Validation of the Chinese Translation of the Spatial Hearing Questionnaire and Its Short Form

Purpose

Few questionnaires address how to measure spatial hearing ability in complex listening situations. The purpose of the study was (a) to validate the Chinese translation of the Spatial Hearing Questionnaire (C-SHQ) among Chinese participants and (b) to provide a shortened version for the purpose of clinical screening.

Method

This was a cross-sectional study. The C-SHQ was developed from the process of translation and back-translation of the original 24-item, English version (Tyler, Perreau, & Ji, 2009). The C-SHQ was administered to 146 patients at the Department of Otolaryngology Clinic of Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital between October 2013 and May 2014 at Sichuan, China. Exploratory factor analysis and reliability tests were performed for the full version, and confirmatory factor analysis was applied for the shortened version of the C-SHQ.

Results

The exploratory factor analysis revealed scores loaded on 3 similar factors compared with the original SHQ. The internal consistency reliability was high (Cronbach's α = 0.99). The confirmatory factor analysis indicated that a shortened version of 12 items is sufficient to measure spatial hearing abilities.

Conclusions

The C-SHQ and its short form are both reliable and valid questionnaires, which are suitable for both research and clinical settings to measure spatial hearing ability in the Chinese population.

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Validation of the Chinese Translation of the Spatial Hearing Questionnaire and Its Short Form

Purpose

Few questionnaires address how to measure spatial hearing ability in complex listening situations. The purpose of the study was (a) to validate the Chinese translation of the Spatial Hearing Questionnaire (C-SHQ) among Chinese participants and (b) to provide a shortened version for the purpose of clinical screening.

Method

This was a cross-sectional study. The C-SHQ was developed from the process of translation and back-translation of the original 24-item, English version (Tyler, Perreau, & Ji, 2009). The C-SHQ was administered to 146 patients at the Department of Otolaryngology Clinic of Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital between October 2013 and May 2014 at Sichuan, China. Exploratory factor analysis and reliability tests were performed for the full version, and confirmatory factor analysis was applied for the shortened version of the C-SHQ.

Results

The exploratory factor analysis revealed scores loaded on 3 similar factors compared with the original SHQ. The internal consistency reliability was high (Cronbach's α = 0.99). The confirmatory factor analysis indicated that a shortened version of 12 items is sufficient to measure spatial hearing abilities.

Conclusions

The C-SHQ and its short form are both reliable and valid questionnaires, which are suitable for both research and clinical settings to measure spatial hearing ability in the Chinese population.

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Validation of the Chinese Translation of the Spatial Hearing Questionnaire and Its Short Form

Purpose

Few questionnaires address how to measure spatial hearing ability in complex listening situations. The purpose of the study was (a) to validate the Chinese translation of the Spatial Hearing Questionnaire (C-SHQ) among Chinese participants and (b) to provide a shortened version for the purpose of clinical screening.

Method

This was a cross-sectional study. The C-SHQ was developed from the process of translation and back-translation of the original 24-item, English version (Tyler, Perreau, & Ji, 2009). The C-SHQ was administered to 146 patients at the Department of Otolaryngology Clinic of Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital between October 2013 and May 2014 at Sichuan, China. Exploratory factor analysis and reliability tests were performed for the full version, and confirmatory factor analysis was applied for the shortened version of the C-SHQ.

Results

The exploratory factor analysis revealed scores loaded on 3 similar factors compared with the original SHQ. The internal consistency reliability was high (Cronbach's α = 0.99). The confirmatory factor analysis indicated that a shortened version of 12 items is sufficient to measure spatial hearing abilities.

Conclusions

The C-SHQ and its short form are both reliable and valid questionnaires, which are suitable for both research and clinical settings to measure spatial hearing ability in the Chinese population.

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Neural Correlates of Phonetic Learning in Postlingually Deafened Cochlear Implant Listeners.

Objective: The present training study aimed to examine the fine-scale behavioral and neural correlates of phonetic learning in adult postlingually deafened cochlear implant (CI) listeners. The study investigated whether high variability identification training improved phonetic categorization of the /ba/-/da/ and /wa/-/ja/ speech contrasts and whether any training-related improvements in phonetic perception were correlated with neural markers associated with phonetic learning. It was hypothesized that training would sharpen phonetic boundaries for the speech contrasts and that changes in behavioral sensitivity would be associated with enhanced mismatch negativity (MMN) responses to stimuli that cross a phonetic boundary relative to MMN responses evoked using stimuli from the same phonetic category. Design: A computer-based training program was developed that featured multitalker variability and adaptive listening. The program was designed to help CI listeners attend to the important second formant transition cue that categorizes the /ba/-/da/ and /wa/-/ja/ contrasts. Nine adult CI listeners completed the training and 4 additional CI listeners that did not undergo training were included to assess effects of procedural learning. Behavioral pre-post tests consisted of identification and discrimination of the synthetic /ba/-/da/ and /wa/-/ja/ speech continua. The electrophysiologic MMN response elicited by an across phoneme category pair and a within phoneme category pair that differed by an acoustically equivalent amount was derived at pre-post test intervals for each speech contrast as well. Results: Training significantly enhanced behavioral sensitivity across the phonetic boundary and significantly altered labeling of the stimuli along the /ba/-/da/ continuum. While training only slightly altered identification and discrimination of the /wa/-/ja/ continuum, trained CI listeners categorized the /wa/-/ja/ contrast more efficiently than the /ba/-/da/ contrast across pre-post test sessions. Consistent with behavioral results, pre-post EEG measures showed the MMN amplitude to the across phoneme category pair significantly increased with training for both the /ba/-/da/ and /wa/-/ja/ contrasts, but the MMN was unchanged with training for the corresponding within phoneme category pairs. Significant brain-behavior correlations were observed between changes in the MMN amplitude evoked by across category phoneme stimuli and changes in the slope of identification functions for the trained listeners for both speech contrasts. Conclusions: The brain and behavior data of the present study provide evidence that substantial neural plasticity for phonetic learning in adult postlingually deafened CI listeners can be induced by high variability identification training. These findings have potential clinical implications related to the aural rehabilitation process following receipt of a CI device. Copyright (C) 2016 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Effects of Modified Hearing Aid Fittings on Loudness and Tone Quality for Different Acoustic Scenes.

