Κυριακή 20 Μαρτίου 2016

Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials (VEMP): How Do I Get Started?

I would like to begin with a vocabulary review so that we are on the same page. The VEMP investigates otolith and vestibular nerve function. Dysfunction is characterized by feeling similar to being on a boat or an elevator. It may be a spinning sensation when people say that they are dizzy. The VEMP is a short-latency electromyographic (EMG) potential and it is evoked in response to high-level acoustic stimuli. The responses are mediated by the vestibular system. It provides ear-specific information about otolith and nerve function.

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MarkeTrak 9 Points the Way in a Time of Change

Carole Rogin: The Hearing Industries Association, HIA, is comprised of the companies whom you depend for the excellent technology for your patients with hearing loss. On behalf of all of the HIA members, thank you for your business. As part of HIA, these companies, which you know as head‑to‑head competitors for your business, park their competitive issues at the door and come together to do three important things: Government relations and public affairs; to collect and disseminate sales statistics; and very importantly, to do market research that we hope will increase the numbers of people with hearing loss in America who benefit from our products and your professional services.

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Understanding the Components of a Written Infection Control Plan

During this course, we will review the written infection plan as required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Why do we need to have a written infection control plan? While hospital infection control procedures have always been in place, the discovery of HIV had a significant impact on how health care services were to be delivered moving forward. This created a domino effect of policies and procedures that were implemented by a number of agencies and governing bodies, including OSHA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), offering guidelines or regulations in the form of universal precautions, body substance isolation and now, the current standard precautions. These policies and procedures were designed to minimize or eliminate the risk of exposure to potentially infectious agents.

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Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials (VEMP): How Do I Get Started?

I would like to begin with a vocabulary review so that we are on the same page. The VEMP investigates otolith and vestibular nerve function. Dysfunction is characterized by feeling similar to being on a boat or an elevator. It may be a spinning sensation when people say that they are dizzy. The VEMP is a short-latency electromyographic (EMG) potential and it is evoked in response to high-level acoustic stimuli. The responses are mediated by the vestibular system. It provides ear-specific information about otolith and nerve function.

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MarkeTrak 9 Points the Way in a Time of Change

Carole Rogin: The Hearing Industries Association, HIA, is comprised of the companies whom you depend for the excellent technology for your patients with hearing loss. On behalf of all of the HIA members, thank you for your business. As part of HIA, these companies, which you know as head‑to‑head competitors for your business, park their competitive issues at the door and come together to do three important things: Government relations and public affairs; to collect and disseminate sales statistics; and very importantly, to do market research that we hope will increase the numbers of people with hearing loss in America who benefit from our products and your professional services.

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Understanding the Components of a Written Infection Control Plan

During this course, we will review the written infection plan as required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Why do we need to have a written infection control plan? While hospital infection control procedures have always been in place, the discovery of HIV had a significant impact on how health care services were to be delivered moving forward. This created a domino effect of policies and procedures that were implemented by a number of agencies and governing bodies, including OSHA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), offering guidelines or regulations in the form of universal precautions, body substance isolation and now, the current standard precautions. These policies and procedures were designed to minimize or eliminate the risk of exposure to potentially infectious agents.

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Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials (VEMP): How Do I Get Started?

I would like to begin with a vocabulary review so that we are on the same page. The VEMP investigates otolith and vestibular nerve function. Dysfunction is characterized by feeling similar to being on a boat or an elevator. It may be a spinning sensation when people say that they are dizzy. The VEMP is a short-latency electromyographic (EMG) potential and it is evoked in response to high-level acoustic stimuli. The responses are mediated by the vestibular system. It provides ear-specific information about otolith and nerve function.

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MarkeTrak 9 Points the Way in a Time of Change

Carole Rogin: The Hearing Industries Association, HIA, is comprised of the companies whom you depend for the excellent technology for your patients with hearing loss. On behalf of all of the HIA members, thank you for your business. As part of HIA, these companies, which you know as head‑to‑head competitors for your business, park their competitive issues at the door and come together to do three important things: Government relations and public affairs; to collect and disseminate sales statistics; and very importantly, to do market research that we hope will increase the numbers of people with hearing loss in America who benefit from our products and your professional services.

from #Audiology via ola Kala on Inoreader http://ift.tt/1RZvluH
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Understanding the Components of a Written Infection Control Plan

During this course, we will review the written infection plan as required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Why do we need to have a written infection control plan? While hospital infection control procedures have always been in place, the discovery of HIV had a significant impact on how health care services were to be delivered moving forward. This created a domino effect of policies and procedures that were implemented by a number of agencies and governing bodies, including OSHA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), offering guidelines or regulations in the form of universal precautions, body substance isolation and now, the current standard precautions. These policies and procedures were designed to minimize or eliminate the risk of exposure to potentially infectious agents.

