The vestibular system connects the inner ear to the midbrain and subcortical structures and can affect cognition. Patients with vertigo often experience cognitive symptoms such as attention deficits, memory problems, ...The vestibular system connects the inner ear to the midbrain and subcortical structures and can affect cognition. Patients with vertigo often experience cognitive symptoms such as attention deficits, memory problems, and spatial perception difficulties. This study aimed to explore the cognitive impairments associated with Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo(BPPV) and Meniere's Disease(MD). A non-experimental group comparison design was used with 107 participants divided into three groups: Group I(clinically normal), Group II(BPPV), and Group III(MD). Participants completed a questionnaire with 10 cognition-related questions, and their responses were scored. The data were found to be non-normally distributed. The analysis revealed a significant difference in scores between Group I and both Group II and Group III. Chi-square tests showed that the responses to cognition-related questions varied among the groups, with Group II exhibiting more cognitive problems. Associated conditions like hypertension, diabetes, and hearing loss did not significantly influence the responses within each group. This study suggests a significant relationship between cognitive problems and patients with BPPV and MD. However, there was no association found between the cognitive problems experienced in BPPV and MD patients. These findings align with previous research indicating that vestibular disorders can lead to deficits in spatial memory, attention, and other cognitive functions. By understanding the link between cognition and vestibular disorders, we can improve diagnosis and rehabilitation services to enhance the quality of life for these patients.展开更多
Background:The assessment and management of misophonia need a team approach,and audiologists are essential team members.However,the role of an audiologist in this condition is not well understood,and there is a lack o...Background:The assessment and management of misophonia need a team approach,and audiologists are essential team members.However,the role of an audiologist in this condition is not well understood,and there is a lack of awareness even among professionals about their role in the assessment and management of misophonia.Purpose:The main aim of our study is to document the present level of awareness and knowledge about misophonia assessment and management among audiologists in India.Methods:A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among audiologists from all over India.Descriptive statistical procedures were measured based on the type of questions being addressed,and a non-parametric chi-square test was done to see the association among variables.Results:The results show a lack of knowledge about misophonia even among audiologists,as only 15.3%of the audiologist reported being confident in handling cases with misophonia.Conclusion:Although the exact assessment and management of misophonia is still the topic of debate,it is clear that audiologists are the team's key members.However,the results clearly show a lack of confidence in handling cases of misophonia among audiologists in India.This result shows the future need for Research in misophonia from an audiological perspective.展开更多
Background:Musical perception requires a host of skills.Instrumental musicians place greater emphasis on motor coordination,whereas vocal musicians rehearse vocal sounds.The study explored the differential advantages ...Background:Musical perception requires a host of skills.Instrumental musicians place greater emphasis on motor coordination,whereas vocal musicians rehearse vocal sounds.The study explored the differential advantages of musical background on binaural integration and interaction in musicians(instrumentalists,vocalists)and compared them with age-matched non-musicians.Methods:Eight six participants aged 20e40 y with normal hearing sensitivity were subjected to binaural tests using a standard group comparison research design.The participants were segregated into three groups e Group 1 included instrumentalists(n?26,mean age:17.73±2.83 y),while Group 2 and Group 3 consisted of vocalists(n?30,mean age:19.30±2.47 y)and non-musicians(n?30,mean age:18.20±3.02 y)respectively.The binaural processes namely integration(Dichotic syllable test,DST;and virtual acoustic space identification-VASI)and interaction(Interaural difference thresholds for time and level:ITD&ILD),were administered on all the participants.Results:Statistical analyses showed the main effect of musicianship.Bonferroni pair-wise test revealed that the musicians(instrumentalists and vocalists)outperformed(p<0.05)non-musicians in all the tests.The differential advantage of the musical background was seen on the binaural integration test with instrumentalists performing better in the VASI test compared to vocalists,and vice-versa for DST.No difference was observed in interaction tasks(ITD&ILD)between vocalists and instrumentalists(p>0.05).Conclusion:Musical background-induced differential advantages can be reasonably noted in the binaural skills of instrumentalists and vocalists(compared to non-musicians).展开更多
Background:Recent developments in virtual acoustic technology has levered promising applications in the field of auditory sciences,especially in spatial perception.While conventional auditory spatial assessment using ...Background:Recent developments in virtual acoustic technology has levered promising applications in the field of auditory sciences,especially in spatial perception.While conventional auditory spatial assessment using loudspeakers,interaural differences and/or questionnaires are limited by the availability and cost of instruments,the use of virtual acoustic space identification(VASI)test has widespread applications in spatial test battery as it overcomes these constraints.Purpose:The lack of test-retest reliability data of VASI test narrows its direct application in auditory spatial assessment,which is explored in the present study.Methods:Data from 75 normal-hearing young adults(mean age:25.11 y±4.65 SD)was collected in three sessions:baseline,within 15 min of baseline(intra-session),and one week after baseline session(inter-session).Test-retest reliability was assessed using the intra-class correlation coefficient(ICC),coefficient of variation(CV),and cluster plots.Results:The results showed excellent reliability for both accuracy and reaction time measures of VASI,with ICC values of 0.93 and 0.87,respectively.The CV values for overall VASI accuracy and reaction time 9.66% and 11.88%,respectively.This was also complemented by the cluster plot analyses,which showed 93.33% and 96.00% of temporal stability in the accuracy and reaction time measures,indicative of high test-retest reliability of VASI test in auditory spatial assessment.Conclusions:The high temporal stability(test-retest reliability)of VASI test validates its application in spatial hearing test battery.展开更多
