Audiology in Brief

<b>Purpose: </b>There is a well-established relationship between hearing loss and psychological symptoms. To ensure audiological rehabilitation is provided appropriately for older adults with comorbid psychological symptoms, a greater understanding of their preferences and experiences is needed. This study sought to understand experiences of hearing loss and audiological rehabilitation from the perspective of older adults with comorbid psychological symptoms (e.g., depression, anxiety, psychosis).<b>Design: </b>A qualitative study using in-depth semistructured interviews was conducted with older adults who had attended audiological rehabilitation within the last year and scored above established cutoffs on measures of depression, anxiety, and psychosis. A thematic analysis generated themes that related to participants’ experiences of hearing loss and audiological rehabilitation.<b>Results:</b> Participants included 14 older adults (eight men and six women) with an average age of 70.5 years (<i>SD</i> = 4.45, range: 64–80) who received hearing aids or a cochlear implant. Three major themes emerged from the analysis of participant interviews. “The cumulative impact of hearing loss and psychological symptoms” theme describes the two-way, additive relationship between hearing ability and psychological symptoms. “The experience of loss throughout hearing loss and audiological rehabilitation” captures subjective losses, the impact they have, and how participants cope with them. In contrast, “The experience of gain throughout hearing loss and audiological rehabilitation” describes the participants’ reported gains, their related impacts, and coping strategies.<b>Conclusions: </b>The experiences of participants revealed that the presence of comorbid psychological symptoms can influence the experience of hearing loss and audiological rehabilitation. These findings have implications for how audiological rehabilitation is provided to ensure optimal outcomes for adults with hearing loss and comorbid psychological symptoms.<br><b>Supplemental Material S1. </b>Sampling matrix containing number of participants fulfilling criteria (gender, age, hearing device, psychological symptoms) to obtain maximum variation sampling.<br><b>Supplemental Material S2.</b> Interview topic guide containing initial and follow-up open-ended questions.<br>Laird, E. C., Bennett, R. J., Barr, C. M., &amp; Bryant, C. A. (2020). Experiences of hearing loss and audiological rehabilitation for older adults with comorbid psychological symptoms: A qualitative study. <i>American Journal of Audiology.</i> Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_AJA-19-00123

Audiology in Developing Countries, edited by Bradley McPherson and Ron Brouillette, is an exceptionally comprehensive book about the state of audiology in developing countries. The book includes va...

Rationale, aims and objectives: The United Kingdom has an increasingly ageing population. With age, hearing declines and the risk of dementia rises. Sensory impairment such as hearing loss is strongly correlated with cognitive decline, mental illness and dementia. Hearing loss has a negative association with quality of life. Addressing hearing impairment, with early recognition and treatment, is a significant public health issue. The main aims of this study were to: (1) evaluate current practice in Old Age Psychiatry in addressing hearing impairment in older adults in contact with mental health services; (2) evaluate the accessibility of Audiology and/or Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) services and (3) evaluate the level of awareness among clinicians routinely shared with patients and families or carers regarding relevant associations with hearing loss. Method: A national cross-sectional study of the Royal College of Psychiatrists Faculty of Old Age Psychiatry members in England was conducted over 8 weeks. Results: The majority of respondents routinely established a history of hearing impairment in their patients, as well as the possession and regular use of hearing aids. However, a significant proportion did not advise patients of potential links between hearing loss and cognitive impairment (26%) or mental illness (40%). Most respondents reported that their awareness of these links was primarily based on professional experience, rather than published evidence or clinical guidelines. Additionally, 20% reported the experience of referring patients to Audiology and ENT services, was ‘difficult’ or ‘very difficult’. Conclusions: There is a need for further research into hearing loss and its impact on mental health and cognitive impairment, as well as scope to improve dissemination of existing evidence. The identified difficulty in referring to Audiology and ENT should be explored and addressed. Clinicians in Old Age Psychiatry have an important role in identifying hearing impairment and promoting use of hearing aids as part of the person-centered healthcare of this vulnerable population.

