Τρίτη 10 Ιανουαρίου 2017
Estimation of the Young’s modulus of the human pars tensa using in-situ pressurization and inverse finite-element analysis
Source:Hearing Research
Author(s): S. Alireza Rohani, Soroush Ghomashchi, Sumit K. Agrawal, Hanif M. Ladak
Finite-element models of the tympanic membrane are sensitive to the Young’s modulus of the pars tensa. The aim of this work is to estimate the Young’s modulus under a different experimental paradigm than currently used on the human tympanic membrane. These additional values could potentially be used by the auditory biomechanics community for building consensus. The Young’s modulus of the human pars tensa was estimated through inverse finite-element modelling of an in-situ pressurization experiment. The experiments were performed on three specimens with a custom-built pressurization unit at a quasi-static pressure of 500 Pa. The shape of each tympanic membrane before and after pressurization was recorded using a Fourier transform profilometer. The samples were also imaged using micro-computed tomography to create sample-specific finite-element models. For each sample, the Young’s modulus was then estimated by numerically optimizing its value in the finite-element model so simulated pressurized shapes matched experimental data. The estimated Young’s modulus values were 2.2 MPa, 2.4 MPa and 2.0 MPa, and are similar to estimates obtained using in situ single-point indentation testing. The estimates were obtained under the assumptions that the pars tensa is linearly elastic, uniform, isotropic with a thickness of 110 μm, and the estimates are limited to quasi-static loading. Estimates of pars tensa Young’s modulus are sensitive to its thickness and inclusion of the manubrial fold. However, they do not appear to be sensitive to optimization initialization, height measurement error, pars flaccida Young’s modulus, and tympanic membrane element type (shell versus solid).
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Cochlear synaptopathy in acquired sensorineural hearing loss: Manifestations and mechanisms
Source:Hearing Research
Author(s): M. Charles Liberman, Sharon G. Kujawa
Common causes of hearing loss in humans - exposure to loud noise or ototoxic drugs and aging - often damage sensory hair cells, reflected as elevated thresholds on the clinical audiogram. Recent studies in animal models suggest, however, that well before this overt hearing loss can be seen, a more insidious, but likely more common, process is taking place that permanently interrupts synaptic communication between sensory inner hair cells and subsets of cochlear nerve fibers. The silencing of affected neurons alters auditory information processing, whether accompanied by threshold elevations or not, and is a likely contributor to a variety of perceptual abnormalities, including speech-in-noise difficulties, tinnitus and hyperacusis. Work described here will review structural and functional manifestations of this cochlear synaptopathy and will consider possible mechanisms underlying its appearance and progression in ears with and without traditional ‘hearing loss’ arising from several common causes in humans.
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Degeneration of auditory nerve fibers in guinea pigs with severe sensorineural hearing loss
Source:Hearing Research
Author(s): Steven Kroon, Dyan Ramekers, Emma M. Smeets, Ferry G.J. Hendriksen, Sjaak F.L. Klis, Huib Versnel
Damage to and loss of the organ of Corti leads to secondary degeneration of the spiral ganglion cell (SGC) somata of the auditory nerve. Extensively examined in animal models, this degeneration process of SGC somata following deafening is well known. However, degeneration of auditory nerve axons, which conduct auditory information towards the brainstem, and its relation to SGC soma degeneration are largely unknown. The consequences of degeneration of the axons are relevant for cochlear implantation, which is applied to a deafened system but depends on the condition of the auditory nerve. We investigated the time sequence of degeneration of myelinated type I axons in deafened guinea pigs. Auditory nerves in six normal-hearing and twelve deafened animals, two, six and fourteen weeks (for each group four) after deafening were histologically analyzed. We developed a semi-automated method for axon counting, which allowed for a relatively large sample size (20% of the total cross-sectional area of the auditory nerve). We observed a substantial loss of auditory nerve area (29%), reduction in axon number (59%) and decrease in axoplasm area (41%) fourteen weeks after deafening compared to normal-hearing controls. The correlation between axonal degeneration and that of the SGC somata in the same cochleas was high, although axonal structures appeared to persist longer than the somata, suggesting a slower degeneration process. In the first two weeks after induction of deafness, the axonal cross-sectional area decreased but the axon number did not. In conclusion, the data strongly suggest that each surviving SGC possesses an axon.