Objective:The goal of this study was to evaluate the quality of life of parents of children who use hearing aids(HA)with those who use cochlear implants(CI)in the Indian context and document any differences found.Meth...Objective:The goal of this study was to evaluate the quality of life of parents of children who use hearing aids(HA)with those who use cochlear implants(CI)in the Indian context and document any differences found.Methods:The Kannada version of the AQoL-4D was administered in a modified fashion to 131 parents(87 HA and 44 CI).Sociodemographic details were collected for supplemental information on the intervention strategy used.Results:A total of 49 parents(29 HA and 20 CI)responded to the questionnaire sent.The mean total scores for both the groups were similar(HA group=17.9(SD=5.5),CI group=17.2(SD=3.4)),as was the score for the first subscale(HA group=8.6(SD=2.9);CI group=8.5(SD=2.6))of the AQoL-4D.No significant differences were found between the two groups on either scores[Total Score:U(N_(HA)=29,NCI=20)=280.5,z=0.194,p>0.05;Subscale 1 Score:U(N_(HA)=29,NCI=20)=281.5,z=-0.176,p>0.05].The degree of hearing loss in the hearing aid group was equivalent to that of the cochlear implant group but this did not appear to influence parental quality of life.Conclusion:Parents of children with hearing aids and cochlear implants appear to be similar on several psychosocial factors in the realms of functional,social,and psychological well-being.In terms of parental quality of life,hearing aids and cochlear implants appear to be equally effective intervention techniques.展开更多
Temporal envelope is a low frequency amplitude modulation conveying segmental and suprasegmental information during speech perception.Unfortunately,we seldom find ourselves in completely quiet listening environments a...Temporal envelope is a low frequency amplitude modulation conveying segmental and suprasegmental information during speech perception.Unfortunately,we seldom find ourselves in completely quiet listening environments and noise,commonly found in the surrounding environment,obscures both the fine structure cues and partly the temporal envelope cues in speech.Available temporal content of speech emanating from noise is often enough to convey required information in normal hearing individuals.However,the case is different in older adults(with and without hearing loss) who lack such capabilities due to the impairment in temporal processing.This calls attention of a researcher to delineate the importance of temporal enhancement of speech in improving speech perception.There are many temporal envelope strategies available in the literature,but each one has its own lacunae.An envelope enhancement by a deep band modulation(DBM) is found to be beneficial for those individuals who have had a temporal processing impairment.The reason could be attributed to the 15 dB enhancement in the temporal envelope bandwidth between 3 and 30 Hz,extracted from each channel,which significantly increases the modulation depth such that masking of a consonant by a vowel is minimized.Additionally,output of deep band modulated speech is rescaled such that its duration increases and it provides relatively easy access to the word of the lexicon.Thus,in the near future,with more experiments related to DBM algorithm,it can be utilized in the rehabilitative devices to lessen the impact of the temporal processing impairment.展开更多
To investigate how much gain variation is required from prescription to effect tinnitus percept,and if this revised prescription affects speech recognition.Twenty participants who experienced catastrophic tinnitus eve...To investigate how much gain variation is required from prescription to effect tinnitus percept,and if this revised prescription affects speech recognition.Twenty participants who experienced catastrophic tinnitus even after fitted with hearing aid were included.Participants were grouped based on their tinnitus pitch and the prescriptive formula used to fit hearing aid.They were evaluated for handicap from tinnitus using Tinnitus Handicap Inventory(THI).Hearing aid was programmed using either NAL-NL2 or DSL(I/o)v5 prescriptive formula and gain at tinnitus pitch was adjusted till the tinnitus get suppressed.SNR 50 was determined soon after fitted with hearing aid and 30 days of hearing aid use.Further,THI and international outcome inventory for hearing aid(IOI-HA)were determined after 30 days of hearing aid use.A significant higher gain adjustment was needed at tinnitus pitch to reduce tinnitus precept using NAL-NL2 than DSL(I/o)v5 prescriptive formula.Further,SNR 50 was not affected by either tinnitus pitch or revised prescription formulas.However,SNR 50 improved after 30 days of hearing aid use.A 76% of the participants’experienced habituation to perception after 30 days of hearing aid use,10% had slight,10% had mild,and 4% had a moderate degree of tinnitus on THI.On IOA-HA,96%(N=19)of participants have reported satisfactory,and 4%(N=1)reported moderate benefit from hearing aid.Irrespective of prescriptive formula adjusting gain at tinnitus pitch is an efficient method to reduce tinnitus symptoms and improve speech perception.展开更多
Purpose:Onset-based differences are understudied in Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder(ANSD)in dimensions such as voice,which is addressed in the study.The study aimed to profile and predict the best metrics of ons...Purpose:Onset-based differences are understudied in Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder(ANSD)in dimensions such as voice,which is addressed in the study.The study aimed to profile and predict the best metrics of onset-related differences in acoustic vocal characteristics of early and late-onset ANSD patients.Methods:31 participants(15 early and 16 late-onset)aged 15e30 years diagnosed with ANSD were included in the study.The sustained phonation of vowel/i/recorded by the participants using android based smartphones of selected configuration was sent over email to the experimenter.Acoustic parameters(fundamental frequency,harmonic frequencies,jitter,shimmer,harmonic-to-noise ratio,cepstral peak prominence-CPP,and pitch sigma)were analysed using Praat software.Results:Results revealed significantly increased(p<0.05)fundamental frequency along with decreased F2 and F3 of/i/in the early-onset ANSD compared to the late-onset group,which can be explained based on differences in the pathophysiology of the disorder.Although not statistically significant,mean perturbations(jitter and shimmer),harmonic-to-noise ratio,cepstral peak prominence,and pitch sigma were more affected in the early-onset group,reflective of lowered auditory feedback and periodicity in their voice samples.Results of discriminant analysis marked the emergence of F2,F3,and CPP as the most sensitive metrics for onset-based group differences in voice characteristics.Conclusions:The findings from the study highlight the role of acoustical voice evaluation(especially CPP,F2&F3)in verifying the onset of ANSD disorder.The insights from the onset-based differences seen in vocal characteristics can indirectly help audiologists in deciding the management options for ANSD.展开更多
Background:Diurnal changes can be defined as the time of the day over an individual's performance level for different activities that involve physical and mental tasks.Objective:The current study aimed to evaluate...Background:Diurnal changes can be defined as the time of the day over an individual's performance level for different activities that involve physical and mental tasks.Objective:The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of diurnal changes in scores obtained for the Dichotic Consonant-Vowel paradigm by young adults with normal hearing sensitivity.Method:Based on the‘Morningness-Eveningness questionnaire’given by Horne&Ostberg,the subjects were divided into moderately-morning,intermediate and moderately-evening categories.The Dichotic Consonant-Vowel tests were performed during morning and evening,and the right ear,left ear and double correct scores were compared between morning and evening for each category.Results:There was significant diurnal changes noted for moderately morning and evening categories,where morning-type individuals performed better during morning and evening-type individuals performed better during the evening.The scores of intermediate individuals remained unchanged between morning and evening test results.Conclusion:Diurnal change is a phenomenon associated with an individual's biological clock mechanism.Hence,attention and inhibitory controls aid them in carrying out tasks that require sufficient physical and mental efforts.The current study suggests that clinicians and researchers consider diurnal changes as an extraneous variable that could affect the reliability of the Dichotic Consonant-Vowel test results.展开更多
