The usefulness of science knowledge for parents of hearing-impaired children.

Science.gov (United States)

Shauli, Sophie; Baram-Tsabari, Ayelet

2018-04-01

Hearing-impaired children's chances of integrating into hearing society largely depend on their parents, who need to learn vast amounts of science knowledge in the field of hearing. This study characterized the role played by science knowledge in the lives of nonscientists faced with science-related decisions by examining the interactions between general science knowledge, contextual science knowledge in the field of hearing, and parents' advocacy knowledge and attitudes. Based on six semi-structured interviews and 115 questionnaires completed by parents of hearing-impaired children, contextual science knowledge emerged as the only predictor for having slightly better advocacy attitudes and knowledge (5.5% explained variance). Although general science knowledge was the best predictor of contextual knowledge (14% of explained variance), it was not a direct predictor of advocacy knowledge and attitudes. Science knowledge plays some role in the lives of hearing-impaired families, even if they do not list it as a resource for successful rehabilitation.

Newborn hearing screening vs later hearing screening and developmental outcomes in children with permanent childhood hearing impairment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Korver, Anna M. H.; Konings, Saskia; Dekker, Friedo W.; Beers, Mieke; Wever, Capi C.; Frijns, Johan H. M.; Oudesluys-Murphy, Anne M.; de Vries, Jutte; Vossen, Ann; Kant, Sarina; van den Akker-van Marle, Elske; le Cessie, Saskia; Rieffe, Carolien; Ens-Dokkum, Martina; van Straaten, Irma; Uilenburg, Noelle; Elvers, Bert; Loeber, Gerard; Meuwese-Jongejeugd, Anneke; Maré, Marcel; van Zanten, Bert; Goedegebure, André; Coster, Francien; van Dijk, Pim; Goverts, Theo; Admiraal, Ronald; Cremers, Cor; Kunst, Dirk; de Leeuw, Marina; Dijkhuizen, Janette; Scharloo, Marleen; Hoeben, Dirk; Rijpma, Gerti; Graef, Wim; Linschoten, Dik; Kuijper, Jessica; Hof, Nanda; Koldewijn, Reinoud; Pans, Donné; Jorritsma, Frank; van Beurden, Maarten; ter Huurne, Christien; Brienesse, Patrick; Seekles, Lisanne; de Jong, Jantine; Thijssen, Andrea; Lievense, Andrea; van Egdom-van der Wind, Marina; Theunissen, Stephanie; Mooij, Sophie

2010-01-01

Newborn hearing screening programs have been implemented in many countries because it was thought that the earlier permanent childhood hearing impairment is detected, the less developmentally disadvantaged children would become. To date, however, no strong evidence exists for universal introduction

Can parenting practices predict externalizing behavior problems among children with hearing impairment?

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Pino, María J; Castillo, Rosa A; Raya, Antonio; Herruzo, Javier

2017-11-09

To identify possible differences in the level of externalizing behavior problems among children with and without hearing impairment and determine whether any relationship exists between this type of problem and parenting practices. The Behavior Assessment System for Children was used to evaluate externalizing variables in a sample of 118 boys and girls divided into two matched groups: 59 with hearing disorders and 59 normal-hearing controls. Significant between-group differences were found in hyperactivity, behavioral problems, and externalizing problems, but not in aggression. Significant differences were also found in various aspects of parenting styles. A model for predicting externalizing behavior problems was constructed, achieving a predicted explained variance of 50%. Significant differences do exist between adaptation levels in children with and without hearing impairment. Parenting style also plays an important role.

Rapid word-learning in normal-hearing and hearing-impaired children: effects of age, receptive vocabulary, and high-frequency amplification.

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Pittman, A L; Lewis, D E; Hoover, B M; Stelmachowicz, P G

2005-12-01

This study examined rapid word-learning in 5- to 14-year-old children with normal and impaired hearing. The effects of age and receptive vocabulary were examined as well as those of high-frequency amplification. Novel words were low-pass filtered at 4 kHz (typical of current amplification devices) and at 9 kHz. It was hypothesized that (1) the children with normal hearing would learn more words than the children with hearing loss, (2) word-learning would increase with age and receptive vocabulary for both groups, and (3) both groups would benefit from a broader frequency bandwidth. Sixty children with normal hearing and 37 children with moderate sensorineural hearing losses participated in this study. Each child viewed a 4-minute animated slideshow containing 8 nonsense words created using the 24 English consonant phonemes (3 consonants per word). Each word was repeated 3 times. Half of the 8 words were low-pass filtered at 4 kHz and half were filtered at 9 kHz. After viewing the story twice, each child was asked to identify the words from among pictures in the slide show. Before testing, a measure of current receptive vocabulary was obtained using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-III). The PPVT-III scores of the hearing-impaired children were consistently poorer than those of the normal-hearing children across the age range tested. A similar pattern of results was observed for word-learning in that the performance of the hearing-impaired children was significantly poorer than that of the normal-hearing children. Further analysis of the PPVT and word-learning scores suggested that although word-learning was reduced in the hearing-impaired children, their performance was consistent with their receptive vocabularies. Additionally, no correlation was found between overall performance and the age of identification, age of amplification, or years of amplification in the children with hearing loss. Results also revealed a small increase in performance for both

Can parenting practices predict externalizing behavior problems among children with hearing impairment?

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María J. Pino

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Objective: To identify possible differences in the level of externalizing behavior problems among children with and without hearing impairment and determine whether any relationship exists between this type of problem and parenting practices. Methods: The Behavior Assessment System for Children was used to evaluate externalizing variables in a sample of 118 boys and girls divided into two matched groups: 59 with hearing disorders and 59 normal-hearing controls. Results: Significant between-group differences were found in hyperactivity, behavioral problems, and externalizing problems, but not in aggression. Significant differences were also found in various aspects of parenting styles. A model for predicting externalizing behavior problems was constructed, achieving a predicted explained variance of 50%. Conclusion: Significant differences do exist between adaptation levels in children with and without hearing impairment. Parenting style also plays an important role.

Attitude of Regular and Itinerant Teachers Towards the Inclusion of Hearing Impairment Children

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Kamal Parhoon

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Objectives: Inclusive education is a process of enabling all children to learn and participate effectively within mainstream school systems. It does not segregate children who have different abilities or needs. This article explores the attitudes of regular and itinerant teachers about inclusion of hearing impairment children in their schools in general education. Methods: In a descriptive Survey research design, the sample included 100 teachers (50 regular and 50 itinerant who were selected randomly, according to a multistage sampling method. Data was collected by using questionnaire with 32 questions regarding their attitudes. One-way Analysis of Variance and t-test were performed to obtain between- group comparisons. Results: The results indicated that the teacher's positive attitudes towards inclusive educational system of students with hearing impairment. Significant difference in attitudes was observed, based on the teaching experience, gender, level of teaching. The results also indicate that most teachers are agreeable to the inclusion of students with hearing impairment in their classrooms. Discussion: successful inclusion for hearing impairment children in regular classrooms entails the positive attitudes of Regular and itinerant teachers through a systematic programming within the classroom.

[Examination of relationship between level of hearing and written language skills in 10-14-year-old hearing impaired children].

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Turğut, Nedim; Karlıdağ, Turgut; Başar, Figen; Yalçın, Şinasi; Kaygusuz, İrfan; Keleş, Erol; Birkent, Ömer Faruk

2015-01-01

This study aims to review the relationship between written language skills and factors which are thought to affect this skill such as mean hearing loss, duration of auditory deprivation, speech discrimination score, and pre-school education attendance and socioeconomic status of hearing impaired children who attend 4th-7th grades in primary school in inclusive environment. The study included 25 hearing impaired children (14 males, 11 females; mean age 11.4±1.4 years; range 10 to 14 years) (study group) and 20 children (9 males, 11 females; mean age 11.5±1.3 years; range 10 to 14 years) (control group) with normal hearing in the same age group and studying in the same class. Study group was separated into two subgroups as group 1a and group 1b since some of the children with hearing disability used hearing aid while some used cochlear implant. Intragroup comparisons and relational screening were performed for those who use hearing aids and cochlear implants. Intergroup comparisons were performed to evaluate the effect of the parameters on written language skills. Written expression skill level of children with hearing disability was significantly lower than their normal hearing peers (p=0.001). A significant relationship was detected between written language skills and mean hearing loss (p=0.048), duration of auditory deprivation (p=0.021), speech discrimination score (p=0.014), and preschool attendance (p=0.005), when it comes to socioeconomic status we were not able to find any significant relationship (p=0.636). It can be said that hearing loss affects written language skills negatively and hearing impaired individuals develop low-level written language skills compared to their normal hearing peers.

The Perception and Decoding of Expressive Emotional Information by Hearing and Hearing-Impaired Children.

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Sanders, Gina

1985-01-01

Hearing and hearing-impaired children between ages 4.5 to 15.5 years in England and Belgium were invited to abstract the concept of emotion from photographs and line drawings of facial expressions and body postures. A further experiment isloated the element of context in the task of decoding expression of emotion, resulting in comparatively…

Stress in Mothers of Hearing Impaired Children Compared to Mothers of Normal and Other Disabled Children

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Mahnaz Aliakbari Dehkordi

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Background and Aim: Stress is associated with life satisfaction and also development of some physical diseases. Birth of a disabled child with mental or physical disability (especially deaf or blind children, impose an enormous load of stress on their parents especially the mothers. This study compared stress levels of mothers with hearing impaired children and mothers of normal children or with other disabilities.Methods: In this study, cluster random sampling was performed in Karaj city. 120 mothers in four groups of having a child with mental retardation, low vision, hearing impairment and with normal children were included. Family inventory of life events (FILE of Mc Cubbin et al. was used to determine stress level in four groups of mothers.Results: The results of this research indicated a significant difference (p<0.05 between stress levels of mothers with hearing impaired children and mothers of other disabled and normal children in subscales of intra-family stress, finance and business strains, stress of job transitions, stress of illness and family care and family members "in and out''. There was no difference between compared groups in other subscales.Conclusion: Since deafness is a hidden inability, the child with hearing impairment has a set of social and educational problems causing great stress for parents, especially to mother. In order to decrease mother’s stress, it is suggested to provide more family consultation, adequate social support and to run educational classes for parents to practice stress coping strategies.

The Efficacy of Group Play Therapy on the Social Skills of Pre-School Hearing-Impaired Children

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Gita Movallali

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Objective: The purpose of the present study was to investigate of the efficacy of group play therapy on the social skills of pre-school hearing-impaired children. Materials & Methods: The present research was a semi-experimental study with pre-test, post-test design and control group. The participants were 30 male hearing-impaired children from pre-schools centers in Varamin and Gharchak provinces using an available method. Subjects were randomly divided into experimental and control groups, each group consisting of 15 children. The experimental group received 12 sessions of group play therapy and the control group did not. The instruments were done using the Raven coloure progressive matrices test and social skills rating scale. The data were recorded and statistically analyzed using MANCOVA. Results: The results of MANCOVA showed that group play therapy had a significant effect on the social skills of hearing-impaired children (P<0.001. The results also revealed that group play therapy had a positive and significant effect on all subscales of social skills in these children: cooperation, self-assertiveness and self-control (P<0.001. Conclusion: Group play therapy can improve the social skills of hearing-impaired children. It is recommended that planning play therapy for hearing-impaired children receives serious attention .

Language ability in children with permanent hearing impairment: the influence of early management and family participation.

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Watkin, Peter; McCann, Donna; Law, Catherine; Mullee, Mark; Petrou, Stavros; Stevenson, Jim; Worsfold, Sarah; Yuen, Ho Ming; Kennedy, Colin

2007-09-01

The goal was to examine the relationships between management after confirmation, family participation, and speech and language outcomes in the same group of children with permanent childhood hearing impairment. Speech, oral language, and nonverbal abilities, expressed as z scores and adjusted in a regression model, and Family Participation Rating Scale scores were assessed at a mean age of 7.9 years for 120 children with bilateral permanent childhood hearing impairment from a 1992-1997 United Kingdom birth cohort. Ages at institution of management and hearing aid fitting were obtained retrospectively from case notes. Compared with children managed later (> 9 months), those managed early (early did not have significantly higher scores for these outcomes. Family Participation Rating Scale scores showed significant positive correlations with language and speech intelligibility scores only for those with confirmation after 9 months and were highest for those with late confirmed, severe/profound, permanent childhood hearing impairment. Early management of permanent childhood hearing impairment results in improved language. Family participation is also an important factor in cases that are confirmed late, especially for children with severe or profound permanent childhood hearing impairment.

The Effectiveness of a Group Counseling Program on the Mental Health of Parents of Hearing Impaired Children

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Dr. Mahshid Foroughan

2007-12-01

Full Text Available Background and Aim: Most of the studies indicates that the parents of the hearing impaired children show many mental health problems after the diagnosis of their children's hearing impairment. Counselling with the parents of the hearing impaired children is one of the most important goals of any early intervention program. This paper describes a study to determine the effectiveness of a group counselling programme for parents of hearing impaired children. Materials and Method: It was a semi-experimental study with a single group pretest-post test design. The participants were all the parents of hearing impaired children attending in an early intervention center. First the parents' mental health were assessed.Then the group counselling program was implemented. Program has involved six weekly 1.5 hour sessions. The format of each session included both lecture presentation and group discussion using cognitive behavioral procedure. Subjects were assessed before and immediately after group therapy by means of General Health Questionnaire(GHQ and Symptom Check List 90 (SCL-90 questionnaires. Resuts: The first part of the project had shown that over the half of the parents had considerable psychosocial morbidity. Comparisons showed a significant reduction from pretreatment to posttreatment in depression, anxiety and most of other psychological problems. Conclusion: The study supports the effectiveness of group therapy programs in the treatment of parents of hearing impaired children. Concerning the progress of early detection programs for the children's hearing impairment more studies should be done in the field of counseling with their parents.

Otitis Media and Children with Hearing Impairments: A Sequela.

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Beattie, R. G. John L.

1991-01-01

This review of research on otitis media in children with existing hearing impairments concludes that the incidence of otitis media is probably higher than in the general population. The possible reasons for higher incidence, effects of otitis media on children with known losses, and the role of the classroom teacher are discussed. (Author/DB)

The lexical development of children with hearing impairment and associated factors.

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Penna, Leticia Macedo; Lemos, Stela Maris Aguiar; Alves, Cláudia Regina Lindgren

2014-01-01

This study aimed at analyzing the association between the lexical development of children with hearing impairment and their psychosocial and socioeconomic characteristics and medical history. An analytic transversal study was conducted in an Auditive Health Attention Service. One hundred and ten children from 6 to 10 years old using hearing aids and presenting hearing loss that ranged from light to deep levels were evaluated. All children were subjected to oral, written language and auditory perception tests. Parents answered a structured questionnaire to collect data from their medical history and socioeconomic status, and questionnaires about the features of the family environment and psychosocial characteristics. Multivariate analysis was performed by logistic regression, being the initial model composed by variables with panalysis. In the final model, we adopted a significance level of 5%. The final model of the multivariate analysis showed an association between the performance on the vocabulary test and the results of phonemic discrimination test (OR=0.81; 95%CI 0.73-0.89). The results show the importance of stimulating the auditory processing, particularly the phonemic discrimination skill, throughout the rehabilitation process of children with hearing impairment. This stimulation can enhance lexical development and minimize the metalanguage and learning difficulties often observed in these children.

Hearing impairment and deafness among HIV infected children and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Hearing impairment and deafness among HIV infected children and adolescents in Harare, Zimbabwe. C Chidziva, J Matsekete, T Bandason, S Shamu, T Dzongodza, N Matinhira, HA Mujuru, C Kunzekwenyika, M Wellington, R Luthy, C Prescott, RA Ferrand ...

Does the introduction of newborn hearing screening improve vocabulary development in hearing-impaired children? A population-based study in Japan.

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Ohmori, Shuhei; Sugaya, Akiko; Toida, Naomi; Suzuki, Etsuji; Izutsu, Masato; Tsutsui, Tomoko; Kataoka, Yuko; Maeda, Yukihide; Fukushima, Kunihiro; Nishizaki, Kazunori

2015-02-01

Permanent hearing impairment has a life-long impact on children and its early identification is important for language development. A newborn hearing screening (NHS) program has started in Okayama Prefecture, Japan, in 1999 to detect hearing impairment immediately after birth. We aim to examine the effect of this screening program on vocabulary development in pre-school children in a before and after comparative study design. A total of 107 5-year-old children who graduated from Okayama Kanariya Gakuen (an auditory center for hearing-impaired children) between 1998 and 2011 were enrolled in this study. The pre-NHS group (n=40) was defined as those who graduated between 1998 and 2003, while the post-NHS group (n=67) was defined as those who graduated between 2004 and 2011. The primary outcome was receptive vocabulary, which was assessed by the Picture Vocabulary Test [score vocabulary, or the number of productive words, which was assessed by an original checklist [vocabulary development and compared both groups. The adjusted Picture Vocabulary Test score and number of productive words were significantly higher (pvocabulary and 4.17 (95% confidence interval: 1.69-10.29) for productive vocabulary. The introduction of NHS in Okayama Prefecture significantly improved both receptive and productive vocabulary development in hearing-impaired children. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Problems among childrens with impaired hearing. The impact of noise on the work of teachers

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Ewelina Karolina Kucharska

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Introduction and Aim In the life of every human senses, including the sense of hearing, they play an important role in the harmonious development. Each hearing loss in childhood influences, depending on the depth, nature and time of its inception, in a negative way on the development of many mental activities, intellectual, behavior, cognitive, causing significant impairment in the child's position the hearing impaired, deaf and especially in the world of the hearing. The aim of this study is to assess the parents' awareness of hearing loss in children with hearing loss as a result of a survey of parents of children from the first classes of primary schools in the Lublin province. Material and Methods Analysis was performed on 31 results of parents of children with hearing impairment made in children aged 6 and 7 years, pupils and primary schools in the Lublin province. Parents were asked the question: 'Do you think your child has hearing problems?' The analysis indicated the assessment of awareness of parents of children with hearing disorders.   Results In the study group, as many as 77% of parents stated that the child does not have problems with hearing, only 3% of parents noted the problem, while 20% of parents did not answer the question. Conclusions Based on the research it can be stated with a high percentage of parents still do not notice hearing loss in their children. Early notice of the problem, the correct procedure and the cooperation with the parent group of specialists are often the way to success. It is crucial to support the child in difficult situations, which often is exposed to contact with all sorts of obstacles. An important issue is the numerous health programs, shaping the attitude of parents and society as a whole.

Hearing-impaired children in the United Kingdom, III : cochlear implantation and the economic costs incurred by families

OpenAIRE

Barton, GR; Fortnum, HM; Stacey, PC; Summerfield, AQ

2006-01-01

Objectives: This article addresses two questions. First, are there differences in the economic costs incurred by families of hearing-impaired children depending on whether or not children have cochlear implants? Second, are these differences important when assessed from the perspective of society? Methods: In a cross-sectional survey, parents of a representative sample of hearing-impaired children provided data about annual resources used by the family because of their child’s hearing impairm...

Intellectual Estimates of Hearing-Impaired Children: A Comparison of Three Measures

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Ritter, David R.