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Estimation of the Young’s modulus of the human pars tensa using in-situ pressurization and inverse finite-element analysis
Source:Hearing Research
Author(s): S. Alireza Rohani, Soroush Ghomashchi, Sumit K. Agrawal, Hanif M. Ladak
Finite-element models of the tympanic membrane are sensitive to the Young’s modulus of the pars tensa. The aim of this work is to estimate the Young’s modulus under a different experimental paradigm than currently used on the human tympanic membrane. These additional values could potentially be used by the auditory biomechanics community for building consensus. The Young’s modulus of the human pars tensa was estimated through inverse finite-element modelling of an in-situ pressurization experiment. The experiments were performed on three specimens with a custom-built pressurization unit at a quasi-static pressure of 500 Pa. The shape of each tympanic membrane before and after pressurization was recorded using a Fourier transform profilometer. The samples were also imaged using micro-computed tomography to create sample-specific finite-element models. For each sample, the Young’s modulus was then estimated by numerically optimizing its value in the finite-element model so simulated pressurized shapes matched experimental data. The estimated Young’s modulus values were 2.2 MPa, 2.4 MPa and 2.0 MPa, and are similar to estimates obtained using in situ single-point indentation testing. The estimates were obtained under the assumptions that the pars tensa is linearly elastic, uniform, isotropic with a thickness of 110 μm, and the estimates are limited to quasi-static loading. Estimates of pars tensa Young’s modulus are sensitive to its thickness and inclusion of the manubrial fold. However, they do not appear to be sensitive to optimization initialization, height measurement error, pars flaccida Young’s modulus, and tympanic membrane element type (shell versus solid).
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Cochlear synaptopathy in acquired sensorineural hearing loss: Manifestations and mechanisms
Source:Hearing Research
Author(s): M. Charles Liberman, Sharon G. Kujawa
Common causes of hearing loss in humans - exposure to loud noise or ototoxic drugs and aging - often damage sensory hair cells, reflected as elevated thresholds on the clinical audiogram. Recent studies in animal models suggest, however, that well before this overt hearing loss can be seen, a more insidious, but likely more common, process is taking place that permanently interrupts synaptic communication between sensory inner hair cells and subsets of cochlear nerve fibers. The silencing of affected neurons alters auditory information processing, whether accompanied by threshold elevations or not, and is a likely contributor to a variety of perceptual abnormalities, including speech-in-noise difficulties, tinnitus and hyperacusis. Work described here will review structural and functional manifestations of this cochlear synaptopathy and will consider possible mechanisms underlying its appearance and progression in ears with and without traditional ‘hearing loss’ arising from several common causes in humans.
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Degeneration of auditory nerve fibers in guinea pigs with severe sensorineural hearing loss
Source:Hearing Research
Author(s): Steven Kroon, Dyan Ramekers, Emma M. Smeets, Ferry G.J. Hendriksen, Sjaak F.L. Klis, Huib Versnel
Damage to and loss of the organ of Corti leads to secondary degeneration of the spiral ganglion cell (SGC) somata of the auditory nerve. Extensively examined in animal models, this degeneration process of SGC somata following deafening is well known. However, degeneration of auditory nerve axons, which conduct auditory information towards the brainstem, and its relation to SGC soma degeneration are largely unknown. The consequences of degeneration of the axons are relevant for cochlear implantation, which is applied to a deafened system but depends on the condition of the auditory nerve. We investigated the time sequence of degeneration of myelinated type I axons in deafened guinea pigs. Auditory nerves in six normal-hearing and twelve deafened animals, two, six and fourteen weeks (for each group four) after deafening were histologically analyzed. We developed a semi-automated method for axon counting, which allowed for a relatively large sample size (20% of the total cross-sectional area of the auditory nerve). We observed a substantial loss of auditory nerve area (29%), reduction in axon number (59%) and decrease in axoplasm area (41%) fourteen weeks after deafening compared to normal-hearing controls. The correlation between axonal degeneration and that of the SGC somata in the same cochleas was high, although axonal structures appeared to persist longer than the somata, suggesting a slower degeneration process. In the first two weeks after induction of deafness, the axonal cross-sectional area decreased but the axon number did not. In conclusion, the data strongly suggest that each surviving SGC possesses an axon.