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Normative EMG patterns of ankle muscle co-contractions in school-age children during gait

Publication date: Available online 19 March 2016
Source:Gait & Posture
Author(s): Francesco DI Nardo, Alessandro Mengarelli, Laura Burattini, Elvira Maranesi, Valentina Agostini, Alberto Nascimbeni, Marco Knaflitz, Sandro Fioretti
The study was designed to assess the co-contractions of tibialis anterior (TA) and gastrocnemius lateralis (GL) in healthy school-age children during gait at self-selected speed and cadence, in terms of variability of onset-offset muscular activation and occurrence frequency. To this aim, Statistical gait analysis, a recent methodology performing a statistical characterization of gait by averaging spatio-temporal and sEMG-based parameters over numerous strides, was performed in 100 healthy children, aged 6-11 years. Co-contractions were assessed as the period of overlap between activation intervals of TA and GL. On average, 165±27 strides were analyzed for each child, resulting in approximately 16,500 strides. Results showed that GL and TA act as pure agonist/antagonists for ankle plantar/dorsiflexion (no co-contractions) in only 19.2±10.4% of strides. In the remaining strides, statistically significant (p<0.05) co-contractions appear in early stance (46.5±23.0% of the strides), mid-stance (28.8±15.9%), pre-swing (15.2±9.2%), and swing (73.2±22.6%). This significantly increased complexity in muscle recruitment strategy beyond the activation as pure ankle plantar/dorsiflexors, suggests that in healthy children co-contractions are likely functional to further physiological tasks as balance improvement and control of joint stability. In conclusion, this study represents the first attempt for the development in healthy children of a normative dataset for GL/TA co-contractions during gait, achieved on an exceptionally large number of strides in every child and in total. The present reference frame could be useful for discriminating physiological and pathological behavior in children and for designing more focused studies on the maturation of gait.



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Normative EMG patterns of ankle muscle co-contractions in school-age children during gait

Publication date: Available online 19 March 2016
Source:Gait & Posture
Author(s): Francesco DI Nardo, Alessandro Mengarelli, Laura Burattini, Elvira Maranesi, Valentina Agostini, Alberto Nascimbeni, Marco Knaflitz, Sandro Fioretti
The study was designed to assess the co-contractions of tibialis anterior (TA) and gastrocnemius lateralis (GL) in healthy school-age children during gait at self-selected speed and cadence, in terms of variability of onset-offset muscular activation and occurrence frequency. To this aim, Statistical gait analysis, a recent methodology performing a statistical characterization of gait by averaging spatio-temporal and sEMG-based parameters over numerous strides, was performed in 100 healthy children, aged 6-11 years. Co-contractions were assessed as the period of overlap between activation intervals of TA and GL. On average, 165±27 strides were analyzed for each child, resulting in approximately 16,500 strides. Results showed that GL and TA act as pure agonist/antagonists for ankle plantar/dorsiflexion (no co-contractions) in only 19.2±10.4% of strides. In the remaining strides, statistically significant (p<0.05) co-contractions appear in early stance (46.5±23.0% of the strides), mid-stance (28.8±15.9%), pre-swing (15.2±9.2%), and swing (73.2±22.6%). This significantly increased complexity in muscle recruitment strategy beyond the activation as pure ankle plantar/dorsiflexors, suggests that in healthy children co-contractions are likely functional to further physiological tasks as balance improvement and control of joint stability. In conclusion, this study represents the first attempt for the development in healthy children of a normative dataset for GL/TA co-contractions during gait, achieved on an exceptionally large number of strides in every child and in total. The present reference frame could be useful for discriminating physiological and pathological behavior in children and for designing more focused studies on the maturation of gait.



