Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent to which infants, school-age children, and adults benefit from a target/masker sex mismatch in the context of speech detection or recognition in a background of 2 competing talkers. It was hypothesized that the ability to benefit from a target/masker sex mismatch develops between infancy and the early school-age years, as children gain listening experience in multi-talker environments. Design: Listeners were infants (7 to 13 months), children (5 to 10 years), and adults (18 to 33 years) with normal hearing. A series of five experiments compared speech detection or recognition in continuous two-talker speech across target/masker conditions that were sex matched or sex mismatched. In experiments 1 and 2, an observer-based, single-interval procedure was used to estimate speech detection thresholds for a spondaic word in a two-talker speech masker. In experiments 3 and 4, speech recognition thresholds were estimated in continuous two-talker speech using a four-alternative, forced-choice procedure. In experiment 5, speech reception thresholds (SRTs) were estimated for adults using the forced-choice recognition procedure after ideal time-frequency segregation processing was applied to the stimuli. Results: Speech detection thresholds for adults tested in experiments 1 and 2 were significantly higher when the target word and speech masker were matched in sex than when they were mismatched, but thresholds for infants were similar across sex-matched and sex-mismatched conditions. Results for experiments 3 and 4 showed that school-age children and adults benefit from a target/masker sex mismatch for a forced-choice word recognition task. Children, however, obtained greater benefit than adults in 1 condition, perhaps due to greater susceptibility to masking overall. In experiment 5, adults had substantial threshold reductions and more uniform performance across the 4 conditions evaluated in experiments 3 and 4 after the application of ideal time-frequency segregation to the stimuli. Conclusions: The pattern of results observed across experiments suggests that the ability to take advantage of differences in vocal characteristics typically found between speech produced by male and female talkers develops between infancy and the school-age years. Considerable child–adult differences in susceptibility to speech-in-speech masking were observed for school-age children as old as 11 years of age in both sex-matched and sex-mismatched conditions. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: The authors are grateful to the members of the Human Auditory Development Laboratory, including Stephen Lockhart and Crystal Taylor. This work was supported from the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (R01 DC011038). Preliminary results for experiments 1 and 2 were presented to the International Congress on Acoustics in Montreal, Canada, in June 2013. Portions of the results for experiments 3, 4, and 5 were presented to the American Auditory Society Annual Meeting in Scottsdale, AZ, in March 2013. The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Address for correspondence: Lori J. Leibold, Center for Hearing Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, 555 North 30th Street, Omaha, NE 68131, USA. E-mail: Lori.Leibold@boystown.org Received February 1, 2017; accepted December 6, 2017. Copyright © 2018 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Τετάρτη 24 Ιανουαρίου 2018
Longitudinal Development of Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions in Infants With Normal Hearing
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Developmental Effects in Masking Release for Speech-in-Speech Perception Due to a Target/Masker Sex Mismatch
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent to which infants, school-age children, and adults benefit from a target/masker sex mismatch in the context of speech detection or recognition in a background of 2 competing talkers. It was hypothesized that the ability to benefit from a target/masker sex mismatch develops between infancy and the early school-age years, as children gain listening experience in multi-talker environments. Design: Listeners were infants (7 to 13 months), children (5 to 10 years), and adults (18 to 33 years) with normal hearing. A series of five experiments compared speech detection or recognition in continuous two-talker speech across target/masker conditions that were sex matched or sex mismatched. In experiments 1 and 2, an observer-based, single-interval procedure was used to estimate speech detection thresholds for a spondaic word in a two-talker speech masker. In experiments 3 and 4, speech recognition thresholds were estimated in continuous two-talker speech using a four-alternative, forced-choice procedure. In experiment 5, speech reception thresholds (SRTs) were estimated for adults using the forced-choice recognition procedure after ideal time-frequency segregation processing was applied to the stimuli. Results: Speech detection thresholds for adults tested in experiments 1 and 2 were significantly higher when the target word and speech masker were matched in sex than when they were mismatched, but thresholds for infants were similar across sex-matched and sex-mismatched conditions. Results for experiments 3 and 4 showed that school-age children and adults benefit from a target/masker sex mismatch for a forced-choice word recognition task. Children, however, obtained greater benefit than adults in 1 condition, perhaps due to greater susceptibility to masking overall. In experiment 5, adults had substantial threshold reductions and more uniform performance across the 4 conditions evaluated in experiments 3 and 4 after the application of ideal time-frequency segregation to the stimuli. Conclusions: The pattern of results observed across experiments suggests that the ability to take advantage of differences in vocal characteristics typically found between speech produced by male and female talkers develops between infancy and the school-age years. Considerable child–adult differences in susceptibility to speech-in-speech masking were observed for school-age children as old as 11 years of age in both sex-matched and sex-mismatched conditions. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: The authors are grateful to the members of the Human Auditory Development Laboratory, including Stephen Lockhart and Crystal Taylor. This work was supported from the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (R01 DC011038). Preliminary results for experiments 1 and 2 were presented to the International Congress on Acoustics in Montreal, Canada, in June 2013. Portions of the results for experiments 3, 4, and 5 were presented to the American Auditory Society Annual Meeting in Scottsdale, AZ, in March 2013. The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Address for correspondence: Lori J. Leibold, Center for Hearing Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, 555 North 30th Street, Omaha, NE 68131, USA. E-mail: Lori.Leibold@boystown.org Received February 1, 2017; accepted December 6, 2017. Copyright © 2018 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Longitudinal Development of Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions in Infants With Normal Hearing
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Developmental Effects in Masking Release for Speech-in-Speech Perception Due to a Target/Masker Sex Mismatch
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent to which infants, school-age children, and adults benefit from a target/masker sex mismatch in the context of speech detection or recognition in a background of 2 competing talkers. It was hypothesized that the ability to benefit from a target/masker sex mismatch develops between infancy and the early school-age years, as children gain listening experience in multi-talker environments. Design: Listeners were infants (7 to 13 months), children (5 to 10 years), and adults (18 to 33 years) with normal hearing. A series of five experiments compared speech detection or recognition in continuous two-talker speech across target/masker conditions that were sex matched or sex mismatched. In experiments 1 and 2, an observer-based, single-interval procedure was used to estimate speech detection thresholds for a spondaic word in a two-talker speech masker. In experiments 3 and 4, speech recognition thresholds were estimated in continuous two-talker speech using a four-alternative, forced-choice procedure. In experiment 5, speech reception thresholds (SRTs) were estimated for adults using the forced-choice recognition procedure after ideal time-frequency segregation processing was applied to the stimuli. Results: Speech detection thresholds for adults tested in experiments 1 and 2 were significantly higher when the target word and speech masker were matched in sex than when they were mismatched, but thresholds for infants were similar across sex-matched and sex-mismatched conditions. Results for experiments 3 and 4 showed that school-age children and adults benefit from a target/masker sex mismatch for a forced-choice word recognition task. Children, however, obtained greater benefit than adults in 1 condition, perhaps due to greater susceptibility to masking overall. In experiment 5, adults had substantial threshold reductions and more uniform performance across the 4 conditions evaluated in experiments 3 and 4 after the application of ideal time-frequency segregation to the stimuli. Conclusions: The pattern of results observed across experiments suggests that the ability to take advantage of differences in vocal characteristics typically found between speech produced by male and female talkers develops between infancy and the school-age years. Considerable child–adult differences in susceptibility to speech-in-speech masking were observed for school-age children as old as 11 years of age in both sex-matched and sex-mismatched conditions. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: The authors are grateful to the members of the Human Auditory Development Laboratory, including Stephen Lockhart and Crystal Taylor. This work was supported from the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (R01 DC011038). Preliminary results for experiments 1 and 2 were presented to the International Congress on Acoustics in Montreal, Canada, in June 2013. Portions of the results for experiments 3, 4, and 5 were presented to the American Auditory Society Annual Meeting in Scottsdale, AZ, in March 2013. The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Address for correspondence: Lori J. Leibold, Center for Hearing Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, 555 North 30th Street, Omaha, NE 68131, USA. E-mail: Lori.Leibold@boystown.org Received February 1, 2017; accepted December 6, 2017. Copyright © 2018 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Longitudinal Development of Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions in Infants With Normal Hearing