Objective: To compare loudness and tone-quality ratings for sounds processed via a simulated five-channel compression hearing aid fitted using NAL-NL2 or using a modification of the fitting designed to be appropriate for the type of listening situation: speech in quiet, speech in noise, music, and noise alone. Design: Ratings of loudness and tone quality were obtained for stimuli presented via a loudspeaker in front of the participant. For normal-hearing participants, levels of 50, 65, and 80 dB SPL were used. For hearing-impaired participants, the stimuli were processed via a simulated hearing aid with five-channel fast-acting compression fitted using NAL-NL2 or using a modified fitting. Input levels to the simulated hearing aid were 50, 65, and 80 dB SPL. All participants listened with one ear plugged. For speech in quiet, the modified fitting was based on the CAM2B method. For speech in noise, the modified fitting used slightly (0 to 2 dB) decreased gains at low frequencies. For music, the modified fitting used increased gains (by 5 to 14 dB) at low frequencies. For noise alone, the modified fitting used decreased gains at all frequencies (by a mean of 1 dB at low frequencies increasing to 8 dB at high frequencies). Results: For speech in quiet, ratings of loudness with the NAL-NL2 fitting were slightly lower than the mean ratings for normal-hearing participants for all levels, while ratings with CAM2B were close to normal for the two lower levels, and slightly greater than normal for the highest level. Ratings of tone quality were close to the optimum value ("just right") for both fittings, except that the CAM2B fitting was rated as very slightly boomy for the 80-dB SPL level. For speech in noise, the ratings of loudness were very close to the normal values and the ratings of tone quality were close to the optimal value for both fittings and for all levels. For music, the ratings of loudness were close to the normal values for NAL-NL2 and slightly above normal for the modified fitting. The tone quality was rated as very slightly tinny for NAL-NL2 and very slightly boomy for the modified fitting. For noise alone, the NAL-NL2 fitting was rated as slightly louder than normal for all levels, while the modified fitting was rated as close to normal. Tone quality was rated as slightly sharper for the NAL-NL2 fitting than for the modified fitting. Conclusions: Loudness and tone quality can sometimes be made slightly closer to "normal" by modifying gains for different listening situations. The modification for music required to achieve "normal" tone quality appears to be less than used in this study. Copyright (C) 2016 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Intelligibility of the Patient's Speech Predicts the Likelihood of Cochlear Implant Success in Prelingually Deaf Adults.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the validity and clinical applicability of intelligibility of the patient's own speech, measured via a Vowel Identification Test (VOW), as a predictor of speech perception for prelingually deafened adults after 1 year of cochlear implant use. Specifically, the objective was to investigate the probability that a prelingually deaf patient, given a VOW score above (or below) a chosen cutoff point, reaches a postimplant speech perception score above (or below) a critical value. High predictive values for VOW could support preimplant counseling and implant candidacy decisions in individual patients. Design: One hundred and fifty-two adult cochlear implant candidates with prelingual hearing impairment or deafness took part as speakers in a VOW; 149 speakers completed the test successfully. Recordings of the speech stimuli, consisting of nonsense words of the form [h]-V-[t], where V represents one of 15 vowels/diphthongs ([[Latin small letter alpha], a:, [Latin Small Letter Open E], e:, [Latin letter small capital I], i[middle dot], [Latin small letter open o], o:, Y, y:, u[middle dot], o:, [Latin Small Letter Open E]i, oey, [Latin small letter alpha]u]), were presented to two normal-hearing listeners. VOW score was expressed as the percentage of vowels identified correctly (averaged over the 2 -listeners). Subsequently, the 149 participants enrolled in the cochlear implant selection procedure. Extremely poor speakers were excluded from implantation, as well as patients who did not meet regular selection criteria as developed for postlingually deafened patients. From the 149 -participants, 92 were selected for implantation. For the implanted group, speech perception data were collected at 1-year postimplantation. Results: Speech perception score at 1-year postimplantation (available for 77 of the 92 implanted participants) correlated positively with preimplant intelligibility of the patient's speech, as represented by VOW (r = 0.79, p = 60% achieves "above-chance" speech perception after implantation is 0.91. Conversely, the probability that a patient with VOW

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A Comparison of Alternating Polarity and Forward Masking Artifact-Reduction Methods to Resolve the Electrically Evoked Compound Action Potential.