Introduction:Hypersensitivity to sound and tinnitus are often co-morbid and can influence emotional well-being,hearing,sleep,concentration,cause anxiety,and interfere with speech perception in noise.Purpose:A clear me...Introduction:Hypersensitivity to sound and tinnitus are often co-morbid and can influence emotional well-being,hearing,sleep,concentration,cause anxiety,and interfere with speech perception in noise.Purpose:A clear measure of sensitivity to sound is important as there is dearth in standard protocol for evaluating hyperacusis in individuals with tinnitus.Although there are a few questionnaires to assess hyperacusis,a direct application of these questionnaires in the Indian context would be unfavorable.Objectives:The study attempts to develop and validate an indigenous Hyperacusis Handicap Questionnaire(HHQ)for individuals with tinnitus associated with hyperacusis.Method:A total of 25 questions were considered for validation.Further,21 questions were subdivided into three sections of seven questions each,tapping,‘Functional,’‘Social,’and‘Emotional’aspects of the condition.It was administered on 77 individuals with tinnitus associated with hyperacusis in the age range of 20e55 years for further validation.A total score was obtained by adding all the three sub-scales.Results:The internal consistency of the questionnaire was determined by Cronbach’s Alpha(a)was a?0.85;and,a?0.83 for Functional,a?0.81 for Social,a?0.7 for Emotional subscales suggesting that the questionnaire can be used for the assessment of handicap associated with hyperacusis in individuals with tinnitus.Also,no significant difference in terms of gender and duration of tinnitus comparisons were seen.Conclusions:The obtained results suggest that HHQ will aid in the characterization and quantification of the handicap associated with hyperacusis in individuals with tinnitus.展开更多
Objective:To test for pre-attentive auditory discrimination skills in Indian classical vocal musicians and non-musicians.Design:Mismatch negativity(MMN) was recorded to test for pre-attentive auditory discrimination s...Objective:To test for pre-attentive auditory discrimination skills in Indian classical vocal musicians and non-musicians.Design:Mismatch negativity(MMN) was recorded to test for pre-attentive auditory discrimination skills with a pair of stimuli of /1000 Hz/ and/1100 Hz/,with /1000 Hz/ as the frequent stimulus and /1100 Hz/ as the infrequent stimulus.Onset,offset and peak latencies were the considered latency parameters,whereas peak amplitude and area under the curve were considered for amplitude analysis.Study sample:Exactly 50 participants,out of which the experimental group had 25 adult Indian classical vocal musicians and 25 age-matched non-musicians served as the control group,were included in the study.Experimental group participants had a minimum professional music experience in Indian classic vocal music of 10 years.However,control group participants did not have any formal training in music.Results:Descriptive statistics showed better waveform morphology in the experimental group as compared to the control.MANOVA showed significantly better onset latency,peak amplitude and area under the curve in the experimental group but no significant difference in the offset and peak latencies between the two groups.Conclusion:The present study probably points towards the enhancement of pre-attentive auditory discrimination skills in Indian classical vocal musicians compared to non-musicians.It indicates that Indian classical musical training enhances pre-attentive auditory discrimination skills in musicians,leading to higher peak amplitude and a greater area under the curve compared to non-musicians.展开更多
Background:Subjective measures of auditory development are equally important as objective measures to obtain a realistic image of the hearing status in infants and toddlers.Objectives:The objectives of the current stu...Background:Subjective measures of auditory development are equally important as objective measures to obtain a realistic image of the hearing status in infants and toddlers.Objectives:The objectives of the current study were to translate and validate the LittleEARS questionnaire into the Hindi language,to calculate its psychometric properties and establish a regression curve of the scores obtained as a function of age,to calculate the inter-test and test retest reliability of the same.The secondary objectives were to compare the scores obtained by the normal hearing children and those with hearing impairment and to plot a regression curve of total scores obtained by the hearing-impaired children as a function of the duration of auditory training attended since their first fit of the device.Materials and methods:The procedures involved conventional translation,reverse translation,and content validation before administering the questionnaire.The translated version was administered to parents of 59 children with normal hearing and 41 children with hearing impairment.Results:The finalized version had good reliability and efficient internal consistency with a Cronbach alpha value of 0.96.The mean scores obtained by the normal hearing children showed a progressive pattern as a function of age.Conclusion:The LittleEARS questionnaire has been successfully translated and validated into the Hindi language with excellent validity and reliability and can be used for screening and early identification of hearing impairment and in evaluating the outcome of audiological treatment approaches.展开更多
Background:Studies on animals have demonstrated that maternal iron deficiency anaemia(IDA)could result in decreased cochlear sensory hair cells and reduced amplitudes of distortion-product otoacoustic emissions(DPOAEs...Background:Studies on animals have demonstrated that maternal iron deficiency anaemia(IDA)could result in decreased cochlear sensory hair cells and reduced amplitudes of distortion-product otoacoustic emissions(DPOAEs)of young guinea pigs.Thus,it is essential to study the functioning of cochlear hair cells using DPOAEs in human newborn babies with maternal IDA.The current study explores maternal IDA’s effect on DPOAEs in newborn babies.Method:A total of 110 newborn babies with gestational age≥34 weeks were considered and a‘betweensubjects’design was used.The participants were divided into 3 groups-“Normal”(61 babies without maternal IDA),“Mild”(28 babies with mild maternal IDA)and“Moderate”(21 babies with moderate maternal IDA).The cord blood was collected and the DPOAEs were recorded for each baby for a range of frequencies(1 k 8 kHz)and a range of intensities(7040 dB SPL in 10 dB steps).Results:The analysis of both DP-gram and DP input-output(I/O)function showed that there was no significant difference(p>0.05)across the normal,mild,and moderate groups in the overall presence of DPOAEs as well as the amplitude across frequencies or intensities(7040 dB SPL).Also,the overall correlation of RBC indices with DPOAE amplitude across frequencies as well as the slope of the I/O function showed no relationship.Conclusion:The current study concludes that there is no effect of late-term maternal IDA on the DPOAEs of newborn babies.展开更多
