Phonak to Introduce Hearing Aid That Connects to Any Cell Phones and TV

Phonak (http://ift.tt/1TpqSBL) is set to release its new Bluetooth hearing aid Audéo B-Direct, which connects directly to any Bluetooth-enabled cell phones, including Androids, iPhones, and classic cell phones, offering users true hands-free calling and excellent TV sound quality when used with the TV Connector, another new product. Audéo B-Direct users can answer or reject a phone call by pressing the push button on the hearing aid. They will hear the ringing of the phone directly through the hearing aid, and once the call is accepted, the conversation is instantly streamed. All this is done without the hearing aid wearer ever having to physically touch his or her phone. When used in conjunction with the TV Connector, the Audéo B-Direct hearing aid can function as wireless TV headphones. The TV Connector is capable of connecting to multiple Audéo B-Direct hearing aids simultaneously, ideal for watching TV together.

Both the Audéo B-Direct and the TV Connector will be available in the United States at the end of August and in Europe and other countries worldwide from September onwards.​

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Published: 8/18/2017 9:17:00 AM

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Phonak to Introduce Hearing Aid That Connects to Any Cell Phones and TV

Phonak (http://ift.tt/1TpqSBL) is set to release its new Bluetooth hearing aid Audéo B-Direct, which connects directly to any Bluetooth-enabled cell phones, including Androids, iPhones, and classic cell phones, offering users true hands-free calling and excellent TV sound quality when used with the TV Connector, another new product. Audéo B-Direct users can answer or reject a phone call by pressing the push button on the hearing aid. They will hear the ringing of the phone directly through the hearing aid, and once the call is accepted, the conversation is instantly streamed. All this is done without the hearing aid wearer ever having to physically touch his or her phone. When used in conjunction with the TV Connector, the Audéo B-Direct hearing aid can function as wireless TV headphones. The TV Connector is capable of connecting to multiple Audéo B-Direct hearing aids simultaneously, ideal for watching TV together.

Both the Audéo B-Direct and the TV Connector will be available in the United States at the end of August and in Europe and other countries worldwide from September onwards.​

​

 

Published: 8/18/2017 9:17:00 AM

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Phonak to Introduce Hearing Aid That Connects to Any Cell Phones and TV

Phonak (http://ift.tt/1TpqSBL) is set to release its new Bluetooth hearing aid Audéo B-Direct, which connects directly to any Bluetooth-enabled cell phones, including Androids, iPhones, and classic cell phones, offering users true hands-free calling and excellent TV sound quality when used with the TV Connector, another new product. Audéo B-Direct users can answer or reject a phone call by pressing the push button on the hearing aid. They will hear the ringing of the phone directly through the hearing aid, and once the call is accepted, the conversation is instantly streamed. All this is done without the hearing aid wearer ever having to physically touch his or her phone. When used in conjunction with the TV Connector, the Audéo B-Direct hearing aid can function as wireless TV headphones. The TV Connector is capable of connecting to multiple Audéo B-Direct hearing aids simultaneously, ideal for watching TV together.

Both the Audéo B-Direct and the TV Connector will be available in the United States at the end of August and in Europe and other countries worldwide from September onwards.​

​

 

Published: 8/18/2017 9:17:00 AM

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Telmesani Radiological Classification of the Location of the Vertical Segment of the Facial Nerve: Impact on Surgical Approach in Cochlear Implant Surgery.

Objective: This study was conducted to establish a radiological classification of the location of the vertical segment of the facial nerve (VSFN) and to see if this has implications on the surgical technique needed to access the round window niche (RWN) in cochlear implant (CI) surgery. Study Design: Observational case series study. Setting: Tertiary referral center. Patients: One hundred twenty seven patients underwent CI surgery, and high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) of 140 temporal bones was studied. The data that were collected consisted of the patient's age, sex, radiological inner ear malformations (IEM), and the surgical technique used to access the RWN. Main Outcome Measures: The radiologic location of the VSFN in relation to the lateral semicircular canal in the coronal plane of HRCT and its implication on the surgical approach used to access the RWN in CI surgery. Results: A statistically significant association is present between the radiological location of the VSFN and the surgical approach used (p 0.05. Conclusions: On HRCT (0.6 mm) in the coronal plane, the position of the VSFN in relation to the lateral semicircular canal is correlated with the alternative approaches that must be taken during CI surgery. Copyright (C) 2017 by Otology & Neurotology, Inc. Image copyright (C) 2010 Wolters Kluwer Health/Anatomical Chart Company

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Stimulus Characteristics of Single-Word Tests of Children's Speech Sound Production

Purpose

This clinical focus article provides readers with a description of the stimulus characteristics of 12 popular tests of speech sound production.

Method

Using significance testing and descriptive analyses, stimulus items were compared in terms of the number of opportunities for production of all consonant singletons, clusters, and rhotic and nonrhotic vowels of Standard American English; phonetic/phonological and structural complexity; and the presence of bound morphemes.

Results

The tests varied widely in terms of the number of opportunities for production of consonant singletons, clusters, and rhotic and nonrhotic vowels. Most of the tests included only 1 opportunity, scored or unscored, to produce a majority of the consonant singletons in each word position. Only 3 of the tests included stimulus items with 3-element clusters. The majority contained limited opportunities to produce 3- or 4-syllable stimulus items. The tests provided sufficient opportunities for production of most vowels, although most did not score vowels. The tests differed significantly in the complexity of their stimulus items. Most, however, contained a negligible number of items that, with the addition of a bound morpheme, resulted in a word-final cluster.

Conclusion

Most of the tests elicit an inadequate sample with which to conduct a comprehensive phonological analysis.

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Stimulus Characteristics of Single-Word Tests of Children's Speech Sound Production

Purpose

This clinical focus article provides readers with a description of the stimulus characteristics of 12 popular tests of speech sound production.

Method

Using significance testing and descriptive analyses, stimulus items were compared in terms of the number of opportunities for production of all consonant singletons, clusters, and rhotic and nonrhotic vowels of Standard American English; phonetic/phonological and structural complexity; and the presence of bound morphemes.

Results

The tests varied widely in terms of the number of opportunities for production of consonant singletons, clusters, and rhotic and nonrhotic vowels. Most of the tests included only 1 opportunity, scored or unscored, to produce a majority of the consonant singletons in each word position. Only 3 of the tests included stimulus items with 3-element clusters. The majority contained limited opportunities to produce 3- or 4-syllable stimulus items. The tests provided sufficient opportunities for production of most vowels, although most did not score vowels. The tests differed significantly in the complexity of their stimulus items. Most, however, contained a negligible number of items that, with the addition of a bound morpheme, resulted in a word-final cluster.

Conclusion

Most of the tests elicit an inadequate sample with which to conduct a comprehensive phonological analysis.

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Stimulus Characteristics of Single-Word Tests of Children's Speech Sound Production

Purpose

This clinical focus article provides readers with a description of the stimulus characteristics of 12 popular tests of speech sound production.

Method

Using significance testing and descriptive analyses, stimulus items were compared in terms of the number of opportunities for production of all consonant singletons, clusters, and rhotic and nonrhotic vowels of Standard American English; phonetic/phonological and structural complexity; and the presence of bound morphemes.

Results

The tests varied widely in terms of the number of opportunities for production of consonant singletons, clusters, and rhotic and nonrhotic vowels. Most of the tests included only 1 opportunity, scored or unscored, to produce a majority of the consonant singletons in each word position. Only 3 of the tests included stimulus items with 3-element clusters. The majority contained limited opportunities to produce 3- or 4-syllable stimulus items. The tests provided sufficient opportunities for production of most vowels, although most did not score vowels. The tests differed significantly in the complexity of their stimulus items. Most, however, contained a negligible number of items that, with the addition of a bound morpheme, resulted in a word-final cluster.

Conclusion

Most of the tests elicit an inadequate sample with which to conduct a comprehensive phonological analysis.

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Evidence-based practice: Steps towards a better clinical practice

Publication date: Available online 18 August 2017
Source:Revista de Logopedia, Foniatría y Audiología
Author(s): Jytte Isaksen
Evidence-based practice (EBP) is a common model for clinical decision-making. The model has its origin in medicine, but today also it relates to speech-language therapy. EBP consists of three (sometimes four) parts: external scientific evidence, client values/perspectives, clinical expertise and in some models context. With this model, clinical decision-making is meant to take place after gathering information or evidence from each of the three parts and taking them into consideration. Based on literature, teaching and clinical experience and available online resources this article aims to describe the background of EBP as well as clinical expertise and client values, but primarily focuses on providing practical advice about searching, finding and appraising the external scientific evidence in order to make this decision-making model in speech-language therapy more accessible for the individual speech-language therapist.