Objective: Cochlear implant manufacturers utilize different artifact-reduction methods to measure electrically evoked compound action potentials (ECAPs) in the clinical software. Two commercially available artifact-reduction techniques include forward masking (FwdMsk) and alternating polarity (AltPol). AltPol assumes that responses to the opposing polarities are equal, which is likely problematic. On the other hand, FwdMsk can yield inaccurate waveforms if the masker does not effectively render all neurons into a refractory state. The goal of this study was to compare ECAP thresholds, amplitudes, and slopes of the amplitude growth functions (AGFs) using FwdMsk and AltPol to determine whether the two methods yield similar results. Design: ECAP AGFs were obtained from three electrode regions (basal, middle, and apical) across 24 ears in 20 Cochlear Ltd. recipients using both FwdMsk and AltPol methods. AltPol waveforms could not be resolved for recipients of devices with the older-generation chip (CI24R(CS); N = 6). Results: Results comparing FwdMsk and AltPol in the CI24RE- and CI512-generation devices showed significant differences in threshold, AGF slope, and amplitude between methods. FwdMsk resulted in lower visual-detection thresholds (p

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Neural Correlates of Phonetic Learning in Postlingually Deafened Cochlear Implant Listeners.

Objective: The present training study aimed to examine the fine-scale behavioral and neural correlates of phonetic learning in adult postlingually deafened cochlear implant (CI) listeners. The study investigated whether high variability identification training improved phonetic categorization of the /ba/-/da/ and /wa/-/ja/ speech contrasts and whether any training-related improvements in phonetic perception were correlated with neural markers associated with phonetic learning. It was hypothesized that training would sharpen phonetic boundaries for the speech contrasts and that changes in behavioral sensitivity would be associated with enhanced mismatch negativity (MMN) responses to stimuli that cross a phonetic boundary relative to MMN responses evoked using stimuli from the same phonetic category. Design: A computer-based training program was developed that featured multitalker variability and adaptive listening. The program was designed to help CI listeners attend to the important second formant transition cue that categorizes the /ba/-/da/ and /wa/-/ja/ contrasts. Nine adult CI listeners completed the training and 4 additional CI listeners that did not undergo training were included to assess effects of procedural learning. Behavioral pre-post tests consisted of identification and discrimination of the synthetic /ba/-/da/ and /wa/-/ja/ speech continua. The electrophysiologic MMN response elicited by an across phoneme category pair and a within phoneme category pair that differed by an acoustically equivalent amount was derived at pre-post test intervals for each speech contrast as well. Results: Training significantly enhanced behavioral sensitivity across the phonetic boundary and significantly altered labeling of the stimuli along the /ba/-/da/ continuum. While training only slightly altered identification and discrimination of the /wa/-/ja/ continuum, trained CI listeners categorized the /wa/-/ja/ contrast more efficiently than the /ba/-/da/ contrast across pre-post test sessions. Consistent with behavioral results, pre-post EEG measures showed the MMN amplitude to the across phoneme category pair significantly increased with training for both the /ba/-/da/ and /wa/-/ja/ contrasts, but the MMN was unchanged with training for the corresponding within phoneme category pairs. Significant brain-behavior correlations were observed between changes in the MMN amplitude evoked by across category phoneme stimuli and changes in the slope of identification functions for the trained listeners for both speech contrasts. Conclusions: The brain and behavior data of the present study provide evidence that substantial neural plasticity for phonetic learning in adult postlingually deafened CI listeners can be induced by high variability identification training. These findings have potential clinical implications related to the aural rehabilitation process following receipt of a CI device. Copyright (C) 2016 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Effects of Modified Hearing Aid Fittings on Loudness and Tone Quality for Different Acoustic Scenes.