Auditory evoked potentials serve as an objective mode for assessment to check the functioning of the auditory system and neuroplasticity.Literature has reported enhanced electrophysiological responses in musicians, wh...Auditory evoked potentials serve as an objective mode for assessment to check the functioning of the auditory system and neuroplasticity.Literature has reported enhanced electrophysiological responses in musicians, which shows neuroplasticity in musicians. Various databases including Pub Med, Google, Google Scholar and Medline were searched for references related to auditory evoked potentials in musicians from 1994 till date. Different auditory evoked potentials in musicians have been summarized in the present article. The findings of various studies may support as evidences for music-induced neuroplasticity which can be used for the treatment of various clinical disorders. The search results showed enhanced auditory evoked potentials in musicians compared to non-musicians from brainstem to cortical levels. Also, the present review showed enhanced attentive and pre-attentive skills in musicians compared to non-musicians.展开更多
Older adults often find it difficult to perceive speech, especially in noisy conditions. Though hearing aid is one of the rehabilitative devices available to older adults to alleviate hearing loss, some of them may ex...Older adults often find it difficult to perceive speech, especially in noisy conditions. Though hearing aid is one of the rehabilitative devices available to older adults to alleviate hearing loss, some of them may experience annoyance through hearing aid and hence reject it, may be due to circuitry noise and/or background noise. Acceptable noise level is a direct behavioural measure to estimate the extent of how much a person is able to put up with noise while simultaneously listening to speech. Acceptable noise level is a central auditory measure and it is not influenced by age, gender, presentation level or speaker. Using this measure, we can quantify the annoyance level experienced by an individual. This in-formation is of utmost importance and caution should be paid before setting the parameters in hearing aid, especially for those who are unable to accept noise. In this review article, an attempt has been made to document how to optimize the hearing aid program by setting parameters such as noise reduction circuit, microphone sensitivity and gain. These adjustments of parameters might help to reduce rejection rate of hearing aids, especially in those individuals who are annoyed by background noise. Copyright ? 2015 The Authors. Production & hosting by Elsevier (Singapore) Pte Ltd On behalf of PLA General Hospital Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).展开更多
Background:Neuroplasticity is a phenomenon exhibited by our nervous system as an indicator of overall development and in response to training,injury/loss of particular function,treatment/drugs and as a result of stimu...Background:Neuroplasticity is a phenomenon exhibited by our nervous system as an indicator of overall development and in response to training,injury/loss of particular function,treatment/drugs and as a result of stimulation from the surrounding environment.Objective:The aim of the current study was to assess the auditory working memory capacities in Bharatanatyam dancers.Method:The participants comprised fifty-four females with normal hearing sensitivity who belonged to two groups.Group-I consisted of 27 individuals who underwent formal training in Bharatanatyam for a minimum period of three years.Group-II consisted of the age-matched control group,consisting of 27individuals who were non-dancers.The auditory working memory tasks included arranging the English digits presented binaurally in forward,backward,ascending,and descending spans.The maximum values(for the length of sequence arranged),midpoint values(average score),and response time for each task were noted down and compared among groups.Results:The scores were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test,which revealed enhanced working memory exhibited by dancers for maximum values and midpoint scores for all three tasks except ascending span.It was also noted that the dancers exhibited a shorter response time compared to nondancers for all the tasks except ascending span.Conclusion:The current study highlights an enhanced auditory working memory capacity in Bharatanatyam dancers,which could be perceived as evidence of neuroplastic changes induced in the auditory and motor cortex as a consequence of extensive stimulation for auditory processing abilities and motor planning resulting from long-term dance training and regular practice.展开更多
In this paper maximum ranked set sampling procedure with unequal samples (MRSSU) is proposed. Maximum likelihood estimator and modified maximum likelihood estimator are obtained and their properties are studied under ...In this paper maximum ranked set sampling procedure with unequal samples (MRSSU) is proposed. Maximum likelihood estimator and modified maximum likelihood estimator are obtained and their properties are studied under exponential distribution. These methods are studied under both perfect and imperfect ranking (with errors in ranking). These estimators are then compared with estimators based on simple random sampling (SRS) and ranked set sampling (RSS) procedures. It is shown that relative efficiencies of the estimators based on MRSSU are better than those of the estimator based on SRS. Simulation results show that efficiency of proposed estimator is better than estimator based on RSS under ranking error.展开更多
In the situation where the sampling units in a study can be easily ranked than quantified, the ranked set sampling methods are found to be more efficient and cost effective as compared to SRS. In this paper we propose...In the situation where the sampling units in a study can be easily ranked than quantified, the ranked set sampling methods are found to be more efficient and cost effective as compared to SRS. In this paper we propose an estimator of the population mean using paired ranked set sampling (RSS) method. The proposed estimator is an unbiased estimator of the population mean when the set size is even. In case of odd set size the estimator is unbiased when the underlying distribution is symmetric. It is shown that the proposed estimator is more efficient than its counterpart SRS method for all distributions considered in this study.展开更多
Purpose:Misophonia is not investigated much from an audiological perspective.Our study aims to examine the processing of the auditory retro-cochlear pathways in individuals with misophonia.Methods:A cross-sectional st...Purpose:Misophonia is not investigated much from an audiological perspective.Our study aims to examine the processing of the auditory retro-cochlear pathways in individuals with misophonia.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted among university students who had misophonia.The revised Amsterdam Misophonia Scale was used to determine the severity of misophonia.Participants were divided into mild and moderate-severe misophonia and compared with the healthy control group.Auditory Brainstem Response testing was recorded from all the individuals with misophonia.The absolute latency,amplitude,inter-peak latency difference,and inter-rate latency difference were compared between the groups.Results:One-way ANOVA result showed no significant difference in all the parameters of auditory brainstem response between the groups.These results are suggestive of normal brainstem processing in individuals with misophonia.Conclusions:The study concludes that the auditory pathway up to brainstem areas is intact in individuals with misophonia.Further studies are essential on a larger population for generalizing the results.展开更多