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Parent perspectives in paediatric SLTs’ evidence-based practice

Publication date: Available online 18 August 2017
Source:Revista de Logopedia, Foniatría y Audiología
Author(s): Dorthe Hansen
IntroductionWorking within the frames of evidence-based practice, paediatric speech and language therapists (SLTs) should attend to parents’ values and preferences in order to provide the optimal service to a child and the child's family. However, little is known about how to elicit and include parents’ values and preferences in the clinical decision making about speech/language training for their child. Given that background, this study examined how five paediatric SLTs elicited and included parents’ values and preferences in clinical decisions about training for their children.MethodsVideo recordings of clinical encounters between the SLTs and parents of children with speech/language disorders were transcribed and a broad-brush analysis, drawing on principles of conversation analysis (CA), was carried out.ResultsA central finding was that explicit inclusion of the parents’ values and preferences in the decision making about the training was only sporadically identified in the encounters. Rather, decisions about whether speech/language training was going to take place, who would perform the training with the child and what should be the focus for the language training appeared to be primarily made by the SLTs, with minimal inclusion of the parents’ values and preferences.Discussion/conclusionPotential impacting factors included the local context, the parents’ psychological readiness to contribute to the decision making and a potential discrepancy between SLTs’ and parents’ focus on outcomes for the child. Further research is needed to establish how parents’ values and preferences might be included in the evidence base for interventions for children with speech/language disorders.



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Evidence-based practice: Steps towards a better clinical practice

Publication date: Available online 18 August 2017
Source:Revista de Logopedia, Foniatría y Audiología
Author(s): Jytte Isaksen
Evidence-based practice (EBP) is a common model for clinical decision-making. The model has its origin in medicine, but today also it relates to speech-language therapy. EBP consists of three (sometimes four) parts: external scientific evidence, client values/perspectives, clinical expertise and in some models context. With this model, clinical decision-making is meant to take place after gathering information or evidence from each of the three parts and taking them into consideration. Based on literature, teaching and clinical experience and available online resources this article aims to describe the background of EBP as well as clinical expertise and client values, but primarily focuses on providing practical advice about searching, finding and appraising the external scientific evidence in order to make this decision-making model in speech-language therapy more accessible for the individual speech-language therapist.



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Parent perspectives in paediatric SLTs’ evidence-based practice

Publication date: Available online 18 August 2017
Source:Revista de Logopedia, Foniatría y Audiología
Author(s): Dorthe Hansen
IntroductionWorking within the frames of evidence-based practice, paediatric speech and language therapists (SLTs) should attend to parents’ values and preferences in order to provide the optimal service to a child and the child's family. However, little is known about how to elicit and include parents’ values and preferences in the clinical decision making about speech/language training for their child. Given that background, this study examined how five paediatric SLTs elicited and included parents’ values and preferences in clinical decisions about training for their children.MethodsVideo recordings of clinical encounters between the SLTs and parents of children with speech/language disorders were transcribed and a broad-brush analysis, drawing on principles of conversation analysis (CA), was carried out.ResultsA central finding was that explicit inclusion of the parents’ values and preferences in the decision making about the training was only sporadically identified in the encounters. Rather, decisions about whether speech/language training was going to take place, who would perform the training with the child and what should be the focus for the language training appeared to be primarily made by the SLTs, with minimal inclusion of the parents’ values and preferences.Discussion/conclusionPotential impacting factors included the local context, the parents’ psychological readiness to contribute to the decision making and a potential discrepancy between SLTs’ and parents’ focus on outcomes for the child. Further research is needed to establish how parents’ values and preferences might be included in the evidence base for interventions for children with speech/language disorders.



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Evidence-based practice: Steps towards a better clinical practice

Publication date: Available online 18 August 2017
Source:Revista de Logopedia, Foniatría y Audiología
Author(s): Jytte Isaksen
Evidence-based practice (EBP) is a common model for clinical decision-making. The model has its origin in medicine, but today also it relates to speech-language therapy. EBP consists of three (sometimes four) parts: external scientific evidence, client values/perspectives, clinical expertise and in some models context. With this model, clinical decision-making is meant to take place after gathering information or evidence from each of the three parts and taking them into consideration. Based on literature, teaching and clinical experience and available online resources this article aims to describe the background of EBP as well as clinical expertise and client values, but primarily focuses on providing practical advice about searching, finding and appraising the external scientific evidence in order to make this decision-making model in speech-language therapy more accessible for the individual speech-language therapist.



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Parent perspectives in paediatric SLTs’ evidence-based practice

Publication date: Available online 18 August 2017
Source:Revista de Logopedia, Foniatría y Audiología
Author(s): Dorthe Hansen
IntroductionWorking within the frames of evidence-based practice, paediatric speech and language therapists (SLTs) should attend to parents’ values and preferences in order to provide the optimal service to a child and the child's family. However, little is known about how to elicit and include parents’ values and preferences in the clinical decision making about speech/language training for their child. Given that background, this study examined how five paediatric SLTs elicited and included parents’ values and preferences in clinical decisions about training for their children.MethodsVideo recordings of clinical encounters between the SLTs and parents of children with speech/language disorders were transcribed and a broad-brush analysis, drawing on principles of conversation analysis (CA), was carried out.ResultsA central finding was that explicit inclusion of the parents’ values and preferences in the decision making about the training was only sporadically identified in the encounters. Rather, decisions about whether speech/language training was going to take place, who would perform the training with the child and what should be the focus for the language training appeared to be primarily made by the SLTs, with minimal inclusion of the parents’ values and preferences.Discussion/conclusionPotential impacting factors included the local context, the parents’ psychological readiness to contribute to the decision making and a potential discrepancy between SLTs’ and parents’ focus on outcomes for the child. Further research is needed to establish how parents’ values and preferences might be included in the evidence base for interventions for children with speech/language disorders.



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Cognitive Abilities and Quality of Life After Cochlear Implantation in the Elderly

Objective: To evaluate quality of life (QoL) and cognitive function in elderly patients with cochlear implants relative to auditory improvement, using geriatric validated scales. Study Design: Prospective observational study. Setting: A tertiary referral center for cochlear implantation (CI) and a geriatric center in Nancy, France. Patients: Sixteen consecutive patients were included, from 65 to 80 years old, with postlingual severe-to-profound deafness. Main Outcome Measures: Evaluations were conducted before and at 6 and 12 months after cochlear implant surgery. A monosyllabic word recognition test was used to measure speech perception. QoL was evaluated by the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment for elderly people; cognitive function was evaluated by the Mini-Mental State Examination; depression was evaluated by the Hamilton Scale; autonomy was evaluated by the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living. Results: Speech intelligibility evolved from 10% before surgery to 63% and 69% at 6 and 12 months after cochlear implant activation, respectively. QoL showed significant improvement in sensory abilities. The Mini-Mental State Examination evaluations remained stable and executive functions tended to improve. Autonomy improved significantly. Conclusion: Cochlear implantation improves autonomy and the QoL in the elderly. Cognitive functions are not influenced by surgery, but executive functions appear to benefit from implantation. Age should not be a limiting factor, and cochlear implantation can be proposed as an efficient treatment for severe-to-profound hearing loss in the elderly.

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Impact of Cochlear Implantation on Cognitive Functions of Older Adults: Pilot Test Results

Background: A significant relationship between hearing loss and cognitive impairment has been previously reported. Overall, improvement in speech perception in quiet and quality of life has been observed after cochlear implantation. However, the impact of hearing loss treatment using cochlear implantation on cognitive functions is yet to be fully elucidated. Objective: To investigate the impact of cochlear implantation on cognitive and psychological functions of older adults. Study Design: Prospective patient-control study. Participants: A total of 39 participants took part in the study: 23 cochlear implant (CI) candidates (M = 69.04 ± 12.35 yr) and 16 CI recipients (M = 61.75 ± 15.62 yr). All participants completed an assessment of hearing (pure-tone thresholds and speech perception in quiet), and a computerised, nonverbal test battery of cognitive function assessment, as well as a depression, anxiety, and stress scale. Results: Independent-sample t test scores for the changes between 0 and 12 months revealed that CI recipients performed significantly better on measures of simple reaction time, cognitive flexibility, paired-associate learning, working memory, and strategy use (p 

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The Impact of Comorbidities in the Aging Population on Cochlear Implant Outcomes

Objectives: Cochlear implants have been used for many years for bilateral profound hearing loss. General longevity has continued to increase and, therefore, the age at which cochlear implants are placed has concomitantly increased. Our purpose is to determine whether outcomes and complications are significantly different in the elderly. Study Design: Retrospective, clinical review. Setting: Tertiary referral center, primarily ambulatory setting. Patients: One hundred and one patients with moderate-to-profound hearing loss who ranged in age from 18 to 89 years. Subjects were divided into younger (70, n = 50) groups for analysis. Intervention: All patients received either a unilateral or bilateral multichannel cochlear implant. The change in hearing in noise testing and AZBio testing between pre and postimplantation was evaluated in each group. Main Outcome Measures: Primary outcome measures include preimplant and postimplant hearing in noise test (HINT) and/or AZBio speech perception testing. Preimplant HINT/AZBio was compared with postimplant HINT/AZBio for each patient and between the two groups. In addition, we reviewed the comorbidities between the two groups as well as complication rates between less than 70 and more than 70 group. Results: Both the younger and the older group demonstrated a significant improvement in postimplant HINT and/or AZBio scores. No statistically significant difference was noted in precochlear implant HINT/AZBio testing (p = 0.65/p = 0.48) between the two groups or the postimplant HINT/AZBio testing (p = 0.19/p = 0.22) between the two groups. Although, more than 70 yo group had significantly more comorbidities, the complication rates between the groups were insignificant. There was no shown association of specific comorbidities to complications between the two groups. Conclusions: Both older and younger patients can receive a significant improvement in speech perception with cochlear implantation. Older patients tend to have more comorbidities compared with the younger patients, however, the complication rates are not higher in this population.