Objective: To compare loudness and tone-quality ratings for sounds processed via a simulated five-channel compression hearing aid fitted using NAL-NL2 or using a modification of the fitting designed to be appropriate for the type of listening situation: speech in quiet, speech in noise, music, and noise alone. Design: Ratings of loudness and tone quality were obtained for stimuli presented via a loudspeaker in front of the participant. For normal-hearing participants, levels of 50, 65, and 80 dB SPL were used. For hearing-impaired participants, the stimuli were processed via a simulated hearing aid with five-channel fast-acting compression fitted using NAL-NL2 or using a modified fitting. Input levels to the simulated hearing aid were 50, 65, and 80 dB SPL. All participants listened with one ear plugged. For speech in quiet, the modified fitting was based on the CAM2B method. For speech in noise, the modified fitting used slightly (0 to 2 dB) decreased gains at low frequencies. For music, the modified fitting used increased gains (by 5 to 14 dB) at low frequencies. For noise alone, the modified fitting used decreased gains at all frequencies (by a mean of 1 dB at low frequencies increasing to 8 dB at high frequencies). Results: For speech in quiet, ratings of loudness with the NAL-NL2 fitting were slightly lower than the mean ratings for normal-hearing participants for all levels, while ratings with CAM2B were close to normal for the two lower levels, and slightly greater than normal for the highest level. Ratings of tone quality were close to the optimum value ("just right") for both fittings, except that the CAM2B fitting was rated as very slightly boomy for the 80-dB SPL level. For speech in noise, the ratings of loudness were very close to the normal values and the ratings of tone quality were close to the optimal value for both fittings and for all levels. For music, the ratings of loudness were close to the normal values for NAL-NL2 and slightly above normal for the modified fitting. The tone quality was rated as very slightly tinny for NAL-NL2 and very slightly boomy for the modified fitting. For noise alone, the NAL-NL2 fitting was rated as slightly louder than normal for all levels, while the modified fitting was rated as close to normal. Tone quality was rated as slightly sharper for the NAL-NL2 fitting than for the modified fitting. Conclusions: Loudness and tone quality can sometimes be made slightly closer to "normal" by modifying gains for different listening situations. The modification for music required to achieve "normal" tone quality appears to be less than used in this study. Copyright (C) 2016 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Intelligibility of the Patient's Speech Predicts the Likelihood of Cochlear Implant Success in Prelingually Deaf Adults.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the validity and clinical applicability of intelligibility of the patient's own speech, measured via a Vowel Identification Test (VOW), as a predictor of speech perception for prelingually deafened adults after 1 year of cochlear implant use. Specifically, the objective was to investigate the probability that a prelingually deaf patient, given a VOW score above (or below) a chosen cutoff point, reaches a postimplant speech perception score above (or below) a critical value. High predictive values for VOW could support preimplant counseling and implant candidacy decisions in individual patients. Design: One hundred and fifty-two adult cochlear implant candidates with prelingual hearing impairment or deafness took part as speakers in a VOW; 149 speakers completed the test successfully. Recordings of the speech stimuli, consisting of nonsense words of the form [h]-V-[t], where V represents one of 15 vowels/diphthongs ([[Latin small letter alpha], a:, [Latin Small Letter Open E], e:, [Latin letter small capital I], i[middle dot], [Latin small letter open o], o:, Y, y:, u[middle dot], o:, [Latin Small Letter Open E]i, oey, [Latin small letter alpha]u]), were presented to two normal-hearing listeners. VOW score was expressed as the percentage of vowels identified correctly (averaged over the 2 -listeners). Subsequently, the 149 participants enrolled in the cochlear implant selection procedure. Extremely poor speakers were excluded from implantation, as well as patients who did not meet regular selection criteria as developed for postlingually deafened patients. From the 149 -participants, 92 were selected for implantation. For the implanted group, speech perception data were collected at 1-year postimplantation. Results: Speech perception score at 1-year postimplantation (available for 77 of the 92 implanted participants) correlated positively with preimplant intelligibility of the patient's speech, as represented by VOW (r = 0.79, p = 60% achieves "above-chance" speech perception after implantation is 0.91. Conversely, the probability that a patient with VOW

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A Comparison of Alternating Polarity and Forward Masking Artifact-Reduction Methods to Resolve the Electrically Evoked Compound Action Potential.

Objective: Cochlear implant manufacturers utilize different artifact-reduction methods to measure electrically evoked compound action potentials (ECAPs) in the clinical software. Two commercially available artifact-reduction techniques include forward masking (FwdMsk) and alternating polarity (AltPol). AltPol assumes that responses to the opposing polarities are equal, which is likely problematic. On the other hand, FwdMsk can yield inaccurate waveforms if the masker does not effectively render all neurons into a refractory state. The goal of this study was to compare ECAP thresholds, amplitudes, and slopes of the amplitude growth functions (AGFs) using FwdMsk and AltPol to determine whether the two methods yield similar results. Design: ECAP AGFs were obtained from three electrode regions (basal, middle, and apical) across 24 ears in 20 Cochlear Ltd. recipients using both FwdMsk and AltPol methods. AltPol waveforms could not be resolved for recipients of devices with the older-generation chip (CI24R(CS); N = 6). Results: Results comparing FwdMsk and AltPol in the CI24RE- and CI512-generation devices showed significant differences in threshold, AGF slope, and amplitude between methods. FwdMsk resulted in lower visual-detection thresholds (p

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Neural Correlates of Phonetic Learning in Postlingually Deafened Cochlear Implant Listeners.

Objective: The present training study aimed to examine the fine-scale behavioral and neural correlates of phonetic learning in adult postlingually deafened cochlear implant (CI) listeners. The study investigated whether high variability identification training improved phonetic categorization of the /ba/-/da/ and /wa/-/ja/ speech contrasts and whether any training-related improvements in phonetic perception were correlated with neural markers associated with phonetic learning. It was hypothesized that training would sharpen phonetic boundaries for the speech contrasts and that changes in behavioral sensitivity would be associated with enhanced mismatch negativity (MMN) responses to stimuli that cross a phonetic boundary relative to MMN responses evoked using stimuli from the same phonetic category. Design: A computer-based training program was developed that featured multitalker variability and adaptive listening. The program was designed to help CI listeners attend to the important second formant transition cue that categorizes the /ba/-/da/ and /wa/-/ja/ contrasts. Nine adult CI listeners completed the training and 4 additional CI listeners that did not undergo training were included to assess effects of procedural learning. Behavioral pre-post tests consisted of identification and discrimination of the synthetic /ba/-/da/ and /wa/-/ja/ speech continua. The electrophysiologic MMN response elicited by an across phoneme category pair and a within phoneme category pair that differed by an acoustically equivalent amount was derived at pre-post test intervals for each speech contrast as well. Results: Training significantly enhanced behavioral sensitivity across the phonetic boundary and significantly altered labeling of the stimuli along the /ba/-/da/ continuum. While training only slightly altered identification and discrimination of the /wa/-/ja/ continuum, trained CI listeners categorized the /wa/-/ja/ contrast more efficiently than the /ba/-/da/ contrast across pre-post test sessions. Consistent with behavioral results, pre-post EEG measures showed the MMN amplitude to the across phoneme category pair significantly increased with training for both the /ba/-/da/ and /wa/-/ja/ contrasts, but the MMN was unchanged with training for the corresponding within phoneme category pairs. Significant brain-behavior correlations were observed between changes in the MMN amplitude evoked by across category phoneme stimuli and changes in the slope of identification functions for the trained listeners for both speech contrasts. Conclusions: The brain and behavior data of the present study provide evidence that substantial neural plasticity for phonetic learning in adult postlingually deafened CI listeners can be induced by high variability identification training. These findings have potential clinical implications related to the aural rehabilitation process following receipt of a CI device. Copyright (C) 2016 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Effects of Modified Hearing Aid Fittings on Loudness and Tone Quality for Different Acoustic Scenes.