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Estimation of the Young’s modulus of the human pars tensa using in-situ pressurization and inverse finite-element analysis
Source:Hearing Research
Author(s): S. Alireza Rohani, Soroush Ghomashchi, Sumit K. Agrawal, Hanif M. Ladak
Finite-element models of the tympanic membrane are sensitive to the Young’s modulus of the pars tensa. The aim of this work is to estimate the Young’s modulus under a different experimental paradigm than currently used on the human tympanic membrane. These additional values could potentially be used by the auditory biomechanics community for building consensus. The Young’s modulus of the human pars tensa was estimated through inverse finite-element modelling of an in-situ pressurization experiment. The experiments were performed on three specimens with a custom-built pressurization unit at a quasi-static pressure of 500 Pa. The shape of each tympanic membrane before and after pressurization was recorded using a Fourier transform profilometer. The samples were also imaged using micro-computed tomography to create sample-specific finite-element models. For each sample, the Young’s modulus was then estimated by numerically optimizing its value in the finite-element model so simulated pressurized shapes matched experimental data. The estimated Young’s modulus values were 2.2 MPa, 2.4 MPa and 2.0 MPa, and are similar to estimates obtained using in situ single-point indentation testing. The estimates were obtained under the assumptions that the pars tensa is linearly elastic, uniform, isotropic with a thickness of 110 μm, and the estimates are limited to quasi-static loading. Estimates of pars tensa Young’s modulus are sensitive to its thickness and inclusion of the manubrial fold. However, they do not appear to be sensitive to optimization initialization, height measurement error, pars flaccida Young’s modulus, and tympanic membrane element type (shell versus solid).
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Cochlear synaptopathy in acquired sensorineural hearing loss: Manifestations and mechanisms
Source:Hearing Research
Author(s): M. Charles Liberman, Sharon G. Kujawa
Common causes of hearing loss in humans - exposure to loud noise or ototoxic drugs and aging - often damage sensory hair cells, reflected as elevated thresholds on the clinical audiogram. Recent studies in animal models suggest, however, that well before this overt hearing loss can be seen, a more insidious, but likely more common, process is taking place that permanently interrupts synaptic communication between sensory inner hair cells and subsets of cochlear nerve fibers. The silencing of affected neurons alters auditory information processing, whether accompanied by threshold elevations or not, and is a likely contributor to a variety of perceptual abnormalities, including speech-in-noise difficulties, tinnitus and hyperacusis. Work described here will review structural and functional manifestations of this cochlear synaptopathy and will consider possible mechanisms underlying its appearance and progression in ears with and without traditional ‘hearing loss’ arising from several common causes in humans.
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Degeneration of auditory nerve fibers in guinea pigs with severe sensorineural hearing loss
Source:Hearing Research
Author(s): Steven Kroon, Dyan Ramekers, Emma M. Smeets, Ferry G.J. Hendriksen, Sjaak F.L. Klis, Huib Versnel
Damage to and loss of the organ of Corti leads to secondary degeneration of the spiral ganglion cell (SGC) somata of the auditory nerve. Extensively examined in animal models, this degeneration process of SGC somata following deafening is well known. However, degeneration of auditory nerve axons, which conduct auditory information towards the brainstem, and its relation to SGC soma degeneration are largely unknown. The consequences of degeneration of the axons are relevant for cochlear implantation, which is applied to a deafened system but depends on the condition of the auditory nerve. We investigated the time sequence of degeneration of myelinated type I axons in deafened guinea pigs. Auditory nerves in six normal-hearing and twelve deafened animals, two, six and fourteen weeks (for each group four) after deafening were histologically analyzed. We developed a semi-automated method for axon counting, which allowed for a relatively large sample size (20% of the total cross-sectional area of the auditory nerve). We observed a substantial loss of auditory nerve area (29%), reduction in axon number (59%) and decrease in axoplasm area (41%) fourteen weeks after deafening compared to normal-hearing controls. The correlation between axonal degeneration and that of the SGC somata in the same cochleas was high, although axonal structures appeared to persist longer than the somata, suggesting a slower degeneration process. In the first two weeks after induction of deafness, the axonal cross-sectional area decreased but the axon number did not. In conclusion, the data strongly suggest that each surviving SGC possesses an axon.