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Introduction to the 14th International Symposium on Cochlear Implants and other Implantable Auditory Technologies, Toronto, Canada, May 11 to 14, 2016

No abstract available

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Cochlear Implantation in Postlingual Adult Patients With Long-Term Auditory Deprivation

Objective: The role of long-term hearing deprivation in cochlear implant performance is not well established, and the limits for implanting an auditory deprived ear are still unknown. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of long-term auditory deprivation time on cochlear implant results. Study Design: Retrospective case review study. Setting: Cochlear implantation tertiary referral center. Patients: Adult patients with postlingual deafness. Intervention: Unilateral cochlear implantation between 2001 and January 2015. Main Outcome Measures: Age at implantation, sex, etiology of hearing loss, and duration of auditory deprivation in the implanted ear were collected. Cochlear implants results were expressed in terms of vowel identification, disyllabic word recognition, and sentence recognition. Spearman's correlation test was applied to determine the relationship between auditory deprivation time and speech recognition scores. Additionally, patients were divided according to their auditory deprivation time before implantation in group A (less than 10 yr) and group B (more than 10 yr). Results: One hundred three patients met inclusion criteria for this study. There were 61 patients in group A, with a mean deprivation time of 2.52 years. There were 42 patients in group B, with a mean deprivation time of 19.67 years. There were no statistically significant differences between both groups regarding speech recognition scores. Deprivation time in the implanted ear was not statistically correlated with cochlear implantation performance. Conclusions: Long-term auditory deprivation in the ear to be implanted does not negatively influence cochlear implantation results and should not be considered criterion to reject cochlear implantation.

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Cochlear Implants Meet Regenerative Biology: State of the Science and Future Research Directions

The cochlear implant, the first device to restore a human sense, is an electronic substitute for lost mechanosensory hair cells. It has been successful at providing hearing to people with severe to profound hearing loss and as of 2012, an estimated 324,000 patients worldwide have received cochlear implants. Users of cochlear implants however, suffer from difficulties in processing complex sounds such as music and in discriminating sounds in noisy environments. Recent advances in regenerative biology and medicine are opening new avenues for enhancing the efficacy of cochlear implants by improving the neural interface in the future and offer the possibility of an entirely biological solution for hearing loss in the long term. This report comprises the latest developments presented in the first Symposium on cochlear implants and regenerative biology, held at the 14th International Conference on Cochlear Implants in 2016 in Toronto, Canada.

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NANOCI—Nanotechnology Based Cochlear Implant With Gapless Interface to Auditory Neurons

Cochlear implants (CI) restore functional hearing in the majority of deaf patients. Despite the tremendous success of these devices, some limitations remain. The bottleneck for optimal electrical stimulation with CI is caused by the anatomical gap between the electrode array and the auditory neurons in the inner ear. As a consequence, current devices are limited through 1) low frequency resolution, hence sub-optimal sound quality and 2), large stimulation currents, hence high energy consumption (responsible for significant battery costs and for impeding the development of fully implantable systems). A recently completed, multinational and interdisciplinary project called NANOCI aimed at overcoming current limitations by creating a gapless interface between auditory nerve fibers and the cochlear implant electrode array. This ambitious goal was achieved in vivo by neurotrophin-induced attraction of neurites through an intracochlear gel-nanomatrix onto a modified nanoCI electrode array located in the scala tympani of deafened guinea pigs. Functionally, the gapless interface led to lower stimulation thresholds and a larger dynamic range in vivo, and to reduced stimulation energy requirement (up to fivefold) in an in vitro model using auditory neurons cultured on multi-electrode arrays. In conclusion, the NANOCI project yielded proof of concept that a gapless interface between auditory neurons and cochlear implant electrode arrays is feasible. These findings may be of relevance for the development of future CI systems with better sound quality and performance and lower energy consumption. The present overview/review paper summarizes the NANOCI project history and highlights achievements of the individual work packages.

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Physiological Mechanisms in Combined Electric–Acoustic Stimulation

Objective: Electrical stimulation is normally performed on ears that have no hearing function, i.e., lack functional hair cells. The properties of electrically-evoked responses in these cochleae were investigated in several previous studies. Recent clinical developments have introduced cochlear implantation (CI) in residually-hearing ears to improve speech understanding in noise. The present study documents the known physiological differences between electrical stimulation of hair cells and of spiral ganglion cells, respectively, and reviews the mechanisms of combined electric and acoustic stimulation in the hearing ears. Data Sources: Literature review from 1971 to 2016. Conclusions: Compared with pure electrical stimulation the combined electroacoustic stimulation provides additional low-frequency information and expands the dynamic range of the input. Physiological studies document a weaker synchronization of the evoked activity in electrically stimulated hearing ears compared with deaf ears that reduces the hypersynchronization of electrically-evoked activity. The findings suggest the possibility of balancing the information provided by acoustic and electric input using stimulus intensity. Absence of distorting acoustic–electric interactions allows exploiting these clinical benefits of electroacoustic stimulation.

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Cognitive Evaluation of Cochlear Implanted Adults Using CODEX and MoCA Screening Tests

Objective: The relationship between hearing loss and cognitive function has already been established. The objective of our study was to determine whether the two short cognitive tests, COgnitive Disorders EXamination (CODEX) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), could be used in daily clinical practice to detect cognitive impairment, and its changes after cochlear implantation. Patients: Eighteen patients with severe to profound postlingual progressive hearing loss (mean age ± SEM: 64 ± 3.5 yr; range, 23–83 yr) were tested before, and 12 months after cochlear implantation, with adapted visual presentation of CODEX and MoCA tests. Auditory performance was tested under best-aided conditions in quiet and noise. Results: Twelve months after cochlear implantation, hearing performance had clearly improved (paired t tests, p 

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Isolated Second Implant Adaptation Period in Sequential Cochlear Implantation in Adults

Objective: To determine if depriving the use of the first cochlear implant (CI1) impacts adaptation to a sequential implant (CI2). Study Design: Prospective cohort. Setting: Academic center. Patients: Sixteen unilateral cochlear implant recipients undergoing contralateral implantation (sequential bilateral) were matched according to age, etiology, duration of deafness, device age, and delay between implants. Intervention: During a 4-week adaptation period after CI2 activation, patients underwent deprivation of CI1 or were permitted continued use of it. Main Outcome Measures: Speech perception scores and subjective quality of life outcomes before CI2 and at 1, 3, 6, and 12-months following activation. Results: Maximal CI2 speech perception scores in quiet were achieved by 1-month postactivation for the “deprivation” group (71.3% for hearing in noise test [HINT], p = 0.767 for change beyond 1-mo) compared with 6-months for the “continued use” group (67.9% for HINT, p = 0.064 for change beyond 6-mo). The “deprivation” group experienced a temporary drop in CI1 scores (67.9% for HINT in quiet at 1-mo versus 78.4% pre-CI2, p = 0.009) recovering to 77.3% by 3-months; unchanged from baseline levels (p = 1.0). A binaural advantage over the better hearing ear was present for HINT sentences with noise (72.4% versus 58.8% for “deprivation”, p = 0.001; 71.5% versus 52.7% for “continued use,” p = 0.01). Missing data precluded a meaningful analysis of subjective quality of life outcome scales. Conclusion: Bilateral cochlear implantation improves speech perception compared with one implant. A period of deprivation from CI1 shortens time to maximum speech perception by CI2 without long-term consequences on the performance of CI1.

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The Sound Quality of Cochlear Implants: Studies With Single-sided Deaf Patients

Objective: The goal of the present study was to assess the sound quality of a cochlear implant for single-sided deaf (SSD) patients fit with a cochlear implant (CI). Background: One of the fundamental, unanswered questions in CI research is “what does an implant sound like?” Conventional CI patients must use the memory of a clean signal, often decades old, to judge the sound quality of their CIs. In contrast, SSD-CI patients can rate the similarity of a clean signal presented to the CI ear and candidate, CI-like signals presented to the ear with normal hearing. Methods: For Experiment 1 four types of stimuli were created for presentation to the normal hearing ear: noise vocoded signals, sine vocoded signals, frequency shifted, sine vocoded signals and band-pass filtered, natural speech signals. Listeners rated the similarity of these signals to unmodified signals sent to the CI on a scale of 0 to 10 with 10 being a complete match to the CI signal. For Experiment 2 multitrack signal mixing was used to create natural speech signals that varied along multiple dimensions. Results: In Experiment 1 for eight adult SSD-CI listeners, the best median similarity rating to the sound of the CI for noise vocoded signals was 1.9; for sine vocoded signals 2.9; for frequency upshifted signals, 1.9; and for band pass filtered signals, 5.5. In Experiment 2 for three young listeners, combinations of band pass filtering and spectral smearing lead to ratings of 10. Conclusion: The sound quality of noise and sine vocoders does not generally correspond to the sound quality of cochlear implants fit to SSD patients. Our preliminary conclusion is that natural speech signals that have been muffled to one degree or another by band pass filtering and/or spectral smearing provide a close, but incomplete, match to CI sound quality for some patients.