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to describe normal characteristics of distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) signal and noise level in a group of newborns and infants with normal hearing followed longitudinally from birth to 15 months of age. Design: This is a prospective, longitudinal study of 231 infants who passed newborn hearing screening and were verified to have normal hearing. Infants were enrolled from a well-baby nursery and two neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in Cincinnati, OH. Normal hearing was confirmed with threshold auditory brainstem response and visual reinforcement audiometry. DPOAEs were measured in up to four study visits over the first year after birth. Stimulus frequencies f1 and f2 were used with f2/f1 = 1.22, and the DPOAE was recorded at frequency 2f1–f2. A longitudinal repeated-measure linear mixed model design was used to study changes in DPOAE level and noise level as related to age, middle ear transfer, race, and NICU history. Results: Significant changes in the DPOAE and noise levels occurred from birth to 12 months of age. DPOAE levels were the highest at 1 month of age. The largest decrease in DPOAE level occurred between 1 and 5 months of age in the mid to high frequencies (2 to 8 kHz) with minimal changes occurring between 6, 9, and 12 months of age. The decrease in DPOAE level was significantly related to a decrease in wideband absorbance at the same f2 frequencies. DPOAE noise level increased only slightly with age over the first year with the highest noise levels in the 12-month-old age range. Minor, nonsystematic effects for NICU history, race, and gestational age at birth were found, thus these results were generalizable to commonly seen clinical populations. Conclusions: DPOAE levels were related to wideband middle ear absorbance changes in this large sample of infants confirmed to have normal hearing at auditory brainstem response and visual reinforcement audiometry testing. This normative database can be used to evaluate clinical results from birth to 1 year of age. The distributions of DPOAE level and signal to noise ratio data reported herein across frequency and age in normal-hearing infants who were healthy or had NICU histories may be helpful to detect the presence of hearing loss in infants. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: The efforts of Alaaelddin Elsayed, MD, AuD, Leigh Shaid, AuD, several research coordinators, and the families who participated are gratefully acknowledged. We are appreciative of three anonymous reviewers who substantially improved the article. This research was supported by the National Institute of Deafness and other Communication Disorders of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01 DC010202 and an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) supplement (DC010202-01S1). Coauthor D.H.K. is involved in commercializing devices to assess middle ear function in infants. L.L.H. designed and performed the experiments, cowrote the article, and provided interpretive analysis and critical revision to the article. C.M.B. performed the experiments, analyzed the data, and cowrote the article. D.H.K. designed the experiments; provided interpretative analysis and critical revision to the article; and involved in commercializing devices to assess middle ear function. M.P.F. designed the experiments and provided interpretative analysis and critical revision to the article. D.K.B helped to design and perform the experiments and helped in data collection while employed at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. A.M. assisted in enrollment and data analysis as part of her AuD capstone. D.F.F. designed the experiments and provided interpretative analysis and critical revision to the article. L.L. provided statistical analysis and critical revision to the article. All authors discussed the results and implications and commented on the article at all stages. Portions of this study were presented as poster presentations at the American Academy of Audiology (Orlando, FL, March, 2014) and at the American Auditory Society (Scottsdale, AZ, March, 2016). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of Health. The content of this article does not represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs or of the U.S. Government. The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Address for correspondence: Lisa L. Hunter, Communication Sciences Research Center, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA. E-mail: lisa.hunter@cchmc.org Received February 6, 2017; accepted November 5, 2017. Copyright © 2018 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.
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The Effect of a Voice Therapy Program Using Semioccluded Vocal Tract Exercises in Women With Behavioral Dysphonia.
The Effect of a Voice Therapy Program Using Semioccluded Vocal Tract Exercises in Women With Behavioral Dysphonia.
J Voice. 2018 Jan 17;:
Authors: Ribeiro VV, de Oliveira AG, da Silva Vitor J, Siqueira LTD, Moreira PAM, Brasolotto AG, Silverio KCA
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study aims to propose and analyze the effect of a voice therapy program (VTP) in women with behavioral dysphonia.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a controlled, blinded, and nonrandomized cohort study. Participants of this study were 22 women with behavioral dysphonia divided into two groups: G1, 11 women with behavioral dysphonia who received the VTP, and G2, 11 women with behavioral dysphonia who did not receive any intervention. Before and after 6 weeks, the outcome variables evaluated in both groups were auditory-perceptual evaluation of the global degree of vocal quality (vowel /a/ and counting), instrumental acoustic parameters, Voice-Related Quality of Life, vocal and larynx symptoms, and musculoskeletal pain. The statistical analysis used the Wilcoxon, chi-square, and Mann-Whitney tests (P < 0.05).
RESULTS: After 6 weeks, we observed a significantly higher improvement in the general degree of vocal deviation in vowels, a reduced F0 and symptom of "fatigue while talking" in G1, and an increased "shoulder" pain intensity in G2. Both groups showed improvement in the socioemotional domain of Voice-Related Quality of Life. In addition, the comparison between the groups showed a significantly greater reduction in fundamental frequency and the "voice loss" symptom in G1 compared with G2.
