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Introduction There are very few studies comparing speech perception abilities of children using bimodal hearing over monaural cochlear implant and factors related to benefit of bimodal hearing. The aim of this study is to compare speech perception abilities of children using bimodal fitting versus children using cochlear implant alone and explore factors related to benefit of bimodal hearing. Materials and Methods In the present study, 20 cochlear implantees with the hearing age range of 3 to 8 years were included. Speech perception performance was assessed by means of Parent’s Evaluation of Aural/Oral Performance of Children scale and early speech perception (ESP) test: Pattern Perception Words, Monosyllabic Words, Bisyllabic, and Trisyllabic Words Identification test. ESP test was carried out in two conditions cochlear implant with hearing aid in opposite ear (CIHA), bimodal, and cochlear implant (CI) alone. Aided audiometry was also carried out in above mentioned two conditions. Results and Discussion On aided audiometry test, aided thresholds were improved by 5 to 6 dB in CIHA condition as compared to CI alone condition in 14 out of 20 children. Whereas on speech perception test, there was a significant improvement of 15 to 20% on domains of ESP test in these children. Factors such as implant age, chronological age, and number of hours of hearing aid usage were not significantly associated with benefit. Nevertheless aided threshold at 4,000 Hz was found to be significantly associated with bimodal benefit. Conclusion Bimodal hearing is beneficial in most of the children than monaural hearing through cochlear implant.

Introduction Hypertension (HTN) is a common health problem, diagnosed in every one out of four individuals. It is associated with various complications; however, its impact on hearing loss is not well studied. In this study, we will determine the impact of HTN on hearing. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in Jinnah Sindh Medical University from August 2020 to March 2021. Three hundred (300) patients with documented diagnosis of HTN, between the ages of 21 and 50 years, were enrolled in the study. Another 300 non-hypertensive participants were enrolled as a reference group. Participants were sent to trained otolaryngologist technicians, who performed audiometry at six different frequencies for each year (0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, and 6.0 kilohertz (kHz)). The final hearing level was calculated by taking mean of hearing levels of both ears. Results The hearing levels in audiometry were significantly higher in hypertensive participants compared to non-hypertensive participants (23.4 ± 8.67 dB vs 18.3 ± 6.02 dB; p-value

To evaluate the audiological effectiveness of Bonebridge implantation in patients with bilateral congenital malformation of the external and middle ear. Twenty-eight cases [17 boys and 11 girls; median age, 12 years (range 8–36 years)] had unilateral Bonebridge implantation. Audiological tests were performed preoperatively and postoperatively, and included the pure-tone audiometry test, speech discrimination score (SDS), and evaluation of the unaided and aided hearing thresholds in sound fields. For the group of patients aged > 12 years, Mandarin Speech Test Materials were used to determine the SDS. For the other cases, the Mandarin Lexical Neighborhood Test was used. The daily life efficacy was assessed using the Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB) questionnaire postoperatively. The t and t′ tests were used in the statistical analyses. The hearing threshold with the Bonebridge improved by 25–35 dB HL, compared to that of the unaided condition. The SDS of patients aged > 12 years improved by about 50%; the SDS also improved by 10–20% in the three patients aged

Classical methods for psychometric function estimation either require excessive measurements or produce only a low-resolution approximation of the target psychometric function. In this paper, we propose solutions for rapid high-resolution approximation of the psychometric function of a patient given her or his prior exam. We develop a rapid screening algorithm for a change in the psychometric function estimation of a patient. We use Bayesian active model selection to perform an automated pure-tone audiometry test with the goal of quickly finding if the current estimation will be different from the previous one. We validate our methods using audiometric data from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (niosh). Initial results indicate that with a few tones we can (i) detect if the patient’s audiometric function has changed between the two test sessions with high confidence, and (ii) learn high-resolution approximations of the target psychometric function.