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Directional Microphone Hearing Aids in School Environments: Working Toward Optimization
Purpose
The hearing aid microphone setting (omnidirectional or directional) can be selected manually or automatically. This study examined the percentage of time the microphone setting selected using each method was judged to provide the best signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for the talkers of interest in school environments.
Method
A total of 26 children (aged 6–17 years) with hearing loss were fitted with study hearing aids and evaluated during 2 typical school days. Time-stamped hearing aid settings were compared with observer judgments of the microphone setting that provided the best SNR on the basis of the specific listening environment.
Results
Despite training for appropriate use, school-age children were unlikely to consistently manually switch to the microphone setting that optimized SNR. Furthermore, there was only fair agreement between the observer judgments and the hearing aid setting chosen by the automatic switching algorithm. Factors contributing to disagreement included the hearing aid algorithm choosing the directional setting when the talker was not in front of the listener or when noise arrived only from the front quadrant and choosing the omnidirectional setting when the noise level was low.
Conclusion
Consideration of listener preferences, talker position, sound level, and other factors in the classroom may be necessary to optimize microphone settings.from #Audiology via ola Kala on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2jfui0p
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Simulated Critical Differences for Speech Reception Thresholds
Purpose
Critical differences state by how much 2 test results have to differ in order to be significantly different. Critical differences for discrimination scores have been available for several decades, but they do not exist for speech reception thresholds (SRTs). This study presents and discusses how critical differences for SRTs can be estimated by Monte Carlo simulations. As an application of this method, critical differences are proposed for a 5-word sentences test (a matrix test) using 2 widely implemented adaptive test procedures.
Method
For each procedure, simulations were performed for different parameters: the number of test sentences, the j factor, the distribution of the subjects' true SRTs, and the slope of the discrimination function. For 1 procedure and 1 parameter setting, simulation data are compared with results found by listening tests (experimental data).
Results
The critical differences were found to depend on the parameters tested, including interactive effects. The critical differences found by simulation agree with data found experimentally.
Conclusions
As the critical differences for SRTs rely on multiple parameters, they must be determined for each parameter setting individually. However, with knowledge of the test setup, rules of thumb can be derived.from #Audiology via ola Kala on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2j2kw4g
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Directional Microphone Hearing Aids in School Environments: Working Toward Optimization
Purpose
The hearing aid microphone setting (omnidirectional or directional) can be selected manually or automatically. This study examined the percentage of time the microphone setting selected using each method was judged to provide the best signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for the talkers of interest in school environments.
Method
A total of 26 children (aged 6–17 years) with hearing loss were fitted with study hearing aids and evaluated during 2 typical school days. Time-stamped hearing aid settings were compared with observer judgments of the microphone setting that provided the best SNR on the basis of the specific listening environment.
Results
Despite training for appropriate use, school-age children were unlikely to consistently manually switch to the microphone setting that optimized SNR. Furthermore, there was only fair agreement between the observer judgments and the hearing aid setting chosen by the automatic switching algorithm. Factors contributing to disagreement included the hearing aid algorithm choosing the directional setting when the talker was not in front of the listener or when noise arrived only from the front quadrant and choosing the omnidirectional setting when the noise level was low.