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Musical Rehabilitation in Adult Cochlear Implant Recipients With a Self-administered Software

Objective: The goal of this study was to determine if a self-administered computer-based rehabilitation program could improve music appreciation and speech understanding in adults who have a cochlear implant (CI). Study Design: Prospective study. Setting: Tertiary adult CI program. Patients: Twenty-one postlingually deafened cochlear implant users between the ages of 27 and 79 years were recruited. Interventions(s): A self-administered music rehabilitative software was designed to help improve the perception of musical patterns of increasing complexity, as well as pitch and timbre perception, premised on focused and divided attention. All participants completed a diagnostic music test before and after rehabilitative training, including tests of pitch and timbre perception and pattern identification with increasing levels of difficulty. Speech data in quiet and noise was also collected both pre- and post-training. Participants trained for a minimum of 3.5 hours a week, for 4 weeks. Main Outcome Measure(s): Mean changes in music perception and enjoyment as well as speech perception (IEEE sentence test in quiet and noise). Results: Post-training diagnostic test scores, as compared with pretraining scores, indicated significant improvements in musical pattern perception. Tests of speech perception in quiet and in noise were significantly improved in a subset of this cohort. All of the training participants thought that the training helped to improve their recognition skills, and found the program to be beneficial. Conclusion: Despite the limitations of current CI technology, the results of this study suggest that auditory training can improve music perception skills, and possibly speech intelligibility, lending further support to rehabilitation being an integral part of the postimplantation paradigm.

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A Smartphone Application for Customized Frequency Table Selection in Cochlear Implants

Hypothesis: A novel smartphone-based software application can facilitate self-selection of frequency allocation tables (FAT) in postlingually deaf cochlear implant (CI) users. Background: CIs use FATs to represent the tonotopic organization of a normal cochlea. Current CI fitting methods typically use a standard FAT for all patients regardless of individual differences in cochlear size and electrode location. In postlingually deaf patients, different amounts of mismatch can result between the frequency-place function they experienced when they had normal hearing and the frequency-place function that results from the standard FAT. For some CI users, an alternative FAT may enhance sound quality or speech perception. Currently, no widely available tools exist to aid real-time selection of different FATs. This study aims to develop a new smartphone tool for this purpose and to evaluate speech perception and sound quality measures in a pilot study of CI subjects using this application. Methods: A smartphone application for a widely available mobile platform (iOS) was developed to serve as a preprocessor of auditory input to a clinical CI speech processor and enable interactive real-time selection of FATs. The application's output was validated by measuring electrodograms for various inputs. A pilot study was conducted in six CI subjects. Speech perception was evaluated using word recognition tests. Results: All subjects successfully used the portable application with their clinical speech processors to experience different FATs while listening to running speech. The users were all able to select one table that they judged provided the best sound quality. All subjects chose a FAT different from the standard FAT in their everyday clinical processor. Using the smartphone application, the mean consonant–nucleus–consonant score with the default FAT selection was 28.5% (SD 16.8) and 29.5% (SD 16.4) when using a self-selected FAT. Conclusion: A portable smartphone application enables CI users to self-select frequency allocation tables in real time. Even though the self-selected FATs that were deemed to have better sound quality were only tested acutely (i.e., without long-term experience with them), speech perception scores were not inferior to those obtained with the clinical FATs. This software application may be a valuable tool for improving future methods of CI fitting.

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Linking Deafness and Dementia: Challenges and Opportunities

The rising incidence of dementia locally and worldwide has now reached a critical level. The associated costs associated with these individuals will ultimately be untenable to most societies. Furthermore there is a paucity of highly effective treatments. However, the recent discovery of the association of hearing loss and dementia may open many potential opportunities. Although we still are acquiring knowledge on the pathophysiology of this association, clinicians are hopeful that our current highly effective treatments of hearing loss may ultimately be shown to have a positive effect on those with dementia.

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What Does Music Sound Like for a Cochlear Implant User?

Objective: Cochlear implant research and product development over the past 40 years have been heavily focused on speech comprehension with little emphasis on music listening and enjoyment. The relatively little understanding of how music sounds in a cochlear implant user stands in stark contrast to the overall degree of importance the public places on music and quality of life. The purpose of this article is to describe what music sounds like to cochlear implant users, using a combination of existing research studies and listener descriptions. We examined the published literature on music perception in cochlear implant users, particularly postlingual cochlear implant users, with an emphasis on the primary elements of music and recorded music. Additionally, we administered an informal survey to cochlear implant users to gather first-hand descriptions of music listening experience and satisfaction from the cochlear implant population. Conclusion: Limitations in cochlear implant technology lead to a music listening experience that is significantly distorted compared with that of normal hearing listeners. On the basis of many studies and sources, we describe how music is frequently perceived as out-of-tune, dissonant, indistinct, emotionless, and weak in bass frequencies, especially for postlingual cochlear implant users—which may in part explain why music enjoyment and participation levels are lower after implantation. Additionally, cochlear implant users report difficulty in specific musical contexts based on factors including but not limited to genre, presence of lyrics, timbres (woodwinds, brass, instrument families), and complexity of the perceived music. Future research and cochlear implant development should target these areas as parameters for improvement in cochlear implant-mediated music perception.

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Irina and Jonathan

[See image gallery at slhs.sdsu.edu]

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Irina and Jonathan

[See image gallery at slhs.sdsu.edu]

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Irina and Jonathan

[See image gallery at slhs.sdsu.edu]

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Irina and Jonathan

[See image gallery at slhs.sdsu.edu]

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Irina and Jonathan

[See image gallery at slhs.sdsu.edu]

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Irina and Jonathan

[See image gallery at slhs.sdsu.edu]

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How Loud Is the Sun?

How loud would the sun be measured on Earth if its soundwaves could propagate through space? The answer might surprise you, as solar physicists estimate that the solar surface noise would be approximately 100dB by the time it reaches Earth! The enormity of the sun’s surface paired with its capability of generating of tens of thousands of watts of sound energy per meter makes the sun astronomically loud.

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Strain-specific differences in the development of neuronal excitability in the mouse ventral nucleus of the trapezoid body

Publication date: Available online 18 August 2017
Source:Hearing Research
Author(s): James L. Sinclair, Margaret Barnes-Davies, Conny Kopp-Scheinpflug, Ian D. Forsythe
This investigation compared the development of neuronal excitability in the ventral nucleus of the trapezoid body (VNTB) between two strains of mice with differing progression rates for age-related hearing loss. In contrast to CBA/Ca (CBA) mice, the C57BL/6J (C57) strain are subject to hearing loss from a younger age and are more prone to sound over-exposure. Higher firing rates in the medial olivocochlear system (MOC) are associated with protection from loud sounds and these cells are located in the VNTB. We postulated that reduced neuronal firing of the MOC in C57 mice could contribute to hearing loss in this strain by reducing efferent protection. Whole cell patch clamp was used to compare the electrical properties of VNTB neurons from the two strains in two age groups: before and after hearing onset at ∼ P9 and ∼P16, respectively. Prior to hearing onset VNTB neurons electrophysiological properties were identical in both strains, but started to diverge after hearing onset. One week after hearing onset VNTB neurons of C57 mice had larger amplitude action potentials but in contrast to CBA mice, their waveform failed to accelerate with increasing age, consistent with the faster inactivation of voltage-gated potassium currents in C57 VNTB neurons. The lower frequency action potential firing of C57 VNTB neurons at P16 was maintained to P28, indicating that this change was not a developmental delay. We conclude that C57 VNTB neurons fire at lower frequencies than in the CBA strain, supporting the hypothesis that reduced MOC firing could contribute to the greater hearing loss of the C57 strain.



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The effect of blast overpressure on the mechanical properties of a chinchilla tympanic membrane

Publication date: Available online 18 August 2017
Source:Hearing Research
Author(s): Junfeng Liang, Zachery A. Yokell, Don U. Nakmaili, Rong Z. Gan, Hongbing Lu
The rupture of tympanic membrane (TM) has long been viewed as an indicator of blast injury, especially for hearing loss. However, little is known about damage to the TM caused by blast with pressure lower than the rupture threshold. In this paper, we present our study on the effect of blast overpressure on the static mechanical properties of TM. Chinchilla was used as the animal model and exposed to multiple blasts with pressures lower than the rupture threshold of the TM. Using a micro-fringe projection method, we observed the alteration of the static mechanical properties of post-blast chinchilla's TMs as compared to those of control TMs. Specifically, after exposing to multiple blasts, the Young's modulus of chinchilla TM decreased by ∼53% while the ultimate failure pressure decreased by ∼33%. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images show the damage formation in the post-blast TM as compared with its control counterpart.