Objective: To compare loudness and tone-quality ratings for sounds processed via a simulated five-channel compression hearing aid fitted using NAL-NL2 or using a modification of the fitting designed to be appropriate for the type of listening situation: speech in quiet, speech in noise, music, and noise alone. Design: Ratings of loudness and tone quality were obtained for stimuli presented via a loudspeaker in front of the participant. For normal-hearing participants, levels of 50, 65, and 80 dB SPL were used. For hearing-impaired participants, the stimuli were processed via a simulated hearing aid with five-channel fast-acting compression fitted using NAL-NL2 or using a modified fitting. Input levels to the simulated hearing aid were 50, 65, and 80 dB SPL. All participants listened with one ear plugged. For speech in quiet, the modified fitting was based on the CAM2B method. For speech in noise, the modified fitting used slightly (0 to 2 dB) decreased gains at low frequencies. For music, the modified fitting used increased gains (by 5 to 14 dB) at low frequencies. For noise alone, the modified fitting used decreased gains at all frequencies (by a mean of 1 dB at low frequencies increasing to 8 dB at high frequencies). Results: For speech in quiet, ratings of loudness with the NAL-NL2 fitting were slightly lower than the mean ratings for normal-hearing participants for all levels, while ratings with CAM2B were close to normal for the two lower levels, and slightly greater than normal for the highest level. Ratings of tone quality were close to the optimum value ("just right") for both fittings, except that the CAM2B fitting was rated as very slightly boomy for the 80-dB SPL level. For speech in noise, the ratings of loudness were very close to the normal values and the ratings of tone quality were close to the optimal value for both fittings and for all levels. For music, the ratings of loudness were close to the normal values for NAL-NL2 and slightly above normal for the modified fitting. The tone quality was rated as very slightly tinny for NAL-NL2 and very slightly boomy for the modified fitting. For noise alone, the NAL-NL2 fitting was rated as slightly louder than normal for all levels, while the modified fitting was rated as close to normal. Tone quality was rated as slightly sharper for the NAL-NL2 fitting than for the modified fitting. Conclusions: Loudness and tone quality can sometimes be made slightly closer to "normal" by modifying gains for different listening situations. The modification for music required to achieve "normal" tone quality appears to be less than used in this study. Copyright (C) 2016 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Intelligibility of the Patient's Speech Predicts the Likelihood of Cochlear Implant Success in Prelingually Deaf Adults.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the validity and clinical applicability of intelligibility of the patient's own speech, measured via a Vowel Identification Test (VOW), as a predictor of speech perception for prelingually deafened adults after 1 year of cochlear implant use. Specifically, the objective was to investigate the probability that a prelingually deaf patient, given a VOW score above (or below) a chosen cutoff point, reaches a postimplant speech perception score above (or below) a critical value. High predictive values for VOW could support preimplant counseling and implant candidacy decisions in individual patients. Design: One hundred and fifty-two adult cochlear implant candidates with prelingual hearing impairment or deafness took part as speakers in a VOW; 149 speakers completed the test successfully. Recordings of the speech stimuli, consisting of nonsense words of the form [h]-V-[t], where V represents one of 15 vowels/diphthongs ([[Latin small letter alpha], a:, [Latin Small Letter Open E], e:, [Latin letter small capital I], i[middle dot], [Latin small letter open o], o:, Y, y:, u[middle dot], o:, [Latin Small Letter Open E]i, oey, [Latin small letter alpha]u]), were presented to two normal-hearing listeners. VOW score was expressed as the percentage of vowels identified correctly (averaged over the 2 -listeners). Subsequently, the 149 participants enrolled in the cochlear implant selection procedure. Extremely poor speakers were excluded from implantation, as well as patients who did not meet regular selection criteria as developed for postlingually deafened patients. From the 149 -participants, 92 were selected for implantation. For the implanted group, speech perception data were collected at 1-year postimplantation. Results: Speech perception score at 1-year postimplantation (available for 77 of the 92 implanted participants) correlated positively with preimplant intelligibility of the patient's speech, as represented by VOW (r = 0.79, p = 60% achieves "above-chance" speech perception after implantation is 0.91. Conversely, the probability that a patient with VOW

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A Comparison of Alternating Polarity and Forward Masking Artifact-Reduction Methods to Resolve the Electrically Evoked Compound Action Potential.