Conclusion
Consideration of listener preferences, talker position, sound level, and other factors in the classroom may be necessary to optimize microphone settings.from #Audiology via xlomafota13 on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2jfui0p
via IFTTT
Simulated Critical Differences for Speech Reception Thresholds
Purpose
Critical differences state by how much 2 test results have to differ in order to be significantly different. Critical differences for discrimination scores have been available for several decades, but they do not exist for speech reception thresholds (SRTs). This study presents and discusses how critical differences for SRTs can be estimated by Monte Carlo simulations. As an application of this method, critical differences are proposed for a 5-word sentences test (a matrix test) using 2 widely implemented adaptive test procedures.
Method
For each procedure, simulations were performed for different parameters: the number of test sentences, the j factor, the distribution of the subjects' true SRTs, and the slope of the discrimination function. For 1 procedure and 1 parameter setting, simulation data are compared with results found by listening tests (experimental data).
Results
The critical differences were found to depend on the parameters tested, including interactive effects. The critical differences found by simulation agree with data found experimentally.
Conclusions
As the critical differences for SRTs rely on multiple parameters, they must be determined for each parameter setting individually. However, with knowledge of the test setup, rules of thumb can be derived.from #Audiology via xlomafota13 on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2j2kw4g
via IFTTT
Directional Microphone Hearing Aids in School Environments: Working Toward Optimization
Purpose
The hearing aid microphone setting (omnidirectional or directional) can be selected manually or automatically. This study examined the percentage of time the microphone setting selected using each method was judged to provide the best signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for the talkers of interest in school environments.
Method
A total of 26 children (aged 6–17 years) with hearing loss were fitted with study hearing aids and evaluated during 2 typical school days. Time-stamped hearing aid settings were compared with observer judgments of the microphone setting that provided the best SNR on the basis of the specific listening environment.
Results
Despite training for appropriate use, school-age children were unlikely to consistently manually switch to the microphone setting that optimized SNR. Furthermore, there was only fair agreement between the observer judgments and the hearing aid setting chosen by the automatic switching algorithm. Factors contributing to disagreement included the hearing aid algorithm choosing the directional setting when the talker was not in front of the listener or when noise arrived only from the front quadrant and choosing the omnidirectional setting when the noise level was low.
Conclusion
Consideration of listener preferences, talker position, sound level, and other factors in the classroom may be necessary to optimize microphone settings.from #Audiology via ola Kala on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2jfui0p
via IFTTT
Simulated Critical Differences for Speech Reception Thresholds
Purpose
Critical differences state by how much 2 test results have to differ in order to be significantly different. Critical differences for discrimination scores have been available for several decades, but they do not exist for speech reception thresholds (SRTs). This study presents and discusses how critical differences for SRTs can be estimated by Monte Carlo simulations. As an application of this method, critical differences are proposed for a 5-word sentences test (a matrix test) using 2 widely implemented adaptive test procedures.
Method
For each procedure, simulations were performed for different parameters: the number of test sentences, the j factor, the distribution of the subjects' true SRTs, and the slope of the discrimination function. For 1 procedure and 1 parameter setting, simulation data are compared with results found by listening tests (experimental data).
Results
The critical differences were found to depend on the parameters tested, including interactive effects. The critical differences found by simulation agree with data found experimentally.
Conclusions
As the critical differences for SRTs rely on multiple parameters, they must be determined for each parameter setting individually. However, with knowledge of the test setup, rules of thumb can be derived.from #Audiology via ola Kala on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2j2kw4g
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Clinical outcomes with the Kanso™ off-the-ear cochlear implant sound processor.
| Related Articles |
Clinical outcomes with the Kanso™ off-the-ear cochlear implant sound processor.
Int J Audiol. 2017 Jan 09;:1-10
Authors: Mauger SJ, Jones M, Nel E, Del Dot J
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate clinical outcomes and subjective ratings of the Kanso™ off-the-ear (OTE) cochlear implant sound processor.
DESIGN: Prospective, within-subject design investigating outcomes with a range of single and dual-microphone programmes for Kanso compared to conventional behind-the-ear (BTE) sound processors.
STUDY SAMPLE: Twenty post-lingually hearing-impaired cochlear implant recipients who were experienced Nucleus® 5 or Nucleus® 6 BTE users.