1.Introduction Permanent sensorineural hearing loss in infants and children presents a significant challenge as it can negatively impact speech,language development,and education.Hearing loss occurs in about 1–3 out ...1.Introduction Permanent sensorineural hearing loss in infants and children presents a significant challenge as it can negatively impact speech,language development,and education.Hearing loss occurs in about 1–3 out of every 1000 live births in healthy infants and in 2–4 out of 100 infants who receive care in a neonatal intensive care unit(NICU)(Ohl et al.,2009).Premature birth is the major cause for prolonged NICU stays or hospitalizations in newborns(Schindler et al.,2017).Newborn hearing screening is gaining momentum in developing countries such as India,in spite of a shortage of audiologists and limited infrastructure(Ramkuamar,2019;Galhotra and Sahu,2019).Newborn hearing screening programs are implemented in a few tertiary care hospitals,and ABR screening is recommended for preterm infants and infants who have been in the NICU for more than 5 days.展开更多
文摘The vestibular system connects the inner ear to the midbrain and subcortical structures and can affect cognition. Patients with vertigo often experience cognitive symptoms such as attention deficits, memory problems, and spatial perception difficulties. This study aimed to explore the cognitive impairments associated with Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo(BPPV) and Meniere's Disease(MD). A non-experimental group comparison design was used with 107 participants divided into three groups: Group I(clinically normal), Group II(BPPV), and Group III(MD). Participants completed a questionnaire with 10 cognition-related questions, and their responses were scored. The data were found to be non-normally distributed. The analysis revealed a significant difference in scores between Group I and both Group II and Group III. Chi-square tests showed that the responses to cognition-related questions varied among the groups, with Group II exhibiting more cognitive problems. Associated conditions like hypertension, diabetes, and hearing loss did not significantly influence the responses within each group. This study suggests a significant relationship between cognitive problems and patients with BPPV and MD. However, there was no association found between the cognitive problems experienced in BPPV and MD patients. These findings align with previous research indicating that vestibular disorders can lead to deficits in spatial memory, attention, and other cognitive functions. By understanding the link between cognition and vestibular disorders, we can improve diagnosis and rehabilitation services to enhance the quality of life for these patients.
文摘Background:The assessment and management of misophonia need a team approach,and audiologists are essential team members.However,the role of an audiologist in this condition is not well understood,and there is a lack of awareness even among professionals about their role in the assessment and management of misophonia.Purpose:The main aim of our study is to document the present level of awareness and knowledge about misophonia assessment and management among audiologists in India.Methods:A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among audiologists from all over India.Descriptive statistical procedures were measured based on the type of questions being addressed,and a non-parametric chi-square test was done to see the association among variables.Results:The results show a lack of knowledge about misophonia even among audiologists,as only 15.3%of the audiologist reported being confident in handling cases with misophonia.Conclusion:Although the exact assessment and management of misophonia is still the topic of debate,it is clear that audiologists are the team's key members.However,the results clearly show a lack of confidence in handling cases of misophonia among audiologists in India.This result shows the future need for Research in misophonia from an audiological perspective.
文摘Background:Musical perception requires a host of skills.Instrumental musicians place greater emphasis on motor coordination,whereas vocal musicians rehearse vocal sounds.The study explored the differential advantages of musical background on binaural integration and interaction in musicians(instrumentalists,vocalists)and compared them with age-matched non-musicians.Methods:Eight six participants aged 20e40 y with normal hearing sensitivity were subjected to binaural tests using a standard group comparison research design.The participants were segregated into three groups e Group 1 included instrumentalists(n?26,mean age:17.73±2.83 y),while Group 2 and Group 3 consisted of vocalists(n?30,mean age:19.30±2.47 y)and non-musicians(n?30,mean age:18.20±3.02 y)respectively.The binaural processes namely integration(Dichotic syllable test,DST;and virtual acoustic space identification-VASI)and interaction(Interaural difference thresholds for time and level:ITD&ILD),were administered on all the participants.Results:Statistical analyses showed the main effect of musicianship.Bonferroni pair-wise test revealed that the musicians(instrumentalists and vocalists)outperformed(p<0.05)non-musicians in all the tests.The differential advantage of the musical background was seen on the binaural integration test with instrumentalists performing better in the VASI test compared to vocalists,and vice-versa for DST.No difference was observed in interaction tasks(ITD&ILD)between vocalists and instrumentalists(p>0.05).Conclusion:Musical background-induced differential advantages can be reasonably noted in the binaural skills of instrumentalists and vocalists(compared to non-musicians).
文摘Background:Recent developments in virtual acoustic technology has levered promising applications in the field of auditory sciences,especially in spatial perception.While conventional auditory spatial assessment using loudspeakers,interaural differences and/or questionnaires are limited by the availability and cost of instruments,the use of virtual acoustic space identification(VASI)test has widespread applications in spatial test battery as it overcomes these constraints.Purpose:The lack of test-retest reliability data of VASI test narrows its direct application in auditory spatial assessment,which is explored in the present study.Methods:Data from 75 normal-hearing young adults(mean age:25.11 y±4.65 SD)was collected in three sessions:baseline,within 15 min of baseline(intra-session),and one week after baseline session(inter-session).Test-retest reliability was assessed using the intra-class correlation coefficient(ICC),coefficient of variation(CV),and cluster plots.Results:The results showed excellent reliability for both accuracy and reaction time measures of VASI,with ICC values of 0.93 and 0.87,respectively.The CV values for overall VASI accuracy and reaction time 9.66% and 11.88%,respectively.This was also complemented by the cluster plot analyses,which showed 93.33% and 96.00% of temporal stability in the accuracy and reaction time measures,indicative of high test-retest reliability of VASI test in auditory spatial assessment.Conclusions:The high temporal stability(test-retest reliability)of VASI test validates its application in spatial hearing test battery.