1976-01-01

The Arthur Adaptation of the Leiter International Performance Scale, Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices, and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Performance Section were administered to 31 children with mild to moderate hearing impairments. A comparison of test results indicated moderate convergent validity among the measures. (Author)

The effect of ice skating on psychological well-being and sleep quality of children with visual or hearing impairment.

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Dursun, Onur Burak; Erhan, Süleyman Erim; Ibiş, Esra Özhan; Esin, Ibrahim Selcuk; Keleş, Sadullah; Şirinkan, Ahmet; Yörük, Özgür; Acar, Ethem; Beyhun, Nazim Ercument

2015-01-01

Physical exercise and sports have a key role in preventing physical and psychiatric problems in children. However, children with a disability often experience difficulty participating in physical activity due to a lack of suitable opportunities. Participation in an accessible sport is particularly important for these children, but studies examining which sports are beneficial for which disability groups are rare. In this study, we assessed the effects of ice skating on the psychological well-being, self-concept, and sleep quality of children with hearing or visual impairment. Forty students (20 visually impaired and 20 hearing impaired) aged 8-16 were included in a regular ice skating programme for three months. We examined the sleep quality, self-concept, and behavioural and emotional states of the children before and after participating in the programme. There was a significant improvement in self-concept, behavioural and emotional problems, and sleep quality (p sleep quality (p = 0.019) and emotional problem scores (p = 0.000) of the visually impaired children improved; self-concept, peer relations and hyperactivity scores of these children worsened (p sport alternatives that gives children the opportunity to exercise and have fun together. The results of this study revealed that regular ice skating programmes may have positive effects on the psychological well-being of children with hearing impairment. Despite some positive effects, caution must be use when including visually impaired children in ice skating programmes. Generalization of the study's outcomes is limited as the study group were residential students enrolled in special education institutions for children who are blind or deaf. Ice skating is a community-based sport and a popular leisure activity that can also have benefits for people with disabilities. Ice skating and children with hearing impairment: Self-concept, behavioural and emotional problems, and sleep quality of the children

Predictors of flourishing among children with hearing loss.

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Nabors, Laura; Odar Stough, Cathleen; Merianos, Ashley; Peugh, James

2016-12-01

To examine parent report of flourishing in children with hearing impairments compared to children without hearing impairments, and to explore whether school engagement and bullying related to child flourishing. Participants were 655 children with hearing impairments and 44, 618 children without hearing impairments who were 10-17 years of age. Caregivers completed telephone interviews about their child's functioning for the National Survey of Children's Health. Children without hearing loss had higher parent-reported flourishing compared to children with hearing loss when controlling for child demographics (i.e., race, age, sex). School engagement was positively related to flourishing of children with hearing loss. Bullying behaviors were not related to flourishing of children with hearing loss. Improving school engagement may increase flourishing of children with hearing loss, which is critical given that children with hearing loss experience lower flourishing than children without hearing loss. Examining the relationships among other risk and resilience factors and flourishing for children with hearing loss will provide information for interventions to enhance the adaptation of these children. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

iPads Enhance Social Interaction Skills among Hearing-Impaired Children of Low Income Families in Saudi Arabia

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Bahatheg, Raja Omar

2015-01-01

This research tries to investigate the technical contribution on improving the social interaction of hearing-impaired children from low income families in Saudi Arabia. It compares the social interaction skills of hearing-impaired children who do and do not have access to iPads. To achieve the goals of the study; seventeen children aged five years…

Association between vestibular function and motor performance in hearing-impaired children.

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Maes, Leen; De Kegel, Alexandra; Van Waelvelde, Hilde; Dhooge, Ingeborg

2014-12-01

The clinical balance performance of normal-hearing (NH) children was compared with the balance performance of hearing-impaired (HI) children with and without vestibular dysfunction to identify an association between vestibular function and motor performance. Prospective study. Tertiary referral center. Thirty-six children (mean age, 7 yr 5 mo; range, 3 yr 8 mo-12 yr 11 mo) divided into three groups: NH children with normal vestibular responses, HI children with normal vestibular responses, and HI children with abnormal vestibular function. A vestibular test protocol (rotatory and collic vestibular evoked myogenic potential testing) in combination with three clinical balance tests (balance beam walking, one-leg hopping, one-leg stance). Clinical balance performance. HI children with abnormal vestibular test results obtained the lowest quotients of motor performance, which were significantly lower compared with the NH group (p beam walking and one-leg stance; p = 0.003 for one-leg hopping). The balance performance of the HI group with normal vestibular responses was better in comparison with the vestibular impaired group but still significantly lower compared with the NH group (p = 0.020 for balance beam walking; p = 0.001 for one-leg stance; not significant for one-leg hopping). These results indicate an association between vestibular function and motor performance in HI children, with a more distinct motor deterioration if a vestibular impairment is superimposed to the auditory dysfunction.

Speech Production and Speech Discrimination by Hearing-Impaired Children.

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Novelli-Olmstead, Tina; Ling, Daniel

1984-01-01

Seven hearing impaired children (five to seven years old) assigned to the Speakers group made highly significant gains in speech production and auditory discrimination of speech, while Listeners made only slight speech production gains and no gains in auditory discrimination. Combined speech and auditory training was more effective than auditory…

Follow-up of permanent hearing impairment in childhood.

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Della Volpe, A; De Lucia, A; Pastore, V; Bracci Laudiero, L; Buonissimo, I; Ricci, G

2016-02-01

Programmes for early childhood childhood hearing impairment identification allows to quickly start the appropriate hearing aid fitting and rehabilitation process; nevertheless, a large number of patients do not join the treatment program. The goal of this article is to present the results of a strategic review of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats connected with the audiologic/prosthetic/language follow-up process of children with bilateral permanent hearing impairment. Involving small children, the follow-up includes the involvement of specialised professionals of a multidisciplinary team and a complex and prolonged multi-faced management. Within the framework of the Italian Ministry of Health project CCM 2013 "Preventing Communication Disorders: a Regional Program for Early Identification, Intervention and Care of Hearing Impaired Children", the purpose of this analysis was to propose recommendations that can harmonise criteria for outcome evaluation and provide guidance on the most appropriate assessment methods to be used in the follow-up course of children with permanent hearing impairment. © Copyright by Società Italiana di Otorinolaringologia e Chirurgia Cervico-Facciale.

A Deficit in Movement-Derived Sentences in German-Speaking Hearing-Impaired Children

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Esther Ruigendijk

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Children with hearing impairment (HI show disorders in syntax and morphology. The question is whether and how these disorders are connected to problems in the auditory domain. The aim of this paper is to examine whether moderate to severe hearing loss at a young age affects the ability of German-speaking orally trained children to understand and produce sentences. We focused on sentence structures that are derived by syntactic movement, which have been identified as a sensitive marker for syntactic impairment in other languages and in other populations with syntactic impairment. Therefore, our study tested subject and object relatives, subject and object Wh-questions, passive sentences, and topicalized sentences, as well as sentences with verb movement to second sentential position. We tested 19 HI children aged 9;5–13;6 and compared their performance with hearing children using comprehension tasks of sentence-picture matching and sentence repetition tasks. For the comprehension tasks, we included HI children who passed an auditory discrimination task; for the sentence repetition tasks, we selected children who passed a screening task of simple sentence repetition without lip-reading; this made sure that they could perceive the words in the tests, so that we could test their grammatical abilities. The results clearly showed that most of the participants with HI had considerable difficulties in the comprehension and repetition of sentences with syntactic movement: they had significant difficulties understanding object relatives, Wh-questions, and topicalized sentences, and in the repetition of object who and which questions and subject relatives, as well as in sentences with verb movement to second sentential position. Repetition of passives was only problematic for some children. Object relatives were still difficult at this age for both HI and hearing children. An additional important outcome of the study is that not all sentence structures

Mother's Perspective toward Al-Quran Education for Hearing Impaired Children in Malaysia

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Ghadim, Nafiseh Alaghehband; Jomhari, Nazean; Alias, Norlidah; Rashid, Syar Meeze Mohd; Yusoff, Mohd Yakub Zulkifli Bin Mohd

2013-01-01

An interview with parents of children with hearing impairment was carried out in the initial study since the coordinated effort of parents and children is essential in the education of children. Considering that this interview was appropriate for collecting qualitative-oriented data, it has been chosen as the knowledge elicitation method. In most…

Self-Esteem in Hearing-Impaired Children: The Influence of Communication, Education, and Audiological Characteristics

OpenAIRE

Theunissen, Stephanie C. P. M.; Rieffe, Carolien; Netten, Anouk P.; Briaire, Jeroen J.; Soede, Wim; Kouwenberg, Maartje; Frijns, Johan H. M.

2014-01-01

OBJECTIVE: Sufficient self-esteem is extremely important for psychosocial functioning. It is hypothesized that hearing-impaired (HI) children have lower levels of self-esteem, because, among other things, they frequently experience lower language and communication skills. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare HI children's self-esteem across different domains with those of normal hearing (NH) children and to investigate the influence of communication, type of education, and audiolog...

SELF-REGULATION STRATEGIES OF ORAL COMMUNICATION IN CHILDREN WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENT

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Alois GHERGUT

2011-09-01

Full Text Available The study identifies some self-regulation strategies used by deaf children in order to make their speech more intelligible. To achieve self-control while speaking, the child with severe hearing loss needs not only a high level of intelligence, but also an effective lip-reading capability and a strong intrinsic motivation. This is the reason why there are many cases of children with a high level of intelligence, but with a mediocre lip-reading capability and others with a lower level of intelligence, but with a good lip-reading capability. These differences also depend on the degree of hearing loss. Among the self-regulation strategies used by the children that achieve an intelligible speech are: the cognitive and meta-cognitive strategies, the motivational strategies etc. These results are important while designing the therapeutic activities, and especially the speech intelligibility factor being crucial in the social integration of those children with hearing impairment.

Children's and Adolescents' Moral Emotion Attributions and Judgements about Exclusion of Peers with Hearing Impairments

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Chilver-Stainer, Jennifer; Gasser, Luciano; Perrig-Chiello, Pasqualina

2014-01-01

Children and adolescents with hearing impairments are at risk of being excluded from activities with hearing peers. Moral emotion attributions may represent important indicators for children's identification with the moral norm not to exclude peers based on disability. Against this background, we investigated how 10-, 12- and 15-year-olds…

Psychological well-being of parents and family caregivers of children with hearing impairment in south India: influence of behavioural problems in children and social support.

Science.gov (United States)

van Driessche, Anne; Jotheeswaran, A T; Murthy, G V S; Pilot, Eva; Sagar, Jayanthi; Pant, Hira; Singh, Vivek; Dpk, Babu

2014-08-01

Parents of children with hearing impairment are at increased risk of mental health morbidities. We examined the predictive factors associated with caregiver's strain and psychological morbidities in parents and family caregivers of children with hearing impairment. In total, n = 201 parents and family caregivers of children with and without hearing impairment aged 3 to 16 years were recruited. Caregiver's strain and psychological morbidities were measured using the Zarit Burden scale and the World Health Organization's Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20). Presence of behavioural problems in children was measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. After adjustment, low educational attainment and domestic violence were found to be associated with caregiving strain, whereas dissatisfaction with social support from family, behavioural problems in children, and domestic violence strongly predicted psychological morbidities. Addressing the mental healthcare needs of parents may help in downsizing the impact of psychological morbidities on the well-being of children with hearing impairment.

Oral Communication Development in Severe to Profound Hearing Impaired Children After Receiving Aural Habilitation

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Soleimani Farin

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Communication, cognition, language, and speech are interrelated and develop together. It should come as no surprise to us that the key to intervention with deaf children is to establish, as early as possible, a functional communication system for the child and the parents. Early intervention programs need to be multidisciplinary, technologically sound and most important, it should take cognizance of the specific context (community, country in which the child and family function. The main aim of this study was to obtain oral communication development regarding current status of the intervention (aural habilitation and speech therapyfor children with severe to profound hearing impairment in Iran. A prospective longitudinal study was undertaken on a consecutive group of children with severe to profound deafness. Nine severe to profound hearing-impaired children out of the primer 42 cases, who were detected below two years old, had been selected in the previous study to receive aural habilitation. The average of their speech intelligibility scores was near 70% at age 6, which was accounted as poor oral communication and only two of them were able to communicate by spoken language. An integrated intervention services continued again for one year and their oral communication skill was assessed by their speech intelligibility. The intelligibility test of children was recorded on audio-tape, when they read 10 questions such as where is your home. This can be answered only in one word. Each tape was presented to10 normal hearing listeners, and their task was to write down, the answers in Persian orthography. At the beginning (at age 6 the average speech intelligibility score of these children was 72% and only two of them had score of 90% and 100%. At age 7, all of the severe groups were over 90%, and only two profound ones achieved the score of 48% and 62%. All of severe groups develop oral communication, but profound ones had a semi-intelligible speech

Language Development and Impairment in Children with Mild to Moderate Sensorineural Hearing Loss

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Halliday, Lorna F.; Tuomainen, Outi; Rosen, Stuart

2017-01-01

Purpose: The goal of this study was to examine language development and factors related to language impairments in children with mild to moderate sensorineural hearing loss (MMHL). Method: Ninety children, aged 8-16 years (46 children with MMHL; 44 aged-matched controls), were administered a battery of standardized language assessments, including…

Child-Parent Interactions in Families Raising Children with Hearing Impairment

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Nikitina Yu.V.

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Article reveals communication (information exchange between parents and their deaf children. The effectiveness of information exchange in different communication means between parents and children having hearing loss was investigated. Effectiveness here is an opportunity of fast understanding of the information given by one participant to another. Special experimental situation was constructed to measure the effectiveness. This situation was divided in two parts: at first parent was giving instructions to the child, then – child was giving instructions to the parent. The time that was needed to follow the instructions was measured, and communication means were registered. 17 deaf children and their mothers participated in the study. 5 of those mothers also have hearing impairment and do know sign language. Control group was represented by 10 regular developing children and their parents. Experimental results allows us to make the conclusion that there are significant difficulties in information exchange between parent and child in families raising deaf children. These difficulties are more shown in situations when children have to understand parents’ instructions and are the result of not very efficient communication means that parents use in several cases. The most efficient communication means that allow receiving information faster, accurately and fully is Russian sign language. That is shown by the best results of information exchange in pairs of mother and child both having hearing loss.

Effect of Auditory Training on Reading Comprehension of Children with Hearing Impairment in Enugu State

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Ugwuanyi, L. T.; Adaka, T. A.

2015-01-01

The paper focused on the effect of auditory training on reading comprehension of children with hearing impairment in Enugu State. A total of 33 children with conductive, sensory neural and mixed hearing loss were sampled for the study in the two schools for the Deaf in Enugu State. The design employed for the study was a quasi experiment (pre-test…

Etiology and prevalence rate of bilateral sensorineural hearing impairment in children born in Kobe city over a 10 year period

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Yoshioka, Mieko; Naito, Yashushi

2008-01-01

The study was carried out on children born over a 10 year period from 1997 to 2006 in Kobe city and referred to our center for specialist audiological assessment. A total of 107 cases had a bilateral sensorineural hearing impairment averaging 25 dB or over in the better hearing ear during the study period. To ascertain causes of sensorineural hearing impairment, full medical histories were obtained with detailed family history relevant to hearing impairment and perinatal course for adverse etiological factors. The children were investigated for possible congenital infection and chromosomal anomalies. Children with positive family history of deafness in parents or siblings constituted 11.2% of cases (genetic group). Other etiological groups showed the following distribution: syndromal group 5.6%; inner ear anomalies 5.6%; perinatal group 13.1%; congenital infection 11.2%; chromosomal anomalies 16.8%; multiple congenital anomalies 5.6%; causes unknown 30.9%. The high incidence of causes unknown indicates that steps should be taken to yield a diagnosis. The total number of children born in Kobe city was 117,896 during the period from 1997 to 2005, which gave a prevalence rate of hearing impairment of 0.87/1,000 births. Newborn hearing screening identified many children earlier and also provide the opportunity to finetune the evaluation. (author)

The effect of positive parenting program on parenting stress of mothers with impaired hearing children

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Mahnaz Aliakbari Dehkordi

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Background and Aim: Research indicates that impaired hearing is one of the most stressful disabilities. The parenting stress involved could lead to family malfunction and improper parenting. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of positive parenting programs on the parenting stress of mothers with impaired hearing children.Methods: The statistical population comprised mothers of all 7-12-year-old impaired hearing children in Tehran city. Thereafter, using the random sampling method, 24 individuals were shortlisted as research participants and were randomly assigned to two groups: control and experimental. The experimental group was trained with a positive parenting program based on the Sanders program (1993 over eight sessions. The measurement instrument was the Abidin parenting stress questionnaire.Results: The mean score for grades in the experimental groups’ parent and child domains at the pre- and post-test stages had reduced more than that in the control group. In addition, the results of a multivariate covariance analysis indicated that positive parenting training was effective in the reduction of parenting stress scores, reinforcement, and child mood components in the child domain, and in the feelings of competence, relationships with the spouse, and role limitation components (p<0.05 in the parent domain.Conclusion : Considering the benefits of training parents for the reduction of parenting stress of mothers with impaired hearing children, this method is recommended in all learning centers for the deaf.

Hearing Aid and children

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Jamileh Fatahi

2002-07-01

Full Text Available In order to develop oral communication, hearing impaired infants and young children must be able to hear speech comfortably and consistently. To day children with all degrees of hearing loss may be condidates for some kinds of amlification. As children differ from adults, many Factors should be consider in hearing aid selection, evaluation and fitting. For example the child age when he or she is candidate for custom instruments? Do we consider programmable Hearing aid? Are multi memory instruments appropriate for them? What about directional microphones? What style of hearing aid do we select? In this paper such questions are Answered.

Prevalence and causes of hearing impairment in Africa.

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Mulwafu, W; Kuper, H; Ensink, R J H

2016-02-01

To systematically assess the data on the prevalence and causes of hearing impairment in Africa. Systematic review on the prevalence and causes of hearing loss in Africa. We undertook a literature search of seven electronic databases (EMBASE, PubMed, Medline, Global Health, Web of Knowledge, Academic Search Complete and Africa Wide Information) and manually searched bibliographies of included articles. The search was restricted to population-based studies on hearing impairment in Africa. Data were extracted using a standard protocol. We identified 232 articles and included 28 articles in the final analysis. The most common cut-offs used for hearing impairment were 25 and 30 dB HL, but this ranged between 15 and 40 dB HL. For a cut-off of 25 dB, the median was 7.7% for the children- or school-based studies and 17% for population-based studies. For a cut-off of 30 dB HL, the median was 6.6% for the children or school-based studies and 31% for population-based studies. In schools for the deaf, the most common cause of hearing impairment was cryptogenic deafness (50%) followed by infectious causes (43%). In mainstream schools and general population, the most common cause of hearing impairment was middle ear disease (36%), followed by undetermined causes (35%) and cerumen impaction (24%). There are very few population-based studies available to estimate the prevalence of hearing impairment in Africa. Those studies that are available use different cut-offs, making comparison difficult. However, the evidence suggests that the prevalence of hearing impairment is high and that much of it is avoidable or treatable. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Encouraging Reading through an Enactive Method: Strategies for Hearing Impaired Children.

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Winzer, M. A.