RESULTS: No significant difference in performance was found for words in quiet or sentences in co-located noise between the Kanso and Nucleus 6 devices. For the moderately directional Standard programme, no significant difference was found for sentences in spatially separated noise between the Kanso and Nucleus 6 devices, but a performance decrement between 1.4 and 2.0 dB was found in highly directional and adaptive directional programmes. The default Kanso programme, SCAN, provided improvements of 6.9 dB over a single-microphone programme and 2.3 dB over the Standard programme in spatially separated noise. Participants rated Kanso significantly better than their own BTE processor on measures of comfort, look and feel, ease of use, music and overall hearing performance.
CONCLUSION: Dual-microphone directional processing provides significant benefit over a single microphone for OTE processors. This study demonstrates clinical outcomes and acceptance of the Kanso OTE sound processor.
PMID: 28067077 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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Clinical outcomes with the Kanso™ off-the-ear cochlear implant sound processor.
| Related Articles |
Clinical outcomes with the Kanso™ off-the-ear cochlear implant sound processor.
Int J Audiol. 2017 Jan 09;:1-10
Authors: Mauger SJ, Jones M, Nel E, Del Dot J
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate clinical outcomes and subjective ratings of the Kanso™ off-the-ear (OTE) cochlear implant sound processor.
DESIGN: Prospective, within-subject design investigating outcomes with a range of single and dual-microphone programmes for Kanso compared to conventional behind-the-ear (BTE) sound processors.
STUDY SAMPLE: Twenty post-lingually hearing-impaired cochlear implant recipients who were experienced Nucleus® 5 or Nucleus® 6 BTE users.
RESULTS: No significant difference in performance was found for words in quiet or sentences in co-located noise between the Kanso and Nucleus 6 devices. For the moderately directional Standard programme, no significant difference was found for sentences in spatially separated noise between the Kanso and Nucleus 6 devices, but a performance decrement between 1.4 and 2.0 dB was found in highly directional and adaptive directional programmes. The default Kanso programme, SCAN, provided improvements of 6.9 dB over a single-microphone programme and 2.3 dB over the Standard programme in spatially separated noise. Participants rated Kanso significantly better than their own BTE processor on measures of comfort, look and feel, ease of use, music and overall hearing performance.
CONCLUSION: Dual-microphone directional processing provides significant benefit over a single microphone for OTE processors. This study demonstrates clinical outcomes and acceptance of the Kanso OTE sound processor.
PMID: 28067077 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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Reducing drug dosage, and hearing loss in TB patients without reducing efficacy
Aminoglycosides, recommended by the World Health Organization to treat multidrug resistant tuberculosis, cause hearing loss and kidney damage in a dose dependent manner.
from #Audiology via ola Kala on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2iAUzWq
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from #Audiology via ola Kala on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2iAUzWq
via IFTTT
Reducing drug dosage, and hearing loss in TB patients without reducing efficacy
Aminoglycosides, recommended by the World Health Organization to treat multidrug resistant tuberculosis, cause hearing loss and kidney damage in a dose dependent manner.
from #Audiology via ola Kala on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2iAUzWq
via IFTTT
from #Audiology via ola Kala on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2iAUzWq
via IFTTT
Reducing drug dosage, and hearing loss in TB patients without reducing efficacy
Aminoglycosides, recommended by the World Health Organization to treat multidrug resistant tuberculosis, cause hearing loss and kidney damage in a dose dependent manner.
from #Audiology via xlomafota13 on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2iAUzWq
via IFTTT
from #Audiology via xlomafota13 on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2iAUzWq
via IFTTT
Clinical outcomes with the Kanso™ off-the-ear cochlear implant sound processor.
| Related Articles |
Clinical outcomes with the Kanso™ off-the-ear cochlear implant sound processor.
Int J Audiol. 2017 Jan 09;:1-10
Authors: Mauger SJ, Jones M, Nel E, Del Dot J
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate clinical outcomes and subjective ratings of the Kanso™ off-the-ear (OTE) cochlear implant sound processor.
