University, NY.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to determine the effect of memory function and manual dexterity on new and experienced hearing aid users' abilities to use and care for their hearing aids.

Method: New and experienced hearing aid users were administered the Practical Hearing Aid Skills Test-Revised (PHAST-R; Doherty & Desjardins, 2012), a measure of a hearing aid user's ability to use and care for their hearing aids. The test was administered during their 30-day hearing aid check or yearly hearing evaluation appointment. Read More

Biopsychosoc Med 2018 26;12:17. Epub 2018 Nov 26.

2Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinamomachi, Shinjuku, Tokyo, 1608582 Japan.

Background: There have been many reports on the treatment effect of cochlear implantation and hearing aids in the treatment of tinnitus in patients with severe hearing loss. However, as far as we are aware, there are no reports of investigation of treatment approaches for the tinnitus of deaf patients whose communication is solely carried out in sign language due to a long duration of deafness.

Case Presentation: We experienced a case of severe tinnitus with bilateral deafness for more than 50 years. Read More

Laryngorhinootologie 2019 Jan 5;98(1):27-34. Epub 2018 Dec 5.

Klinik für Hals-, Nasen-, Ohrenheilkunde, Kopf- und Halschirurgie der Ruhr-Universität Bochum.

Background: In Germany, about 15 million people are suffering from hearing loss (HL), whereas only 16 % are using hearing aids. Untreated hearing loss may lead to severe complications (e. g. Read More

Codas 2018 Nov 29;30(6):e20180037. Epub 2018 Nov 29.

Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio de Mesquita Filho" - UNESP - Marília (SP), Brasil.

Purpose: To analyze the relations among the knowledge of teachers about hearing loss degree, technological devices, hearing aids (HA), cochlear implant (CI), frequency modulation system (FM), and communication strategies.

Methods: Forty-two (42) teachers that taught students with hearing impairment participated in this study. This sample included 24 middle school teachers, 11 elementary school teachers, and 7 preschool teachers, whose taught in the second semester of the school year and in the first semester of the following year. Read More

Int J Otolaryngol 2018 1;2018:2046894. Epub 2018 Nov 1.

University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong.

Hearing impairment is a leading cause of disability globally and is particularly prevalent in elderly populations. Hearing aids are commonly recommended to mitigate the adverse effects on communication associated with hearing loss. However, the acceptability of hearing aids to elderly individuals is low and the majority of potential users do not wear hearing aids. Read More

BMC Emerg Med 2018 Dec 3;18(1):51. Epub 2018 Dec 3.

Emergency Department, Sygehus Sønderjylland, Kresten Philipsensvej 15, 6200, Aabenraa, Denmark.

Background: A new generation of ear thermometers with preheated tips and several measurements points should allow a more precise temperature measurement. The aim of the study was to evaluate if the ear temperature measured by this ear thermometer can be used to screen for fever and whether the thermometer is in agreement with the rectal temperature and if age, use of hearing devices or time after admission influences the temperature measurements.

Methods: Open cross-sectional clinical single site study patients, > 18 years old, who were acutely admitted to the short stay unit at the ED. Read More

Int J Audiol 2018 Nov 24:1-7. Epub 2018 Nov 24.

a Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology , The University of Melbourne , Melbourne , Australia.

Objective: To assess the speech perception benefits of binaural streaming technology for bilateral hearing aid users in two difficult listening conditions.

Design: Two studies were conducted to compare hearing aid processing features relating to telephone use and wind noise. Speech perception testing was conducted in four different experimental conditions in each study. Read More

Cochlear Implants Int 2018 Nov 22:1-6. Epub 2018 Nov 22.

d Division of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery , Security Forces Hospital , P.O. Box: 3643, Riyadh 11481 , Saudi Arabia.

Objectives: Cochlear implantation (CI) is used for children with severe to profound hearing loss who show little or no improvement using hearing aids. This study explored parental knowledge of their children's CI.

Methods: A cross-sectional study involving the parents of 115 pediatric CI patients was conducted at King Abdullah Specialized Children's Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Read More

Codas 2018 Nov 12;30(6):e20180006. Epub 2018 Nov 12.

Curso de Fonoaudiologia, Universidade de São Paulo - USP - São Paulo (SP), Brasil.

Purpose: Verify the performance of musical perception and temporal auditory resolution and ordering skills in pre- and post-music therapy patients with cochlear implants (CI).

Methods: Study participants were 11 postlingual CI users with mean age of 47.64 years. Read More

J Am Acad Audiol 2018 Sep 25. Epub 2018 Sep 25.

Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN.

Background: The hearing in noise test (HINT) is the most popular adaptive test used to evaluate speech in noise performance, especially in context of hearing aid features. However, the number of conditions that can be tested on the HINT is limited by a small speech corpus. The American English Matrix test (AEMT) is a new alternative adaptive speech in noise test with a larger speech corpus. Read More

J Am Acad Audiol 2018 Sep 25. Epub 2018 Sep 25.

Department of Behavioral Sciences and Learning, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.

Background: The low uptake of hearing aids in the United States has been attributed to a number of reasons, including low perceived hearing disability, limited perceived benefit and cost. Another possible reason may be related to negative side effects associated with hearing aid use.

Purpose: The present study was aimed at determining and classifying the negative side effects associated with hearing aid use in adults with hearing loss. Read More

J Am Acad Audiol 2018 Jan 30. Epub 2018 Jan 30.

Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN.

Background: Bilateral cochlear implantation is the standard of care for individuals with moderate sloping-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss who do not receive benefit from appropriately fit hearing aids. Because of financial, insurance, or medical reasons, some unilateral cochlear implant (CI) recipients are unable to obtain a second CI. Here, we evaluated the first clinically available solution for individuals who have been unilaterally implanted and who do not or cannot use technology (e. Read More

J Am Acad Audiol 2018 Sep 24. Epub 2018 Sep 24.

Widex Office of Research in Clinical Amplification (ORCA-USA), Lisle, IL.

Background: A method that tracked tolerable noise level (TNL) over time while maintaining subjective speech intelligibility was reported previously. Although this method was reliable and efficacious as a research tool, its clinical efficacy and predictive ability of real-life hearing aid satisfaction were not measured.

Purpose: The study evaluated an adaptive method to estimate TNL using slope and variance of tracked noise level as criteria in a clinical setting. Read More