The paper describes the enactive method, an alternative approach to introducing and teaching reading to young hearing impaired children. The method actively involves the child as a processor of the material rather than as a passive consumer. The approach is established for a short period of time each day until the student outgrows its original…

Visual pedagogy and probiotics for hearing impaired children: A pilot study

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Amrita Sujlana

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Context: Oral health care for children with special needs remains largely unmet. It is important that we should focus on preventive strategies for special children to help curtail and prevent oral diseases. Aim: This study aimed to assess the effect of visual pedagogy and probiotic mouth rinse on the periodontal health of hearing impaired children. Materials and Methodology: The study cohort consisted of twenty children with hearing impairment (HI and 20 age-matched healthy children. The gingival index (GI, plaque index (PI, and salivary pH for all children were assessed at baseline, 15 days after oral hygiene training using visual pedagogy, 15 days after probiotic mouth rinse introduction, and at the end of the test period, i.e., 2 months after discontinuing probiotics. Statistical Analysis: Comparison of means was carried out using the Student's t-test. Intragroup parameters were assessed using the one-way ANOVA, followed by the post hoc Scheffe test. Value for statistical significance was fixed at 0.05. Results: The GI and PI scores did not improve significantly after oral hygiene training in either of the two groups. The use of probiotic mouth rinse significantly reduced GI scores (<0.01 and PI scores (<0.01 and increased salivary pH above the critical pH in both groups. Conclusion: The use of visual pedagogy coupled with probiotic mouth rinsing may improve the periodontal status of children with HI and should be explored as a preventive procedure for children with special health-care needs.

A comparative evaluation of dental caries status among hearing-impaired and normal children of Malda, West Bengal, evaluated with the Caries Assessment Spectrum and Treatment.

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Kar, Sudipta; Kundu, Goutam; Maiti, Shyamal Kumar; Ghosh, Chiranjit; Bazmi, Badruddin Ahamed; Mukhopadhyay, Santanu

2016-01-01

Dental caries is one of the major modern-day diseases of dental hard tissue. It may affect both normal and hearing-impaired children. This study is aimed to evaluate and compare the prevalence of dental caries in hearing-impaired and normal children of Malda, West Bengal, utilizing the Caries Assessment Spectrum and Treatment (CAST). In a cross-sectional, case-control study of dental caries status of 6-12-year-old children was assessed. Statistically significant difference was found in studied (hearing-impaired) and control group (normal children). In the present study, caries affected hearing-impaired children found to be about 30.51% compared to 15.81% in normal children, and the result was statistically significant. Regarding individual caries assessment criteria, nearly all subgroups reflect statistically significant difference except sealed tooth structure group, internal caries-related discoloration in dentin, and distinct cavitation into dentine group, and the result is significant at P caries effected hearing-impaired children found about 30.51% instead of 15.81% in normal children, and the result was statistically significant (P caries assessment criteria, nearly all subgroups reflect statistically significant difference except sealed tooth structure group, internal caries-related discoloration in dentin, and distinct cavitation into dentine group. Dental health of hearing-impaired children was found unsatisfactory than normal children when studied in relation to dental caries status evaluated with CAST.

Congenital hearing impairment

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Robson, Caroline D. [Children' s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Division of Neuroradiology, Department of Radiology, Boston, MA (United States)

2006-04-15

Establishing the etiology of congenital hearing impairment can significantly improve treatment for certain causes of hearing loss and facilitates genetic counseling. High-resolution CT and MRI have contributed to the evaluation and management of hearing impairment. In addition, with the identification of innumerable genetic loci and genetic defects involved in hearing loss, genetic testing has emerged as an invaluable tool in the assessment of hearing impairment. Some of the common forms of congenital hearing loss are reviewed and their imaging features illustrated. (orig.)

Congenital hearing impairment

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Robson, Caroline D.

2006-01-01

Establishing the etiology of congenital hearing impairment can significantly improve treatment for certain causes of hearing loss and facilitates genetic counseling. High-resolution CT and MRI have contributed to the evaluation and management of hearing impairment. In addition, with the identification of innumerable genetic loci and genetic defects involved in hearing loss, genetic testing has emerged as an invaluable tool in the assessment of hearing impairment. Some of the common forms of congenital hearing loss are reviewed and their imaging features illustrated. (orig.)

A comparative evaluation of dental caries status among hearing-impaired and normal children of Malda, West Bengal, evaluated with the Caries Assessment Spectrum and Treatment

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Sudipta Kar

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Context: Dental caries is one of the major modern-day diseases of dental hard tissue. It may affect both normal and hearing-impaired children. Aims: This study is aimed to evaluate and compare the prevalence of dental caries in hearing-impaired and normal children of Malda, West Bengal, utilizing the Caries Assessment Spectrum and Treatment (CAST. Settings and Design: In a cross-sectional, case-control study of dental caries status of 6-12-year-old children was assessed. Subjects and Methods: Statistically significant difference was found in studied (hearing-impaired and control group (normal children. In the present study, caries affected hearing-impaired children found to be about 30.51% compared to 15.81% in normal children, and the result was statistically significant. Regarding individual caries assessment criteria, nearly all subgroups reflect statistically significant difference except sealed tooth structure group, internal caries-related discoloration in dentin, and distinct cavitation into dentine group, and the result is significant at P < 0.05. Statistical Analysis Used: Statistical analysis was carried out utilizing Z-test. Results: Statistically significant difference was found in studied (hearing-impaired and control group (normal children. In the present study, caries effected hearing-impaired children found about 30.51% instead of 15.81% in normal children, and the result was statistically significant (P < 0.05. Regarding individual caries assessment criteria, nearly all subgroups reflect statistically significant difference except sealed tooth structure group, internal caries-related discoloration in dentin, and distinct cavitation into dentine group. Conclusions: Dental health of hearing-impaired children was found unsatisfactory than normal children when studied in relation to dental caries status evaluated with CAST.

Test-retest reliability of the assessment of postural stability in typically developing children and in hearing impaired children.

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De Kegel, A; Dhooge, I; Cambier, D; Baetens, T; Palmans, T; Van Waelvelde, H

2011-04-01

The purpose of this study was to establish test-retest reliability of centre of pressure (COP) measurements obtained by an AccuGait portable forceplate (ACG), mean COG sway velocity measured by a Basic Balance Master (BBM) and clinical balance tests in children with and without balance difficulties. 49 typically developing children and 23 hearing impaired children, with a higher risk for stability problems, between 6 and 12 years of age participated. Each child performed the modified Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction on Balance (mCTSIB), Unilateral Stance (US) and Tandem Stance on ACG, mCTSIB and US on BBM and clinical balance tests: one-leg standing, balance beam walking and one-leg hopping. All subjects completed 2 test sessions on 2 different days in the same week assessed by the same examiner. Among COP measurements obtained by the ACG, mean sway velocity was the most reliable parameter with all ICCs higher than 0.72. The standard deviation (SD) of sway velocity, sway area, SD of anterior-posterior and SD of medio-lateral COP data showed moderate to excellent reliability with ICCs between 0.55 and 0.96 but some caution must be taken into account in some conditions. BBM is less reliable but clinical balance tests are as reliable as ACG. Hearing impaired children exhibited better relative reliability (ICC) and comparable absolute reliability (SEM) for most balance parameters compared to typically developing children. Reliable information regarding postural stability of typically developing children and hearing impaired children may be obtained utilizing COP measurements generated by an AccuGait system and clinical balance tests. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Visual function and ocular status of children with hearing impairment in Oman: A case series

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Khandekar Rajiv

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Visual functions of children with hearing disability were evaluated in a school of Muscat, Oman in 2006. Two hundred and twenty-three children were tested for near vision, distant vision, contrast sensitivity, color vision, field of vision, motion perception and crowding. Profound and severe hearing loss was noted in 161 and 63 students respectively. Thirty-five (81% students with refractive error were using spectacles. Color vision and field of vision was defective in one student each. In 286 (64.1% eyes, contrast sensitivity was defective. Abnormal contrast sensitivity was not associated with the severity of hearing loss [RR = 1.04 (95% CI 0.91 to 1.29]. Children with hearing impairment should be assessed for visual functions. Refractive error and defect in contrast sensitivity were unusually high among these children. In addition to visual aids, we recommend environmental changes to improve illumination and contrast to improve the quality of life of such children with double disability.

Impact of cognitive and linguistic ability on gaze behavior in children with hearing impairment

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Olof eSandgren

2013-11-01

Full Text Available In order to explore verbal-nonverbal integration, we investigated the influence of cognitive and linguistic ability on gaze behavior during spoken language conversation between children with mild-to-moderate hearing impairment (HI and normal-hearing (NH peers. Ten HI-NH and ten NH-NH dyads performed a referential communication task requiring description of faces. During task performance, eye movements and speech were tracked. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to model associations between performance on cognitive and linguistic tasks and the probability of gaze to the conversational partner’s face. Analyses compare the listeners in each dyad (HI: n = 10, mean age = 12;6 years, SD = 2;0, mean better ear pure-tone average 33.0 dB HL, SD = 7.8; NH: n = 10, mean age = 13;7 years, SD = 1;11. Group differences in gaze behavior – with HI gazing more to the conversational partner than NH – remained significant despite adjustment for ability on receptive grammar, expressive vocabulary, and complex working memory. Adjustment for phonological short term memory, as measured by nonword repetition, removed group differences, revealing an interaction between group membership and nonword repetition ability. Stratified analysis showed a twofold increase of the probability of gaze-to-partner for HI with low phonological short term memory capacity, and a decreased probability for HI with high capacity, as compared to NH peers. The results revealed differences in gaze behavior attributable to performance on a phonological short term memory task. Participants with hearing impairment and low phonological short term memory capacity showed a doubled probability of gaze to the conversational partner, indicative of a visual bias. The results stress the need to look beyond the hearing impairment in diagnostics and intervention. Acknowledgment of the finding requires clinical assessment of children with hearing impairment to be supported by tasks tapping

Guidelines for Evaluating Auditory-Oral Programs for Children Who Are Hearing Impaired.

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Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf, Inc., Washington, DC.

These guidelines are intended to assist parents in evaluating educational programs for children who are hearing impaired, where a program's stated intention is promoting the child's optimal use of spoken language as a mode of everyday communication and learning. The guidelines are applicable to programs where spoken language is the sole mode or…

Neurobehavioral observation and hearing impairment in children at school age in eastern Slovakia

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Sovcikova, E.; Trnovec, T.; Petrik, J.; Kocan, A.; Drobna, B.; Wimmerova, S.; Wsolova, L. [Slovak Medical Univ., Bratislava (Slovakia); Hustak, M. [Air Force Military Hospital, Kosice (Slovakia)

2004-09-15

Neurotoxicity of PCBs has been reported in humans and confirmed in animal studies. It was shown that PCBs can alter a number of developmental physiological processes in which the thyroid plays an essential role. In children, the prenatal exposure to PCBs was associated with reduced birth weight and poor recognition memory. In children with longer duration of breast feeding implying higher PCB exposure, altered behavior, lengthening of psychomotor activities, worse attention, and worse memory performance were found. The so far published data on the association between PCBs exposure and hearing were based mainly on animal observations. Low-frequency auditory impairments have been documented in PCB exposed rats, including elevated behavioral auditory thresholds, decreased amplitude and prolonged latency auditory evoked brain stem responses. Two papers were related to humans only. The first one reported PCB-associated increased thresholds at two out of eight frequencies on audiometry, but only on the left side, and no deficits on evoked potentials or contrast sensitivity in 7-year-old children prenatally exposed to seafood neurotoxicants. The other paper was focused on hearing impairments in boys of fish-eating mothers, but no individual PCB exposure data were available. The aim of this study was to evaluate the associations between exposure to PCBs and health outcomes assessed, as performance in neurobehavioral tests, thyroid hormones production and hearing status. Selected confounder factors such as heavy metals and health/social background of development in children were also taken into consideration.

Prevalence and Social Risk Factors for Hearing Impairment in Chinese Children—A National Survey

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Chunfeng Yun

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Hearing impairment may affect children’s communication skills, social development, and educational achievement. Little is known about the prevalence of hearing impairment among Chinese children. Data were taken from the 2006 second China National Survey on Disability (CNSD. Hearing impairment was defined as moderate (41–60 dB HL, severe (61–80 dB HL, profound (81–90 dB HL, or complete (>91 dB HL. Logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratio (OR and 95% confidence intervals (CI. A weighted number of 567,915 hearing impairment children were identified, yielding a prevalence of 17.49 per 10,000 people (95% CI: 16.90–18.08, with prevention or treatment options possible for 64.6% of hearing impairment children. The main causes of hearing impairment were hereditary, tympanitis, and drug intoxication. Illiteracy in one or both parents (mother: OR = 1.388, 95% CI: 1.125–1.714, p < 0.0001; father: OR = 1.537, 95% CI: 1.152–2.049, p < 0.0001 relative to no school or primary school, annual family income lower than national average (OR = 1.323, 95% CI: 1.044–1.675, p = 0.0203, relative to higher than national average, household size larger than three people (OR = 1.432, 95% CI: 1.164–1.762, p = 0.0007, relative to smaller than three people and single-mother family (OR = 2.056, 95% CI: 1.390–3.042, p = 0.0176, relative to intact family were the independence risk factors for hearing impairment among Chinese children. Lower annual family income, male children, larger household size, single-mother family, and lower levels of maternal and paternal education were independent risk factors for hearing impairment for Chinese children. Further studies on hearing impairment prevention and the relationship between parental social factors and the risk of hearing impairment are needed.

Inclusive intervention to enhance the fundamental movement skills of children without hearing: a preliminary study.

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Gursel, Ferda

2014-02-01

The purpose of this study was to assess an intervention program on the fundamental movement skill of students with and without hearing impairment, using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 (TGMD-2) standardized Turkish norm. Preschool children with and without hearing impairment participated in this study. At the beginning of the study, most of the children with hearing impairment demonstrated developmental delay on the Locomotor subscale (6/7), as did about one-third (4/11) of the children without hearing impairment. For the Object control subscale, 4/7 of children with hearing impairment and none without hearing impairment showed developmental delay prior to the intervention program. After the intervention program, 3/7 children with hearing impairment had developmental delay on the Locomotor subscale. On the Object control subscale, 2/7 children with hearing impairment and none without hearing impairment showed developmental delay. The six-week intervention program improved TGMD-2 scores of children with hearing impairment, yet did not yield statistically significant improvement of fundamental movement skills.

Statistical Learning, Syllable Processing, and Speech Production in Healthy Hearing and Hearing-Impaired Preschool Children: A Mismatch Negativity Study.

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Studer-Eichenberger, Esther; Studer-Eichenberger, Felix; Koenig, Thomas

2016-01-01

The objectives of the present study were to investigate temporal/spectral sound-feature processing in preschool children (4 to 7 years old) with peripheral hearing loss compared with age-matched controls. The results verified the presence of statistical learning, which was diminished in children with hearing impairments (HIs), and elucidated possible perceptual mediators of speech production. Perception and production of the syllables /ba/, /da/, /ta/, and /na/ were recorded in 13 children with normal hearing and 13 children with HI. Perception was assessed physiologically through event-related potentials (ERPs) recorded by EEG in a multifeature mismatch negativity paradigm and behaviorally through a discrimination task. Temporal and spectral features of the ERPs during speech perception were analyzed, and speech production was quantitatively evaluated using speech motor maximum performance tasks. Proximal to stimulus onset, children with HI displayed a difference in map topography, indicating diminished statistical learning. In later ERP components, children with HI exhibited reduced amplitudes in the N2 and early parts of the late disciminative negativity components specifically, which are associated with temporal and spectral control mechanisms. Abnormalities of speech perception were only subtly reflected in speech production, as the lone difference found in speech production studies was a mild delay in regulating speech intensity. In addition to previously reported deficits of sound-feature discriminations, the present study results reflect diminished statistical learning in children with HI, which plays an early and important, but so far neglected, role in phonological processing. Furthermore, the lack of corresponding behavioral abnormalities in speech production implies that impaired perceptual capacities do not necessarily translate into productive deficits.

Working memory and referential communication – multimodal aspects of interaction between children with sensorineural hearing impairment and normal hearing peers

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Olof eSandgren

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Whereas the language development of children with sensorineural hearing impairment (SNHI has repeatedly been shown to differ from that of peers with normal hearing (NH, few studies have used an experimental approach to investigate the consequences on everyday communicative interaction. This mini review gives an overview of a range of studies on children with SNHI and NH exploring intra- and inter-individual cognitive and linguistic systems during communication.Over the last decade, our research group has studied the conversational strategies of Swedish speaking children and adolescents with SNHI and NH using referential communication, an experimental analogue to problem-solving in the classroom. We have established verbal and nonverbal control and validation mechanisms, related to working memory capacity (WMC and phonological short term memory (PSTM. We present main findings and future directions relevant for the field of cognitive hearing science and for the clinical and school-based management of children and adolescents with SNHI.

Unique Approach to Dental Management of Children with Hearing Impairment.

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Renahan, Navanith; Varma, R Balagopal; Kumaran, Parvathy; Xavier, Arun M

2017-01-01

The number of deaf children has dramatically increased in the past few decades. These children present to the pediatric dentist a unique set of challenges mostly pertaining to the establishment of communication with them. There have been very few attempts in the past to break down these challenges and formulate a strategy on how to manage them effectively. This is a case report of a child who was successfully managed using two different modes of communication. Finally, the advantages and disadvantages are mentioned, and a common strategy incorporating the positives of both the methods has been devised. Renahan N, Varma RB, Kumaran P, Xavier AM. Unique Approach to Dental Management of Children with Hearing Impairment. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2017;10(1):107-110.

Speech-evoked auditory brainstem responses in children with hearing loss.

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Koravand, Amineh; Al Osman, Rida; Rivest, Véronique; Poulin, Catherine

2017-08-01

The main objective of the present study was to investigate subcortical auditory processing in children with sensorineural hearing loss. Auditory Brainstem Responses (ABRs) were recorded using click and speech/da/stimuli. Twenty-five children, aged 6-14 years old, participated in the study: 13 with normal hearing acuity and 12 with sensorineural hearing loss. No significant differences were observed for the click-evoked ABRs between normal hearing and hearing-impaired groups. For the speech-evoked ABRs, no significant differences were found for the latencies of the following responses between the two groups: onset (V and A), transition (C), one of the steady-state wave (F), and offset (O). However, the latency of the steady-state waves (D and E) was significantly longer for the hearing-impaired compared to the normal hearing group. Furthermore, the amplitude of the offset wave O and of the envelope frequency response (EFR) of the speech-evoked ABRs was significantly larger for the hearing-impaired compared to the normal hearing group. Results obtained from the speech-evoked ABRs suggest that children with a mild to moderately-severe sensorineural hearing loss have a specific pattern of subcortical auditory processing. Our results show differences for the speech-evoked ABRs in normal hearing children compared to hearing-impaired children. These results add to the body of the literature on how children with hearing loss process speech at the brainstem level. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Unilateral Hearing Loss Is Associated With Impaired Balance in Children: A Pilot Study.