CONCLUSIONS: The VTP using semioccluded vocal tract exercises obtained a positive effect on voice quality, symptoms, and musculoskeletal pain in women with behavioral dysphonia. The proposal, based on the taxonomy of voice therapy, seems to have promoted a phonatory balance, muscle relaxation, and improvement in the vocal resistance of this population.
PMID: 29361337 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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Bayesian Quantification of Sensory Reweighting in a Familial Bilateral Vestibular Disorder (DFNA9).
Bayesian Quantification of Sensory Reweighting in a Familial Bilateral Vestibular Disorder (DFNA9).
J Neurophysiol. 2017 Dec 13;:
Authors: Alberts BBGT, Selen LPJ, Verhagen WIM, Pennings RJE, Medendorp WP
Abstract
DFNA9 is a rare progressive autosomal dominantly inherited vestibulo-cochlear disorder, resulting in a homogeneous group of patients with hearing impairment and bilateral vestibular function loss. These patients suffer from a deteriorated sense of spatial orientation, leading to balance problems in darkness, especially on irregular surfaces. Both behavioral and functional imaging studies suggest that the remaining sensory cues could compensate for the loss of vestibular information. A thorough model-based quantification of this reweighting in individual patients is however missing. Here, we psychometrically examined the individual patient's sensory reweighting of these cues after complete vestibular loss. We asked a group of DFNA9 patients and healthy controls to judge the orientation (clockwise or counterclockwise relative to gravity) of a rod presented within an oriented square frame (rod-in-frame task) in three different head-on-body tilt conditions. Our results show a cyclical frame-induced bias in perceived gravity direction across a 90º-range of frame orientations. The magnitude of this bias was significantly increased in the patients compared to healthy controls. Response variability, which increased with head-on-body tilt, was also larger for the patients. Reverse engineering of the underlying signal properties, using Bayesian inference principles, suggests a reweighting of sensory signals, with an increase in visual weight of 20 to 40% in the patients. Our approach of combining psychophysics and Bayesian reverse engineering is the first to quantify the weights associated with the different sensory modalities at an individual patient level, which could make it possible to develop personal rehabilitation programs based on the patient's sensory weight distribution.
PMID: 29357473 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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The Effect of a Voice Therapy Program Using Semioccluded Vocal Tract Exercises in Women With Behavioral Dysphonia.
The Effect of a Voice Therapy Program Using Semioccluded Vocal Tract Exercises in Women With Behavioral Dysphonia.
J Voice. 2018 Jan 17;:
Authors: Ribeiro VV, de Oliveira AG, da Silva Vitor J, Siqueira LTD, Moreira PAM, Brasolotto AG, Silverio KCA
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study aims to propose and analyze the effect of a voice therapy program (VTP) in women with behavioral dysphonia.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a controlled, blinded, and nonrandomized cohort study. Participants of this study were 22 women with behavioral dysphonia divided into two groups: G1, 11 women with behavioral dysphonia who received the VTP, and G2, 11 women with behavioral dysphonia who did not receive any intervention. Before and after 6 weeks, the outcome variables evaluated in both groups were auditory-perceptual evaluation of the global degree of vocal quality (vowel /a/ and counting), instrumental acoustic parameters, Voice-Related Quality of Life, vocal and larynx symptoms, and musculoskeletal pain. The statistical analysis used the Wilcoxon, chi-square, and Mann-Whitney tests (P < 0.05).
RESULTS: After 6 weeks, we observed a significantly higher improvement in the general degree of vocal deviation in vowels, a reduced F0 and symptom of "fatigue while talking" in G1, and an increased "shoulder" pain intensity in G2. Both groups showed improvement in the socioemotional domain of Voice-Related Quality of Life. In addition, the comparison between the groups showed a significantly greater reduction in fundamental frequency and the "voice loss" symptom in G1 compared with G2.
CONCLUSIONS: The VTP using semioccluded vocal tract exercises obtained a positive effect on voice quality, symptoms, and musculoskeletal pain in women with behavioral dysphonia. The proposal, based on the taxonomy of voice therapy, seems to have promoted a phonatory balance, muscle relaxation, and improvement in the vocal resistance of this population.
PMID: 29361337 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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Bayesian Quantification of Sensory Reweighting in a Familial Bilateral Vestibular Disorder (DFNA9).
Bayesian Quantification of Sensory Reweighting in a Familial Bilateral Vestibular Disorder (DFNA9).