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No auditory experience, no tinnitus: Lessons from subjects with congenital- and acquired single-sided deafness

Publication date: Available online 15 August 2017
Source:Hearing Research
Author(s): Sang-Yeon Lee, Dong Woo Nam, Ja-Won Koo, Dirk De Ridder, Sven Vanneste, Jae-Jin Song
Recent studies have adopted the Bayesian brain model to explain the generation of tinnitus in subjects with auditory deafferentation. That is, as the human brain works in a Bayesian manner to reduce environmental uncertainty, missing auditory information due to hearing loss may cause auditory phantom percepts, i.e., tinnitus. This type of deafferentation-induced auditory phantom percept should be preceded by auditory experience because the fill-in phenomenon, namely tinnitus, is based upon auditory prediction and the resultant prediction error. For example, a recent animal study observed the absence of tinnitus in cats with congenital single-sided deafness (SSD; Eggermont and Kral, Hear Res 2016). However, no human studies have investigated the presence and characteristics of tinnitus in subjects with congenital SSD. Thus, the present study sought to reveal differences in the generation of tinnitus between subjects with congenital SSD and those with acquired SSD to evaluate the replicability of previous animal studies. This study enrolled 20 subjects with congenital SSD and 44 subjects with acquired SSD and examined the presence and characteristics of tinnitus in the groups. None of the 20 subjects with congenital SSD perceived tinnitus on the affected side, whereas 30 of 44 subjects with acquired SSD experienced tinnitus on the affected side. Additionally, there were significant positive correlations between tinnitus characteristics and the audiometric characteristics of the SSD. In accordance with the findings of the recent animal study, tinnitus was absent in subjects with congenital SSD, but relatively frequent in subjects with acquired SSD, which suggests that the development of tinnitus should be preceded by auditory experience. In other words, subjects with profound congenital peripheral deafferentation do not develop auditory phantom percepts because no auditory predictions are available from the Bayesian brain.



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Strain-specific differences in the development of neuronal excitability in the mouse ventral nucleus of the trapezoid body

Publication date: Available online 18 August 2017
Source:Hearing Research
Author(s): James L. Sinclair, Margaret Barnes-Davies, Conny Kopp-Scheinpflug, Ian D. Forsythe
This investigation compared the development of neuronal excitability in the ventral nucleus of the trapezoid body (VNTB) between two strains of mice with differing progression rates for age-related hearing loss. In contrast to CBA/Ca (CBA) mice, the C57BL/6J (C57) strain are subject to hearing loss from a younger age and are more prone to sound over-exposure. Higher firing rates in the medial olivocochlear system (MOC) are associated with protection from loud sounds and these cells are located in the VNTB. We postulated that reduced neuronal firing of the MOC in C57 mice could contribute to hearing loss in this strain by reducing efferent protection. Whole cell patch clamp was used to compare the electrical properties of VNTB neurons from the two strains in two age groups: before and after hearing onset at ∼ P9 and ∼P16, respectively. Prior to hearing onset VNTB neurons electrophysiological properties were identical in both strains, but started to diverge after hearing onset. One week after hearing onset VNTB neurons of C57 mice had larger amplitude action potentials but in contrast to CBA mice, their waveform failed to accelerate with increasing age, consistent with the faster inactivation of voltage-gated potassium currents in C57 VNTB neurons. The lower frequency action potential firing of C57 VNTB neurons at P16 was maintained to P28, indicating that this change was not a developmental delay. We conclude that C57 VNTB neurons fire at lower frequencies than in the CBA strain, supporting the hypothesis that reduced MOC firing could contribute to the greater hearing loss of the C57 strain.



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The effect of blast overpressure on the mechanical properties of a chinchilla tympanic membrane

Publication date: Available online 18 August 2017
Source:Hearing Research
Author(s): Junfeng Liang, Zachery A. Yokell, Don U. Nakmaili, Rong Z. Gan, Hongbing Lu
The rupture of tympanic membrane (TM) has long been viewed as an indicator of blast injury, especially for hearing loss. However, little is known about damage to the TM caused by blast with pressure lower than the rupture threshold. In this paper, we present our study on the effect of blast overpressure on the static mechanical properties of TM. Chinchilla was used as the animal model and exposed to multiple blasts with pressures lower than the rupture threshold of the TM. Using a micro-fringe projection method, we observed the alteration of the static mechanical properties of post-blast chinchilla's TMs as compared to those of control TMs. Specifically, after exposing to multiple blasts, the Young's modulus of chinchilla TM decreased by ∼53% while the ultimate failure pressure decreased by ∼33%. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images show the damage formation in the post-blast TM as compared with its control counterpart.



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No auditory experience, no tinnitus: Lessons from subjects with congenital- and acquired single-sided deafness

Publication date: Available online 15 August 2017
Source:Hearing Research
Author(s): Sang-Yeon Lee, Dong Woo Nam, Ja-Won Koo, Dirk De Ridder, Sven Vanneste, Jae-Jin Song
Recent studies have adopted the Bayesian brain model to explain the generation of tinnitus in subjects with auditory deafferentation. That is, as the human brain works in a Bayesian manner to reduce environmental uncertainty, missing auditory information due to hearing loss may cause auditory phantom percepts, i.e., tinnitus. This type of deafferentation-induced auditory phantom percept should be preceded by auditory experience because the fill-in phenomenon, namely tinnitus, is based upon auditory prediction and the resultant prediction error. For example, a recent animal study observed the absence of tinnitus in cats with congenital single-sided deafness (SSD; Eggermont and Kral, Hear Res 2016). However, no human studies have investigated the presence and characteristics of tinnitus in subjects with congenital SSD. Thus, the present study sought to reveal differences in the generation of tinnitus between subjects with congenital SSD and those with acquired SSD to evaluate the replicability of previous animal studies. This study enrolled 20 subjects with congenital SSD and 44 subjects with acquired SSD and examined the presence and characteristics of tinnitus in the groups. None of the 20 subjects with congenital SSD perceived tinnitus on the affected side, whereas 30 of 44 subjects with acquired SSD experienced tinnitus on the affected side. Additionally, there were significant positive correlations between tinnitus characteristics and the audiometric characteristics of the SSD. In accordance with the findings of the recent animal study, tinnitus was absent in subjects with congenital SSD, but relatively frequent in subjects with acquired SSD, which suggests that the development of tinnitus should be preceded by auditory experience. In other words, subjects with profound congenital peripheral deafferentation do not develop auditory phantom percepts because no auditory predictions are available from the Bayesian brain.



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Strain-specific differences in the development of neuronal excitability in the mouse ventral nucleus of the trapezoid body

Publication date: Available online 18 August 2017
Source:Hearing Research
Author(s): James L. Sinclair, Margaret Barnes-Davies, Conny Kopp-Scheinpflug, Ian D. Forsythe
This investigation compared the development of neuronal excitability in the ventral nucleus of the trapezoid body (VNTB) between two strains of mice with differing progression rates for age-related hearing loss. In contrast to CBA/Ca (CBA) mice, the C57BL/6J (C57) strain are subject to hearing loss from a younger age and are more prone to sound over-exposure. Higher firing rates in the medial olivocochlear system (MOC) are associated with protection from loud sounds and these cells are located in the VNTB. We postulated that reduced neuronal firing of the MOC in C57 mice could contribute to hearing loss in this strain by reducing efferent protection. Whole cell patch clamp was used to compare the electrical properties of VNTB neurons from the two strains in two age groups: before and after hearing onset at ∼ P9 and ∼P16, respectively. Prior to hearing onset VNTB neurons electrophysiological properties were identical in both strains, but started to diverge after hearing onset. One week after hearing onset VNTB neurons of C57 mice had larger amplitude action potentials but in contrast to CBA mice, their waveform failed to accelerate with increasing age, consistent with the faster inactivation of voltage-gated potassium currents in C57 VNTB neurons. The lower frequency action potential firing of C57 VNTB neurons at P16 was maintained to P28, indicating that this change was not a developmental delay. We conclude that C57 VNTB neurons fire at lower frequencies than in the CBA strain, supporting the hypothesis that reduced MOC firing could contribute to the greater hearing loss of the C57 strain.



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The effect of blast overpressure on the mechanical properties of a chinchilla tympanic membrane

Publication date: Available online 18 August 2017
Source:Hearing Research
Author(s): Junfeng Liang, Zachery A. Yokell, Don U. Nakmaili, Rong Z. Gan, Hongbing Lu
The rupture of tympanic membrane (TM) has long been viewed as an indicator of blast injury, especially for hearing loss. However, little is known about damage to the TM caused by blast with pressure lower than the rupture threshold. In this paper, we present our study on the effect of blast overpressure on the static mechanical properties of TM. Chinchilla was used as the animal model and exposed to multiple blasts with pressures lower than the rupture threshold of the TM. Using a micro-fringe projection method, we observed the alteration of the static mechanical properties of post-blast chinchilla's TMs as compared to those of control TMs. Specifically, after exposing to multiple blasts, the Young's modulus of chinchilla TM decreased by ∼53% while the ultimate failure pressure decreased by ∼33%. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images show the damage formation in the post-blast TM as compared with its control counterpart.