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Wolter, Nikolaus E; Cushing, Sharon L; Vilchez-Madrigal, Luis D; James, Adrian L; Campos, Jennifer; Papsin, Blake C; Gordon, Karen A

2016-12-01

To determine if children with unilateral sensorineural hearing loss (UHL) demonstrate impaired balance compared with their normal hearing (NH) peers. Prospective, case-control study. Balance was assessed in14 UHL and 14 NH children using the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test-2 (BOT-2) and time to fall (TTF) in an immersive, virtual-reality laboratory. Postural control was quantified by center of pressure (COP) using force plates. The effect of vision on balance was assessed by comparing scores and COP characteristics on BOT-2 tasks performed with eyes open and closed. Balance ability as measured by the BOT-2 score was significantly worse in children with UHL compared with NH children (p = 0.004). TTF was shorter in children with UHL compared with NH children in the most difficult tasks when visual and somatosensory inputs were limited (p children with UHL when visual input was removed while performing moderately difficult tasks (i.e., standing on one foot) (p = 0.02). In this pilot study, children with UHL show poorer balance skills than NH children. Significant differences in TTF between the two groups were only seen in the most difficult tasks and therefore may be missed on routine clinical assessment. Children with UHL appear to rely more on vision for maintaining postural control than their NH peers. These findings may point to deficits not only in the hearing but also the vestibular portion of the inner ear.

The strengths and weaknesses in verbal short-term memory and visual working memory in children with hearing impairment and additional language learning difficulties.

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Willis, Suzi; Goldbart, Juliet; Stansfield, Jois

2014-07-01

To compare verbal short-term memory and visual working memory abilities of six children with congenital hearing-impairment identified as having significant language learning difficulties with normative data from typically hearing children using standardized memory assessments. Six children with hearing loss aged 8-15 years were assessed on measures of verbal short-term memory (Non-word and word recall) and visual working memory annually over a two year period. All children had cognitive abilities within normal limits and used spoken language as the primary mode of communication. The language assessment scores at the beginning of the study revealed that all six participants exhibited delays of two years or more on standardized assessments of receptive and expressive vocabulary and spoken language. The children with hearing-impairment scores were significantly higher on the non-word recall task than the "real" word recall task. They also exhibited significantly higher scores on visual working memory than those of the age-matched sample from the standardized memory assessment. Each of the six participants in this study displayed the same pattern of strengths and weaknesses in verbal short-term memory and visual working memory despite their very different chronological ages. The children's poor ability to recall single syllable words in relation to non-words is a clinical indicator of their difficulties in verbal short-term memory. However, the children with hearing-impairment do not display generalized processing difficulties and indeed demonstrate strengths in visual working memory. The poor ability to recall words, in combination with difficulties with early word learning may be indicators of children with hearing-impairment who will struggle to develop spoken language equal to that of their normally hearing peers. This early identification has the potential to allow for target specific intervention that may remediate their difficulties. Copyright © 2014. Published

Gaze Patterns in Auditory-Visual Perception of Emotion by Children with Hearing Aids and Hearing Children

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Yifang Wang

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This study investigated eye-movement patterns during emotion perception for children with hearing aids and hearing children. Seventy-eight participants aged from 3 to 7 were asked to watch videos with a facial expression followed by an oral statement, and these two cues were either congruent or incongruent in emotional valence. Results showed that while hearing children paid more attention to the upper part of the face, children with hearing aids paid more attention to the lower part of the face after the oral statement was presented, especially for the neutral facial expression/neutral oral statement condition. These results suggest that children with hearing aids have an altered eye contact pattern with others and a difficulty in matching visual and voice cues in emotion perception. The negative cause and effect of these gaze patterns should be avoided in earlier rehabilitation for hearing-impaired children with assistive devices.

Language Characteristics of Preschool Children with Hearing Loss in Tehran, Iran

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Dr. Younes Lotfi

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Background and Aim: Hearing impairment affects all aspect of individual life, specially language and communication skills. When hearing impairment is congenital or occurs early in life, the child’s ability to learn optimally through audition, will be affected. The aim of this study was to evaluate linguistic skills of preschool hearing impaired children and compare these skills with normal peers.Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on 38 preschool hearing impaired children that the main handicap was severe to profound hearing loss with ability to communicate orally and 28 normal children with the same cultural and social context. Twenty four non linguistic variables including age, gender, the age of entrance of preschool center, number of hearing aids, etc. were obtained by filling a questionnaire and fifteen linguistics variables including number of utterance, morphemes, correct utterance, noun phrase, ambiguous utterance, correct sentences, compound sentences, etc. were collected by some part of TOLD-P-3 test and three complementary questions. Then we compared the data from two groups.Results: There were significant differences between number of utterance, number of correct mean length utterance, number of well-formed sentences in normal and hearing impaired group (p0.05.Conclusion: This study showed a severe deficit in linguistic skills in preschool hearing impaired children.

Children Who Are Hearing Impaired with Additional Disabilities and Related Aspects of Parental Stress.

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Hintermair, Manfred

2000-01-01

In this German study, 317 parents of children with hearing impairments and additional disabilities completed both the Parenting Stress Index and an additional questionnaire on demographics and related information. Analysis showed consistently high stress scores in the Child Domain, whereas the Parent Domain showed only a slight tendency toward…

Characteristics of reading and understanding of hearing impaired students in classes VI-VIII

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Mustaf Morina

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Good reading has a very important role in the development of children with hearing impaired; also reading in explicit way is one of the crucial factors which affect the oral language development of children with hearing impaired. The best form and possibility of improvement, development of oral language, development of communicating, receipt of information, knowledge, and ideas over the world, is reading. When the auditory perception is damaged reading is poor. Hearing impairment causes a lot of problems in the development of personality of children with hearing impairment in these fields: poor development of vocabulary, poor quality of lexica, poor quality of sentences, and disorder in articulation. The purpose of this research is to verify the following: 1-Speed of reading of hearing impaired children, 2-The number of errors, 3-The kind of errors, 4-To understand the text in the context of the degree of hearing impairment, age (class, success in school and gender. This theoretical-experimental study was made with students from two schools; special school “Mother Teresa” in Prizren and Primary School “Elena Gjika” in Prishtina (class attached. The research included a total of 32 students (respondent 27 students (respondent from special schools “Mother Teresa” in Prizren and 5 elementary school students “Elena Gjika” Prishtina, all these students are with hearing impairment. From 32 students involved in the research, 23 were male and 9 female. The research was done by applying a text fables “The fox and the raven” watched and analyzed in terms of three dimensions. The research results have shown that students with hearing impairments have considerable problems in many aspects; in terms of speed of reading, students with hearing impairment have stagnated compared with their peers in the ratio 8/1. In terms of reading errors have stagnated considered being incomparable. In terms of understanding the text students with hearing

Cochlear implant: Speech and language development in deaf and hard of hearing children following implantation

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Ostojić Sanja

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Bacground/Aim. Almost 200 cochlear implantations were done in the four centers (two in Belgrade, per one in Novi Sad and Niš in Serbia from 2002 to 2009. Less than 10% of implantees were postlingually deaf adults. The vast majority, i.e. 90% were pre- and perilingually profoundly deaf children. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of improved auditory perception due to cochlear implantation on comprehension of abstract words in children as compared with hearing impaired children with conventional hearing aids and normal hearing children. Methods. Thirty children were enrolled in this study: 20 hearing impaired and 10 normal hearing. The vocabulary test was used. Results. The overall results for the whole test (100 words showed a significant difference in favor of the normal hearing as compared with hearing impaired children. The normal hearing children successfully described or defined 77.93% of a total of 100 words. Success rate for the cochlear implanted children was 26.87% and for the hearing impaired children with conventional hearing aids 20.32%. Conclusion. Testing for abstract words showed a statistically significant difference between the cochlear implanted and the hearing impaired children with hearing aids (Mann- Whitney U-test, p = 0.019 implying considerable advantage of cochlear implants over hearing aids regarding successful speech development in prelingually deaf children.

The Effect of iPad on School Preparedness among Preschool Children with Hearing-Impairments

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Turkestani, Maryam Hafez

2015-01-01

With modern technological developments and with the fast expansion of mobile technical equipment, conducting a field study to find out how technology influences various developmental aspects of normal and special needs children at the preschool stage was deemed appropriate and timely hearing impairment. In this study aimed at finding out the…

Hearing assessment in pre-school children with speech delay.

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Psillas, George; Psifidis, Anestis; Antoniadou-Hitoglou, Magda; Kouloulas, Athanasios

2006-09-01

The purpose of this study was to detect any underlying hearing loss among the healthy pre-school children with speech delay. 76 children, aged from 1 to 5 years, underwent a thorough audiological examination consisting of tympanometry, free field testing, otoacoustic emission recordings and auditory brainstem responses (ABRs). If hearing was normal, then they were evaluated by a child neurologist-psychiatrist. According to our findings, the children were classified into 3 groups; those with normal hearing levels (group I, 52 children, 68.4%), sensorineural hearing loss (group II, 22 children, 28.9%) and conductive hearing loss (group III, 2 children, 2.6%). In group I, speech delay was attributed to pervasive developmental disorder (PDD), which represents high-functioning autistic children (37 cases). Other causes were specific language impairment (SLI)-expressive (3 cases), bilingualism (2 cases), and unknown etiology (10 cases). More than half (59%) of the children diagnosed with PDD evidenced significant language impairment limited to more than two words. Children with SLI-expressive and bilingualism used a maximum of two words. In group II, 13 children suffered from profound hearing loss in both ears, 3 from severe, 3 had profound hearing loss in one ear and severe in the other, 2 from moderate, and 1 had moderate in one ear and severe in the other. No child had mild sensorineural hearing loss. The children with profound hearing loss in at least one ear had total language impairment using no word at all (10 cases), or a maximum of two words (6 cases). When hearing loss was moderate to severe, then the speech vocabulary was confined to several words (more than two words-6 cases). Only two children suffering from conductive hearing loss both presented with complete lack of speech. A great number of healthy pre-school children with speech delay were found to have normal hearing. In this case, the otolaryngologist should be aware of the possible underlying clinical

Understanding of the Alphabetic Principle through Invented Spelling among Hearing-Impaired Children Learning to Read and Write: Experimentation with a Pedagogical Approach

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Sirois, Pauline; Boisclair, Andree; Giasson, Jocelyne

2008-01-01

Given the problems experienced by hearing-impaired individuals in learning the written language, a pedagogical approach was tested. The study examined the links between the development of representations of alphabetic system and the results in reading and writing of first graders. In the study, there were 31 hearing-impaired children and 25…

Childhood Hearing Impairment: How do Parents Feel about it?

African Journals Online (AJOL)

DATONYE ALASIA

burden of hearing impairment on the children and their ... The Nigerian Health Journal, Vol. 12, No 4 ... certain cultural misconception and. 9,10 ... school. Information collected included parents age, sex and questions related to the perception ... routine care needed to avoid hearing loss due to. 15 ... Mental health: New.

Assessment of Hearing Impaired Youth.

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Hicks, Doin E., Ed.; And Others

1980-01-01

The issue of Directions contains 11 articles on assessment of hearing impaired individuals. Entries have the following titles and authors: "Classroom Assessment Techniques for Hearing Impaired Students--A Literature Review" (B. McKee, M. Hausknecht); "Informal Assessment of Hearing Impaired Students In the Classroom" (B. Culhane, R. Hein);…

Auditory and language skills of children using hearing aids

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Leticia Macedo Penna

2015-04-01

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: Hearing loss may impair the development of a child. The rehabilitation process for individuals with hearing loss depends on effective interventions.OBJECTIVE: To describe the linguistic profile and the hearing skills of children using hearing aids, to characterize the rehabilitation process and to analyze its association with the children's degree of hearing loss.METHODS: Cross-sectional study with a non-probabilistic sample of 110 children using hearing aids (6-10 years of age for mild to profound hearing loss. Tests of language, speech perception, phonemic discrimination, and school performance were performed. The associations were verified by the following tests: chi-squared for linear trend and Kruskal-Wallis.RESULTS: About 65% of the children had altered vocabulary, whereas 89% and 94% had altered phonology and inferior school performance, respectively. The degree of hearing loss was associated with differences in the median age of diagnosis; the age at which the hearing aids were adapted and at which speech therapy was started; and the performance on auditory tests and the type of communication used.CONCLUSION: The diagnosis of hearing loss and the clinical interventions occurred late, contributing to impairments in auditory and language development.

Hearing loss in children with growth hormone deficiency.

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Muus, John S; Weir, Forest W; Kreicher, Kathryn L; Bowlby, Deborah A; Discolo, Christopher M; Meyer, Ted A

2017-09-01

Although insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) has been shown to be important for inner-ear development in animal models, little is known about the otologic and audiologic findings of children with growth hormone deficiency (GHD). The goal of this study is to evaluate the prevalence, type, and severity of hearing impairment in children with GHD. Audiologic, otologic, and demographic data were recorded for children with a diagnosis of GHD in the AudGen database. Data for each patient were selected based on the first encounter with available complete audiometric data or the first encounter with a type of hearing loss documented. The patients were then stratified by type and severity of hearing loss, and otologic issues were documented. A separate cohort comprised of children with GHD without hearing loss was compared as a control. 209 children with GHD met inclusion criteria. 173 (83%) of these patients had hearing loss. 79% of losses were bilateral and 21% were unilateral (309 total ears with hearing loss). 293 of the 309 ears with hearing loss had audiograms with ear-specific thresholds; 47 had conductive, 24 had sensorineural, 65 had mixed and 157 had undefined hearing loss with incomplete audiograms. Pure-tone averages (PTA) were higher among patients with mixed hearing loss compared to patients with all other loss types. Hearing loss is prevalent in children with GHD with a predisposition to be bilateral. These findings suggest the need for increased awareness and routine hearing screening for patients with GHD. Further studies may elucidate the etiology of the hearing impairment in children with GHD to better aid pediatricians, endocrinologists, otolaryngologists and audiologists when assessing and managing these children. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

PSYCHOSOCIAL INFLUENCE OF HEARING IMPAIRMENT ON THE INTERPERSONAL BEHAVIOR OF YOUTHS WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENT IN OYO STATE, NIGERIA

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Osisanya AYO

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Individuals with hearing impairment are confronted with a lot of problems due to the condition of their disability. This has a negative impact on their social and psychological well-being with multiplying effect on their interpersonal relationship. Therefore, this study investigated the psycho-social influence of hearing impairment on interpersonal behavior of youths with hearing loss.MethodologyThe study adopted a survey research design. A sample consisting of 211 participants with hearing loss were purposively selected from the Federal College of Education (Special Oyo, Nigeria. A questionnaire, part of Psycho-social Competence Scale (PCS, was used for data collection with reliability coefficient of 0.72.ResultsThe findings revealed that hearing impairement affects social interaction of youths with hearing impairment, hearing loss affects emotional well-being of youths with hearing impairment and youths with hearing impairment feel inferior in company of persons without hearing impairment. Based on this, it was recommended that a friendly home environment should be made and youths with hearing impairment should be advised to accept their loss and take it as a challenge that can be used to achieve a better end and the society should have right attitude and beliefs toward youths with hearing impairment.

Self-Concept of Severely to Profoundly Hearing-Impaired Children.

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Warren, Charlotte; Hasenstab, Suzanne

1986-01-01

A study examined demographic, impairment-related, and parental variables that best predicted self-concept among 49 severely to profoundly hearing-impaired 5- to 11-year-olds. A strong relationship was observed between self-concept and parental indulgence, parental rejection, parental protection, parental discipline, and extent of language…

The specifics of reading to students with hearing and speech impairment in classes VI-VIII

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Mustaf Morina

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Good reading has a very important role in the development of children with hearing impaired; also reading in explicit way is one of the crucial factors which affect the oral language development of children with hearing impaired. The best form and possibility of improvement, development of oral language, development of communicating, receipt of information, knowledge, and ideas over the world, is reading. When the auditory perception is damaged reading is poor. Hearing impairment causes a lot of problems in the development of personality of children with hearing impairment in these fields: poor development of vocabulary, poor quality of lexica, poor quality of sentences, and disorder in articulation. The purpose of this research is to verify the following: 1-Speed of reading of hearing impaired children, 2-The number of errors, 3-The kind of errors, 4-To understand the text in the context of the degree of hearing impairment, age (class, success in school and gender. This theoretical-experimental study was made with students from two schools; special school “Mother Teresa” in Prizren and Primary School “Elena Gjika” in Prishtina (class attached. The research included a total of 32 students (respondent 27 students (respondent from special schools “Mother Teresa” in Prizren and 5 elementary school students “Elena Gjika” Prishtina, all these students are with hearing impairment. From 32 students involved in the research, 23 were male and 9 female. The research was done by applying a text fables “The fox and the raven” watched and analyzed in terms of three dimensions. The research results have shown that students with hearing impairments have considerable problems in many aspects; in terms of speed of reading, students with hearing impairment have stagnated compared with their peers in the ratio 8/1. In terms of reading errors have stagnated considered being incomparable. In terms of understanding the text students with hearing

Faranak Parent-Child Mother Goose Program: Impact on Mother-Child Relationship for Mothers of Preschool Hearing Impaired Children

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Rogayeh Koohi

2016-12-01

Discussion: The Frank parent-child Mother Goose program could help families with hearing-impaired children in this 12-week community-based program, wherein parents learned skills that affect the relationship between mother and child.

Hearing impairment in children with congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection based on distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) and brain evoked response audiometry stimulus click (BERA Click) examinations

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Airlangga, T. J.; Mangunatmadja, I.; Prihartono, J.; Zizlavsky, S.

2017-08-01

Congenital cytomegalovirus (congenital CMV) infection is a leading factor of nongenetic sensorineural hearing loss in children. Hearing loss caused by CMV infection does not have a pathognomonic configuration hence further research is needed. The development of knowledge on hearing loss caused by congenital CMV infection is progressing in many countries. Due to a lack of research in the context of Indonesia, this study assesses hearing impairment in children with congenital CMV infection in Indonesia, more specifically in the Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital. Our objective was to profile hearing impairment in children 0-5 years of age with congenital CMV infection using Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions (DPOAE) and Brain Evoked Response Audiometry Stimulus Click (BERA Click) examinations. This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Cipto Mangunkusum Hospital from November, 2015 to May 2016 with 27 children 0-5 years of age with congenital CMV infection. Of individual ears studied, 58.0% exhibited sensorineural hearing loss. There was a significant relationship between developmental delay and incidence of sensorineural hearing loss. Subjects with a developmental delay were 6.57 times more likely (CI 95%; 1.88-22.87) to experience sensorineural hearing loss. Congenital CMV infection has an important role in causing sensorineural hearing loss in children.

Peripheral hearing loss reduces the ability of children to direct selective attention during multi-talker listening.

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Holmes, Emma; Kitterick, Padraig T; Summerfield, A Quentin

2017-07-01

Restoring normal hearing requires knowledge of how peripheral and central auditory processes are affected by hearing loss. Previous research has focussed primarily on peripheral changes following sensorineural hearing loss, whereas consequences for central auditory processing have received less attention. We examined the ability of hearing-impaired children to direct auditory attention to a voice of interest (based on the talker's spatial location or gender) in the presence of a common form of background noise: the voices of competing talkers (i.e. during multi-talker, or "Cocktail Party" listening). We measured brain activity using electro-encephalography (EEG) when children prepared to direct attention to the spatial location or gender of an upcoming target talker who spoke in a mixture of three talkers. Compared to normally-hearing children, hearing-impaired children showed significantly less evidence of preparatory brain activity when required to direct spatial attention. This finding is consistent with the idea that hearing-impaired children have a reduced ability to prepare spatial attention for an upcoming talker. Moreover, preparatory brain activity was not restored when hearing-impaired children listened with their acoustic hearing aids. An implication of these findings is that steps to improve auditory attention alongside acoustic hearing aids may be required to improve the ability of hearing-impaired children to understand speech in the presence of competing talkers. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hearing impairment after childhood bacterial meningitis dependent on etiology in Luanda, Angola.

