New NIH Study to Investigate Hearing Loss among Firefighters

​A new study funded by the National Institutes of Health will examine the connection between heavy metal exposure, genetic predisposition, and auditory dysfunction among firefighters, paving the way for the development of preventive measures to reduce the risk of hearing loss within this population. The nearly $400,000 three-year research project will test the hearing, assay bone lead, and urinary cadmium levels of 200 firefighters in Detroit, MI, and assess the frequency of two distinct variants of an antioxidant gene (SOD2) to determine the interaction between environmental exposure to heavy metals, genetic factors, and hearing loss. Samson Jamesdaniel, PhD, an assistant professor in the Institute of Environmental Health Sciences at Wayne State University who will be leading this study, said this research is expected to directly benefit firefighters by identifying the environmental risk factors and genetic susceptibilities that contribute to hearing impairment. "The ultimate goal will be to apply this knowledge to human remediation studies in this vulnerable population and identify preventative measures that will protect firefighters and others from hearing loss caused by environmental exposure," Jamesdaniel said. 

Published: 11/16/2018 10:07:00 AM

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InnerScope Opens its First Hearing Aid Retail Clinic

​InnerScope (https://www.innd.com/) has opened the first of its 22 new hearing aid retail clinics planned within Northern California in the coming six to 12 months. Each clinic is expected to generate $500,000 to $1 million in its first-year annual hearing aid sales revenue with a growth factor of at least five percent every year after, with some retail clinics expecting to generate $1.5 to $2 million in annual hearing aid sales revenue in its first year based on its location, senior demographics, and the reported number of hearing aid sales currently generated from the competition in the market area. The founders of InnerScope generated over $16 million in annual hearing aid sales from the 20 retail clinics they opened and sold in 2016. The rollout plan of these new clinics aims at opening two or more new locations every month starting in November 2018. The company is looking to staff these new hearing aid retail clinics with experienced hearing health professionals and open four more clinics before the end of the year, two in the Sacramento area and two in the east San Francisco Bay area. 

Published: 11/16/2018 10:07:00 AM

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New NIH Study to Investigate Hearing Loss among Firefighters

​A new study funded by the National Institutes of Health will examine the connection between heavy metal exposure, genetic predisposition, and auditory dysfunction among firefighters, paving the way for the development of preventive measures to reduce the risk of hearing loss within this population. The nearly $400,000 three-year research project will test the hearing, assay bone lead, and urinary cadmium levels of 200 firefighters in Detroit, MI, and assess the frequency of two distinct variants of an antioxidant gene (SOD2) to determine the interaction between environmental exposure to heavy metals, genetic factors, and hearing loss. Samson Jamesdaniel, PhD, an assistant professor in the Institute of Environmental Health Sciences at Wayne State University who will be leading this study, said this research is expected to directly benefit firefighters by identifying the environmental risk factors and genetic susceptibilities that contribute to hearing impairment. "The ultimate goal will be to apply this knowledge to human remediation studies in this vulnerable population and identify preventative measures that will protect firefighters and others from hearing loss caused by environmental exposure," Jamesdaniel said. 

Published: 11/16/2018 10:07:00 AM

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InnerScope Opens its First Hearing Aid Retail Clinic

​InnerScope (https://www.innd.com/) has opened the first of its 22 new hearing aid retail clinics planned within Northern California in the coming six to 12 months. Each clinic is expected to generate $500,000 to $1 million in its first-year annual hearing aid sales revenue with a growth factor of at least five percent every year after, with some retail clinics expecting to generate $1.5 to $2 million in annual hearing aid sales revenue in its first year based on its location, senior demographics, and the reported number of hearing aid sales currently generated from the competition in the market area. The founders of InnerScope generated over $16 million in annual hearing aid sales from the 20 retail clinics they opened and sold in 2016. The rollout plan of these new clinics aims at opening two or more new locations every month starting in November 2018. The company is looking to staff these new hearing aid retail clinics with experienced hearing health professionals and open four more clinics before the end of the year, two in the Sacramento area and two in the east San Francisco Bay area. 

Published: 11/16/2018 10:07:00 AM

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A Qualitative Study of the Effects of Hearing Loss and Hearing Aid Use on Music Perception in Performing Musicians.

Related Articles

A Qualitative Study of the Effects of Hearing Loss and Hearing Aid Use on Music Perception in Performing Musicians.