文摘Objective:The goal of this study was to evaluate the quality of life of parents of children who use hearing aids(HA)with those who use cochlear implants(CI)in the Indian context and document any differences found.Methods:The Kannada version of the AQoL-4D was administered in a modified fashion to 131 parents(87 HA and 44 CI).Sociodemographic details were collected for supplemental information on the intervention strategy used.Results:A total of 49 parents(29 HA and 20 CI)responded to the questionnaire sent.The mean total scores for both the groups were similar(HA group=17.9(SD=5.5),CI group=17.2(SD=3.4)),as was the score for the first subscale(HA group=8.6(SD=2.9);CI group=8.5(SD=2.6))of the AQoL-4D.No significant differences were found between the two groups on either scores[Total Score:U(N_(HA)=29,NCI=20)=280.5,z=0.194,p>0.05;Subscale 1 Score:U(N_(HA)=29,NCI=20)=281.5,z=-0.176,p>0.05].The degree of hearing loss in the hearing aid group was equivalent to that of the cochlear implant group but this did not appear to influence parental quality of life.Conclusion:Parents of children with hearing aids and cochlear implants appear to be similar on several psychosocial factors in the realms of functional,social,and psychological well-being.In terms of parental quality of life,hearing aids and cochlear implants appear to be equally effective intervention techniques.
文摘Temporal envelope is a low frequency amplitude modulation conveying segmental and suprasegmental information during speech perception.Unfortunately,we seldom find ourselves in completely quiet listening environments and noise,commonly found in the surrounding environment,obscures both the fine structure cues and partly the temporal envelope cues in speech.Available temporal content of speech emanating from noise is often enough to convey required information in normal hearing individuals.However,the case is different in older adults(with and without hearing loss) who lack such capabilities due to the impairment in temporal processing.This calls attention of a researcher to delineate the importance of temporal enhancement of speech in improving speech perception.There are many temporal envelope strategies available in the literature,but each one has its own lacunae.An envelope enhancement by a deep band modulation(DBM) is found to be beneficial for those individuals who have had a temporal processing impairment.The reason could be attributed to the 15 dB enhancement in the temporal envelope bandwidth between 3 and 30 Hz,extracted from each channel,which significantly increases the modulation depth such that masking of a consonant by a vowel is minimized.Additionally,output of deep band modulated speech is rescaled such that its duration increases and it provides relatively easy access to the word of the lexicon.Thus,in the near future,with more experiments related to DBM algorithm,it can be utilized in the rehabilitative devices to lessen the impact of the temporal processing impairment.
文摘To investigate how much gain variation is required from prescription to effect tinnitus percept,and if this revised prescription affects speech recognition.Twenty participants who experienced catastrophic tinnitus even after fitted with hearing aid were included.Participants were grouped based on their tinnitus pitch and the prescriptive formula used to fit hearing aid.They were evaluated for handicap from tinnitus using Tinnitus Handicap Inventory(THI).Hearing aid was programmed using either NAL-NL2 or DSL(I/o)v5 prescriptive formula and gain at tinnitus pitch was adjusted till the tinnitus get suppressed.SNR 50 was determined soon after fitted with hearing aid and 30 days of hearing aid use.Further,THI and international outcome inventory for hearing aid(IOI-HA)were determined after 30 days of hearing aid use.A significant higher gain adjustment was needed at tinnitus pitch to reduce tinnitus precept using NAL-NL2 than DSL(I/o)v5 prescriptive formula.Further,SNR 50 was not affected by either tinnitus pitch or revised prescription formulas.However,SNR 50 improved after 30 days of hearing aid use.A 76% of the participants’experienced habituation to perception after 30 days of hearing aid use,10% had slight,10% had mild,and 4% had a moderate degree of tinnitus on THI.On IOA-HA,96%(N=19)of participants have reported satisfactory,and 4%(N=1)reported moderate benefit from hearing aid.Irrespective of prescriptive formula adjusting gain at tinnitus pitch is an efficient method to reduce tinnitus symptoms and improve speech perception.
文摘Purpose:Onset-based differences are understudied in Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder(ANSD)in dimensions such as voice,which is addressed in the study.The study aimed to profile and predict the best metrics of onset-related differences in acoustic vocal characteristics of early and late-onset ANSD patients.Methods:31 participants(15 early and 16 late-onset)aged 15e30 years diagnosed with ANSD were included in the study.The sustained phonation of vowel/i/recorded by the participants using android based smartphones of selected configuration was sent over email to the experimenter.Acoustic parameters(fundamental frequency,harmonic frequencies,jitter,shimmer,harmonic-to-noise ratio,cepstral peak prominence-CPP,and pitch sigma)were analysed using Praat software.Results:Results revealed significantly increased(p<0.05)fundamental frequency along with decreased F2 and F3 of/i/in the early-onset ANSD compared to the late-onset group,which can be explained based on differences in the pathophysiology of the disorder.Although not statistically significant,mean perturbations(jitter and shimmer),harmonic-to-noise ratio,cepstral peak prominence,and pitch sigma were more affected in the early-onset group,reflective of lowered auditory feedback and periodicity in their voice samples.Results of discriminant analysis marked the emergence of F2,F3,and CPP as the most sensitive metrics for onset-based group differences in voice characteristics.Conclusions:The findings from the study highlight the role of acoustical voice evaluation(especially CPP,F2&F3)in verifying the onset of ANSD disorder.The insights from the onset-based differences seen in vocal characteristics can indirectly help audiologists in deciding the management options for ANSD.