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Karppinen, Mariia; Pelkonen, Tuula; Roine, Irmeli; Cruzeiro, Manuel Leite; Peltola, Heikki; Pitkäranta, Anne

2015-11-01

Childhood bacterial meningitis (BM) damages hearing, but the potential of different agents to cause impairment in developing countries is poorly understood. We compared the extent of hearing impairment in BM caused by Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), Streptococcus pneumoniae or Neisseria meningitidis among children aged 2 months to 13 years in Luanda, Angola. Hearing of 685 ears of 351 (78%) survivors among 723 enrolled patients was tested by brainstem-evoked response audiometry on day 7 of hospitalization. The causative agent was sought by cerebrospinal fluid culture, PCR or the latex-agglutination test. Altogether, 45 (12%) of the survivors were deaf (threshold >80 dB), and 20 (6%) had a threshold of 80 dB. The incidence of any kind of hearing loss, with ≥60 dB, was 34% with Hib, 30% with S. pneumoniae, 19% with N. meningitidis and 33% with other bacteria. Examining all ears combined and using the ≥60 dB threshold, the agents showed dissimilar harm (P=0.005), Hib being the most frequent and N. meningitidis the most infrequent cause. Compared to other agents, S. pneumoniae more often caused deafness (P=0.025) and hearing impairment at ≥60 dB (P=0.017) in infants, whereas this level of hearing loss in older survivors was most commonly caused by Hib (P=0.031). BM among children in Angola is often followed by hearing impairment, but the risk depends on the agent. S. pneumoniae is a major problem among infants, whereas Hib is mainly a risk beyond 12 months. N. meningitidis impairs hearing less frequently. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Opinions of hearing parents about the causes of hearing impairment of their children with biallelic GJB2 mutations.

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Solovyev, Aisen V; Dzhemileva, Lilya U; Posukh, Olga L; Barashkov, Nikolay A; Bady-Khoo, Marita S; Lobov, Semen L; Popova, Natalya Yu; Romanov, Georgii P; Sazonov, Nikolay N; Bondar, Alexander A; Morozov, Igor V; Tomsky, Mikhail I; Fedorova, Sardana A; Khusnutdinova, Elza K

2017-07-01

Hereditary hearing impairment (HI) caused by recessive GJB2 mutations is a frequent sensory disorder. The results of the molecular-based studies of HI are widely used in various genetic test systems. However, the ethical aspects are less described than the genetic aspects. The concerns expressed by individuals from groups with genetic risks must be included in the counseling of patients and their families. For evaluation of subjective opinions of hearing parents about the presumed causes of HI of their children, we analyze the cohort of parents having children with confirmed hereditary HI caused by biallelic recessive GJB2 mutations (in a homozygous or a compound heterozygous state). This study included 70 deaf children with HI due to mutations in the GJB2 gene and 91 questionnaires about the presumed causes of their deafness filled by their parents. Most of the parents at 78% (CI 68.4-85.4%) attributed their children's HI to "non-hereditary" causes and 22% (CI 14.7-31.6%) to "hereditary" causes (p < 0.05). Therefore, the prior opinions of the parents did not correspond to positive GJB2 genetic testing results. The subjective opinions of parents are probably partly based on family history, since respondents with deaf relatives in their pedigree more likely supposed hereditary causes for HI in their children than the respondents without deaf relatives (p < 0.001).

Use of nouns and verbs in the oral narrative of individuals with hearing impairment and normal hearing between 5 and 11 years of age

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Erica Endo Amemiya

Full Text Available CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Nouns and verbs indicate actions in oral communication. However, hearing impairment can compromise the acquisition of oral language to such an extent that appropriate use of these can be challenging. The objective of this study was to compare the use of nouns and verbs in the oral narrative of hearing-impaired and hearing children. DESIGN AND SETTING: Analytical cross-sectional study at the Department of Speech-Language and Hearing Sciences, Universidade Federal de São Paulo. METHODS: Twenty-one children with moderate to profound bilateral neurosensory hearing impairment and twenty-one with normal hearing (controls were matched according to sex, school year and school type. A board showing pictures was presented to each child, to elicit a narrative and measure their performance in producing nouns and verbs. RESULTS: Twenty-two (52.4% of the subjects were males. The mean age was 8 years (standard deviation, SD = 1.5. Comparing averages between the groups of boys and girls, we did not find any significant difference in their use of nouns, but among verbs, there was a significant difference regarding use of the imperative (P = 0.041: more frequent among boys (mean = 2.91. There was no significant difference in the use of nouns and verbs between deaf children and hearers, in relation to school type. Regarding use of the indicative, there was a nearly significant trend (P = 0.058. CONCLUSION: Among oralized hearing-impaired children who underwent speech therapy, their performance regarding verbs and noun use was similar to that of their hearing counterparts.

Hearing Loss in HIV-Infected Children in Lilongwe, Malawi.

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Hrapcak, Susan; Kuper, Hannah; Bartlett, Peter; Devendra, Akash; Makawa, Atupele; Kim, Maria; Kazembe, Peter; Ahmed, Saeed

2016-01-01

With improved access to antiretroviral therapy (ART), HIV infection is becoming a chronic illness. Preliminary data suggest that HIV-infected children have a higher risk of disabilities, including hearing impairment, although data are sparse. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and types of hearing loss in HIV-infected children in Lilongwe, Malawi. This was a cross-sectional survey of 380 HIV-infected children aged 4-14 years attending ART clinic in Lilongwe between December 2013-March 2014. Data was collected through pediatric quality of life and sociodemographic questionnaires, electronic medical record review, and detailed audiologic testing. Hearing loss was defined as >20 decibels hearing level (dBHL) in either ear. Predictors of hearing loss were explored by regression analysis generating age- and sex-adjusted odds ratios. Children with significant hearing loss were fitted with hearing aids. Of 380 patients, 24% had hearing loss: 82% conductive, 14% sensorineural, and 4% mixed. Twenty-one patients (23% of those with hearing loss) were referred for hearing aid fitting. There was a higher prevalence of hearing loss in children with history of frequent ear infections (OR 7.4, 4.2-13.0) and ear drainage (OR 6.4, 3.6-11.6). Hearing loss was linked to history of WHO Stage 3 (OR 2.4, 1.2-4.5) or Stage 4 (OR 6.4, 2.7-15.2) and history of malnutrition (OR 2.1, 1.3-3.5), but not to duration of ART or CD4. Only 40% of caregivers accurately perceived their child's hearing loss. Children with hearing impairment were less likely to attend school and had poorer emotional (p = 0.02) and school functioning (p = 0.04). There is an urgent need for improved screening tools, identification and treatment of hearing problems in HIV-infected children, as hearing loss was common in this group and affected school functioning and quality of life. Clear strategies were identified for prevention and treatment, since most hearing loss was conductive in nature, likely due to

Prerequisites for the development of the concept of health-forming technologies in the process of adaptive physical education of school-age children with hearing impairment

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Vitaliy Kashuba

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Prerequisites for the development of the concept of health-forming technologies in the process of adaptive physical education of school-age children with hearing impairment Prerequisites for the development of the concept of health-forming technologies in the process of adaptive physical education of school-age children with hearing impairment National University of Physical Education and Sports of Ukraine, Kyiv. Actuality. The leading position of the contemporary issues of health-forming activity of children and youth presented in the form of a methodological basis for the formation of a positive motivation for a healthy lifestyle of the younger generation, especially with specific disabilities in the state of health, separates the central component of this process from the humanistic approach, the essence of which is creating a favorable situation for the readiness of the present youth to perceive and adequately respond to the educational activities of the school and social environment that are implemented in the process of their physical education. Objectives of the study: determination of priority directions of optimization of the process of physical education of students with hearing impairments, selection of rational means and methods that fully satisfy the specific needs of this contingent based on the study of their interests not only during physical education, but also correctional activities, self-organized motor activity Research results. The data obtained during the study showed that most children with hearing impairments understood the problems of their own health and had a desire to carry out activities aimed at improving their level, defining for themselves as the main criterion the physical state of their organism. The results of the questionnaire survey of 236 schoolchildren aged 13 to 19 years with different established hearing disorders supplemented the systematization of preconditions and scientifically substantiated the

Assessment of narrative writing by Persian-speaking students with hearing impairments.

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Zamani, P; Soleymani, Z; Mousavi, S M; Akbari, N

2018-02-16

Previous studies have highlighted that narrative skill is critical to the development of the literacy skills by children. Children with cochlear implants (CI) and hearing aids (HA) may have problems in narrative development compared to peers with healthy hearing (HH). There is no exact data about the narrative writing ability of Persian-speaking students who are hearing-impaired. This study was undertaken to compare the microstructure and macrostructure scores for narrative writing of Persian-speaking students who are hearing-impaired and peers with HH. This was a cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study. The subjects were recruited from elementary schools in the city of Tehran. A total of 144 elementary school students were participated. The written narratives were elicited using a wordless pictorial storybook story. Three-way ANOVA with post hoc adjusted Bonferroni test was applied to determine the main effects and interactions of grounded variables on the microstructure and macrostructure components of narrative writing. No significant differences were observed in the macrostructure components of narrative writing between hearing-impaired and HH students. Factors analysis showed that the 4th grade HH students had significantly the highest scores, and the 3rd grade HA students had significantly the lowest scores in microstructure components of narrative writing. The findings revealed that hearing-impaired students similarly to their HH peers can transmit the main idea (macrostructure) of narrative writing, but show critical difficulties when using complete grammatical elements (microstructures) to form sentences to convey the idea in the narrative. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Hearing Impaired Education of the Department of Education in Region X, Philippines: Its Approaches and Implication

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James Mirabeau B. Undalok

2015-11-01

Full Text Available One way to attain improvement of the educational programs of the hearing impaired is by conducting survey and assessment of the status of the hearing impaired education of the Department of Education in Region X, Philippines. The Special Education (SpEd teachers play a vital role for the pupils of the hearing impaired children as they are viewed as linchpins in the learning process of the children. This cannot be attained without the different approaches on hearing impaired education. Survey -questionnaires were used to gather information needed. Data were analyzed using the descriptive statistics such as weighted mean and standard deviation. The ANOVA test was used to determine the significance of the hearing impaired education of the Department of Education in Region X. Anchored on the findings, the following conclusions are made about different educational approaches should be given priority by the SPED teachers is further enhance the lifelong learning skills of the pupils. It helps them for their learning process and acquiring language skills. There should be an advocacy on the hearing impaired education program to the public and stakeholders.

Psycholinguistic abilities in cochlear implant and hearing impaired children

OpenAIRE

Hassan, Hatem Ezzeldin; Eldin, Sally Taher Kheir; Al Kasaby, Rasha Mohamed

2014-01-01

Background: Many congenitally sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) children and cochlear implant (CI) recipients develop near-normal language skills. However, there is a wide variation in individual outcomes following cochlear implantation, or using hearing aids. Some CI recipients or Hearing aids users never develop useable speech and oral language skills. The causes of this enormous variation in outcomes are only partly understood at the present time. So, the aim of this study was to assess th...

Comparison of Reading Literacy in Hearing Impaired and Normal Hearing Students

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Dr. Ali Asghar Kakojoibari

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Background and Aim: listening, speaking, reading and writing are considered the lingual skills. These skills are in direct relation with each other. Listening is the first skill learnt by the individual through development. If damaged by hearing impairment, listening can cause serious defect to lingual skills. The goal of our research was to study the effect of hearing loss on reading literacy in hearing impairment students in comparison with normal hearing students.Methods: Study was performed using the examination booklets of Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS 2001. 119 hearing impairment students of 4th grade primary school, last year guidance school, and last year high school levels in schools providing exceptional student education were included. These individuals were compared to 46 normal hearing students of 4th grade primary school of ordinary schools. Comparative statistical analysis was performed using t-test.Results: Reading literacy and literal contents understanding was shown to have a significant difference between normal hearing and whole hearing impaired student (p<0.05, except the ones in high school level with moderate hearing loss. There was also seen a significant difference between normal hearing and hearing impairment students in understanding of information contents (p=0.03.Conclusion: Hearing loss has a negative effect on reading literacy. Consequently, curriculum change and evolution of educational programs in exceptional centers is needed, in order to promote reading literacy and to enhance rest hearing

Siblings of the Hearing Impaired: Perspectives for Parents.

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Atkins, Dale V.

1987-01-01

The author describes the concerns and needs of siblings of hearing-impaired children, offering practical suggestions for parents, educators, and mental health and community service workers. Examples of successful programs for siblings that provide emotional support, training and information about their siblings' disability, and effective…

Development of a voice database to aid children with hearing impairments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuzman, M G; Agüero, P D; Tulli, J C; Gonzalez, E L; Cervellini, M P; Uriz, A J

2011-01-01

In the development of software for voice analysis or training, for people with hearing impairments, a database having sounds of properly pronounced words is of paramount importance. This paper shows the advantage that will be obtained from getting an own voice database, rather than using those coming from other countries, even having the same language, in the development of speech training software aimed to people with hearing impairments. This database will be used by software developers at the School of Engineering of Mar del Plata National University.

Hearing Loss in HIV-Infected Children in Lilongwe, Malawi

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Hrapcak, Susan; Kuper, Hannah; Bartlett, Peter; Devendra, Akash; Makawa, Atupele; Kim, Maria; Kazembe, Peter; Ahmed, Saeed

2016-01-01

Introduction With improved access to antiretroviral therapy (ART), HIV infection is becoming a chronic illness. Preliminary data suggest that HIV-infected children have a higher risk of disabilities, including hearing impairment, although data are sparse. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and types of hearing loss in HIV-infected children in Lilongwe, Malawi. Methods This was a cross-sectional survey of 380 HIV-infected children aged 4–14 years attending ART clinic in Lilongwe between December 2013-March 2014. Data was collected through pediatric quality of life and sociodemographic questionnaires, electronic medical record review, and detailed audiologic testing. Hearing loss was defined as >20 decibels hearing level (dBHL) in either ear. Predictors of hearing loss were explored by regression analysis generating age- and sex-adjusted odds ratios. Children with significant hearing loss were fitted with hearing aids. Results Of 380 patients, 24% had hearing loss: 82% conductive, 14% sensorineural, and 4% mixed. Twenty-one patients (23% of those with hearing loss) were referred for hearing aid fitting. There was a higher prevalence of hearing loss in children with history of frequent ear infections (OR 7.4, 4.2–13.0) and ear drainage (OR 6.4, 3.6–11.6). Hearing loss was linked to history of WHO Stage 3 (OR 2.4, 1.2–4.5) or Stage 4 (OR 6.4, 2.7–15.2) and history of malnutrition (OR 2.1, 1.3–3.5), but not to duration of ART or CD4. Only 40% of caregivers accurately perceived their child’s hearing loss. Children with hearing impairment were less likely to attend school and had poorer emotional (p = 0.02) and school functioning (p = 0.04). Conclusions There is an urgent need for improved screening tools, identification and treatment of hearing problems in HIV-infected children, as hearing loss was common in this group and affected school functioning and quality of life. Clear strategies were identified for prevention and treatment, since most

Binaural pitch perception in normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listeners

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Santurette, Sébastien; Dau, Torsten

2007-01-01

The effects of hearing impairment on the perception of binaural-pitch stimuli were investigated. Several experiments were performed with normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listeners, including detection and discrimination of binaural pitch, and melody recognition using different types of binaural...... pitches. For the normal-hearing listeners, all types of binaural pitches could be perceived immediately and were musical. The hearing-impaired listeners could be divided into three groups based on their results: (a) some perceived all types of binaural pitches, but with decreased salience or musicality...... compared to normal-hearing listeners; (b) some could only perceive the strongest pitch types; (c) some were unable to perceive any binaural pitch at all. The performance of the listeners was not correlated with audibility. Additional experiments investigated the correlation between performance in binaural...

Is Hearing Impairment Associated with Rheumatoid Arthritis?

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Emamifar, Amir; Bjoerndal, Kristine; Jensen Hansen, Inger Marie

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic, inflammatory disease that affects 1% of the population. The auditory system may be involved during the course of disease; however the association of RA and hearing impairment has not been clearly defined. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this review...... is to evaluate published clinical reports related to hearing impairment in patients with RA. Furthermore, we discuss possible pathologies and associated factors as well as new treatment modalities. METHOD: A thorough literature search was performed using available databases including Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane...... and ComDisDome to cover all relative reports. The following keywords were used: hearing loss, hearing difficulties, hearing disorders, hearing impairment, sensorineural hearing loss, conductive hearing loss, mixed hearing loss, autoimmune hearing loss, drug ototoxicity, drug-induced hearing loss, hearing...

Characteristics of children with unilateral hearing loss.

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Fitzpatrick, Elizabeth M; Al-Essa, Rakan S; Whittingham, JoAnne; Fitzpatrick, Jessica

2017-11-01

The purpose of this study was to describe the clinical characteristics of children with unilateral hearing loss (UHL), examine deterioration in hearing, and explore amplification decisions. Population-based data were collected prospectively from time of diagnosis. Serial audiograms and amplification details were retrospectively extracted from clinical charts to document the trajectory and management of hearing loss. The study included all children identified with UHL in one region of Canada over a 13-year period (2003-2015) after implementation of universal newborn hearing screening. Of 537 children with permanent hearing loss, 20.1% (108) presented with UHL at diagnosis. They were identified at a median age of 13.9 months (IQR: 2.8, 49.0). Children with congenital loss were identified at 2.8 months (IQR: 2.0, 3.6) and made up 47.2% (n = 51), reflecting that a substantial portion had late-onset, acquired or late-identified loss. A total of 42.4% (n = 39) showed deterioration in hearing, including 16 (17.4%) who developed bilateral loss. By study end, 73.1% (79/108) of children had received amplification recommendations. Up to 20% of children with permanent HL are first diagnosed with UHL. About 40% are at risk for deterioration in hearing either in the impaired ear and/or in the normal hearing ear.

Understanding minds: early cochlear implantation and the development of theory of mind in children with profound hearing impairment.