DESIGN: Prospective, within-subject design investigating outcomes with a range of single and dual-microphone programmes for Kanso compared to conventional behind-the-ear (BTE) sound processors.
STUDY SAMPLE: Twenty post-lingually hearing-impaired cochlear implant recipients who were experienced Nucleus® 5 or Nucleus® 6 BTE users.
RESULTS: No significant difference in performance was found for words in quiet or sentences in co-located noise between the Kanso and Nucleus 6 devices. For the moderately directional Standard programme, no significant difference was found for sentences in spatially separated noise between the Kanso and Nucleus 6 devices, but a performance decrement between 1.4 and 2.0 dB was found in highly directional and adaptive directional programmes. The default Kanso programme, SCAN, provided improvements of 6.9 dB over a single-microphone programme and 2.3 dB over the Standard programme in spatially separated noise. Participants rated Kanso significantly better than their own BTE processor on measures of comfort, look and feel, ease of use, music and overall hearing performance.
CONCLUSION: Dual-microphone directional processing provides significant benefit over a single microphone for OTE processors. This study demonstrates clinical outcomes and acceptance of the Kanso OTE sound processor.
PMID: 28067077 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
from #Audiology via ola Kala on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2j3GAMc
via IFTTT
Clinical outcomes with the Kanso™ off-the-ear cochlear implant sound processor.
| Related Articles |
Clinical outcomes with the Kanso™ off-the-ear cochlear implant sound processor.
Int J Audiol. 2017 Jan 09;:1-10
Authors: Mauger SJ, Jones M, Nel E, Del Dot J
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate clinical outcomes and subjective ratings of the Kanso™ off-the-ear (OTE) cochlear implant sound processor.
DESIGN: Prospective, within-subject design investigating outcomes with a range of single and dual-microphone programmes for Kanso compared to conventional behind-the-ear (BTE) sound processors.
STUDY SAMPLE: Twenty post-lingually hearing-impaired cochlear implant recipients who were experienced Nucleus® 5 or Nucleus® 6 BTE users.
RESULTS: No significant difference in performance was found for words in quiet or sentences in co-located noise between the Kanso and Nucleus 6 devices. For the moderately directional Standard programme, no significant difference was found for sentences in spatially separated noise between the Kanso and Nucleus 6 devices, but a performance decrement between 1.4 and 2.0 dB was found in highly directional and adaptive directional programmes. The default Kanso programme, SCAN, provided improvements of 6.9 dB over a single-microphone programme and 2.3 dB over the Standard programme in spatially separated noise. Participants rated Kanso significantly better than their own BTE processor on measures of comfort, look and feel, ease of use, music and overall hearing performance.
CONCLUSION: Dual-microphone directional processing provides significant benefit over a single microphone for OTE processors. This study demonstrates clinical outcomes and acceptance of the Kanso OTE sound processor.
PMID: 28067077 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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Vocal Characteristics and Laryngoscopic Findings in Future Musical Theater Performers
Source:Journal of Voice
Author(s): Evelien D'haeseleer, Sofie Claeys, Iris Meerschman, Kim Bettens, Sofie Degeest, Caroline Dijckmans, Joke De Smet, Anke Luyten, Kristiane Van Lierde
ObjectiveMusical theater performers are a special group of elite vocal performers with a high vocal load as they combine singing, acting, and physical performance. As they are absolutely depending on their voice quality and vocal capacities for their studies and their future profession, an optimal voice production is very important. The purpose of this study was to determine the voice quality of musical theater students. The voice quality of seven students was then reevaluated 1 year after the first assessment.Study designObservational study.MethodsThirty-one musical students (7 men and 24 women) with a mean age of 20 years participated in the study. To determine the voice quality, objective (aerodynamic measurements, voice range profile, acoustic analysis, and Dysphonia Severity Index) and subjective (videolaryngostroboscopy, Voice Handicap Indexes, and questionnaires regarding voice symptoms and risk factors) voice measurements were performed.ResultsThe median Dysphonia Severity Index in male and female musical students was respectively 5.3 and 5.7, both corresponding with an overall good voice quality. The questionnaires revealed the presence of vocal fatigue, dryness of the throat, vocal tract discomfort, and harmful vocal habits in the majority of students. In 45% of the subjects, videolaryngostroboscopic evaluation of the vocal folds showed an organic lesion. The majority of these lesions are inflammatory lesions (26%). In 68% of the subjects, a certain degree of supraglottic constriction was observed.ConclusionDespite the overall good voice quality, videolaryngostroboscopy showed a high presence of vocal fold lesions and supraglottic constriction during phonation.