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Normative EMG patterns of ankle muscle co-contractions in school-age children during gait

Publication date: Available online 19 March 2016
Source:Gait & Posture
Author(s): Francesco DI Nardo, Alessandro Mengarelli, Laura Burattini, Elvira Maranesi, Valentina Agostini, Alberto Nascimbeni, Marco Knaflitz, Sandro Fioretti
The study was designed to assess the co-contractions of tibialis anterior (TA) and gastrocnemius lateralis (GL) in healthy school-age children during gait at self-selected speed and cadence, in terms of variability of onset-offset muscular activation and occurrence frequency. To this aim, Statistical gait analysis, a recent methodology performing a statistical characterization of gait by averaging spatio-temporal and sEMG-based parameters over numerous strides, was performed in 100 healthy children, aged 6-11 years. Co-contractions were assessed as the period of overlap between activation intervals of TA and GL. On average, 165±27 strides were analyzed for each child, resulting in approximately 16,500 strides. Results showed that GL and TA act as pure agonist/antagonists for ankle plantar/dorsiflexion (no co-contractions) in only 19.2±10.4% of strides. In the remaining strides, statistically significant (p<0.05) co-contractions appear in early stance (46.5±23.0% of the strides), mid-stance (28.8±15.9%), pre-swing (15.2±9.2%), and swing (73.2±22.6%). This significantly increased complexity in muscle recruitment strategy beyond the activation as pure ankle plantar/dorsiflexors, suggests that in healthy children co-contractions are likely functional to further physiological tasks as balance improvement and control of joint stability. In conclusion, this study represents the first attempt for the development in healthy children of a normative dataset for GL/TA co-contractions during gait, achieved on an exceptionally large number of strides in every child and in total. The present reference frame could be useful for discriminating physiological and pathological behavior in children and for designing more focused studies on the maturation of gait.



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Spectral and binaural loudness summation for hearing-impaired listeners

Publication date: Available online 19 March 2016
Source:Hearing Research
Author(s): Dirk Oetting, Volker Hohmann, Jens-E. Appell, Birger Kollmeier, Stephan D. Ewert
Sensorineural hearing loss typically results in a steepened loudness function and a reduced dynamic range from elevated thresholds to uncomfortably loud levels for narrowband and broadband signals. Restoring narrowband loudness perception for hearing-impaired (HI) listeners can lead to overly loud perception of broadband signals and it is unclear how binaural presentation affects loudness perception in this case. Here, loudness perception quantified by categorical loudness scaling for nine normal-hearing (NH) and ten HI listeners was compared for signals with different bandwidth and different spectral shape in monaural and in binaural conditions. For the HI listeners, frequency- and level-dependent amplification was used to match the narrowband monaural loudness functions of the NH listeners. The loudness functions for NH and HI listeners showed good agreement for monaural broadband signals. However, HI listeners showed substantially greater loudness for binaural broadband signals than for the NH listeners: on average a 14.1 dB lower level was required to reach “very loud” (range 30.8 to -3.7 dB). Overall, with narrowband loudness compensation, a given binaural loudness for broadband signals above “medium loud” was reached at systematically lower levels for HI than for NH listeners. Such increased binaural loudness summation was not found for loudness categories below “medium loud” or for narrowband signals. Large individual variations in the increased loudness summation were observed and could not be explained by the audiogram or the narrowband loudness functions.



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Spectral and binaural loudness summation for hearing-impaired listeners

Publication date: Available online 19 March 2016
Source:Hearing Research
Author(s): Dirk Oetting, Volker Hohmann, Jens-E. Appell, Birger Kollmeier, Stephan D. Ewert
Sensorineural hearing loss typically results in a steepened loudness function and a reduced dynamic range from elevated thresholds to uncomfortably loud levels for narrowband and broadband signals. Restoring narrowband loudness perception for hearing-impaired (HI) listeners can lead to overly loud perception of broadband signals and it is unclear how binaural presentation affects loudness perception in this case. Here, loudness perception quantified by categorical loudness scaling for nine normal-hearing (NH) and ten HI listeners was compared for signals with different bandwidth and different spectral shape in monaural and in binaural conditions. For the HI listeners, frequency- and level-dependent amplification was used to match the narrowband monaural loudness functions of the NH listeners. The loudness functions for NH and HI listeners showed good agreement for monaural broadband signals. However, HI listeners showed substantially greater loudness for binaural broadband signals than for the NH listeners: on average a 14.1 dB lower level was required to reach “very loud” (range 30.8 to -3.7 dB). Overall, with narrowband loudness compensation, a given binaural loudness for broadband signals above “medium loud” was reached at systematically lower levels for HI than for NH listeners. Such increased binaural loudness summation was not found for loudness categories below “medium loud” or for narrowband signals. Large individual variations in the increased loudness summation were observed and could not be explained by the audiogram or the narrowband loudness functions.