Underwater workers were prone to hearing loss. Pressure during diving and depth of dive were causing hearing loss.Jobs that are at risk for barotrauma are divers, keepers or pearl takers, marine boat keepers, rescue teams, and underwater construction work. Diving which requires a longer dive duration and deeper depth is very susceptible to health problems such as damage to the lungs, brain hemorrhage, gas poisoning and loss of body heat. This study aims to learn relationship between dive knowledge and hearing loss. The design of this research is a cross sectional study. This research is a descriptive research, because this research is the whole population. This was observational study carried out from April until June 2017 used cross sectional method. The dependent variable in this study is hearing loss, while the independent variable is diving knowledge. The result showed that obtained from 6 respondents, 100% of the respondents with bad knowledge suffer from moderate hearing loss, 60% of the respondents with sufficient knowledge suffer from mild hearing loss and 40% of the respondents with sufficient knowledge do not suffer from hearing loss. Contingency coefficient statistical test results indicate that there is a relationship between diving knowledge and hearing loss in PT Aquamarine Divindo Inspection Sidoarjo. The better knowledge can affect the respondent’s hearing loss. The conclusion in this study is the Ambang Listen Value using the audiometry test most respondents are mild deaf.Keywords: audiometric, hearing loss, underwater construction, underwater workers

Train is one of the most environmentally friendly mode of transportation. However, currently there are still some types of locomotive designed to be opened (such as CC201); hence, the generated noise can potentially affect the health of the workers, particularly cabin personnel (i.e. train driver and assistant of driver). The objective of this study are to analyze the noise levels exposed to cabin personnel and to estimate the excess risks of occupational noise-induced hearing loss in the locomotive. The cabin personnel were considered as exposed group while the office workers of the train station (Poncol Station) was the control group. The noise levels were measured continuously during the working hours using noise dosimeter. The audiometry test was also conducted to both case and control group. The data were analyzed using chi-square statistical test and NIOSH 1998 method of excess risk estimation. The measured noise exposure level in the locomotive-CC205 during the working hours (4-5 hours) ranged from 71.2 dBA until 123.4 dBA. However, the excess risks of the respondents were only 0.75% higher than the control group. This might be due to the short working period of the participants (no more than 10 years). The noise exposure to the case group workers were higher than time-weighted average noise level. Based on the chi-square statistical test, it is concluded that the noise levels affect the noise-induced hearing loss of the cabin personnel.

Objectives To develop a set of monosyllable audiometry test material that can be used in speech recognition testing in Mandarin Chinese. Materials and Methods In an effort to improve reliability and efficiency in clinical practice, a set of 30 test lists of 25 monosyllable test items each was designed with consideration of the following: length of the list, phonemical balance (PB), word utility frequency, coverage of common words, and equivalency among lists. The 30 lists contained 750 monosyllabic words and were constructed on the basis of Chinese phoneme distribution probability summarized in the Manual of Acoustic. The occurrence incidence of the 22 consonants, 36 vowels, and 4 tones of the Chinese Mandarin characters in the 30 test lists were calculated. To achieve PB, 489 monosyllables were selected from the 2500 most commonly used Chinese characters and the 4000 most commonly used Chinese phrases to compile the 30 monosyllable test lists using a computer algorithm with manual adjustment. Results Thirty phonemical balanced word lists of common Mandarin Chinese monosyllabic words were compiled. Each list consisted of 25 monosyllables. A total of 489 phonemes (consonants, vowels and tones) were included in the set. Conclusions This set of lists can potentially be used as the basic lists for future development of Mandarin PB monosyllable speech test materials.

In the long-term observation (9-22 years) of 45 hearing-impaired children, using our own "Hearing Test Progress Table", 36(80.0%) showed fluctuation of the hearing threshold. Twenty-nine of the 36 patients had acute progression of hearing loss. Three peaks of onset of the acute loss were observed: at age 6, 10, 16 years in girls, 7, 11 and 16 years in boys. Twenty-three of the 45 (51.1%) have been able to maintain their good thresholds throughout these periods, with 14 cases of hearing loss restored by our successful treatment of acute sensorineural hearing losses (1-6 times). Twenty-two of the 45 children (48.9%) could not maintain their initial thresholds: gradual hearing deterioration in 7 of the 22, and acute hearing loss (1-10 times) in the remaining 15 cases. Although these 15 patients could not maintain their initial hearing thresholds until the end of the observation period, active treatments for their acute losses were successful in the early period, and almost all patients were able to maintain their initial hearing thresholds until graduation from elementary school. Our "Hearing Test Progress Table" is based on the results of pure tone audiometry for each frequency on every audiometry test. The management (including guidance and treatment) using the table is very effective.