Objective: Cochlear implant manufacturers utilize different artifact-reduction methods to measure electrically evoked compound action potentials (ECAPs) in the clinical software. Two commercially available artifact-reduction techniques include forward masking (FwdMsk) and alternating polarity (AltPol). AltPol assumes that responses to the opposing polarities are equal, which is likely problematic. On the other hand, FwdMsk can yield inaccurate waveforms if the masker does not effectively render all neurons into a refractory state. The goal of this study was to compare ECAP thresholds, amplitudes, and slopes of the amplitude growth functions (AGFs) using FwdMsk and AltPol to determine whether the two methods yield similar results. Design: ECAP AGFs were obtained from three electrode regions (basal, middle, and apical) across 24 ears in 20 Cochlear Ltd. recipients using both FwdMsk and AltPol methods. AltPol waveforms could not be resolved for recipients of devices with the older-generation chip (CI24R(CS); N = 6). Results: Results comparing FwdMsk and AltPol in the CI24RE- and CI512-generation devices showed significant differences in threshold, AGF slope, and amplitude between methods. FwdMsk resulted in lower visual-detection thresholds (p

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Somatic Symptoms: Prevalence, Co-Occurrence and Associations with Self-Perceived Health and Limitations Due To Physical Health – A Danish Population-Based Study

by Marie Eliasen, Svend Kreiner, Jeanette F. Ebstrup, Chalotte H. Poulsen, Cathrine J. Lau, Sine Skovbjerg, Per K. Fink, Torben Jørgensen

A high number of somatic symptoms have been associated with poor health status and increased health care use. Previous studies focused on number of symptoms without considering the specific symptoms. The aim of the study was to investigate 1) the prevalence of 19 somatic symptoms, 2) the associations between the symptoms, and 3) the associations between the somatic symptoms, self-perceived health and limitations due to physical health accounting for the co-occurrence of symptoms. Information on 19 somatic symptoms, self-perceived health and limitations due to physical health was achieved from a population-based questionnaire survey of 36,163 randomly selected adults in the Capital Region of Denmark in 2006/07. Chain graph models were used to transparently identify and describe the associations between symptoms, self-perceived health and limitations due to physical health. In total, 94.9% of the respondents were bothered by one or more of the 19 somatic symptoms. The symptoms were associated in a complex structure. Still, recognisable patterns were identified within organ systems/body parts. When accounting for symptom co-occurrence; dizziness, pain in legs, respiratory distress and tiredness were all strongly directly associated with both of the outcomes (γ>0.30). Chest pain was strongly associated with self-perceived health, and other musculoskeletal symptoms and urinary retention were strongly associated with limitations due to physical health. Other symptoms were either moderate or not statistically associated with the health status outcomes. Opposite, almost all the symptoms were strongly associated with the two outcomes when not accounting for symptom co-occurrence. In conclusion, we found that somatic symptoms were frequent and associated in a complex structure. The associations between symptoms and health status measures differed between the symptoms and depended on the co-occurrence of symptoms. This indicates an importance of considering both the specific symptoms and symptom co-occurrence in further symptom research instead of merely counting symptoms.

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Elevated Acoustic Startle Responses in Humans: Relationship to Reduced Loudness Discomfort Level, but not Self-Report of Hyperacusis

Abstract

Increases in the acoustic startle response (ASR) of animals have been reported following experimental manipulations to induce tinnitus, an auditory disorder defined by phantom perception of sound. The increases in ASR have been proposed to signify the development of hyperacusis, a clinical condition defined by intolerance of normally tolerable sound levels. To test this proposal, the present study compared ASR amplitude to measures of sound-level tolerance (SLT) in humans, the only species in which SLT can be directly assessed. Participants had clinically normal/near-normal hearing thresholds, were free of psychotropic medications, and comprised people with tinnitus and without. ASR was measured as eyeblink-related electromyographic activity in response to a noise pulse presented at a range of levels and in two background conditions (noise and quiet). SLT was measured as loudness discomfort level (LDL), the lowest level of sound deemed uncomfortable, and via a questionnaire on the loudness of sounds in everyday life. Regardless of tinnitus status, ASR amplitude at a given stimulus level increased with decreasing LDL, but showed no relationship to SLT self-reported via the questionnaire. These relationships (or lack thereof) could not be attributed to hearing threshold, age, anxiety, or depression. The results imply that increases in ASR in the animal work signify decreases in LDL specifically and may not correspond to the development of hyperacusis as would be self-reported by a clinic patient.

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Assessing the Electrode-Neuron Interface with the Electrically Evoked Compound Action Potential, Electrode Position, and Behavioral Thresholds

Abstract

Variability in speech perception scores among cochlear implant listeners may largely reflect the variable efficacy of implant electrodes to convey stimulus information to the auditory nerve. In the present study, three metrics were applied to assess the quality of the electrode-neuron interface of individual cochlear implant channels: the electrically evoked compound action potential (ECAP), the estimation of electrode position using computerized tomography (CT), and behavioral thresholds using focused stimulation. The primary motivation of this approach is to evaluate the ECAP as a site-specific measure of the electrode-neuron interface in the context of two peripheral factors that likely contribute to degraded perception: large electrode-to-modiolus distance and reduced neural density. Ten unilaterally implanted adults with Advanced Bionics HiRes90k devices participated. ECAPs were elicited with monopolar stimulation within a forward-masking paradigm to construct channel interaction functions (CIF), behavioral thresholds were obtained with quadrupolar (sQP) stimulation, and data from imaging provided estimates of electrode-to-modiolus distance and scalar location (scala tympani (ST), intermediate, or scala vestibuli (SV)) for each electrode. The width of the ECAP CIF was positively correlated with electrode-to-modiolus distance; both of these measures were also influenced by scalar position. The ECAP peak amplitude was negatively correlated with behavioral thresholds. Moreover, subjects with low behavioral thresholds and large ECAP amplitudes, averaged across electrodes, tended to have higher speech perception scores. These results suggest a potential clinical role for the ECAP in the objective assessment of individual cochlear implant channels, with the potential to improve speech perception outcomes.