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Spectral and binaural loudness summation for hearing-impaired listeners

S03785955.gif

Publication date: Available online 19 March 2016
Source:Hearing Research
Author(s): Dirk Oetting, Volker Hohmann, Jens-E. Appell, Birger Kollmeier, Stephan D. Ewert
Sensorineural hearing loss typically results in a steepened loudness function and a reduced dynamic range from elevated thresholds to uncomfortably loud levels for narrowband and broadband signals. Restoring narrowband loudness perception for hearing-impaired (HI) listeners can lead to overly loud perception of broadband signals and it is unclear how binaural presentation affects loudness perception in this case. Here, loudness perception quantified by categorical loudness scaling for nine normal-hearing (NH) and ten HI listeners was compared for signals with different bandwidth and different spectral shape in monaural and in binaural conditions. For the HI listeners, frequency- and level-dependent amplification was used to match the narrowband monaural loudness functions of the NH listeners. The loudness functions for NH and HI listeners showed good agreement for monaural broadband signals. However, HI listeners showed substantially greater loudness for binaural broadband signals than for the NH listeners: on average a 14.1 dB lower level was required to reach “very loud” (range 30.8 to -3.7 dB). Overall, with narrowband loudness compensation, a given binaural loudness for broadband signals above “medium loud” was reached at systematically lower levels for HI than for NH listeners. Such increased binaural loudness summation was not found for loudness categories below “medium loud” or for narrowband signals. Large individual variations in the increased loudness summation were observed and could not be explained by the audiogram or the narrowband loudness functions.



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Spectral and binaural loudness summation for hearing-impaired listeners

S03785955.gif

Publication date: Available online 19 March 2016
Source:Hearing Research
Author(s): Dirk Oetting, Volker Hohmann, Jens-E. Appell, Birger Kollmeier, Stephan D. Ewert
Sensorineural hearing loss typically results in a steepened loudness function and a reduced dynamic range from elevated thresholds to uncomfortably loud levels for narrowband and broadband signals. Restoring narrowband loudness perception for hearing-impaired (HI) listeners can lead to overly loud perception of broadband signals and it is unclear how binaural presentation affects loudness perception in this case. Here, loudness perception quantified by categorical loudness scaling for nine normal-hearing (NH) and ten HI listeners was compared for signals with different bandwidth and different spectral shape in monaural and in binaural conditions. For the HI listeners, frequency- and level-dependent amplification was used to match the narrowband monaural loudness functions of the NH listeners. The loudness functions for NH and HI listeners showed good agreement for monaural broadband signals. However, HI listeners showed substantially greater loudness for binaural broadband signals than for the NH listeners: on average a 14.1 dB lower level was required to reach “very loud” (range 30.8 to -3.7 dB). Overall, with narrowband loudness compensation, a given binaural loudness for broadband signals above “medium loud” was reached at systematically lower levels for HI than for NH listeners. Such increased binaural loudness summation was not found for loudness categories below “medium loud” or for narrowband signals. Large individual variations in the increased loudness summation were observed and could not be explained by the audiogram or the narrowband loudness functions.