J Neurophysiol. 2017 Dec 13;:
Authors: Alberts BBGT, Selen LPJ, Verhagen WIM, Pennings RJE, Medendorp WP
Abstract
DFNA9 is a rare progressive autosomal dominantly inherited vestibulo-cochlear disorder, resulting in a homogeneous group of patients with hearing impairment and bilateral vestibular function loss. These patients suffer from a deteriorated sense of spatial orientation, leading to balance problems in darkness, especially on irregular surfaces. Both behavioral and functional imaging studies suggest that the remaining sensory cues could compensate for the loss of vestibular information. A thorough model-based quantification of this reweighting in individual patients is however missing. Here, we psychometrically examined the individual patient's sensory reweighting of these cues after complete vestibular loss. We asked a group of DFNA9 patients and healthy controls to judge the orientation (clockwise or counterclockwise relative to gravity) of a rod presented within an oriented square frame (rod-in-frame task) in three different head-on-body tilt conditions. Our results show a cyclical frame-induced bias in perceived gravity direction across a 90º-range of frame orientations. The magnitude of this bias was significantly increased in the patients compared to healthy controls. Response variability, which increased with head-on-body tilt, was also larger for the patients. Reverse engineering of the underlying signal properties, using Bayesian inference principles, suggests a reweighting of sensory signals, with an increase in visual weight of 20 to 40% in the patients. Our approach of combining psychophysics and Bayesian reverse engineering is the first to quantify the weights associated with the different sensory modalities at an individual patient level, which could make it possible to develop personal rehabilitation programs based on the patient's sensory weight distribution.
PMID: 29357473 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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BPIFA1 Gene Expression in the Human Middle Ear Mucosa.
BPIFA1 Gene Expression in the Human Middle Ear Mucosa.
J Int Adv Otol. 2017 Dec;13(3):340-344
Authors: Hadzhiev Y, Yordanov S, Popova D, Kachakova D
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The bactericidal/permeability-increasing, fold-containing family member A1 (BPIFA1) gene codes a secretory protein (BPIFA1), which is present in the respiratory tract mucosa, and is part of the innate immune system. This study aimed to prove that BPIFA1 gene expression exists in the human middle ear mucosa.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: In total, 32 patients participated in the study between March 2016 and September 2016. Seventeen patients had chronic otitis media with cholesteatoma (COMC) and 15 had bilateral sensorineural hearing loss (BSHL). The patients with COMC underwent radical mastoidectomy with cholesteatoma removal and those with BSHL underwent cochlear implantation. Part of the processus mastoideus mucosa was examined for BPIFA1 gene expression and the two groups were compared.
RESULTS: For the first time, BPIFA1 gene expression was examined in the mucosa of the human middle ear, and it was verified in 100% (n=32) of the participants. We confirmed that there is a difference in the BPIFA1 expression in 83.33% of the patients with COMC compared to the patients with BSHL but this difference was not statistically significant (p=0.947; probably due to the low number of participants in this group).
CONCLUSION: It is highly likely that the BPIFA1 protein participates in the non-specific immune defense of the middle ear and is relevant to the pathogenesis of the inflammatory diseases of the middle ear.
PMID: 29360089 [PubMed - in process]
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Bayesian Quantification of Sensory Reweighting in a Familial Bilateral Vestibular Disorder (DFNA9).
Bayesian Quantification of Sensory Reweighting in a Familial Bilateral Vestibular Disorder (DFNA9).
J Neurophysiol. 2017 Dec 13;:
Authors: Alberts BBGT, Selen LPJ, Verhagen WIM, Pennings RJE, Medendorp WP
Abstract
DFNA9 is a rare progressive autosomal dominantly inherited vestibulo-cochlear disorder, resulting in a homogeneous group of patients with hearing impairment and bilateral vestibular function loss. These patients suffer from a deteriorated sense of spatial orientation, leading to balance problems in darkness, especially on irregular surfaces. Both behavioral and functional imaging studies suggest that the remaining sensory cues could compensate for the loss of vestibular information. A thorough model-based quantification of this reweighting in individual patients is however missing. Here, we psychometrically examined the individual patient's sensory reweighting of these cues after complete vestibular loss. We asked a group of DFNA9 patients and healthy controls to judge the orientation (clockwise or counterclockwise relative to gravity) of a rod presented within an oriented square frame (rod-in-frame task) in three different head-on-body tilt conditions. Our results show a cyclical frame-induced bias in perceived gravity direction across a 90º-range of frame orientations. The magnitude of this bias was significantly increased in the patients compared to healthy controls. Response variability, which increased with head-on-body tilt, was also larger for the patients. Reverse engineering of the underlying signal properties, using Bayesian inference principles, suggests a reweighting of sensory signals, with an increase in visual weight of 20 to 40% in the patients. Our approach of combining psychophysics and Bayesian reverse engineering is the first to quantify the weights associated with the different sensory modalities at an individual patient level, which could make it possible to develop personal rehabilitation programs based on the patient's sensory weight distribution.