J Am Acad Audiol. 2018 Nov 16;:

Authors: Vaisberg JM, Martindale AT, Folkeard P, Benedict C

Abstract
BACKGROUND: Hearing aids (HAs) are important for the rehabilitation of individuals with hearing loss. Although the rehabilitation of speech communication is well understood, less attention has been devoted to understanding hearing-impaired instrumentalists' needs to actively participate in music. Despite efforts to adjust HA settings for music acoustics, there lacks an understanding of instrumentalists' needs and if those HA adjustments satisfy their needs.
PURPOSE: The purpose of the current study was to explore the challenges that adult HA-wearing instrumentalists face, which prevent them from listening, responding to, and performing music.
RESEARCH DESIGN: A qualitative methodology was employed with the use of semistructured interviews conducted with adult amateur instrumentalists.
STUDY SAMPLE: Twelve HA users who were amateur ensemble instrumentalists (playing instruments from the percussion, wind, reed, brass, and string families) and between the ages of 55 and 83 years (seven men and five women) provided data for analysis in this study. Amateur in this context was defined as one who engaged mindfully in pursuit of an activity.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Semistructured interviews were conducted using an open-ended interview guide. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were analyzed using conventional qualitative content analysis.
RESULTS: Three categories emerged from the data: (1) participatory needs, (2) effects of HA use, and (3) effects of hearing loss. Participants primarily used HAs to hear the conductor's instructions to meaningfully participate in music rehearsals. Effects of HA use fell within two subcategories: HA music sound quality and use of an HA music program. The effects of hearing loss fell within three subcategories: inability to identify missing information, affected music components, and nonauditory music perception strategies.
CONCLUSIONS: Not surprisingly, hearing-impaired instrumentalists face challenges participating in their music activities. However, although participants articulated ways in which HAs and hearing loss affect music perception, which in turn revealed perspectives toward listening using the auditory system and other sensory systems, the primary motivation for their HA use was the need to hear the conductor's directions. These findings suggest that providing hearing-impaired instrumentalists access to musical experience via participation should be prioritized above restoring the perception of musical descriptors. Future research is needed with instrumentalists who no longer listen to or perform music because of hearing loss, so that the relationship between musical auditory deficiencies and participation can be better explored.

PMID: 30446036 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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Parental Mental Health in Childhood as a Risk Factor for Anxiety and Depression among People Seeking Help for Tinnitus and Hyperacusis.

Related Articles

Parental Mental Health in Childhood as a Risk Factor for Anxiety and Depression among People Seeking Help for Tinnitus and Hyperacusis.

J Am Acad Audiol. 2018 Nov 16;:

Authors: Aazh H, Danesh AA, Moore BCJ

Abstract
BACKGROUND: Parental mental illness is a risk factor for mental health disorders in the offspring. However, the relationship between parental illness in childhood and mental health disorders in adulthood among patients with tinnitus and/or hyperacusis is not known.
PURPOSE: The aim was to explore the relationship between parental mental health in childhood and anxiety and depression for patients experiencing tinnitus and/or hyperacusis.
RESEARCH DESIGN: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study with a correlational design.
STUDY SAMPLE: Two hundred eighty-seven consecutive patients who attended a Tinnitus and Hyperacusis Therapy Specialist Clinic in the United Kingdom were included. Their average age was 52.5 years.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: The association was explored between anxiety and depression measured via the Generalized Anxiety Disorder questionnaire (GAD-7) and the Patient Health questionnaire (PHQ-9) and responses to the question "While you were growing up during the first 18 years of life did your parent(s) have depression or mental illness?"
RESULTS: Thirty-nine percent of patients (111/287) responded "yes" to the question about their parents' mental health, which is about double the incidence in the general population. Regression analysis showed that parental mental illness significantly increased the risk of anxiety and depression, with unadjusted odds ratios (ORs) of 2.7 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.5-4.9, p = 0.001) for the PHQ-9 and 2.6 (95% CI: 1.4-4.8, p = 0.002) for the GAD-7. However, when the models were adjusted for the effects of age, gender, tinnitus handicap as measured via the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory, hyperacusis handicap as measured via the Hyperacusis questionnaire, uncomfortable loudness levels, GAD-7 scores (for the depression model only), and PHQ-9 scores (for the anxiety model only), parental mental health was only significantly associated with depression, with an OR of 2.7 (95% CI: 1.08-6.7, p = 0.033).
CONCLUSIONS: Audiologists offering tinnitus and hyperacusis rehabilitation should screen patients for parental mental illness in childhood, especially for those with comorbid depression, and make onward referral to appropriate mental health services when needed. Future research should analyze the breadth and type of adverse childhood experiences among patients with tinnitus and hyperacusis and their relationship with mental problems and treatment efficacy.

PMID: 30446035 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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via IFTTT

A Qualitative Study of the Effects of Hearing Loss and Hearing Aid Use on Music Perception in Performing Musicians.

Related Articles

A Qualitative Study of the Effects of Hearing Loss and Hearing Aid Use on Music Perception in Performing Musicians.