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A homozygous FITM2 mutation causes a deafness-dystonia syndrome with motor regression and signs of ichthyosis and sensory neuropathy.
A homozygous FITM2 mutation causes a deafness-dystonia syndrome with motor regression and signs of ichthyosis and sensory neuropathy.
Dis Model Mech. 2016 Dec 15;:
Authors: Seco CZ, Castells-Nobau A, Joo SH, Schraders M, Foo JN, van der Voet M, Velan SS, Nijhof B, Oostrik J, de Vrieze E, Katana R, Mansoor A, Huynen M, Szklarczyk R, Oti M, Tranebjærg L, van Wijk E, Scheffer-de Gooyert JM, Siddique S, Baets J, de Jonghe P, Kazmi SA, Sadananthan SA, van de Warrenburg BP, Khor CC, Göpfert MC, Qamar R, Schenck A, Kremer H, Siddiqi S
Abstract
A consanguineous family from Pakistan was ascertained with a novel deafness-dystonia syndrome with motor regression, ichthyosis-like features and signs of sensory neuropathy. By applying a combined strategy of linkage analysis and whole-exome sequencing in the presented family, a homozygous nonsense mutation, c.4G>T (p.Glu2*), in FITM2 was identified. FITM2 and its paralog FITM1 constitute an evolutionary conserved protein family involved in partitioning of triglycerides into cellular lipid droplets. Despite the role of FITM2 in neutral lipid storage and metabolism, no indications for lipodystrophy were observed in the affected individuals. In order to obtain independent evidence for the involvement of FITM2 in the human pathology, downregulation of the single Fitm ortholog, CG10671, in Drosophila melanogaster was pursued using RNA-interference. Characteristics of the syndrome, including progressive locomotor impairment, hearing loss and disturbed sensory functions, were recapitulated in Drosophila, which supports the causative nature of the FITM2 mutation. Mutation-based genetic counseling can now be provided to the family and insight is obtained in the potential impact of genetic variation in FITM2.
PMID: 28067622 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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Questionnaire validation - PEACH on Brazilian Portuguese.
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Questionnaire validation - PEACH on Brazilian Portuguese.
Codas. 2016 May 31;28(3):205-11
Authors: Levy CC, Rodrigues-Sato LC
Abstract
PURPOSE: Translate, adapt and validate the Parent's Evaluation of Aural/Oral Performance of Children questionnaire to Brazilian Portuguese, as well as analyzing the interaction between parents/caregivers and children.
METHODS: After translated, back translated and adapted this questionnaire was administered to 13 parents or guardians of children with moderate to severe hearing loss that were treated in the ambulatory of audiology of the Institution. Parents should fill out the diary, answering the questionnaire, giving as many examples of observed behaviors for each question and return for follow-up after a week for an interview with the evaluator or child's therapist.
RESULTS: Data are presented in frequency and percentage. We used chi-square test with a 5% significance level (p). Two questions were culturally adapted to Brazilian Portuguese. The questionnaires were answered by mothers most of the time (69.2%).
CONCLUSIONS: The questionnaire was translated and adapted respecting the cultural aspects of the Brazilian population. It was observed that, for some questions, it is necessary care when analyzing the answers that parents provide, taking into consideration the child's age and linguistic content that is required for the observed behavior, avoiding erroneous interpretations made on the quality of amplification and the use of hearing aids or CI due to this. The questionnaire is of great importance since it measures the performance of children in their daily life situations.
PMID: 27253225 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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