PMID: 29357473 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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Auditory Training With Frequent Communication Partners.
  |
Related Articles |
Auditory Training With Frequent Communication Partners.
J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2016 Aug 01;59(4):871-5
Authors: Tye-Murray N, Spehar B, Sommers M, Barcroft J
Abstract
PURPOSE: Individuals with hearing loss engage in auditory training to improve their speech recognition. They typically practice listening to utterances spoken by unfamiliar talkers but never to utterances spoken by their most frequent communication partner (FCP)-speech they most likely desire to recognize-under the assumption that familiarity with the FCP's speech limits potential gains. This study determined whether auditory training with the speech of an individual's FCP, in this case their spouse, would lead to enhanced recognition of their spouse's speech.
METHOD: Ten couples completed a 6-week computerized auditory training program in which the spouse recorded the stimuli and the participant (partner with hearing loss) completed auditory training that presented recordings of their spouse.
RESULTS: Training led participants to better discriminate their FCP's speech. Responses on the Client Oriented Scale of Improvement (Dillon, James, & Ginis, 1997) indicated subjectively that training reduced participants' communication difficulties. Peformance on a word identification task did not change.
CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that auditory training might improve the ability of older participants with hearing loss to recognize the speech of their spouse and might improve communication interactions between couples. The results support a task-appropriate processing framework of learning, which assumes that human learning depends on the degree of similarity between training tasks and desired outcomes.
PMID: 27567016 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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Audiologist Practices: Parent Hearing Aid Education and Support.
| Related Articles |
Audiologist Practices: Parent Hearing Aid Education and Support.
J Am Acad Audiol. 2016 Apr;27(4):324-32
Authors: Meibos A, Muñoz K, White K, Preston E, Pitt C, Twohig M
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Early identification of hearing loss has led to routine fitting of hearing aids in infants and young children. Amplification provides opportunities to optimize child development, although it also introduces challenges for parents to navigate. Audiologists have a central role in providing parents with support to achieve effective management strategies and habits.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore current practices of pediatric audiologists who work with children birth to 5 yr of age, regarding their support of parent learning in achieving effective hearing aid management, identify existing gaps in service delivery, and to determine if audiologists were receptive to receiving training related to effective approaches to provide counseling and support to parents.
RESEARCH DESIGN: A cross-sectional, population-based survey was used.
STUDY SAMPLE: Three hundred and forty-nine surveys were analyzed from pediatric audiologists who provided services to children birth to 5 yr of age. Responses were received from 22 states in the United States.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Responses were collected through the mail and online. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the information.
RESULTS: More than half (61%) of the audiologists in the study had been providing pediatric hearing aid services to children birth to 5 yr of age for >10 yr. Of the audiologists who reported monitoring hours of hearing aid use, the majority reported that they used data logging (90%). More than half of the audiologists (57%) who shared data logging with parents reported that they encountered defensiveness from parents when addressing hearing aid use. Information and skills that were not routinely provided by one-third to one-half of the audiologists included the following: how to get access to loaner hearing aids (30%), available hearing aid options/accessories (33%), available financial assistance (36%), how to teach hearing aid management to other caregivers (38%), how to do hearing aid maintenance (44%), and how to do a Ling 6 sound check (52%). Many audiologists reported they did not frequently collaborate with speech-language pathologists (48%), early interventionists (47%), or physicians (68%). More than half of the audiologists indicated a desire for more training in counseling skills, for all 14 items queried, to support parents with hearing aid management (53-79%), regardless of their previous training experience.
CONCLUSIONS: For young children with hearing loss to achieve optimal benefit from auditory experiences for speech and language development, they need evidence-based, comprehensive, and coordinated hearing aid management. Audiologists have an important role for teaching information and skills related to hearing aids, supporting parent learning, and collaborating with other providers. Pediatric audiologists in this study recognized and desired the need for further training in counseling skills that can better prepare them to meet the emotional needs of parents in the hearing aid management process.
PMID: 27115242 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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