ResumeLes resultats obtenus par les epreuves verbales d'audition chez les enfants determinent souvent l'emploi et la valeur d'un appareil amplificateur et aussi la possibilite de placer ou de laisser un enfant dans une ecole pour des enfants normaux.Quand ces epreuves sont faites dans de bonnes conditions acoustiques elles remplissent mal cette fonction, et cet article decrit des enregistrements qui ont ete faits dans des salles de classe ordinaires et qui demontrent une difference entre signal et bruit de pas plus de 15 dB. Des enfants demi-sourds ont repondu a ces listes de monosyllabes et de phrases, et le pourcentage de reponses correctes, compare avec celui obtenu des měmes epreuves faites en de bonnes conditions acoustiques, a diminue par 49.6% (monosyllabes), 57.8% (phrases). La difference est plus marquee chez les enfants ayant une perte grave des frequences aigues que chez ceux dont la perte d'audition atteint la plupart des frequences.Je constate done que les epreuves vocales doivent ětre faites...

To investigate the etiologies and clinical features for bilateral acute sensorineural hearing loss (bi-ASNHL). The clinical data of 19 cases presenting with bi-ASNHL were retrospectively analyzed, including the clinical features, systemic examinations, laboratory examinations, audiology and radiology results, as well as the prognosis. There were 15 non-otologic diseases in 19 patients, accounting for 78.9% of the total cases, most of which were disorders with multisystem and multi-organ disorder. The central nervous system diseases including fungal meningitis, tuberculous meningitis, and viral encephalitis in 3 patients. The clinical features of deafness were bilateral, progressive, accompanied with fever, headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting and change of mental status. There was a decrease in speech recognition score (SRS), and speech recognition threshold (SRT) was obviously inferior to pure tone average (PTA) disproportionally. Diseases of immune system including antineural cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated systemic vasculitis (AASV), relapsing polychondritis (RP), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in 5 patients. They showed the characteristics of bilateral, progressive and simultaneous autoimmune disease. Hematological and endocrine system diseases including diabetes mellitus, leukemia, and thyroid hypofunction in 5 patients. The deafness had the characteristics of symmetry and progressivity. Otologic diseases including large vestibular aqueduct syndrome (LVAS) and sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) in 4 patients; Drug-induced sensorineural deafness happened in 2 patients. After the treatment aimed at the causes, 1 case was cured, 3 patients were markedly effective, 7 patients were effective, and 8 patients were ineffective(including dead and refusal cases), with a total effective rate of 57.9%. The most of bi-ASNHL cases are often associated with systemic diseases. Clinicians should analyze the history and clinical characteristics in detail, and complete specific laboratory examinations, audiology and imaging examinations in order to reveal the causative diseases. It should be treated aimed at the etiology.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: One of the major occupational hazards of working in the military service is being subjected to intense impulse noise, hence acoustic trauma. Acute acoustic trauma is a preventable disease, but the effective treatment modality has not been established yet. Acute acoustic traumas caused by exposure to rifle gunshot noise are common in young Korean males in the military service because of conscription policy. Through the analysis of the clinical presentation of acoustic traumas caused by rifle gunshot noise, we suggest effective preventive modalities. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: 165 soldiers who had otologic symptoms after performing regular rifle gunshot exercise without any hearing protective measures were analyzed. They all had been tested with K2 rifle. History taking, physical examination, pure-tone audiometry, and impedence audiometry, temporal MRI, and Newmann's tinnitus inventory questionnaire survey were performed. RESULTS: Most common and annoying symptom was tinnitus. The average outcome of postexposure air conduction thresholds were 22.3dB HL in the affected ear and 11.8dB HL in the unaffected ear. There was no correlation between severity of tinnitus and severity of hearing loss. Asymmetry of hearing loss related to head position during gunshot was not found. This may be due to the fact that during the mass gunshot training, each patient can be influenced by the gunshot noise of the adjacent gunner's shooting. CONCLUSION: Widening the distance between firing lanes and providing bilateral hearing protective devices against acoustic trauma must be taken into serious consideration.

Objective To explore the application of the distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) in the diagnosis of noise-induced hearing damage for the ship crew.Methods The experimental group consisted of 100 crew members,among whom 52 had noise-induced hearing damage and 48 people had normal hearing thresholds.And another 50 people with normal hearing level were chosen as control.The two groups received acoustic emission,pure tone audiometry and DPOAE testing.Hearing thresholds,DPOAE amplitude and the provocation rate were compared between the two groups.Results Statistical differences could be noted in hearing thresholds in all frequency zones,when a comparison was made between the noise-induced hearing damage group and the control group ( P < 0.05 ).DPOAE amplitude and the provocation rate of the experimental group decreased significantly ( P < 0.05 ),when compared with those of the control group.With the extension of noise exposure,DPOAE provocation rate for the ship crew decreased ( P < 0.05 ).DPOAE amplitude and the provocation rate of the normal hearing level group also decreased more significantly than those of the control group (P < 0.05 ).Conclusions Pure-tone hearing threshold for the ship crew with early noise-induced hearing damage might be normal.DPOAE could be applied to early diagnosis and appraisal of early noise-induced hearing damage. Key words: Distortion product otoacoustic emissions; Pure tone audiometry; Ship crew; Noise-induced hearing damage