The auditory steady-state response (ASSR) is one of auditory evoked brain responses applied to objective audiometry test. ASSR evoked by an amplitude-modulated tone is recorded as a waveform with the same frequency as the stimulus modulation frequency. Since the 40-Hz ASSR can be measured when subjects are awake, a rapid objective audiometry test has been desired for the 40-Hz ASSR. In the previous paper, based on wavelet analysis, we proposed a design of procedure of averaging waveform of 40-Hz ASSR for our original objective audiometry device. In this paper, we present detail examination using complex continuous wavelet analysis of characteristics of brain waves obtained by our original objective audiometry device. We also propose a Meyer type band-pass filter to extract the waveform data of around 40 Hz. The effectiveness of band pass filter is shown by an experiment.

Developments in surgical technique and, more importantly, the use of increasingly sophisticated biocompatible prostheses have meant that good results can be achieved for otosclerosis sufferers in terms of restored hearing and very little postsurgical discomfort. We set out to assess whether the diameter of the prostheses used for stapedotomy (platinum piston/polytetrafluoroethylene, i.e. Teflon) has any effect on surgical outcome. Two groups of otosclerotic patients were selected, and these underwent stapedotomy surgery during the second phase of the disease. A piston-Teflon type prosthesis was used, 5.50 mm in terms of length but of different diameters (group A: 0.4 mm; group B: 0.6 mm). All the patients underwent the same pure-tone audiometry test before surgery, and then at 1 week and 1 month after surgery, to assess function. We compared air conduction after surgery with bone conduction before surgery. The data collected was analysed using the χ2 (p < 0.05) test. This analysis showed that the results obtained with a 0.4-mm prosthesis or a 0.6-mm prosthesis are almost identical. There was no statistically significant difference in terms of hearing results when comparing either average tonal threshold or when analysing audiometric data frequency by frequency. It can be concluded, therefore, that in stapedotomy surgery, functional recovery is not affected by the diameter of the prosthesis used. A smaller diameter prosthesis is, however, the one of choice when the facial nerve is prominent or the oval window particularly narrow.

It is well known that a hearing loss is induced by aging in a high frequency range. It is easy to imagine that the aging also alters characteristics of voice, because you can roughly estimate the speaker’s age. In general, those aging phenomena are discussed independently. In speech communication, however, the speech chain [Dense & Pinson, 1993] must dominate the interaction on the aging effects between hearing and speaking. Individual interaction between them is investigated using both his pure-tone audiometry test threshold and his recordings of read utterances. In this study, 21 Japanese elderly males, whose ages ranged from 62 to 85 years old, participated in pure tone audiometry and recording of Japanese sentence and word utterances. Concerning three elderlies with presbycusis, who are aware of hearing loss in daily lives, hearing abilities gradually decrease in proportion to frequency over 2 kHz, and spectral energies increase in the high frequency range over 4.5 kHz. In another case of high-frequen...

1) O b j e c t i v e: The aim of this study was to predetermine the discrimination standard point of distortion product otoacoustic emission(DPOAE) amplitudes, which discriminates the degree of the mild noise-induced hearing loss, and to estimate the accuracy and predictability of the dis - crimination standard point of DPOAE amplitudes. Therefore we were able to determine the usability of the DPOAE test in screening exam for mild noise-induced hearing loss. Methods: This study was analyzed 50 high frequency-impaired ears (from 25 dB HL to 40 dB HL at 4000 Hz for which the response of DPOAE was not disappeared) and 81 normal ears through the correlation test between the amplitudes of DPOAE test and the threshold of the pure-tone audiometry test. Result: The discrimination between ≥25 dB and ≤20 dB on hearing threshold with -1 dB SPL value of DP amplitude at 4000Hz produced a sensitivity result of 89.7%, specificity of 90.2% and predictability of 90.0%. Conclusion: DPOAE test is considered as a more efficient early prevention method against noise-induced hearing loss if this test is conducted as part of the special medical checkup of industrial workers exposed to noise.

(1969). Cortical Audiometry: Test Problems and Sources of Error. International Audiology: Vol. 8, No. 2-3, pp. 337-344.