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Spectral and binaural loudness summation for hearing-impaired listeners

S03785955.gif

Publication date: Available online 19 March 2016
Source:Hearing Research
Author(s): Dirk Oetting, Volker Hohmann, Jens-E. Appell, Birger Kollmeier, Stephan D. Ewert
Sensorineural hearing loss typically results in a steepened loudness function and a reduced dynamic range from elevated thresholds to uncomfortably loud levels for narrowband and broadband signals. Restoring narrowband loudness perception for hearing-impaired (HI) listeners can lead to overly loud perception of broadband signals and it is unclear how binaural presentation affects loudness perception in this case. Here, loudness perception quantified by categorical loudness scaling for nine normal-hearing (NH) and ten HI listeners was compared for signals with different bandwidth and different spectral shape in monaural and in binaural conditions. For the HI listeners, frequency- and level-dependent amplification was used to match the narrowband monaural loudness functions of the NH listeners. The loudness functions for NH and HI listeners showed good agreement for monaural broadband signals. However, HI listeners showed substantially greater loudness for binaural broadband signals than for the NH listeners: on average a 14.1 dB lower level was required to reach “very loud” (range 30.8 to -3.7 dB). Overall, with narrowband loudness compensation, a given binaural loudness for broadband signals above “medium loud” was reached at systematically lower levels for HI than for NH listeners. Such increased binaural loudness summation was not found for loudness categories below “medium loud” or for narrowband signals. Large individual variations in the increased loudness summation were observed and could not be explained by the audiogram or the narrowband loudness functions.



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Aging and Hearing Health: The Life-course Approach.

Aging and Hearing Health: The Life-course Approach.

Gerontologist. 2016 Apr;56(Suppl 2):S256-S267

Authors: Davis A, McMahon CM, Pichora-Fuller KM, Russ S, Lin F, Olusanya BO, Chadha S, Tremblay KL

Abstract
Sensory abilities decline with age. More than 5% of the world's population, approximately 360 million people, have disabling hearing loss. In adults, disabling hearing loss is defined by thresholds greater than 40 dBHL in the better hearing ear.Hearing disability is an important issue in geriatric medicine because it is associated with numerous health issues, including accelerated cognitive decline, depression, increased risk of dementia, poorer balance, falls, hospitalizations, and early mortality. There are also social implications, such as reduced communication function, social isolation, loss of autonomy, impaired driving ability, and financial decline. Furthermore, the onset of hearing loss is gradual and subtle, first affecting the detection of high-pitched sounds and with difficulty understanding speech in noisy but not in quiet environments. Consequently, delays in recognizing and seeking help for hearing difficulties are common. Age-related hearing loss has no known cure, and technologies (hearing aids, cochlear implants, and assistive devices) improve thresholds but do not restore hearing to normal. Therefore, health care for persons with hearing loss and people within their communication circles requires education and counseling (e.g., increasing knowledge, changing attitudes, and reducing stigma), behavior change (e.g., adapting communication strategies), and environmental modifications (e.g., reducing noise). In this article, we consider the causes, consequences, and magnitude of hearing loss from a life-course perspective. We examine the concept of "hearing health," how to achieve it, and implications for policy and practice.

PMID: 26994265 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]



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Aging and Hearing Health: The Life-course Approach.

Aging and Hearing Health: The Life-course Approach.

Gerontologist. 2016 Apr;56(Suppl 2):S256-S267

Authors: Davis A, McMahon CM, Pichora-Fuller KM, Russ S, Lin F, Olusanya BO, Chadha S, Tremblay KL

Abstract
Sensory abilities decline with age. More than 5% of the world's population, approximately 360 million people, have disabling hearing loss. In adults, disabling hearing loss is defined by thresholds greater than 40 dBHL in the better hearing ear.Hearing disability is an important issue in geriatric medicine because it is associated with numerous health issues, including accelerated cognitive decline, depression, increased risk of dementia, poorer balance, falls, hospitalizations, and early mortality. There are also social implications, such as reduced communication function, social isolation, loss of autonomy, impaired driving ability, and financial decline. Furthermore, the onset of hearing loss is gradual and subtle, first affecting the detection of high-pitched sounds and with difficulty understanding speech in noisy but not in quiet environments. Consequently, delays in recognizing and seeking help for hearing difficulties are common. Age-related hearing loss has no known cure, and technologies (hearing aids, cochlear implants, and assistive devices) improve thresholds but do not restore hearing to normal. Therefore, health care for persons with hearing loss and people within their communication circles requires education and counseling (e.g., increasing knowledge, changing attitudes, and reducing stigma), behavior change (e.g., adapting communication strategies), and environmental modifications (e.g., reducing noise). In this article, we consider the causes, consequences, and magnitude of hearing loss from a life-course perspective. We examine the concept of "hearing health," how to achieve it, and implications for policy and practice.

PMID: 26994265 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]



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