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Detailed studies have not been conducted on sound localization and speech perception in noise in patients with unilateral congenital aural atresia (UCAA). To evaluate the benefits of the use of the Vibrant Soundbridge (VSB) for UCAA by performing audiometric and sound localization tests. Four children with UCAA underwent VSB (VORP 503) implantation from 2018 to 2019. Speech perception tests in noise were conducted using the Japanese monosyllable test. The spatial configuration for speech testing consisted of speech presented from the front and noise presented into the normal ear (S0N90). The sound localization test was conducted using nine loudspeakers equally distributed in a semicircle. The children's speech perception in noise 6 months after VSB activation was significantly better than before activation (p <.05). Additionally, the children's sound localization ability after VSB activation was significantly better than before VSB activation. The benefits of VSB use in children with UCAA were revealed using audiometric and sound localization tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The preservation of residual hearing after conventional cochlear implantation (CI) is frequently observed when atraumatic soft surgery is adopted. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the predictive factors for residual hearing preservation after atraumatic CI. Patients: This study included 46 patients who underwent CI based on an atraumatic technique using a standard-length flexible electrode implant through a round window approach. Main outcome measure: Cochlear volume was measured using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Cochlear duct length (CDL) was taken as the length of the scala media measured using computed tomography (CT). The association between residual hearing preservation and cochlear volume/CDL was then examined. Result: Cochlear volume and CDL were significantly larger in patients with complete hearing preservation than in those with hearing loss. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that cochlear volume was a significant predictive factor for residual hearing preservation. Conclusion: Residual hearing preservation after conventional CI was observed in patients with a larger cochlear volume and longer CDL. Cochlear volume could be a predictive factor for residual hearing preservation after conventional CI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to determine the cause of active or passive sensation and action, we studied the effect of perception on gaze and posture control. Normal adults and a patient with bilateral labyrinthine loss underwent whole body rotation seated in a chair (120°/s) or standing on a platform (60°/s), while tilting their head with their vision normal or covered. Eye movements were recorded by a CCD video camera and body sways by a force platform. In normal subjects, gaze and posture became ataxic when head tilting with their vision covered, but they remained skilled under conditions of normal vision. The patient with bilateral labyrinthine loss did not undergo the effect of head tilting with no vision. It seems likely that sensation and action, whether they are skilled or ataxic, are controlled by the perception of an outer world which is integrated from visual and vestibular inputs and functions as a vector in the head. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cell proliferation of the spiral ligament in the normal and drug-induced damaged mice cochleae was investigated using the mitotic tracer bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU). Only a few nuclei labelled by BrdU were seen in the spiral ligament of the control mouse. However, many BrdU labelled nuclei in the spiral ligament in the cochlea damaged by dihydrostreptomycin sulfate were found. The expression of fibroblast growth factor receptor and connexin 43 was detected in the spiral ligament where BrdU labelled cells were found. These results suggest that cell proliferation in the spiral ligament may occur after the drug-induced damage, and this process is probably related to the recovery of cochlear function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A questionnaire was devised to quantify and measure four categories: the behavioral characteristics of Type A, self-restraint and escape; the causes of anxiety; means of relaxation; and symptoms incidental to anxiety. Questionnaire analysis was performed in patients (n=60) with Ménière's disease and in a control population (n=936). It was statistically proven that the patient group possessed a stress-causative tendency in behavioral characteristics, felt stronger anxiety and showed more severe symptoms owing to this anxiety. Since the level of anxiety highly correlates with the score of behavioral characteristics and also with severity of symptoms, it seems likely that behavioral characteristics produce the anxiety, which, in turn, results in various symptoms of autonomic nervous disorders. A tendency towards stress-causative behavioral characteristics in Ménière's disease patients may be important in the genesis of endolymphatic hydrops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]