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No auditory experience, no tinnitus: Lessons from subjects with congenital- and acquired single-sided deafness

Publication date: Available online 15 August 2017
Source:Hearing Research
Author(s): Sang-Yeon Lee, Dong Woo Nam, Ja-Won Koo, Dirk De Ridder, Sven Vanneste, Jae-Jin Song
Recent studies have adopted the Bayesian brain model to explain the generation of tinnitus in subjects with auditory deafferentation. That is, as the human brain works in a Bayesian manner to reduce environmental uncertainty, missing auditory information due to hearing loss may cause auditory phantom percepts, i.e., tinnitus. This type of deafferentation-induced auditory phantom percept should be preceded by auditory experience because the fill-in phenomenon, namely tinnitus, is based upon auditory prediction and the resultant prediction error. For example, a recent animal study observed the absence of tinnitus in cats with congenital single-sided deafness (SSD; Eggermont and Kral, Hear Res 2016). However, no human studies have investigated the presence and characteristics of tinnitus in subjects with congenital SSD. Thus, the present study sought to reveal differences in the generation of tinnitus between subjects with congenital SSD and those with acquired SSD to evaluate the replicability of previous animal studies. This study enrolled 20 subjects with congenital SSD and 44 subjects with acquired SSD and examined the presence and characteristics of tinnitus in the groups. None of the 20 subjects with congenital SSD perceived tinnitus on the affected side, whereas 30 of 44 subjects with acquired SSD experienced tinnitus on the affected side. Additionally, there were significant positive correlations between tinnitus characteristics and the audiometric characteristics of the SSD. In accordance with the findings of the recent animal study, tinnitus was absent in subjects with congenital SSD, but relatively frequent in subjects with acquired SSD, which suggests that the development of tinnitus should be preceded by auditory experience. In other words, subjects with profound congenital peripheral deafferentation do not develop auditory phantom percepts because no auditory predictions are available from the Bayesian brain.



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A Preliminary Comparison of Reading Subtypes in a Clinical Sample of Children With Specific Language Impairment

Purpose

The purpose of this preliminary study was to (a) compare the pattern of reading subtypes among a clinical sample of children with specific language impairment (SLI) and children with typical language and (b) evaluate phonological and nonphonological language deficits within each reading impairment subtype.

Method

Participants were 32 children with SLI and 39 children with typical language in Grades 2 through 4. Each child was classified as demonstrating 1 of 4 reading subtypes on the basis of word-level and text-level skills: typical reading, dyslexia, specific reading comprehension impairment, or garden variety reading impairment. In addition, phonological and nonphonological language skills were evaluated.

Results

Children with SLI were more likely to exhibit reading impairments than children with typical language. Children with SLI were more likely to exhibit text-level deficits than children with typical language. Phonological language deficits were observed in children with word-level deficits, and nonphonological language deficits were observed in children with text-level deficits.

Conclusions

The results indicate that the patterns of reading subtypes differ among children with SLI and children with typical language. The findings highlight the importance of simultaneously but separately considering word-level and text-level skills in studies of reading impairment.

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A Preliminary Comparison of Reading Subtypes in a Clinical Sample of Children With Specific Language Impairment

Purpose

The purpose of this preliminary study was to (a) compare the pattern of reading subtypes among a clinical sample of children with specific language impairment (SLI) and children with typical language and (b) evaluate phonological and nonphonological language deficits within each reading impairment subtype.

Method

Participants were 32 children with SLI and 39 children with typical language in Grades 2 through 4. Each child was classified as demonstrating 1 of 4 reading subtypes on the basis of word-level and text-level skills: typical reading, dyslexia, specific reading comprehension impairment, or garden variety reading impairment. In addition, phonological and nonphonological language skills were evaluated.

Results

Children with SLI were more likely to exhibit reading impairments than children with typical language. Children with SLI were more likely to exhibit text-level deficits than children with typical language. Phonological language deficits were observed in children with word-level deficits, and nonphonological language deficits were observed in children with text-level deficits.

Conclusions

The results indicate that the patterns of reading subtypes differ among children with SLI and children with typical language. The findings highlight the importance of simultaneously but separately considering word-level and text-level skills in studies of reading impairment.

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A Preliminary Comparison of Reading Subtypes in a Clinical Sample of Children With Specific Language Impairment

Purpose

The purpose of this preliminary study was to (a) compare the pattern of reading subtypes among a clinical sample of children with specific language impairment (SLI) and children with typical language and (b) evaluate phonological and nonphonological language deficits within each reading impairment subtype.

Method

Participants were 32 children with SLI and 39 children with typical language in Grades 2 through 4. Each child was classified as demonstrating 1 of 4 reading subtypes on the basis of word-level and text-level skills: typical reading, dyslexia, specific reading comprehension impairment, or garden variety reading impairment. In addition, phonological and nonphonological language skills were evaluated.

Results

Children with SLI were more likely to exhibit reading impairments than children with typical language. Children with SLI were more likely to exhibit text-level deficits than children with typical language. Phonological language deficits were observed in children with word-level deficits, and nonphonological language deficits were observed in children with text-level deficits.

Conclusions

The results indicate that the patterns of reading subtypes differ among children with SLI and children with typical language. The findings highlight the importance of simultaneously but separately considering word-level and text-level skills in studies of reading impairment.

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Strain-specific differences in the development of neuronal excitability in the mouse ventral nucleus of the trapezoid body

Publication date: Available online 18 August 2017
Source:Hearing Research
Author(s): James L. Sinclair, Margaret Barnes-Davies, Conny Kopp-Scheinpflug, Ian D. Forsythe
This investigation compared the development of neuronal excitability in the ventral nucleus of the trapezoid body (VNTB) between two strains of mice with differing progression rates for age-related hearing loss. In contrast to CBA/Ca (CBA) mice, the C57BL/6J (C57) strain are subject to hearing loss from a younger age and are more prone to sound over-exposure. Higher firing rates in the medial olivocochlear system (MOC) are associated with protection from loud sounds and these cells are located in the VNTB. We postulated that reduced neuronal firing of the MOC in C57 mice could contribute to hearing loss in this strain by reducing efferent protection. Whole cell patch clamp was used to compare the electrical properties of VNTB neurons from the two strains in two age groups: before and after hearing onset at ∼ P9 and ∼P16, respectively. Prior to hearing onset VNTB neurons electrophysiological properties were identical in both strains, but started to diverge after hearing onset. One week after hearing onset VNTB neurons of C57 mice had larger amplitude action potentials but in contrast to CBA mice, their waveform failed to accelerate with increasing age, consistent with the faster inactivation of voltage-gated potassium currents in C57 VNTB neurons. The lower frequency action potential firing of C57 VNTB neurons at P16 was maintained to P28, indicating that this change was not a developmental delay. We conclude that C57 VNTB neurons fire at lower frequencies than in the CBA strain, supporting the hypothesis that reduced MOC firing could contribute to the greater hearing loss of the C57 strain.



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The effect of blast overpressure on the mechanical properties of a chinchilla tympanic membrane

Publication date: Available online 18 August 2017
Source:Hearing Research
Author(s): Junfeng Liang, Zachery A. Yokell, Don U. Nakmaili, Rong Z. Gan, Hongbing Lu
The rupture of tympanic membrane (TM) has long been viewed as an indicator of blast injury, especially for hearing loss. However, little is known about damage to the TM caused by blast with pressure lower than the rupture threshold. In this paper, we present our study on the effect of blast overpressure on the static mechanical properties of TM. Chinchilla was used as the animal model and exposed to multiple blasts with pressures lower than the rupture threshold of the TM. Using a micro-fringe projection method, we observed the alteration of the static mechanical properties of post-blast chinchilla's TMs as compared to those of control TMs. Specifically, after exposing to multiple blasts, the Young's modulus of chinchilla TM decreased by ∼53% while the ultimate failure pressure decreased by ∼33%. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images show the damage formation in the post-blast TM as compared with its control counterpart.



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No auditory experience, no tinnitus: Lessons from subjects with congenital- and acquired single-sided deafness

Publication date: Available online 15 August 2017
Source:Hearing Research
Author(s): Sang-Yeon Lee, Dong Woo Nam, Ja-Won Koo, Dirk De Ridder, Sven Vanneste, Jae-Jin Song
Recent studies have adopted the Bayesian brain model to explain the generation of tinnitus in subjects with auditory deafferentation. That is, as the human brain works in a Bayesian manner to reduce environmental uncertainty, missing auditory information due to hearing loss may cause auditory phantom percepts, i.e., tinnitus. This type of deafferentation-induced auditory phantom percept should be preceded by auditory experience because the fill-in phenomenon, namely tinnitus, is based upon auditory prediction and the resultant prediction error. For example, a recent animal study observed the absence of tinnitus in cats with congenital single-sided deafness (SSD; Eggermont and Kral, Hear Res 2016). However, no human studies have investigated the presence and characteristics of tinnitus in subjects with congenital SSD. Thus, the present study sought to reveal differences in the generation of tinnitus between subjects with congenital SSD and those with acquired SSD to evaluate the replicability of previous animal studies. This study enrolled 20 subjects with congenital SSD and 44 subjects with acquired SSD and examined the presence and characteristics of tinnitus in the groups. None of the 20 subjects with congenital SSD perceived tinnitus on the affected side, whereas 30 of 44 subjects with acquired SSD experienced tinnitus on the affected side. Additionally, there were significant positive correlations between tinnitus characteristics and the audiometric characteristics of the SSD. In accordance with the findings of the recent animal study, tinnitus was absent in subjects with congenital SSD, but relatively frequent in subjects with acquired SSD, which suggests that the development of tinnitus should be preceded by auditory experience. In other words, subjects with profound congenital peripheral deafferentation do not develop auditory phantom percepts because no auditory predictions are available from the Bayesian brain.