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Objective detection of auditory steady-state evoked potentials based on mutual information

10.3109/14992027.2016.1141246<br/>Gavin M. Bidelman

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Book Review

10.3109/14992027.2015.1137365<br/>Shannon Blevins Bramlette

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Objective detection of auditory steady-state evoked potentials based on mutual information

10.3109/14992027.2016.1141246<br/>Gavin M. Bidelman

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Book Review

10.3109/14992027.2015.1137365<br/>Shannon Blevins Bramlette

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REVIEWS OF ACOUSTICAL PATENTS

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Analytical approach to transforming filter design for sound field recording and reproduction using circular arrays with a spherical baffle

A sound field recording and reproduction method using circular arrays of microphones and loudspeakers with a spherical baffle is proposed. The spherical baffle is an acoustically rigid object on which the microphone array is mounted. The driving signals of the loudspeakers must be obtained from the signals received by the microphones. A transform filter for this signal conversion is analytically derived, which is referred to as the wave field reconstruction filter. The proposed method using a spherical baffle is compared with methods using an array of directional microphones and a microphone array mounted on a cylindrical baffle. Numerical simulations indicated that the proposed method is advantageous for sound field recording and reproduction compared with the other two methods. The results of measurement experiments in a real environment are also demonstrated.

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Heterogeneity of vocal sac inflation patterns in Odorrana tormota plays a role in call diversity

Male concave-eared torrent frogs (Odorrana tormota) can emit at least eight distinct call-types. However, the mechanisms by which they are produced are not fully understood. Anatomical analysis revealed that the vocal sacs of male O. tormota comprise two physically distinct compartments (pars lateralis and pars ventralis), residing on two sides of the vocal slits. The goal of the present study was to test the hypothesis that the two compartments play a role in the production of the diverse call-types. For this, audio and video recordings of male vocalizations were made, and sounds were analyzed afterwards. Results showed that the vocal sac inflation pattern was heterogeneous, and the call duration was a major factor determining the differential inflation patterns. Short call-types (duration 5000 Hz involved inflation of pars lateralis only, whereas those with an F0 of 200 ms), e.g., shallow frequency modulation calls, staccato calls, and long calls, involved inflation of both compartments of the vocal sacs. These results give support to the working hypothesis.

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Bayesian source localization with uncertain Green's function in an uncertain shallow water oceana)

Matched-field acoustic source localization is a challenging task when environmental properties of the oceanic waveguide are not precisely known. Errors in the assumed environment (mismatch) can cause severe degradations in localization performance. This paper develops a Bayesian approach to improve robustness to environmental mismatch by considering the waveguideGreen's function to be an uncertain random vector whose probability density accounts for environmental uncertainty. The posterior probability density is integrated over the Green's functionprobability density to obtain a joint marginal probability distribution for source range and depth, accounting for environmental uncertainty and quantifying localization uncertainty. Because brute-force integration in high dimensions can be costly, an efficient method is developed in which the multi-dimensional Green's function integration is approximated by one-dimensional integration over a suitably defined correlation measure. An approach to approximate the Green's function covariance matrix, which represents the environmental mismatch, is developed based on modal analysis. Examples are presented to illustrate the method and Monte-Carlo simulations are carried out to evaluate its performance relative to other methods. The proposed method gives efficient, reliable source localization and uncertainties with improved robustness toward environmental mismatch.

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Objective detection of auditory steady-state evoked potentials based on mutual information.

Objective detection of auditory steady-state evoked potentials based on mutual information.

Int J Audiol. 2016 Feb 29;:1-7

Authors: Bidelman GM, Bhagat SP

Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Recently, we developed a metric to objectively detect human auditory evoked potentials based on the mutual information (MI) between neural responses and stimulus spectrograms. Here, the MI algorithm is evaluated further for validity in testing the auditory steady-state response (ASSR), a sustained potential used in objective audiometry.
DESIGN: MI was computed between spectrograms of ASSRs and their evoking stimuli to quantify the shared time-frequency information between neuroelectric activity and stimulus acoustics. MI was compared against two traditional ASSR detection metrics: F-test and magnitude-squared coherence (MSC).
STUDY SAMPLE: Using an empirically derived threshold (⊖MI=1.45), MI was applied as a binary classifier to distinguish actual biological responses recorded in human participants (n=11) from sham recordings, containing only EEG noise (i.e., non-stimulus-control condition).
RESULTS: MI achieved high overall accuracy (>90%) in identifying true ASSRs from sham recordings, with true positive/true negative rates of 82/100%. During online averaging, comparison with two other indices (F-test, MSC) indicated that MI could detect ASSRs in roughly half the number of trials (i.e., ∼400 sweeps) as the MSC and performed comparably to the F-test, but showed slightly better signal detection performance.
CONCLUSIONS: MI provides an alternative, more flexible metric for efficient and automated ASSR detection.

PMID: 26924597 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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Book Review.

Book Review.

Int J Audiol. 2016 Feb 29;:1

Authors: Bramlette SB

PMID: 26924490 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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Objective detection of auditory steady-state evoked potentials based on mutual information

10.3109/14992027.2016.1141246<br/>Gavin M. Bidelman

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Book Review

10.3109/14992027.2015.1137365<br/>Shannon Blevins Bramlette

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Objective detection of auditory steady-state evoked potentials based on mutual information

10.3109/14992027.2016.1141246<br/>Gavin M. Bidelman

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Book Review

10.3109/14992027.2015.1137365<br/>Shannon Blevins Bramlette

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Objective detection of auditory steady-state evoked potentials based on mutual information.