文摘Background:Diurnal changes can be defined as the time of the day over an individual's performance level for different activities that involve physical and mental tasks.Objective:The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of diurnal changes in scores obtained for the Dichotic Consonant-Vowel paradigm by young adults with normal hearing sensitivity.Method:Based on the‘Morningness-Eveningness questionnaire’given by Horne&Ostberg,the subjects were divided into moderately-morning,intermediate and moderately-evening categories.The Dichotic Consonant-Vowel tests were performed during morning and evening,and the right ear,left ear and double correct scores were compared between morning and evening for each category.Results:There was significant diurnal changes noted for moderately morning and evening categories,where morning-type individuals performed better during morning and evening-type individuals performed better during the evening.The scores of intermediate individuals remained unchanged between morning and evening test results.Conclusion:Diurnal change is a phenomenon associated with an individual's biological clock mechanism.Hence,attention and inhibitory controls aid them in carrying out tasks that require sufficient physical and mental efforts.The current study suggests that clinicians and researchers consider diurnal changes as an extraneous variable that could affect the reliability of the Dichotic Consonant-Vowel test results.
文摘Introduction:Hypersensitivity to sound and tinnitus are often co-morbid and can influence emotional well-being,hearing,sleep,concentration,cause anxiety,and interfere with speech perception in noise.Purpose:A clear measure of sensitivity to sound is important as there is dearth in standard protocol for evaluating hyperacusis in individuals with tinnitus.Although there are a few questionnaires to assess hyperacusis,a direct application of these questionnaires in the Indian context would be unfavorable.Objectives:The study attempts to develop and validate an indigenous Hyperacusis Handicap Questionnaire(HHQ)for individuals with tinnitus associated with hyperacusis.Method:A total of 25 questions were considered for validation.Further,21 questions were subdivided into three sections of seven questions each,tapping,‘Functional,’‘Social,’and‘Emotional’aspects of the condition.It was administered on 77 individuals with tinnitus associated with hyperacusis in the age range of 20e55 years for further validation.A total score was obtained by adding all the three sub-scales.Results:The internal consistency of the questionnaire was determined by Cronbach’s Alpha(a)was a?0.85;and,a?0.83 for Functional,a?0.81 for Social,a?0.7 for Emotional subscales suggesting that the questionnaire can be used for the assessment of handicap associated with hyperacusis in individuals with tinnitus.Also,no significant difference in terms of gender and duration of tinnitus comparisons were seen.Conclusions:The obtained results suggest that HHQ will aid in the characterization and quantification of the handicap associated with hyperacusis in individuals with tinnitus.
文摘Objective:To test for pre-attentive auditory discrimination skills in Indian classical vocal musicians and non-musicians.Design:Mismatch negativity(MMN) was recorded to test for pre-attentive auditory discrimination skills with a pair of stimuli of /1000 Hz/ and/1100 Hz/,with /1000 Hz/ as the frequent stimulus and /1100 Hz/ as the infrequent stimulus.Onset,offset and peak latencies were the considered latency parameters,whereas peak amplitude and area under the curve were considered for amplitude analysis.Study sample:Exactly 50 participants,out of which the experimental group had 25 adult Indian classical vocal musicians and 25 age-matched non-musicians served as the control group,were included in the study.Experimental group participants had a minimum professional music experience in Indian classic vocal music of 10 years.However,control group participants did not have any formal training in music.Results:Descriptive statistics showed better waveform morphology in the experimental group as compared to the control.MANOVA showed significantly better onset latency,peak amplitude and area under the curve in the experimental group but no significant difference in the offset and peak latencies between the two groups.Conclusion:The present study probably points towards the enhancement of pre-attentive auditory discrimination skills in Indian classical vocal musicians compared to non-musicians.It indicates that Indian classical musical training enhances pre-attentive auditory discrimination skills in musicians,leading to higher peak amplitude and a greater area under the curve compared to non-musicians.
文摘Background:Subjective measures of auditory development are equally important as objective measures to obtain a realistic image of the hearing status in infants and toddlers.Objectives:The objectives of the current study were to translate and validate the LittleEARS questionnaire into the Hindi language,to calculate its psychometric properties and establish a regression curve of the scores obtained as a function of age,to calculate the inter-test and test retest reliability of the same.The secondary objectives were to compare the scores obtained by the normal hearing children and those with hearing impairment and to plot a regression curve of total scores obtained by the hearing-impaired children as a function of the duration of auditory training attended since their first fit of the device.Materials and methods:The procedures involved conventional translation,reverse translation,and content validation before administering the questionnaire.The translated version was administered to parents of 59 children with normal hearing and 41 children with hearing impairment.Results:The finalized version had good reliability and efficient internal consistency with a Cronbach alpha value of 0.96.The mean scores obtained by the normal hearing children showed a progressive pattern as a function of age.Conclusion:The LittleEARS questionnaire has been successfully translated and validated into the Hindi language with excellent validity and reliability and can be used for screening and early identification of hearing impairment and in evaluating the outcome of audiological treatment approaches.
文摘Background:Studies on animals have demonstrated that maternal iron deficiency anaemia(IDA)could result in decreased cochlear sensory hair cells and reduced amplitudes of distortion-product otoacoustic emissions(DPOAEs)of young guinea pigs.Thus,it is essential to study the functioning of cochlear hair cells using DPOAEs in human newborn babies with maternal IDA.The current study explores maternal IDA’s effect on DPOAEs in newborn babies.Method:A total of 110 newborn babies with gestational age≥34 weeks were considered and a‘betweensubjects’design was used.The participants were divided into 3 groups-“Normal”(61 babies without maternal IDA),“Mild”(28 babies with mild maternal IDA)and“Moderate”(21 babies with moderate maternal IDA).The cord blood was collected and the DPOAEs were recorded for each baby for a range of frequencies(1 k 8 kHz)and a range of intensities(7040 dB SPL in 10 dB steps).Results:The analysis of both DP-gram and DP input-output(I/O)function showed that there was no significant difference(p>0.05)across the normal,mild,and moderate groups in the overall presence of DPOAEs as well as the amplitude across frequencies or intensities(7040 dB SPL).Also,the overall correlation of RBC indices with DPOAE amplitude across frequencies as well as the slope of the I/O function showed no relationship.Conclusion:The current study concludes that there is no effect of late-term maternal IDA on the DPOAEs of newborn babies.