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Sundqvist, Annette; Lyxell, Björn; Jönsson, Radoslava; Heimann, Mikael

2014-03-01

The present study investigates how auditory stimulation from cochlear implants (CI) is associated with the development of Theory of Mind (ToM) in severely and profoundly hearing impaired children with hearing parents. Previous research has shown that deaf children of hearing parents have a delayed ToM development. This is, however, not always the case with deaf children of deaf parents, who presumably are immersed in a more vivid signing environment. Sixteen children with CI (4.25 to 9.5 years of age) were tested on measures of cognitive and emotional ToM, language and cognition. Eight of the children received their first implant relatively early (before 27 months) and half of them late (after 27 months). The two groups did not differ in age, gender, language or cognition at entry of the study. ToM tests included the unexpected location task and a newly developed Swedish social-emotional ToM test. The tests aimed to test both cognitive and emotional ToM. A comparison group of typically developing hearing age matched children was also added (n=18). Compared to the comparison group, the early CI-group did not differ in emotional ToM. The late CI-group differed significantly from the comparison group on both the cognitive and emotional ToM tests. The results revealed that children with early cochlear implants solved ToM problems to a significantly higher degree than children with late implants, although the groups did not differ on language or cognitive measures at baseline. The outcome suggests that early cochlear implantation for deaf children in hearing families, in conjunction with early social and communicative stimulation in a language that is native to the parents, can provide a foundation for a more normalized ToM development. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prevalence and causes of hearing impairment in Fundong Health District, North-West Cameroon.

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Ferrite, Silvia; Mactaggart, Islay; Kuper, Hannah; Oye, Joseph; Polack, Sarah

2017-04-01

To estimate the prevalence and causes of hearing impairment in Fundong Health District, North-West Cameroon. We selected 51 clusters of 80 people (all ages) through probability proportionate to size sampling. Initial hearing screening was undertaken through an otoacoustic emission (OAE) test. Participants aged 4+ years who failed this test in both ears or for whom an OAE reading could not be taken underwent a manual pure-tone audiometry (PTA) screening. Cases of hearing impairment were defined as those with pure-tone average ≥41 dBHL in adults and ≥35 dBHL in children in the better ear, or children under age 4 who failed the OAE test in both ears. Each case with hearing loss was examined by an ear, nose and throat nurse who indicated the main likely cause. We examined 3567 (86.9%) of 4104 eligible people. The overall prevalence of hearing impairment was 3.6% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.8-4.6). The prevalence was low in people aged 0-17 (1.1%, 0.7-1.8%) and 18-49 (1.1%, 0.5-2.6%) and then rose sharply in people aged 50+ (14.8%, 11.7-19.1%). Among cases, the majority were classified as moderate (76%), followed by severe (15%) and profound (9%). More than one-third of cases of hearing impairment were classified as unknown (37%) or conductive (37%) causes, while sensorineural causes were less common (26%). Prevalence of hearing impairment in North-West Cameroon is in line with the WHO estimate for sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of cases with known causes are treatable, with impacted wax playing a major role. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

External ear anomalies and hearing impairment in Noonan Syndrome.

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van Trier, Dorothée C; van Nierop, Josephine; Draaisma, Jos M Th; van der Burgt, Ineke; Kunst, Henricus; Croonen, Ellen A; Admiraal, Ronald J C

2015-06-01

This is the first cohort in which hearing impairment and external ear anomalies in Noonan Syndrome are described extensively. Retrospective analysis of the otorhinolaryngological and clinical genetic data from 97 Noonan Syndrome (NS) patients. Forty-four NS patients were seen by an otorhinolaryngologist for the analysis of hearing impairment. In our cohort 80 of the 97 patients were genetically tested. In 71 of these mutations were found: in 48 patients a mutation in PTPN11, in 10 patients in SOS1, in 5 patients in SHOC2, in 5 patients in RAF1, in 1 patient in MAP2K2, in 1 patient in KRAS and in 1 patient in A2ML1. External ear anomalies were reported in 75 NS patients (77%). In 69 patients the ears were low-set, 28 patients had posteriorly rotated ears, 14 patients showed protruding ears and 18 had thickened helices. Hearing impairment was detected in 34 NS patients. Nine patients had sensorineural hearing impairment, two a permanent conductive hearing impairment, two other patients had mixed hearing impairment and 20 patients had conductive hearing impairment in the past, caused by otitis media with effusion. Their temporary conductive hearing impairment resolved between the ages of 2 and 18 years. Sensorineural hearing impairment varied between mild high-frequency hearing impairment and profound (uni- and bilateral) hearing impairment and was progressive in three patients. Four NS patients received cochlear implants for their severe sensorineural hearing impairment. The cohort is small for genotype-phenotype correlations, but sensorineural hearing impairment, especially the bilateral severe hearing impairment, was only seen in patients with a PTPN11 mutation. NS is characterized by dysmorphic external ear anomalies and both sensorineural and conductive hearing impairment. Audiological examinations are recommended in all patients with Noonan Syndrome. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessment of dental caries and periodontal status in institutionalized hearing impaired children in Khordha District of Odisha

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Avinash Jnaneswar

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Over 5% of the world's population has disabling hearing loss. The oral health of the disabled may be disused for the reason of the disabling condition, a challenging disease or the limited access to oral health care. Objectives: The objectives of the study were to assess the prevalence of dental caries and periodontal status of institutionalized hearing impaired (HI children in Khordha district of Odisha. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study on the HI children was conducted in Khordha district, Odisha. Type III examination procedure was conducted to assess the oral health status of the children. Statistical analysis was performed by Chi-square test and Student's t-test, and the significance level was fixed at P < 0.05. Results: The final population consisted of 540 HI children out of which 262 (48.5% were male and 278 (51.5% were female, 285 (52.8% children had severe hearing loss and 227 (42.0% had profound hearing loss. Bleeding on probing was found in 72 (13.3% female children as compared to 57 (10.6% male children. While 131 (24.3% female children had calculus, 124 (23.0% male children had the same condition. Total caries prevalence was 19.3%. Statistically highly significant difference was found for mean decayed teeth (DT, missing teeth decayed, missing filled teeth (FT (P < 0.001, while for mean FT there was no statistically significant difference according to age groups. Statistically highly significant difference was found for mean DT, extracted teeth and decayed, extracted, filled teeth (P < 0.001. Conclusion: An improved accessibility to dental services as well as dental health education is necessary to ensure the optimum dental health within the reach of these less fortunate children.

Assessment of dental caries and periodontal status in institutionalized hearing impaired children in Khordha District of Odisha.

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Jnaneswar, Avinash; Subramaniya, Goutham Bala; Pathi, Jayashree; Jha, Kunal; Suresan, Vinay; Kumar, Gunjan

2017-01-01

Over 5% of the world's population has disabling hearing loss. The oral health of the disabled may be disused for the reason of the disabling condition, a challenging disease or the limited access to oral health care. The objectives of the study were to assess the prevalence of dental caries and periodontal status of institutionalized hearing impaired (HI) children in Khordha district of Odisha. A descriptive cross-sectional study on the HI children was conducted in Khordha district, Odisha. Type III examination procedure was conducted to assess the oral health status of the children. Statistical analysis was performed by Chi-square test and Student's t-test, and the significance level was fixed at P caries prevalence was 19.3%. Statistically highly significant difference was found for mean decayed teeth (DT), missing teeth decayed, missing filled teeth (FT) (P dental services as well as dental health education is necessary to ensure the optimum dental health within the reach of these less fortunate children.

Adaptive psychological structure in childhood hearing impairment: audiological correlations.

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Serra, A; Spinato, G; Cocuzza, S; Licciardello, L; Pavone, P; Maiolino, L

2017-06-01

. On the contrary, in normal hearing children, the emotion 'fear' is the most difficult to identify. Deaf children seem to be more susceptible to recognition of visual emotions. Furthermore, deaf children present significant problem-solving skills and emotional recognition skills, possibly as a result of their hearing impairment. © Copyright by Società Italiana di Otorinolaringologia e Chirurgia Cervico-Facciale, Rome, Italy.

Screening of Visually Impaired Children for Health Problems

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Dilay Açıl, MSN

2015-12-01

Conclusions: These findings showed the important role of school health nurses in performing health screenings directed at visually impaired children who constitute a special group for school health services. Health screening for height, weight, dental health, hearing, and scoliosis is suggested for visually impaired children.

Inclusion of Children with Hearing Impairment in Schools: A Survey on Teachers’ Attitudes

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Dr. Santhi S Prakash

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose: Inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream classrooms has become the focus of extensive research in education. It has both academic and social benefits for all students, such as providing opportunities for communication and social interaction. The evaluation of teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion appears to be a good method to determine the success of the programme. Although this has been widely researched in many countries, the available evidence is not consistent. This study was undertaken in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India, to measure and compare teachers’ attitudes towards the inclusion of children with hearing impairment in schools.Method: A questionnaire developed by Giles and Tanner (1995 measuring three domains - (1 effective strategies for meeting the needs of all students, (2 the support for educational change in their district, and (3 inclusive education - was modified in keeping with cultural and geographical variations and used as the test tool. A hundred teachers of various Government and non-Government schools in 2 districts of Andhra Pradesh, India, participated in the study.Results: Higher scores on domain 1 indicate that teachers feel effective strategies to benefit students with disabilities should be implemented in schools. The results also indicate that most teachers are agreeable to the inclusion of students with disabilities in their classrooms. Significant difference in attitudes was observed, based on the teachers’ qualifications, teaching experience, gender, level of teaching and management.Conclusion: The study concludes that there is a need for intervention to foster more positive attitudes among teachers, if the implementation of inclusive education is to succeed. It also has implications for the framing of laws and policies for children with hearing impairments.doi: 10.5463/dcid.v23i3.117

THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE LEARNING MODULE FOR CHILDRENT WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENT

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Ahmad Marzuqi

2017-02-01

Full Text Available There are the absence of teaching materials in accordance with the characteristics and conditions of a hearing impairment children in terms of learning, especially science subjects. The characteristics of hearing impairment children is poor in their vocabularies, so that, the teaching materials emphasizing the visual aspect is necessary. This study used a Research and Development (R & D adapted by the Sugiyono model in order to produce teaching materials in the form of pictorial modules and to test their effectiveness. The result of the research showed that it was a very valid criteria with a score of 97% of the materials experts, 85% of media experts, and 93% of skilled practitioners. The score of the effectiveness of the modules was 75% with the effective criteria.

The management of children with Down syndrome and profound hearing loss.

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Phelan, E; Pal, R; Henderson, L; Green, K M J; Bruce, I A

2016-01-01

Although, the association between Down syndrome (DS) and conductive hearing loss is well recognized, the fact that a small proportion of these children may have a severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss that could benefit from cochlear implantation (CI) is less well understood. The management of significant co-morbidities in children with DS can delay initial diagnosis of hearing impairment and assessment of suitability for CI can likewise be challenging, due to difficulties conditioning to behavioural hearing tests. We performed a retrospective case note review of three children with DS referred to the Manchester Cochlear Implant Programme. Three illustrative cases are described including CI in a 4 years old. Using conventional outcome measurement instruments, the outcome could be considered to be suboptimal with a Categories of Auditory Performance score of 4 at 6 months post-op and at last follow up. In part, this is likely to reflect the delay in implantation, but the role of cognitive impairment must be considered. The cases described emphasize the importance of comprehensive radiological and audiological assessment in children with DS being considered for CI. The influence of cognitive impairment upon outcome of CI must be taken into account, but should not be considered a contra-indication to implantation in children with DS. Benefit that might be considered limited when quantified using existing general outcome measurement instruments, may have a significant impact upon psychosocial development and quality of life in children with significant cognitive impairment, or other additional needs.

Self-esteem in hearing-impaired children: the influence of communication, education, and audiological characteristics.

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Theunissen, Stephanie C P M; Rieffe, Carolien; Netten, Anouk P; Briaire, Jeroen J; Soede, Wim; Kouwenberg, Maartje; Frijns, Johan H M

2014-01-01

Sufficient self-esteem is extremely important for psychosocial functioning. It is hypothesized that hearing-impaired (HI) children have lower levels of self-esteem, because, among other things, they frequently experience lower language and communication skills. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare HI children's self-esteem across different domains with those of normal hearing (NH) children and to investigate the influence of communication, type of education, and audiological characteristics. This large (N = 252) retrospective, multicenter study consisted of two age- and gender-matched groups: 123 HI children and 129 NH controls (mean age  = 11.8 years). Self-reports were used to measure self-esteem across four domains: perceived social acceptance by peers, perceived parental attention, perceived physical appearance, and global self-esteem. HI children experienced lower levels of self-esteem regarding peers and parents than NH controls. Particularly HI children who attended special education for the deaf were at risk, even after correcting for their language development and intelligence. Yet, levels of global self-esteem and self-esteem involving physical appearance in HI children equalled those of NH controls. Furthermore, younger age at implantation and longer duration of having cochlear implants (CIs) were related to higher levels of self-esteem. HI children experience lower levels of self-esteem in the social domains. Yet, due to the heterogeneity of the HI population, there is high variability in levels of self-esteem. Clinicians must always be aware of the risk and protective factors related to self-esteem in order to help individual patients reach their full potential.

Acoustic properties of vocal singing in prelingually-deafened children with cochlear implants or hearing aids.

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Mao, Yitao; Zhang, Mengchao; Nutter, Heather; Zhang, Yijing; Zhou, Qixin; Liu, Qiaoyun; Wu, Weijing; Xie, Dinghua; Xu, Li

2013-11-01

The purpose of the present study was to investigate vocal singing performance of hearing-impaired children with cochlear implants (CI) and hearing aids (HA) as well as to evaluate the relationship between demographic factors of those hearing-impaired children and their singing ability. Thirty-seven prelingually-deafened children with CIs and 31 prelingually-deafened children with HAs, and 37 normal-hearing (NH) children participated in the study. The fundamental frequencies (F0) of each note in the recorded songs were extracted and the duration of each sung note was measured. Five metrics were used to evaluate the pitch-related and rhythm-based aspects of singing accuracy. Children with CIs and HAs showed significantly poorer performance in either the pitch-based assessments or the rhythm-based measure than the NH children. No significant differences were seen between the CI and HA groups in all of these measures except for the mean deviation of the pitch intervals. For both hearing-impaired groups, length of device use was significantly correlated with singing accuracy. There is a marked deficit in vocal singing ability either in pitch or rhythm accuracy in a majority of prelingually-deafened children who have received CIs or fitted with HAs. Although an increased length of device use might facilitate singing performance to some extent, the chance for the hearing-impaired children fitted with either HAs or CIs to reach high proficiency in singing is quite slim. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

What factors influence help-seeking for hearing impairment and hearing aid adoption in older adults?

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Meyer, Carly; Hickson, Louise

2012-02-01

The purpose of this review paper was to identify factors that influence older adults' decisions to seek help for hearing impairment and to adopt hearing aids. A literature search of abstracts within peer-reviewed journal articles published in English between 1990 and 2010 was conducted in online bibliographic databases using the keywords: hearing; impair* or loss; seek* or candidate* or applicant* or acquir*; and hearing aid* or help or advice. Twenty-two articles that were directly relevant to this topic were included in this review. The evidence suggests that individuals are more likely to seek help for hearing impairment and/or adopt hearing aids if they: (1) have a moderate to severe hearing impairment and self-reported hearing-related activity limitations or participation restrictions; (2) are older; (3) perceive their hearing as poor; (4) consider there to be more benefits than barriers to amplification; and (5) perceive their significant other/s as supportive of hearing rehabilitation. A barrier to help-seeking for hearing impairment and hearing aid adoption appears to be general practitioners' management of age-related hearing impairment.

Dimensions for hearing-impaired mobile application usability model

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Nathan, Shelena Soosay; Hussain, Azham; Hashim, Nor Laily; Omar, Mohd Adan

2017-10-01

This paper discuss on the dimensions that has been derived for the hearing-impaired mobile applications usability model. General usability model consist of general dimension for evaluating mobile application however requirements for the hearing-impaired are overlooked and often scanted. This led towards mobile application developed for the hearing-impaired are left unused. It is also apparent that these usability models do not consider accessibility dimensions according to the requirement of the special users. This complicates the work of usability practitioners as well as academician that practices research usability when application are developed for the specific user needs. To overcome this issue, dimension chosen for the hearing-impaired are ensured to be align with the real need of the hearing-impaired mobile application. Besides literature studies, requirements for the hearing-impaired mobile application have been identified through interview conducted with hearing-impaired mobile application users that were recorded as video outputs and analyzed using Nvivo. Finally total of 6 out of 15 dimensions gathered are chosen for the proposed model and presented.

The Learning Disabled, Hearing Impaired Students: Reality, Myth, or Overextension?

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Laughton, Joan

1989-01-01

This paper focuses on definitions, incidence, and characteristics of the multihandicapping condition known as "learning disabled, hearing impaired," in order to provide a means of identifying these children and determining whether or not they require different teaching strategies. (JDD)

Acoustics and sociolinguistics: Patterns of communication in hearing impairing classrooms

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McKellin, William; Shahin, Kimary; Jamieson, Janet; Hodgson, Murray; Pichora-Fuller, Kathleen

2005-04-01

In elementary school classes, noise during student led activities is often taken as evidence of successful interaction and learning. In this complex social environment of elementary school classrooms, acquisition of complex language and social skills-the focus of activities in early education-is expected to take place in hearing-hostile environments. Communication and language processing in these contexts requires interactive strategies, discourse forms, and syntactic structures different from the educationally desired forms used in acoustically advantageous environments. Recordings were made of the interaction of groups of students in grades 1-3, 5, and 7 during collaborative group work in their regular classrooms. Each student wore microphones at the ear level and head-mounted video cameras. Each group as a whole was also audio- and videotaped and noise level readings were recorded. Analysis of the acoustical and phonological properties of language heard by each student has demonstrated that the language variety used in these noisy and reverberant settings is similar to that of individuals with hearing impairments. This paper reports similarities between the syntactic structures and pragmatic strategies used by hearing impaired children and normally hearing children in noisy contexts. [Work supported by Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies, University of British Columbia.

Achieving effective hearing aid fitting within one month after identification of childhood permanent hearing impairment.

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Bastanza, G; Gallus, R; De Carlini, M; Picciotti, P M; Muzzi, E; Ciciriello, E; Orzan, E; Conti, G

2016-02-01

Diagnosis of child permanent hearing impairment (PHI) can be made with extreme timeliness compared to the past thanks to improvements in PHI identification through newborn hearing screening programmes. It now becomes essential to provide an effective amplification as quickly as possible in order to restore auditory function and favour speech and language development. The early fitting of hearing aids and possible later cochlear implantation indeed prompts the development of central auditory pathways, connections with secondary sensory brain areas, as well as with motor and articulatory cortex. The aim of this paper is to report the results of a strategic analysis that involves identification of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats regarding the process of achieving early amplification in all cases of significant childhood PHI. The analysis is focused on the Italian situation and is part of the Italian Ministry of Health project CCM 2013 "Preventing Communication Disorders: a Regional Program for Early Identification, Intervention and Care of Hearing Impaired Children". © Copyright by Società Italiana di Otorinolaringologia e Chirurgia Cervico-Facciale.