Access to speech-language therapy (SLT) and audiology (AUD) research is critical for clinicians, researchers, policymakers and the public to fulfil the professional scope of practice, support advocacy and enable evidence-based service delivery. However, research locked behind paywalls disproportionately limits access for underserved communities and for clinician-researchers seeking tools in languages with scarce resources. Limited access to clinically applicable research disproportionately affects individuals needing SLT and/or AUD services in under-resourced languages and populations, where contextualised, high-quality evidence is most needed. The authors advocate for open access (OA) publishing as a critical strategy to improve access to research in SLT and AUD. Open access publishing promotes more equitable dissemination of information, potentially fostering inclusion, innovation and informed clinical decision-making. This perspective calls for the clinician-researcher to become aware of the different OA models and how to access their benefits. Furthermore, we encourage advocacy amongst key stakeholders, highlighting how collaborative efforts may strengthen the move towards increased OA publishing.Contribution:This article contributes to the growing dialogue on decolonising knowledge and democratising access within the health sciences. By promoting OA publishing, the fields of SLT and AUD can help dismantle structural inequities in knowledge dissemination, support local and global clinical relevance and improve the quality of service for multilingual and underserved communities worldwide. We specifically call on South African clinician-researchers to engage with OA opportunities and collaborate in sharing clinicallyapplicable findings, including implementation guidance, outcome evidence, and contextual considerations for assessment and intervention in South African languages.

Has British audiology come of age?

Disruption, Opportunity and the Future of Audiology

배경 및 목적: 올바른 쓰기 수행에는 발달의 비교적 초기단계에 습득되는 기본적 철자 지식을 바탕으로 언어적 능력과 시공간 구성능력이 필요하다. 알츠하이머성 치매는 좌, 우반구에 아밀로이드 단백질이 침착되고, 언어능력과 관련있는 측두엽과 시공간 구성능력과 관련있는 두정엽에 위축을 보인다. 알츠하이머성 치매환자의 쓰기수행에 대한 선행 연구를 통하여 언어적...

Optometry and audiology.

Preparing for Relational Audiology: Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Working in Pediatric Audiology

Objective To investigate the preoperative evaluation methods of multi-channel cochlear implantation in prelinguistic deaf patients with central nervous system diseases,and explore the outcomes of speech rehabilitation.Methods Multi-channel cochlear implantation was conducted in 23 prelinguistic deaf patients with central nervous system diseases,admitted to our hospital from January 1996 to January 2009.Of the 23 patients,13 had white matter abnormalities,4 pallium dysplasia,2 hydrocephalus,2 congenital temporal lobe cyst,1 Tourette syndrome and 1 Down's syndrome.Another 30 prelinguistic deaf patients without central nervous diseases and performed cochlear implantation at the same period were chosen as control group.Preoperative hearing and imaging data,developmental assessments,implantation methods and postoperative outcomes of patients from these two groups were compared.Results These 23 patients were reconstructed hearing successfully after cochlear implantation without serious complications; postoperative mean thresholds in sound field 6 months after the surgery were (42.89±3.5) dBHL,which were significantly higher than those in control group ([32.4±4.5] dBHL,P＜0.05); the mean value of speech discrimination rate in close-set word list one year after the surgery was (65.18 ±3.1)％,which was significantly lower than that in control group ([81.63±3.7]％,P＜0.05).Outcomes of hearing-speech rehabilitation were good,but the patients with serious white matter abnormalities and pallium dysplasia had a lower hearing-speech rehabilitation rate than the other patients.Conclusion Cochlear implantation can be performed safely and effectively in patients with central nervous diseases after comprehensive pre-operative imaging and audiological evaluation are performed;type and severity of the central diseases can affect postoperative rehabilitation. Key words: Cochlear implantation; Central nervous disease; Rehabilitation

Audiology in Brief