Objective detection of auditory steady-state evoked potentials based on mutual information.

Int J Audiol. 2016 Feb 29;:1-7

Authors: Bidelman GM, Bhagat SP

Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Recently, we developed a metric to objectively detect human auditory evoked potentials based on the mutual information (MI) between neural responses and stimulus spectrograms. Here, the MI algorithm is evaluated further for validity in testing the auditory steady-state response (ASSR), a sustained potential used in objective audiometry.
DESIGN: MI was computed between spectrograms of ASSRs and their evoking stimuli to quantify the shared time-frequency information between neuroelectric activity and stimulus acoustics. MI was compared against two traditional ASSR detection metrics: F-test and magnitude-squared coherence (MSC).
STUDY SAMPLE: Using an empirically derived threshold (⊖MI=1.45), MI was applied as a binary classifier to distinguish actual biological responses recorded in human participants (n=11) from sham recordings, containing only EEG noise (i.e., non-stimulus-control condition).
RESULTS: MI achieved high overall accuracy (>90%) in identifying true ASSRs from sham recordings, with true positive/true negative rates of 82/100%. During online averaging, comparison with two other indices (F-test, MSC) indicated that MI could detect ASSRs in roughly half the number of trials (i.e., ∼400 sweeps) as the MSC and performed comparably to the F-test, but showed slightly better signal detection performance.
CONCLUSIONS: MI provides an alternative, more flexible metric for efficient and automated ASSR detection.

PMID: 26924597 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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Book Review.

Book Review.

Int J Audiol. 2016 Feb 29;:1

Authors: Bramlette SB

PMID: 26924490 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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Objective detection of auditory steady-state evoked potentials based on mutual information

10.3109/14992027.2016.1141246<br/>Gavin M. Bidelman

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Book Review

10.3109/14992027.2015.1137365<br/>Shannon Blevins Bramlette

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Objective detection of auditory steady-state evoked potentials based on mutual information.

Objective detection of auditory steady-state evoked potentials based on mutual information.

Int J Audiol. 2016 Feb 29;:1-7

Authors: Bidelman GM, Bhagat SP

Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Recently, we developed a metric to objectively detect human auditory evoked potentials based on the mutual information (MI) between neural responses and stimulus spectrograms. Here, the MI algorithm is evaluated further for validity in testing the auditory steady-state response (ASSR), a sustained potential used in objective audiometry.
DESIGN: MI was computed between spectrograms of ASSRs and their evoking stimuli to quantify the shared time-frequency information between neuroelectric activity and stimulus acoustics. MI was compared against two traditional ASSR detection metrics: F-test and magnitude-squared coherence (MSC).
STUDY SAMPLE: Using an empirically derived threshold (⊖MI=1.45), MI was applied as a binary classifier to distinguish actual biological responses recorded in human participants (n=11) from sham recordings, containing only EEG noise (i.e., non-stimulus-control condition).
RESULTS: MI achieved high overall accuracy (>90%) in identifying true ASSRs from sham recordings, with true positive/true negative rates of 82/100%. During online averaging, comparison with two other indices (F-test, MSC) indicated that MI could detect ASSRs in roughly half the number of trials (i.e., ∼400 sweeps) as the MSC and performed comparably to the F-test, but showed slightly better signal detection performance.
CONCLUSIONS: MI provides an alternative, more flexible metric for efficient and automated ASSR detection.

PMID: 26924597 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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via IFTTT

Book Review.

Book Review.

Int J Audiol. 2016 Feb 29;:1

Authors: Bramlette SB

PMID: 26924490 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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Objective detection of auditory steady-state evoked potentials based on mutual information.

Objective detection of auditory steady-state evoked potentials based on mutual information.

Int J Audiol. 2016 Feb 29;:1-7

Authors: Bidelman GM, Bhagat SP

Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Recently, we developed a metric to objectively detect human auditory evoked potentials based on the mutual information (MI) between neural responses and stimulus spectrograms. Here, the MI algorithm is evaluated further for validity in testing the auditory steady-state response (ASSR), a sustained potential used in objective audiometry.
DESIGN: MI was computed between spectrograms of ASSRs and their evoking stimuli to quantify the shared time-frequency information between neuroelectric activity and stimulus acoustics. MI was compared against two traditional ASSR detection metrics: F-test and magnitude-squared coherence (MSC).
STUDY SAMPLE: Using an empirically derived threshold (⊖MI=1.45), MI was applied as a binary classifier to distinguish actual biological responses recorded in human participants (n=11) from sham recordings, containing only EEG noise (i.e., non-stimulus-control condition).
RESULTS: MI achieved high overall accuracy (>90%) in identifying true ASSRs from sham recordings, with true positive/true negative rates of 82/100%. During online averaging, comparison with two other indices (F-test, MSC) indicated that MI could detect ASSRs in roughly half the number of trials (i.e., ∼400 sweeps) as the MSC and performed comparably to the F-test, but showed slightly better signal detection performance.
CONCLUSIONS: MI provides an alternative, more flexible metric for efficient and automated ASSR detection.

PMID: 26924597 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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Book Review.

Book Review.

Int J Audiol. 2016 Feb 29;:1

Authors: Bramlette SB

PMID: 26924490 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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