Clinical study on unilateral hearing loss in children

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Masuda, Sawako; Usui, Satoko

2007-01-01

A series of 60 children was studied (aged 0 to 10 years, 32 boys, 28 girls) with severe unilateral sensorineural hearing loss of unknown etiology. There were two peaks, at 0 and 6 years. In 19 children, hearing loss was identified during a conservative general health checkup for school or preschool children. In 21 children aged 0 years, 16 were suspected of hearing loss by newborn hearing screening. Temporal bone computed tomography scans were examined in 51 patients. Sixteen ears (31.4%) with hearing loss had inner ear and/or internal auditory canal abnormalities. In one patient, the anomaly was the presence of a bony wall dividing the internal auditory canal into two separate compartments associated with severe inner ear hypoplasia. Two patients had a common cavity. In one of these patients, the anomaly was revealed because of severe bacterial meningitis, and another was detected by newborn hearing screening. Six patients had a narrow internal auditory canal, 4 had a narrow internal auditory canal and hypoplastic cochlea, and 1 had a narrow internal auditory canal and cystic vestibule, and lateral semicircular canal dysplasia. Two patients had a cystic vestibule and lateral semicircular canal dysplasia. One case showed fluctuation of the hearing level in the contralateral ear with normal hearing during the observation period at an average of 20 months. The number of children whose unilateral hearing loss is detected early by newborn hearing screening has enormously increased. Strategies for follow-up, early intervention, and support for families are necessary for young children with unilateral hearing impairment. (author)

Consanguineous Marriage Among the Parents of Hearing Impaired Students in Baghcheban Primary Schools

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Mansoureh Nikbakht

2005-06-01

Full Text Available Objective: Genetic studies show that consanguineous marriage can increase the probability of incidence of genetic impairments such as hearing impairments. The target of this study is to identify the prevalence of consanguinity among the parents of hearing impaired students in primary schools. Materials and Methods: We selected all of deaf students of Tehran (614 students. Their mothers answered to questionnaires. The questions were about Risk Factors of deafness in mother pregnancy or in neonatal period. Results: from 614 students, 389 parents of them (64% had consanguineous marriage and 223 person (36% didn’t have this factor. 2 person did not answer to this question. In this study we observed that there is 32.3% family history of hearing loss, 29.2%deaf sister and brother, 17% ear infection history. Other risk factors were studied too. Also there is significant correlation between consanguinity and more than one deaf children in the family (p<0.005. Conclusion: According to high incidence of consanguinity (64%that was observed in this study it may be one of most important causes of sensory neural hearing loss in children, so we should give enough information about this problem to the people.

Sound localization in noise in hearing-impaired listeners.

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Lorenzi, C; Gatehouse, S; Lever, C

1999-06-01

The present study assesses the ability of four listeners with high-frequency, bilateral symmetrical sensorineural hearing loss to localize and detect a broadband click train in the frontal-horizontal plane, in quiet and in the presence of a white noise. The speaker array and stimuli are identical to those described by Lorenzi et al. (in press). The results show that: (1) localization performance is only slightly poorer in hearing-impaired listeners than in normal-hearing listeners when noise is at 0 deg azimuth, (2) localization performance begins to decrease at higher signal-to-noise ratios for hearing-impaired listeners than for normal-hearing listeners when noise is at +/- 90 deg azimuth, and (3) the performance of hearing-impaired listeners is less consistent when noise is at +/- 90 deg azimuth than at 0 deg azimuth. The effects of a high-frequency hearing loss were also studied by measuring the ability of normal-hearing listeners to localize the low-pass filtered version of the clicks. The data reproduce the effects of noise on three out of the four hearing-impaired listeners when noise is at 0 deg azimuth. They reproduce the effects of noise on only two out of the four hearing-impaired listeners when noise is at +/- 90 deg azimuth. The additional effects of a low-frequency hearing loss were investigated by attenuating the low-pass filtered clicks and the noise by 20 dB. The results show that attenuation does not strongly affect localization accuracy for normal-hearing listeners. Measurements of the clicks' detectability indicate that the hearing-impaired listeners who show the poorest localization accuracy also show the poorest ability to detect the clicks. The inaudibility of high frequencies, "distortions," and reduced detectability of the signal are assumed to have caused the poorer-than-normal localization accuracy for hearing-impaired listeners.

Early Hearing Loss and Language Abilities in Children with Down Syndrome

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Laws, Glynis; Hall, Amanda

2014-01-01

Background: Although many children with Down syndrome experience hearing loss, there has been little research to investigate its impact on speech and language development. Studies that have investigated the association give inconsistent results. These have often been based on samples where children with the most severe hearing impairments have…

A Neurodevelopmental Profile of the Rural Hearing-Impaired Child in the QwaQwa Region, South Africa

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Bothma, Jó-Marié v. d. M.; Dunn, Munita; Kokot, Shirley

2015-01-01

Being hearing impaired does not only affect a child's academic performance, but can also influence a child's overall development and ability to succeed academically. Children with hearing impairment often experience delays in other areas of their development and an understanding of the inter-relatedness of these delays are important in order to…

In hospital with a hearing impaired child - How parents experience communication between nurses and their child

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Brooks, Seraina; Eckerli-Wäspi, Irene; Händler Schuster, Daniela

2018-04-01

Background: In daily communication, children with hearing impairment are restricted and dependent on their parents’ help. In case of a hospitalisation, the risk of insufficient information and resulting traumatisation for those children is high. The aim of this study is the investigation of the communicative needs of the children concerned in order to avoid negative consequences of a hospitalisation and of inappropriate communication by nursing staff. Aim: This study explores how parents of a child with hearing impairment experience the communication between the nursing staff and their hospitalised child. Method: The study was conducted together with an advisory centre for hearing-impaired children, where most of the parents could be recruited. Narrative, semi-structured interviews were conducted. The transcribed interviews were analysed according to the method of interpretative phenomenology. Results: The parents expressed their wish for affectionate verbal and nonverbal love and care for their child. They often experienced the nursing staff having little time, that there was no continuity and that the communicative needs of the child were not recognised. Since the parents did not think the nursing staff were capable of communicating with the child and because they wanted to protect him or her, they adopted a mediating role. Conclusions: Besides the sensitisation of the nursing staff, time resources, continuity, professional knowledge and benevolence in the nursing care of a child with hearing impairment play a fundamental role.

Self-esteem in hearing-impaired children: the influence of communication, education, and audiological characteristics.

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Stephanie C P M Theunissen

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: Sufficient self-esteem is extremely important for psychosocial functioning. It is hypothesized that hearing-impaired (HI children have lower levels of self-esteem, because, among other things, they frequently experience lower language and communication skills. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare HI children's self-esteem across different domains with those of normal hearing (NH children and to investigate the influence of communication, type of education, and audiological characteristics. METHODS: This large (N = 252 retrospective, multicenter study consisted of two age- and gender-matched groups: 123 HI children and 129 NH controls (mean age  = 11.8 years. Self-reports were used to measure self-esteem across four domains: perceived social acceptance by peers, perceived parental attention, perceived physical appearance, and global self-esteem. RESULTS: HI children experienced lower levels of self-esteem regarding peers and parents than NH controls. Particularly HI children who attended special education for the deaf were at risk, even after correcting for their language development and intelligence. Yet, levels of global self-esteem and self-esteem involving physical appearance in HI children equalled those of NH controls. Furthermore, younger age at implantation and longer duration of having cochlear implants (CIs were related to higher levels of self-esteem. CONCLUSION: HI children experience lower levels of self-esteem in the social domains. Yet, due to the heterogeneity of the HI population, there is high variability in levels of self-esteem. DISCUSSION: Clinicians must always be aware of the risk and protective factors related to self-esteem in order to help individual patients reach their full potential.

Self-Esteem in Hearing-Impaired Children: The Influence of Communication, Education, and Audiological Characteristics

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Theunissen, Stephanie C. P. M.; Rieffe, Carolien; Netten, Anouk P.; Briaire, Jeroen J.; Soede, Wim; Kouwenberg, Maartje; Frijns, Johan H. M.

2014-01-01

Objective Sufficient self-esteem is extremely important for psychosocial functioning. It is hypothesized that hearing-impaired (HI) children have lower levels of self-esteem, because, among other things, they frequently experience lower language and communication skills. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare HI children's self-esteem across different domains with those of normal hearing (NH) children and to investigate the influence of communication, type of education, and audiological characteristics. Methods This large (N = 252) retrospective, multicenter study consisted of two age- and gender-matched groups: 123 HI children and 129 NH controls (mean age  = 11.8 years). Self-reports were used to measure self-esteem across four domains: perceived social acceptance by peers, perceived parental attention, perceived physical appearance, and global self-esteem. Results HI children experienced lower levels of self-esteem regarding peers and parents than NH controls. Particularly HI children who attended special education for the deaf were at risk, even after correcting for their language development and intelligence. Yet, levels of global self-esteem and self-esteem involving physical appearance in HI children equalled those of NH controls. Furthermore, younger age at implantation and longer duration of having cochlear implants (CIs) were related to higher levels of self-esteem. Conclusion HI children experience lower levels of self-esteem in the social domains. Yet, due to the heterogeneity of the HI population, there is high variability in levels of self-esteem. Discussion Clinicians must always be aware of the risk and protective factors related to self-esteem in order to help individual patients reach their full potential. PMID:24722329

Rapid learning of minimally different words in five- to six-year-old children : Effects of acoustic salience and hearing impairment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Giezen, M.R.; Escudero, P.; Baker, A.E.

This study investigates the role of acoustic salience and hearing impairment in learning phonologically minimal pairs. Picture-matching and object-matching tasks were used to investigate the learning of consonant and vowel minimal pairs in five- to six-year-old deaf children with a cochlear implant

Psychosocial development in a Danish population of children with cochlear implants and deaf and hard-of-hearing children.

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Dammeyer, Jesper

2010-01-01

Research has shown a prevalence of psychosocial difficulties ranging from about 20% to 50% among children with hearing loss. This study evaluates the prevalence of psychosocial difficulties in a Danish population in relation to different explanatory variables. Five scales and questionnaires measuring sign language, spoken language, hearing abilities, and psychosocial difficulties were given to 334 children with hearing loss. Results show that the prevalence of psychosocial difficulties was 3.7 times greater compared with a group of hearing children. In the group of children with additional disabilities, the prevalence was 3 times greater compared with children without additional disabilities. If sign language and/or oral language abilities are good, the children do not have a substantially higher level of psychosocial difficulties than do hearing children. This study documents the importance of communication-no matter the modality or degree of hearing loss-for the psychosocial well-being of hearing-impaired children.

Comparison of phonological awareness between children with cochlear implants and children with hearing aids

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Farzad Weisi

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Advanced phonological skills are important for the acquisition of reading skills. Children with hearing impairment have reading skills are weaker than others because of auditory inputs and due to the defect in phonological skills. The use of hearing aids and cochlear implants help to collect information on people who are hard of hearing.Material and Methods: This descriptive - analytic study was done on 12 children with cochlear implant and 12 children with hearing aids that was selected from second grades students of Tehran primary schools. Children's phonological performance was assessed by phonological subtests of Nama reading test and the data were analyzed using SPSS 16.Results: The results showed that the means of scores of children with cochlear implants in Rhyme task were significantly greater than the children with hearing aids (P=0.034. But in means of scores of Phone deletion and Nonword reading tasks were not significant different between two groups (P=0.919, P=0.670.Discussion: Cochlear implant with accessibility auditory inputs can facilitated the acquisition of phonological awareness skills in hearing loss children. But whereas the other language inputs such as sight and touch input helped to developing these skills, children with hearing aids too also can acquisition these skills.

Language development in Japanese children who receive cochlear implant and/or hearing aid.

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Iwasaki, Satoshi; Nishio, Shinya; Moteki, Hideaki; Takumi, Yutaka; Fukushima, Kunihiro; Kasai, Norio; Usami, Shin-Ichi

2012-03-01

This study aimed to investigate a wide variety of factors that influence auditory, speech, and language development following pediatric cochlear implantation (CI). Prospective collection of language tested data in profound hearing-impaired children. Pediatric CI can potentially be effective to development of practical communication skills and early implantation is more effective. We proposed a set of language tests (assessment package of the language development for Japanese hearing-impaired children; ALADJIN) consisting of communication skills testing (test for question-answer interaction development; TQAID), comprehensive (Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised; PVT-R and Standardized Comprehension Test for Abstract Words; SCTAW) and productive vocabulary (Word Fluency Test; WFT), and comprehensive and productive syntax (Syntactic processing Test for Aphasia; STA). Of 638 hearing-impaired children recruited for this study, 282 (44.2%) with >70 dB hearing impairment had undergone CI. After excluding children with low birth weight (11 points on the Pervasive Developmental Disorder ASJ Rating Scale for the test of autistic tendency, and those better than those in HA-only users. The scores for PVT-R (pbetter than those in HA-only users. STA and TQAID scores in CI-HA users were significantly (pbetter than those in unilateral CI-only users. The high correlation (r=0.52) has been found between the age of CI and maximum speech discrimination score. The scores of speech and language tests in the implanted children before 24 months of age have been better than those in the implanted children after 24 months of age. We could indicate that CI was effective for language development in Japanese hearing-impaired children and early CI was more effective for productive vocabulary and syntax. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Overview of a public health approach to pediatric hearing impairment in the Pacific Islands.

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Kaspar, Annette; Kei, Joseph; Driscoll, Carlie; Swanepoel, De Wet; Goulios, Helen

2016-07-01

Childhood hearing impairment is a significant cause of disability in developing countries. Otitis media and meningitis are leading infectious causes of preventable hearing loss in children. It is estimated that the Pacific Islands have among the greatest global burden of childhood hearing impairment due to infectious causes, and yet there is currently very little in the research literature on pediatric hearing disorders in this region. (1) To review existing research literature on pediatric hearing impairment in the Pacific Islands, and (2) to present a public health approach to the development and improvement of childhood hearing services in the Pacific Islands. The primary tool was a comprehensive literature review. MEDLINE and ScienceDirect databases were searched for relevant journal articles. There was no limit on the date of publication. Any article reporting on hearing impairment in the Pacific Region was included. A total of 23 journal articles were found that satisfied the above inclusion criteria. The limited information available in the literature suggests that otitis media and vaccine-preventable infections are a significant cause of avoidable childhood hearing impairment in the Pacific Islands. Pediatric audiology services are limited in this region. Further research is required to develop effective public health programs that should reduce the burden of preventable childhood hearing loss in the Pacific Islands. There is limited information in the research literature on pediatric hearing impairment and audiology services in the Pacific Islands. Epidemiological data based on the WHO Ear and Hearing Disorders Survey Protocol are urgently needed, and the development of audiology services within the existing public and primary health care framework should reduce the burden of preventable hearing loss in the Pacific Islands. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Empowering the family during the first months after identification of permanent hearing impairment in children.

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Ciciriello, E; Bolzonello, P; Marchi, R; Falzone, C; Muzzi, E; Orzan, E

2016-02-01

The latest international guidelines highlight the importance of involving the family in the diagnostic and rehabilitation process of children affected by permanent hearing impairment. This emphasises how meaningful this approach is for the development of the deaf child. So far, there is very little evidence about this approach in Italy, and there are still some barriers to its practical management. The aim of this paper is to report the results of a strategic analysis, which identifies the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the family empowerment process during early auditory diagnosis and rehabilitation. The audiology programme should have the goal to offer information and support to families in order to achieve a conscious decision about the use and type of auditory prosthesis and rehabilitation choice within three months after audiologic diagnosis. Within the framework of the Ministry of Health project CCM 2013 "Preventing Communication Disorders: a Regional Program for Early Identification, Intervention and Care of Hearing Impaired Children", a group of professionals identified three main recommendations that can be useful to foster the natural communicative development of the child by strengthening the therapeutic alliance and empowerment of the family. The recommendations obtained with this analysis can help to develop new Italian guidelines with the aim to foster natural communicative development of the child by strengthening the therapeutic alliance and empowerment of the family. © Copyright by Società Italiana di Otorinolaringologia e Chirurgia Cervico-Facciale.

Prevalence and Parental Awareness of Hearing Loss in Children with Down Syndrome

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Wai-Ling Lau

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background: To establish the prevalence of hearing deficit in children with Down syndrome (DS in Hong Kong as measured by brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP. The secondary objective is to examine the agreement between BAEP and clinical questioning in detecting hearing deficit in DS. Methods: Consecutive DS patients attending the Down′s Clinic in a regional pediatric referral center were recruited into this cross-sectional study. BAEP data performed within 12 months were retrieved. The care-taker was interviewed with a structured questionnaire to detect any symptom of hearing impairment. BAEP findings and clinical questionings were compared in an agreement analysis using quadratic weighted kappa statistics. Results: Fifty DS patients (35 male, 15 female, mean age 11.70 years ± 5.74 standard deviation were recruited. Eighteen patients (36.0% were identified having hearing deficit by BAEP. Among patients with hearing impairment, 13 patients (72.2% had a conductive deficit, and most have mild to moderate hearing loss. Five patients (27.8% had sensorineural deficit and most have moderate to severe degree. Eight (44.4% had bilateral hearing deficit. Care-takers of 13 patients (26.0% reported symptoms of hearing impairment, with 9 (69.2% having mild symptoms, 3 (23.1% had moderate symptoms and 1 (7.7% had severe symptoms. The weighted kappa was 0.045 (95.0% confidence interval − 0.138-0.229, indicating very poor strength of agreement between BAEP and clinical questioning. For patients with conductive hearing impairment, only 1 patients (7.7% recalled history of otitis media. Conclusions: The estimated point prevalence of hearing impairment in Chinese DS children in Hong Kong is 36%. Our finding of poor strength of agreement between objective testing and symptom questioning reflects significant underestimation of hearing impairment by history taking alone. In view of the high prevalence and low parental awareness, continuous surveillance of

38 CFR 4.85 - Evaluation of hearing impairment.

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2010-07-01

... impairment. 4.85 Section 4.85 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS SCHEDULE FOR RATING DISABILITIES Disability Ratings Impairment of Auditory Acuity § 4.85 Evaluation of hearing impairment. (a) An examination for hearing impairment for VA purposes must be conducted by a state-licensed...

Hearing loss in children with primary ciliary dyskinesia.

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Kreicher, Kathryn L; Schopper, Heather K; Naik, Akash N; Hatch, Jonathan L; Meyer, Ted A

2018-01-01

To evaluate the type and severity of hearing impairment in pediatric patients with primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) and relate these measures to patient demographics, treatment options, and other otologic factors. A retrospective analysis of children with a diagnosis of PCD, Kartagener's syndrome, or situs inversus in the AudGen Database was conducted. Audiograms were analyzed for type of hearing loss (HL), severity, laterality, and progression. Medical charts were reviewed to identify factors that influence severity and progression of hearing loss. 56 patients met inclusion criteria and 42 patients had HL. 66.6% had bilateral and 33.3% had unilateral loss (70 total ears with HL). Conductive hearing loss (CHL) was the most common type of HL, though 30% of children had some sensorineural component to their hearing loss. 92.9% of children with HL received at least one diagnosis of otitis media, but HL did not improve in the majority (77.8%) of ears in our study regardless of ear tube placement. Slight to mild CHL and all types of otitis media are prevalent among patients with PCD, and some of these children have sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). All patients diagnosed with situs inversus at birth should be evaluated by an otolaryngologist. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Language development and everyday functioning of children with hearing loss assessed at 3 years of age

OpenAIRE

Ching, Teresa Y. C.; Crowe, Kathryn; Martin, Vivienne; Day, Julia; Mahler, Nicole; Youn, Samantha; Street, Laura; Cook, Cassandra; Orsini, Julia

2010-01-01

This paper reports language ability and everyday functioning of 133 children with hearing impairment who were evaluated at 3 years of age, as part of the Longitudinal Outcomes of Children with Hearing Impairment (LOCHI) study. The language abilities of children were evaluated using the Preschool Language Scale (PLS-4), Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology (DEAP) and Child Development Inventory (CDI). Everyday functioning of children was e...