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Strain-specific differences in the development of neuronal excitability in the mouse ventral nucleus of the trapezoid body

Publication date: Available online 18 August 2017
Source:Hearing Research
Author(s): James L. Sinclair, Margaret Barnes-Davies, Conny Kopp-Scheinpflug, Ian D. Forsythe
This investigation compared the development of neuronal excitability in the ventral nucleus of the trapezoid body (VNTB) between two strains of mice with differing progression rates for age-related hearing loss. In contrast to CBA/Ca (CBA) mice, the C57BL/6J (C57) strain are subject to hearing loss from a younger age and are more prone to sound over-exposure. Higher firing rates in the medial olivocochlear system (MOC) are associated with protection from loud sounds and these cells are located in the VNTB. We postulated that reduced neuronal firing of the MOC in C57 mice could contribute to hearing loss in this strain by reducing efferent protection. Whole cell patch clamp was used to compare the electrical properties of VNTB neurons from the two strains in two age groups: before and after hearing onset at ∼ P9 and ∼P16, respectively. Prior to hearing onset VNTB neurons electrophysiological properties were identical in both strains, but started to diverge after hearing onset. One week after hearing onset VNTB neurons of C57 mice had larger amplitude action potentials but in contrast to CBA mice, their waveform failed to accelerate with increasing age, consistent with the faster inactivation of voltage-gated potassium currents in C57 VNTB neurons. The lower frequency action potential firing of C57 VNTB neurons at P16 was maintained to P28, indicating that this change was not a developmental delay. We conclude that C57 VNTB neurons fire at lower frequencies than in the CBA strain, supporting the hypothesis that reduced MOC firing could contribute to the greater hearing loss of the C57 strain.



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The effect of blast overpressure on the mechanical properties of a chinchilla tympanic membrane

Publication date: Available online 18 August 2017
Source:Hearing Research
Author(s): Junfeng Liang, Zachery A. Yokell, Don U. Nakmaili, Rong Z. Gan, Hongbing Lu
The rupture of tympanic membrane (TM) has long been viewed as an indicator of blast injury, especially for hearing loss. However, little is known about damage to the TM caused by blast with pressure lower than the rupture threshold. In this paper, we present our study on the effect of blast overpressure on the static mechanical properties of TM. Chinchilla was used as the animal model and exposed to multiple blasts with pressures lower than the rupture threshold of the TM. Using a micro-fringe projection method, we observed the alteration of the static mechanical properties of post-blast chinchilla's TMs as compared to those of control TMs. Specifically, after exposing to multiple blasts, the Young's modulus of chinchilla TM decreased by ∼53% while the ultimate failure pressure decreased by ∼33%. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images show the damage formation in the post-blast TM as compared with its control counterpart.



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No auditory experience, no tinnitus: Lessons from subjects with congenital- and acquired single-sided deafness

Publication date: Available online 15 August 2017
Source:Hearing Research
Author(s): Sang-Yeon Lee, Dong Woo Nam, Ja-Won Koo, Dirk De Ridder, Sven Vanneste, Jae-Jin Song
Recent studies have adopted the Bayesian brain model to explain the generation of tinnitus in subjects with auditory deafferentation. That is, as the human brain works in a Bayesian manner to reduce environmental uncertainty, missing auditory information due to hearing loss may cause auditory phantom percepts, i.e., tinnitus. This type of deafferentation-induced auditory phantom percept should be preceded by auditory experience because the fill-in phenomenon, namely tinnitus, is based upon auditory prediction and the resultant prediction error. For example, a recent animal study observed the absence of tinnitus in cats with congenital single-sided deafness (SSD; Eggermont and Kral, Hear Res 2016). However, no human studies have investigated the presence and characteristics of tinnitus in subjects with congenital SSD. Thus, the present study sought to reveal differences in the generation of tinnitus between subjects with congenital SSD and those with acquired SSD to evaluate the replicability of previous animal studies. This study enrolled 20 subjects with congenital SSD and 44 subjects with acquired SSD and examined the presence and characteristics of tinnitus in the groups. None of the 20 subjects with congenital SSD perceived tinnitus on the affected side, whereas 30 of 44 subjects with acquired SSD experienced tinnitus on the affected side. Additionally, there were significant positive correlations between tinnitus characteristics and the audiometric characteristics of the SSD. In accordance with the findings of the recent animal study, tinnitus was absent in subjects with congenital SSD, but relatively frequent in subjects with acquired SSD, which suggests that the development of tinnitus should be preceded by auditory experience. In other words, subjects with profound congenital peripheral deafferentation do not develop auditory phantom percepts because no auditory predictions are available from the Bayesian brain.



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Perception of Iterated Rippled Noise Periodicity in Cochlear Implant Users

Pitch perception is more challenging for individuals with cochlear implants (CIs) than normal-hearing subjects because the signal processing by CIs is restricted. Processing and perceiving the periodicity of signals may contribute to pitch perception. Whether individuals with CIs can discern pitch within an iterated rippled noise (IRN) signal is still unclear. In a prospective controlled psychoacoustic study with 34 CI users and 15 normal-hearing control subjects, the difference limen between IRN signals with different numbers of iterations was measured. In 7 CI users and 15 normal-hearing control listeners with single-sided deafness, pitch matching between IRN and harmonic complex tones was measured. The pitch onset response (POR) following signal changes from white noise to IRN was measured electrophysiologically. The CI users could discriminate different numbers of iteration in IRN signals, but worse than normal-hearing listeners. A POR was measured for both normal-hearing subjects and CI users increasing with the pitch salience of the IRN. This indicates that the POR could serve as an objective measure to monitor progress during audioverbal therapy after CI surgery.
Audiol Neurotol 2017;22:104-115

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Sound side joint contact forces in below knee amputee gait with an ESAR prosthetic foot

Publication date: October 2017
Source:Gait & Posture, Volume 58
Author(s): Mohammad Taghi Karimi, Firooz Salami, Amir Esrafilian, Daniel W.W. Heitzmann, Merkur Alimusaj, Cornelia Putz, Sebastian I. Wolf
The incidence of knee and hip joint osteoarthritis in subjects with below knee amputation (BK) appears significantly higher compared to unimpaired subjects, especially in the intact side. However, it is controversial if constant higher loads on the sound side are one of the major factors for an increased osteoarthritis (OA) incidence in subjects with BK, beside other risk factors, e.g. with respect to metabolism. The aim wasto investigate joint contact forces (JCF) calculated by a musculoskeletal model in the intact side and to compare it with those of unimpaired subjects and to further elucidate in how far increased knee JCF are associated with increased frontal plane knee moments. A group of seven subjects with BK amputation and a group of ten unimpaired subjects were recruited for this study. Gait data were measured by 3D motion capture and force plates. OpenSim software was applied to calculate JCF. Maximum joint angles, ground reaction forces, and moments as well as time distance parameters were determined and compared between groups showing no significant differences, with some JCF components of knee and hip even being slightly smaller in subjects with BK compared to the reference group. This positive finding may be due to the selected ESAR foot. However, other beneficial factors may also have influenced this positive result such as the general good health status of the subjects or the thorough and proper fitting and alignment of the prosthesis.



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Sound side joint contact forces in below knee amputee gait with an ESAR prosthetic foot

Publication date: October 2017
Source:Gait & Posture, Volume 58
Author(s): Mohammad Taghi Karimi, Firooz Salami, Amir Esrafilian, Daniel W.W. Heitzmann, Merkur Alimusaj, Cornelia Putz, Sebastian I. Wolf
The incidence of knee and hip joint osteoarthritis in subjects with below knee amputation (BK) appears significantly higher compared to unimpaired subjects, especially in the intact side. However, it is controversial if constant higher loads on the sound side are one of the major factors for an increased osteoarthritis (OA) incidence in subjects with BK, beside other risk factors, e.g. with respect to metabolism. The aim wasto investigate joint contact forces (JCF) calculated by a musculoskeletal model in the intact side and to compare it with those of unimpaired subjects and to further elucidate in how far increased knee JCF are associated with increased frontal plane knee moments. A group of seven subjects with BK amputation and a group of ten unimpaired subjects were recruited for this study. Gait data were measured by 3D motion capture and force plates. OpenSim software was applied to calculate JCF. Maximum joint angles, ground reaction forces, and moments as well as time distance parameters were determined and compared between groups showing no significant differences, with some JCF components of knee and hip even being slightly smaller in subjects with BK compared to the reference group. This positive finding may be due to the selected ESAR foot. However, other beneficial factors may also have influenced this positive result such as the general good health status of the subjects or the thorough and proper fitting and alignment of the prosthesis.