文摘Auditory evoked potentials serve as an objective mode for assessment to check the functioning of the auditory system and neuroplasticity.Literature has reported enhanced electrophysiological responses in musicians, which shows neuroplasticity in musicians. Various databases including Pub Med, Google, Google Scholar and Medline were searched for references related to auditory evoked potentials in musicians from 1994 till date. Different auditory evoked potentials in musicians have been summarized in the present article. The findings of various studies may support as evidences for music-induced neuroplasticity which can be used for the treatment of various clinical disorders. The search results showed enhanced auditory evoked potentials in musicians compared to non-musicians from brainstem to cortical levels. Also, the present review showed enhanced attentive and pre-attentive skills in musicians compared to non-musicians.
文摘Older adults often find it difficult to perceive speech, especially in noisy conditions. Though hearing aid is one of the rehabilitative devices available to older adults to alleviate hearing loss, some of them may experience annoyance through hearing aid and hence reject it, may be due to circuitry noise and/or background noise. Acceptable noise level is a direct behavioural measure to estimate the extent of how much a person is able to put up with noise while simultaneously listening to speech. Acceptable noise level is a central auditory measure and it is not influenced by age, gender, presentation level or speaker. Using this measure, we can quantify the annoyance level experienced by an individual. This in-formation is of utmost importance and caution should be paid before setting the parameters in hearing aid, especially for those who are unable to accept noise. In this review article, an attempt has been made to document how to optimize the hearing aid program by setting parameters such as noise reduction circuit, microphone sensitivity and gain. These adjustments of parameters might help to reduce rejection rate of hearing aids, especially in those individuals who are annoyed by background noise. Copyright ? 2015 The Authors. Production & hosting by Elsevier (Singapore) Pte Ltd On behalf of PLA General Hospital Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
文摘Background:Neuroplasticity is a phenomenon exhibited by our nervous system as an indicator of overall development and in response to training,injury/loss of particular function,treatment/drugs and as a result of stimulation from the surrounding environment.Objective:The aim of the current study was to assess the auditory working memory capacities in Bharatanatyam dancers.Method:The participants comprised fifty-four females with normal hearing sensitivity who belonged to two groups.Group-I consisted of 27 individuals who underwent formal training in Bharatanatyam for a minimum period of three years.Group-II consisted of the age-matched control group,consisting of 27individuals who were non-dancers.The auditory working memory tasks included arranging the English digits presented binaurally in forward,backward,ascending,and descending spans.The maximum values(for the length of sequence arranged),midpoint values(average score),and response time for each task were noted down and compared among groups.Results:The scores were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test,which revealed enhanced working memory exhibited by dancers for maximum values and midpoint scores for all three tasks except ascending span.It was also noted that the dancers exhibited a shorter response time compared to nondancers for all the tasks except ascending span.Conclusion:The current study highlights an enhanced auditory working memory capacity in Bharatanatyam dancers,which could be perceived as evidence of neuroplastic changes induced in the auditory and motor cortex as a consequence of extensive stimulation for auditory processing abilities and motor planning resulting from long-term dance training and regular practice.
文摘In this paper maximum ranked set sampling procedure with unequal samples (MRSSU) is proposed. Maximum likelihood estimator and modified maximum likelihood estimator are obtained and their properties are studied under exponential distribution. These methods are studied under both perfect and imperfect ranking (with errors in ranking). These estimators are then compared with estimators based on simple random sampling (SRS) and ranked set sampling (RSS) procedures. It is shown that relative efficiencies of the estimators based on MRSSU are better than those of the estimator based on SRS. Simulation results show that efficiency of proposed estimator is better than estimator based on RSS under ranking error.
文摘In the situation where the sampling units in a study can be easily ranked than quantified, the ranked set sampling methods are found to be more efficient and cost effective as compared to SRS. In this paper we propose an estimator of the population mean using paired ranked set sampling (RSS) method. The proposed estimator is an unbiased estimator of the population mean when the set size is even. In case of odd set size the estimator is unbiased when the underlying distribution is symmetric. It is shown that the proposed estimator is more efficient than its counterpart SRS method for all distributions considered in this study.
文摘Purpose:Misophonia is not investigated much from an audiological perspective.Our study aims to examine the processing of the auditory retro-cochlear pathways in individuals with misophonia.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted among university students who had misophonia.The revised Amsterdam Misophonia Scale was used to determine the severity of misophonia.Participants were divided into mild and moderate-severe misophonia and compared with the healthy control group.Auditory Brainstem Response testing was recorded from all the individuals with misophonia.The absolute latency,amplitude,inter-peak latency difference,and inter-rate latency difference were compared between the groups.Results:One-way ANOVA result showed no significant difference in all the parameters of auditory brainstem response between the groups.These results are suggestive of normal brainstem processing in individuals with misophonia.Conclusions:The study concludes that the auditory pathway up to brainstem areas is intact in individuals with misophonia.Further studies are essential on a larger population for generalizing the results.
文摘1.Introduction Permanent sensorineural hearing loss in infants and children presents a significant challenge as it can negatively impact speech,language development,and education.Hearing loss occurs in about 1–3 out of every 1000 live births in healthy infants and in 2–4 out of 100 infants who receive care in a neonatal intensive care unit(NICU)(Ohl et al.,2009).Premature birth is the major cause for prolonged NICU stays or hospitalizations in newborns(Schindler et al.,2017).Newborn hearing screening is gaining momentum in developing countries such as India,in spite of a shortage of audiologists and limited infrastructure(Ramkuamar,2019;Galhotra and Sahu,2019).Newborn hearing screening programs are implemented in a few tertiary care hospitals,and ABR screening is recommended for preterm infants and infants who have been in the NICU for more than 5 days.