J Am Acad Audiol. 2018 Nov 16;:

Authors: Vaisberg JM, Martindale AT, Folkeard P, Benedict C

Abstract
BACKGROUND: Hearing aids (HAs) are important for the rehabilitation of individuals with hearing loss. Although the rehabilitation of speech communication is well understood, less attention has been devoted to understanding hearing-impaired instrumentalists' needs to actively participate in music. Despite efforts to adjust HA settings for music acoustics, there lacks an understanding of instrumentalists' needs and if those HA adjustments satisfy their needs.
PURPOSE: The purpose of the current study was to explore the challenges that adult HA-wearing instrumentalists face, which prevent them from listening, responding to, and performing music.
RESEARCH DESIGN: A qualitative methodology was employed with the use of semistructured interviews conducted with adult amateur instrumentalists.
STUDY SAMPLE: Twelve HA users who were amateur ensemble instrumentalists (playing instruments from the percussion, wind, reed, brass, and string families) and between the ages of 55 and 83 years (seven men and five women) provided data for analysis in this study. Amateur in this context was defined as one who engaged mindfully in pursuit of an activity.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Semistructured interviews were conducted using an open-ended interview guide. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were analyzed using conventional qualitative content analysis.
RESULTS: Three categories emerged from the data: (1) participatory needs, (2) effects of HA use, and (3) effects of hearing loss. Participants primarily used HAs to hear the conductor's instructions to meaningfully participate in music rehearsals. Effects of HA use fell within two subcategories: HA music sound quality and use of an HA music program. The effects of hearing loss fell within three subcategories: inability to identify missing information, affected music components, and nonauditory music perception strategies.
CONCLUSIONS: Not surprisingly, hearing-impaired instrumentalists face challenges participating in their music activities. However, although participants articulated ways in which HAs and hearing loss affect music perception, which in turn revealed perspectives toward listening using the auditory system and other sensory systems, the primary motivation for their HA use was the need to hear the conductor's directions. These findings suggest that providing hearing-impaired instrumentalists access to musical experience via participation should be prioritized above restoring the perception of musical descriptors. Future research is needed with instrumentalists who no longer listen to or perform music because of hearing loss, so that the relationship between musical auditory deficiencies and participation can be better explored.

PMID: 30446036 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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via IFTTT

Parental Mental Health in Childhood as a Risk Factor for Anxiety and Depression among People Seeking Help for Tinnitus and Hyperacusis.

Related Articles

Parental Mental Health in Childhood as a Risk Factor for Anxiety and Depression among People Seeking Help for Tinnitus and Hyperacusis.

J Am Acad Audiol. 2018 Nov 16;:

Authors: Aazh H, Danesh AA, Moore BCJ

Abstract
BACKGROUND: Parental mental illness is a risk factor for mental health disorders in the offspring. However, the relationship between parental illness in childhood and mental health disorders in adulthood among patients with tinnitus and/or hyperacusis is not known.
PURPOSE: The aim was to explore the relationship between parental mental health in childhood and anxiety and depression for patients experiencing tinnitus and/or hyperacusis.
RESEARCH DESIGN: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study with a correlational design.
STUDY SAMPLE: Two hundred eighty-seven consecutive patients who attended a Tinnitus and Hyperacusis Therapy Specialist Clinic in the United Kingdom were included. Their average age was 52.5 years.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: The association was explored between anxiety and depression measured via the Generalized Anxiety Disorder questionnaire (GAD-7) and the Patient Health questionnaire (PHQ-9) and responses to the question "While you were growing up during the first 18 years of life did your parent(s) have depression or mental illness?"
RESULTS: Thirty-nine percent of patients (111/287) responded "yes" to the question about their parents' mental health, which is about double the incidence in the general population. Regression analysis showed that parental mental illness significantly increased the risk of anxiety and depression, with unadjusted odds ratios (ORs) of 2.7 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.5-4.9, p = 0.001) for the PHQ-9 and 2.6 (95% CI: 1.4-4.8, p = 0.002) for the GAD-7. However, when the models were adjusted for the effects of age, gender, tinnitus handicap as measured via the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory, hyperacusis handicap as measured via the Hyperacusis questionnaire, uncomfortable loudness levels, GAD-7 scores (for the depression model only), and PHQ-9 scores (for the anxiety model only), parental mental health was only significantly associated with depression, with an OR of 2.7 (95% CI: 1.08-6.7, p = 0.033).
CONCLUSIONS: Audiologists offering tinnitus and hyperacusis rehabilitation should screen patients for parental mental illness in childhood, especially for those with comorbid depression, and make onward referral to appropriate mental health services when needed. Future research should analyze the breadth and type of adverse childhood experiences among patients with tinnitus and hyperacusis and their relationship with mental problems and treatment efficacy.

PMID: 30446035 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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Gait and Posture VSI “Gait Complexity in Parkinson’s Disease”

Publication date: Available online 17 November 2018

Source: Gait & Posture

Author(s): Morris Meg, Dreher Thomas

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Gait and Posture VSI “Gait Complexity in Parkinson’s Disease”

Publication date: Available online 17 November 2018

Source: Gait & Posture

Author(s): Morris Meg, Dreher Thomas

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