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Contents List

Publication date: September 2017
Source:Gait & Posture, Volume 57, Supplement 2





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Editorial Board

Publication date: September 2017
Source:Gait & Posture, Volume 57, Supplement 2





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Jumping Ability in Young Adults with Spastic Cerebral Palsy – a Comparative Study of Controls

Publication date: September 2017
Source:Gait & Posture, Volume 57, Supplement 2
Author(s): Tomas Wahlgren, Meta Nyström-Eek, Roy Tranberg, Roland Zügner




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P66: Modelling locomotion periods and cadence distribution in daily life: how many days are required?

Publication date: September 2017
Source:Gait & Posture, Volume 57, Supplement 2





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Unintentional drifts during quiet stance and voluntary body

Publication date: September 2017
Source:Gait & Posture, Volume 57, Supplement 2
Author(s): Omid Rasouli, Stanislaw Solnik, Mariusz P. Furmanek, Daniele Piscitelli, Ali Falaki, Mark L. Latash




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Sound side joint contact forces in below knee amputee gait with an ESAR prosthetic foot

Publication date: October 2017
Source:Gait & Posture, Volume 58
Author(s): Mohammad Taghi Karimi, Firooz Salami, Amir Esrafilian, Daniel W.W. Heitzmann, Merkur Alimusaj, Cornelia Putz, Sebastian I. Wolf
The incidence of knee and hip joint osteoarthritis in subjects with below knee amputation (BK) appears significantly higher compared to unimpaired subjects, especially in the intact side. However, it is controversial if constant higher loads on the sound side are one of the major factors for an increased osteoarthritis (OA) incidence in subjects with BK, beside other risk factors, e.g. with respect to metabolism. The aim wasto investigate joint contact forces (JCF) calculated by a musculoskeletal model in the intact side and to compare it with those of unimpaired subjects and to further elucidate in how far increased knee JCF are associated with increased frontal plane knee moments. A group of seven subjects with BK amputation and a group of ten unimpaired subjects were recruited for this study. Gait data were measured by 3D motion capture and force plates. OpenSim software was applied to calculate JCF. Maximum joint angles, ground reaction forces, and moments as well as time distance parameters were determined and compared between groups showing no significant differences, with some JCF components of knee and hip even being slightly smaller in subjects with BK compared to the reference group. This positive finding may be due to the selected ESAR foot. However, other beneficial factors may also have influenced this positive result such as the general good health status of the subjects or the thorough and proper fitting and alignment of the prosthesis.



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Contents List

Publication date: September 2017
Source:Gait & Posture, Volume 57, Supplement 2





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Editorial Board

Publication date: September 2017
Source:Gait & Posture, Volume 57, Supplement 2





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Jumping Ability in Young Adults with Spastic Cerebral Palsy – a Comparative Study of Controls

Publication date: September 2017
Source:Gait & Posture, Volume 57, Supplement 2
Author(s): Tomas Wahlgren, Meta Nyström-Eek, Roy Tranberg, Roland Zügner




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P66: Modelling locomotion periods and cadence distribution in daily life: how many days are required?

Publication date: September 2017
Source:Gait & Posture, Volume 57, Supplement 2





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Unintentional drifts during quiet stance and voluntary body

Publication date: September 2017
Source:Gait & Posture, Volume 57, Supplement 2
Author(s): Omid Rasouli, Stanislaw Solnik, Mariusz P. Furmanek, Daniele Piscitelli, Ali Falaki, Mark L. Latash




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Contents List

Publication date: September 2017
Source:Gait & Posture, Volume 57, Supplement 2





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Editorial Board

Publication date: September 2017
Source:Gait & Posture, Volume 57, Supplement 2





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Jumping Ability in Young Adults with Spastic Cerebral Palsy – a Comparative Study of Controls

Publication date: September 2017
Source:Gait & Posture, Volume 57, Supplement 2
Author(s): Tomas Wahlgren, Meta Nyström-Eek, Roy Tranberg, Roland Zügner




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P66: Modelling locomotion periods and cadence distribution in daily life: how many days are required?

Publication date: September 2017
Source:Gait & Posture, Volume 57, Supplement 2





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Unintentional drifts during quiet stance and voluntary body

Publication date: September 2017
Source:Gait & Posture, Volume 57, Supplement 2
Author(s): Omid Rasouli, Stanislaw Solnik, Mariusz P. Furmanek, Daniele Piscitelli, Ali Falaki, Mark L. Latash




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Progressive macrothrombocytopenia and hearing loss in a large family with DIAPH1 related disease.

Related Articles

Progressive macrothrombocytopenia and hearing loss in a large family with DIAPH1 related disease.

Am J Med Genet A. 2017 Aug 16;:

Authors: Ganaha A, Kaname T, Shinjou A, Chinen Y, Yanagi K, Higa T, Kondo S, Suzuki M

Abstract
In this study, we describe a Japanese family with progressive hearing loss and macrothrombocytopenia. Using next-generation and Sanger sequencing analyses, we identified a heterozygous variant in exon 27 of the DIAPH1 gene (NM_005219), c.3637C>T, p.R1213X. All patients in the family had sensorineural hearing loss and macrothrombocytopenia. None of the patients exhibited a tendency to bleed. No pathogenic variants were found in the MYH9 gene. Hearing loss began with high-frequency loss during early childhood and progressed to severe hearing loss involving all frequencies. Analyses of the mean platelet volume and platelet distribution width indicated that the macrothrombocytopenia is progressive in patients with DIAPH1 related disease.There are no reports describing progressive macrothrombocytopenia in patients with pathogenic variants of DIAPH1. Thus, progressive macrothrombocytopenia may be a novel feature of deafness patients with pathogenic variants in DIAPH1.

PMID: 28815995 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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SLC52A3, A Brown-Vialetto-van Laere syndrome candidate gene is essential for mouse development, but dispensable for motor neuron differentiation.

Related Articles

SLC52A3, A Brown-Vialetto-van Laere syndrome candidate gene is essential for mouse development, but dispensable for motor neuron differentiation.

Hum Mol Genet. 2016 May 01;25(9):1814-23

Authors: Intoh A, Suzuki N, Koszka K, Eggan K

Abstract
Riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2, is essential for cellular reduction-oxidation reactions, but is not readily synthesized by mammalian cells. It has been proposed that riboflavin absorption occurs through solute carrier family 52 members (SLC52) A1, A2 and A3. These transporters are also candidate genes for the childhood onset-neural degenerative syndrome Brown-Vialetto-Van Laere (BVVL). Although riboflavin is an essential nutrient, why mutations in its transporters result in a neural cell-specific disorder remains unclear. Here, we provide evidence that Slc52a3 is the mouse ortholog of SLC52A3 and show that Slc52a3 deficiency results in early embryonic lethality. Loss of mutant embryos was associated with both defects in placental formation and increased rates of apoptosis in embryonic cells. In contrast, Slc52a3 -/- embryonic stem cell lines could be readily established and differentiated into motor neurons, suggesting that this transporter is dispensable for neural differentiation and short-term maintenance. Consistent with this finding, examination of Slc52a3 gene products in adult tissues revealed expression in the testis and intestine but little or none in the brain and spinal cord. Our results suggest that BVVL patients with SCL52A3 mutations may be good candidates for riboflavin replacement therapy and suggests that either the mutations these individuals carry are hypomorphic, or that in these cases alternative transporters act during human embryogenesis to allow full-term development.

PMID: 26976849 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Musashi-1 is the candidate of the regulator of hair cell progenitors during inner ear regeneration.

Related Articles

Musashi-1 is the candidate of the regulator of hair cell progenitors during inner ear regeneration.

BMC Neurosci. 2017 Aug 16;18(1):64

Authors: Wakasaki T, Niiro H, Jabbarzadeh-Tabrizi S, Ohashi M, Kimitsuki T, Nakagawa T, Komune S, Akashi K

Abstract
BACKGROUND: Hair cell loss in the cochlea is caused by ototoxic drugs, aging, and environmental stresses and could potentially lead to devastating pathophysiological effects. In adult mammals, hair cell loss is irreversible and may result in hearing and balance deficits. In contrast, nonmammalian vertebrates, including birds, can regenerate hair cells through differentiation of supporting cells and restore inner ear function, suggesting that hair cell progenitors are present in the population of supporting cells.
RESULTS: In the present study, we aimed to identify novel genes related to regeneration in the chicken utricle by gene expression profiling of supporting cell and hair cell populations obtained by laser capture microdissection. The volcano plot identified 408 differentially expressed genes (twofold change, p = 0.05, Benjamini-Hochberg multiple testing correction), 175 of which were well annotated. Among these genes, we focused on Musashi-1 (MSI1), a marker of neural stem cells involved in Notch signaling, and the downstream genes in the Notch pathway. Higher expression of these genes in supporting cells compared with that in hair cells was confirmed by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Immunohistochemistry analysis demonstrated that MSI1 was mainly localized at the basal side of the supporting cell layer in normal chick utricles. During the regeneration period following aminoglycoside antibiotic-induced damage of chicken utricles, the expression levels of MSI1, hairy and enhancer of split-5, and cyclin D1 were increased, and BrdU labeling indicated that cell proliferation was enhanced.
CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study suggested that MSI1 played an important role in the proliferation of supporting cells in the inner ear during normal and damaged conditions and could be a potential therapeutic target in the treatment of vestibular defects.

PMID: 28814279 [PubMed - in process]

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