Genetic testing for hearing impairment.

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Topsakal, V; Van Camp, G; Van de Heyning, P

2005-01-01

For some patients, genetic testing can reveal the etiology of their hearing impairment, and can provide evidence for a medical diagnosis. However, a gap between fundamental genetic research on hereditary deafness and clinical otology emerges because of the steadily increasing number of discovered genes for hereditary hearing impairment (HHI) and the comparably low clinical differentiation of the HHIs. In an attempt to keep up with the scientific progress, this article enumerates the indications of genetic testing for HHI from a clinical point of view and describes the most frequently encountered HHIs in Belgium. Domains of recent scientific interest, molecular biological aspects, and some pitfalls with HHIs are highlighted. The overview comprises bilateral congenital hearing loss, late-onset progressive high frequency hearing loss, progressive bilateral cochleo-vestibular deficit, and progressive low frequency hearing loss. Also, several syndromal forms of HHI are summarized, and the availability of genetic tests mentioned. Finally, the requirements for successful linkage analysis, an important genetic research tool for localizing the potential genes of a trait on a chromosome, are briefly described.

The economics of screening infants at risk of hearing impairment: an international analysis.

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Burke, Martyn J; Shenton, Ruth C; Taylor, Matthew J

2012-02-01

Hearing impairment in children across the world constitutes a particularly serious obstacle to their optimal development and education, including language acquisition. Around 0.5-6 in every 1000 neonates and infants have congenital or early childhood onset sensorineural deafness or severe-to-profound hearing impairment, with significant consequences. Therefore, early detection is a vitally important element in providing appropriate support for deaf and hearing-impaired babies that will help them enjoy equal opportunities in society alongside all other children. This analysis estimates the costs and effectiveness of various interventions to screen infants at risk of hearing impairment. The economic analysis used a decision tree approach to determine the cost-effectiveness of newborn hearing screening strategies. Two unique models were built to capture different strategic screening decisions. Firstly, the cost-effectiveness of universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) was compared to selective screening of newborns with risk factors. Secondly, the cost-effectiveness of providing a one-stage screening process vs. a two-stage screening process was investigated. Two countries, the United Kingdom and India, were used as case studies to illustrate the likely cost outcomes associated with the various strategies to diagnose hearing loss in infants. In the UK, the universal strategy incurs a further cost of approximately £2.3 million but detected an extra 63 cases. An incremental cost per case detected of £36,181 was estimated. The estimated economic burden was substantially higher in India when adopting a universal strategy due to the higher baseline prevalence of hearing loss. The one-stage screening strategy accumulated an additional 13,480 and 13,432 extra cases of false-positives, in the UK and India respectively when compared to a two-stage screening strategy. This represented increased costs by approximately £1.3 million and INR 34.6 million. The cost

The Effects of Degree and Type of Hearing Loss on Children's Performance in Class

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Most, Tova

2004-01-01

This study evaluated school functioning of a sample of children with hearing impairments who were mainstreamed in regular educational settings. Participants comprised 47 children aged 7;2 to 9;3 years with various degrees and types of hearing loss. Teachers evaluated the children using the Hebrew version of the Screening Instrument For Targeting…

Teaching Coin Discrimination to Children with Visual Impairments

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Hanney, Nicole M.; Tiger, Jeffrey H.

2012-01-01

We taught 2 children with visual impairments to select a coin from an array using tactile cues after hearing its name and then to select a coin after hearing its value. Following the acquisition of these listener (receptive language) skills, we then observed the emergence of speaker (expressive language) skills without direct instruction.…

Image and Video for Hearing Impaired People

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Aran Oya

2007-01-01

Full Text Available We present a global overview of image- and video-processing-based methods to help the communication of hearing impaired people. Two directions of communication have to be considered: from a hearing person to a hearing impaired person and vice versa. In this paper, firstly, we describe sign language (SL and the cued speech (CS language which are two different languages used by the deaf community. Secondly, we present existing tools which employ SL and CS video processing and recognition for the automatic communication between deaf people and hearing people. Thirdly, we present the existing tools for reverse communication, from hearing people to deaf people that involve SL and CS video synthesis.

Psychosocial Development in 5-Year-Old Children With Hearing Loss Using Hearing Aids or Cochlear Implants.

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Wong, Cara L; Ching, Teresa Y C; Cupples, Linda; Button, Laura; Leigh, Greg; Marnane, Vivienne; Whitfield, Jessica; Gunnourie, Miriam; Martin, Louise

2017-01-01

This article reports on the psychosocial development and factors influencing outcomes of 5-year-old children with cochlear implants (CIs) or hearing aids (HAs). It further examines differences between children with CIs and HAs with similar levels of hearing loss. Data were collected as part of the Longitudinal Outcomes of Children with Hearing Impairment study-a prospective, population-based study. Parents/caregivers of children completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire ( n = 333), the Social Skills subscale from the Child Development Inventory ( n = 317), and questionnaires on functional auditory behavior (Parents' Evaluation of Aural/oral performance of Children), and demographics. Children completed assessments of nonverbal cognitive ability (Wechsler Non-verbal Scale of Ability) and language (Preschool Language Scale - fourth edition). On average, parent-rated Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire scores on emotional or behavioral difficulties were within 1 SD of the normative mean; however, Child Development Inventory scores on social skills were more than 1 SD below the norm. Children with severe-to-profound hearing losses using HAs had significantly more behavioral problems than children with CIs. Regression analyses showed that non-verbal cognitive ability, language, and functional auditory behavior were significantly associated with psychosocial outcomes for children with HAs, whereas outcomes for children with CIs were associated with functional auditory behavior and the presence of additional disabilities. Age at hearing intervention, severity of hearing loss, and communication mode were not associated with outcomes. The results suggest that even children who develop good language ability with the help of a HA or CI may have psychosocial problems if they exhibit difficulties with listening and communicating in everyday environments. The findings have implications for developing interventions for young children with hearing

Auditory hallucinations in adults with hearing impairment: a large prevalence study.

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Linszen, M M J; van Zanten, G A; Teunisse, R J; Brouwer, R M; Scheltens, P; Sommer, I E

2018-03-20

Similar to visual hallucinations in visually impaired patients, auditory hallucinations are often suggested to occur in adults with hearing impairment. However, research on this association is limited. This observational, cross-sectional study tested whether auditory hallucinations are associated with hearing impairment, by assessing their prevalence in an adult population with various degrees of objectified hearing impairment. Hallucination presence was determined in 1007 subjects aged 18-92, who were referred for audiometric testing to the Department of ENT-Audiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands. The presence and severity of hearing impairment were calculated using mean air conduction thresholds from the most recent pure tone audiometry. Out of 829 participants with hearing impairment, 16.2% (n = 134) had experienced auditory hallucinations in the past 4 weeks; significantly more than the non-impaired group [5.8%; n = 10/173; p impairment, with rates up to 24% in the most profoundly impaired group (p impairment in the best ear. Auditory hallucinations mostly consisted of voices (51%), music (36%), and doorbells or telephones (24%). Our findings reveal that auditory hallucinations are common among patients with hearing impairment, and increase with impairment severity. Although more research on potential confounding factors is necessary, clinicians should be aware of this phenomenon, by inquiring after hallucinations in hearing-impaired patients and, conversely, assessing hearing impairment in patients with auditory hallucinations, since it may be a treatable factor.

Developmental dysgraphia with profound hearing impairment: intervention by auditory methods enabled by cochlear implant.

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Fukushima, Kunihiro; Kawasaki, Akihiro; Nagayasu, Rie; Kunisue, Kazuya; Maeda, Yukihide; Kariya, Shin; Kataoka, Yuko; Nishizaki, Kazunori

2008-06-01

Learning disability combined with hearing impairment (LDHI) is a poor prognostic factor for the language development of hearing impaired children after educational intervention. A typical example of a child with LDHI and effective interventions provided by cochlear implants are presented in this report. A case of congenital cytomegaloviral infection that showed dysgraphia as well as profound deafness was reported and an underlying visual processing problem diagnosed in the present case caused the patient's dysgraphia. The dysgraphia could be circumvented by the use of auditory memory fairly established by a cochlear implant.

Computer-Assisted Learning for the Hearing Impaired: An Interactive Written Language Enviroment.

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Ward, R. D.; Rostron, A. B.

1983-01-01

To help hearing-impaired children develop their linguistic competence, a computer system that can process sentences and give feedback about their acceptability was developed. Suggestions are made of ways to use the system as an environment for interactive written communication. (Author/CL)

Influence of hearing age and understanding verbal instructions in children with cochlear implants

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Đoković Sanja

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Hearing age is defined as a period of using any amplification. Most researches indicate that hearing age influences the developmental rate of auditory and speech-language abilities in deaf children, especially when cochlear implantation was performed before the age of three. This research is aimed at analyzing the influence of hearing age on understanding verbal instructions in children with cochlear implants. The sample consists of 23 children with cochlear implants and 21 children with normal hearing, aged between 4 and 10. Hearing age of children with cochlear implants was between 2 and 7 years. Token Test with toys, adapted for children with hearing impairments, was used to analyze understanding verbal instructions. The results indicate that there are statistically significant differences between children with cochlear implants and children with normal hearing, aged between 4 and 7, on all subtests and the total score regardless of the hearing age (sub1 p<0.001, sub2 p<0.000, sub3 p<0.001, total score p<0.000. No statistically significant differences were determined on any of the subtests in children aged between 7.1 and 10, regardless of the hearing age. Comparative results analysis within the experimental group of children with different hearing age indicates that the difference in understanding verbal instructions between these two groups is not statistically significant.

Habilidades pragmáticas em crianças deficientes auditivas: estudo de casos e controles Pragmatic abilities in hearing impaired children: a case-control study

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Luana Curti

2010-01-01

Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Avaliar as habilidades pragmáticas de um grupo de crianças deficientes auditivas e compará-las a seus pares normo-ouvintes. MÉTODOS: Estudo de casos e controles composto por 32 crianças de ambos os gêneros com idades entre dois e seis anos. Dentre estas, 16 deficientes auditivas de grau moderadamente severo a profundo sem outros comprometimentos orgânicos (casos e 16 crianças normo-ouvintes sem queixas fonoaudiológicas (controle pareadas por idade. A avaliação e a análise da pragmática foram realizadas a partir do Teste ABFW-Pragmática, seguindo as instruções do protocolo. RESULTADOS: A média de idade das crianças estudadas foi quatro anos (DP=1,3; houve diferença significativa em relação ao número de atos comunicativos por minuto entre casos e controles (p=0,001. As crianças deficientes auditivas apresentaram menos iniciativas comunicativas do que as crianças normo-ouvintes e o meio comunicativo gestual foi utilizado por 13 (81, 3% destas e por cinco (32,2% das crianças normo-ouvintes (p=0,004. Não houve diferença entre os grupos em relação às intenções comunicativas (p=0,465. CONCLUSÃO: As crianças deficientes auditivas foram capazes de interagir em situações contextualizadas utilizando-se de funções comunicativas semelhantes às das ouvintes, e se diferiram destas quanto ao meio comunicativo mais utilizado.PURPOSE: To evaluate the pragmatic abilities of a group of hearing impaired children, and compare them with normal-listener peers. METHODS: Case-control study composed by 32 children of both genders with ages between two and six years, paired by age: 16 hearing impaired with moderately severe to profound hearing loss without other organic dysfunctions (cases, and 16 children with normal hearing with no Speech-Language Pathology complaints (control. The evaluation and analysis of pragmatic abilities were carried out based on the ABFW-Pragmatics Test, following instructions of its own protocol

The Impact of Therapeutic Recreational Gymnastic Exercise on Basic Motor Skills of Hearing-Impaired Children Aged between 6 and 9 Years

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Demirel, Nurcan

2018-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of the current study is to investigate the impact of therapeutic recreational gymnastic exercises on basic motor skills of hearing-impaired children aged between 6-9 years. Material and Method: 18 students (12 boys; 6 girls) between the ages of 6-9 years participated in the study. 9 of these students were determined as…

Does hearing aid use affect audiovisual integration in mild hearing impairment?

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Gieseler, Anja; Tahden, Maike A S; Thiel, Christiane M; Colonius, Hans

2018-04-01

There is converging evidence for altered audiovisual integration abilities in hearing-impaired individuals and those with profound hearing loss who are provided with cochlear implants, compared to normal-hearing adults. Still, little is known on the effects of hearing aid use on audiovisual integration in mild hearing loss, although this constitutes one of the most prevalent conditions in the elderly and, yet, often remains untreated in its early stages. This study investigated differences in the strength of audiovisual integration between elderly hearing aid users and those with the same degree of mild hearing loss who were not using hearing aids, the non-users, by measuring their susceptibility to the sound-induced flash illusion. We also explored the corresponding window of integration by varying the stimulus onset asynchronies. To examine general group differences that are not attributable to specific hearing aid settings but rather reflect overall changes associated with habitual hearing aid use, the group of hearing aid users was tested unaided while individually controlling for audibility. We found greater audiovisual integration together with a wider window of integration in hearing aid users compared to their age-matched untreated peers. Signal detection analyses indicate that a change in perceptual sensitivity as well as in bias may underlie the observed effects. Our results and comparisons with other studies in normal-hearing older adults suggest that both mild hearing impairment and hearing aid use seem to affect audiovisual integration, possibly in the sense that hearing aid use may reverse the effects of hearing loss on audiovisual integration. We suggest that these findings may be particularly important for auditory rehabilitation and call for a longitudinal study.

[Rehabilitative measures in hearing-impaired children].

Science.gov (United States)

von Wedel, H; von Wedel, U C; Zorowka, P

1991-12-01

On the basis of certain fundamental data on the maturation processes of the central auditory pathways in early childhood the importance of early intervention with hearing aids is discussed and emphasized. Pathological hearing, that is acoustical deprivation in early childhood will influence the maturation process. Very often speech development is delayed if diagnosis and therapy or rehabilitation are not early enough. Anamnesis, early diagnosis and clinical differential diagnosis are required before a hearing aid can be fitted. Selection criteria and adjustment parameters are discussed, showing that the hearing aid fitting procedure must be embedded in a complex matrix of requirements related to the development of speech as well as to the cognitive, emotional and social development of the child. As a rule, finding and preparing the "best" hearing aids (binaural fitting is obligatory) for a child is a long and often difficult process, which can only be performed by specialists who are pedo-audiologists. After the binaural fitting of hearing aids an intensive hearing and speech education in close cooperation between parents, pedo-audiologist and teacher must support the whole development of the child.

Teaching Hearing-Impaired Children in Iraq Using a New Teaching Method.

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, N. D. C.; Mustafa, N.

1986-01-01

Describes a field test and results of a new didactic teaching method involving resource-based learning to teach various aspects of mathematics and science (fractions, magnetism, planets) to elementary aged hearing impaired student in Iraq. The dramatic improvements in language for learners is described and implications of the methods are…

38 CFR 4.86 - Exceptional patterns of hearing impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... hearing impairment. 4.86 Section 4.86 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS SCHEDULE FOR RATING DISABILITIES Disability Ratings Impairment of Auditory Acuity § 4.86 Exceptional patterns of hearing impairment. (a) When the puretone threshold at each of the four specified...

Psychopathology among a sample of hearing impaired adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Mosaku, Kolawole; Akinpelu, Victoria; Ogunniyi, Grace

2015-12-01

Hearing impairment is a recognized cause of emotional and psychological disturbances worldwide, however little is known about this condition in Nigeria. The aim of this study is to compare the prevalence of psychopathology between hearing impaired adolescents and healthy adolescents. Students attending two special schools for the hearing impaired were assessed for psychopathology with the help of a trained signer and their teacher, using the International Classification of Diseases Diagnostic Criteria (ICD 10). Fifty two hearing impaired students and 52 age and sex matched controls from the same school were also interviewed using the same instrument. The mean age of the hearing impaired students was 16 (sd=3.8), while for the controls the mean age was 16 (sd=2.5). Psychopathology was present in 10 (19%) of the hearing impaired adolescents compared to 2 (4%) among the control group, this difference was statistically significant (χ(2)=4.62 p=0.03). The most common diagnosis was generalized anxiety disorder 4 (8%), followed by depression 2 (4%). Years spent in school (t=4.81, p=0.001), primary guardian (χ(2)=18.3, p=0.001) and mean income of guardian (t=7.10, p=0.001) were all significantly different between the two groups. Psychopathology is relatively common in this population. Proper assessment and treatment should be made available for this population group. A limitation to this study is communication difficulty which made only a third party assessment possible; this may affect the generalizability of the findings. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sensorineural hearing loss in children.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Wormald, R

2010-02-01

The objective of the study was to examine the aetiology of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in a paediatric population presenting to the National Centre of Medical Genetics. A retrospective chart review from 1998 to 2006. One hundred and twenty nine children were investigated for SNHL. The average age of diagnosis of hearing loss was 36 months. The degree of hearing loss was mild in 8 children, moderate in 33 children, severe in 31 children and profound in 57 children. Eighty-five children (66%) were diagnosed with a hereditary hearing loss, 11 (8%) children had an acquired hearing loss and no cause found in 33 (26%) children. This is the first report of the causes of hearing loss in Irish children. The mean age of diagnosis in our cohort is high and emphasises the need for a neonatal screening programme. There remains a number of children for whom the cause of hearing loss remains unknown.

Hearing impairment in genotyped Wolfram syndrome patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Plantinga, Rutger F; Pennings, Ronald J E; Huygen, Patrick L M; Bruno, Rocco; Eller, Philipp; Barrett, Timothy G; Vialettes, Bernard; Paquis-Fluklinger, Veronique; Lombardo, Fortunato; Cremers, Cor W R J

2008-07-01

Wolfram syndrome is a progressive neurodegenerative syndrome characterized by the features "DIDMOAD" (diabetes insipidus, diabetes mellitus, optic atrophy, and deafness). We sought to study the audiometric data of genotyped Wolfram syndrome patients with sensorineural hearing impairment. Pure tone threshold data of 23 Wolfram syndrome patients were used for cross-sectional analysis in subgroups (age less than 16 years or between 19 and 25 years, gender, and origin). All subgroups, with 1 exception, showed a fairly similar type of hearing impairment with, on average, thresholds of about 25 dB (range, 0 to 65 dB) at 0.25 to 1 kHz, gently sloping downward to about 60 dB (range, 25 to 95 dB) at 8 kHz. The subgroup of Dutch women, which was excluded from the calculations of the average hearing thresholds, showed a higher degree of hearing impairment. Only the latter subgroup showed progression; however, contrary to the previous longitudinal analysis, progression was not significant in the present cross-sectional analysis, presumably because of the high degree of cross-subject variability. This unique collection of audiometric data from genotyped Wolfram syndrome patients shows no substantial progression in sensorineural hearing impairment with advancing age, no relation to the types of WFS1 mutations identified, and, with exclusion of the subgroup of Dutch female patients, no significant sex-related differences.

Objective Scaling of Sound Quality for Normal-Hearing and Hearing-Impaired Listeners

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Lars Bramsløw

) Subjective sound quality ratings of clean and distorted speech and music signals, by normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listeners, to provide reference data, 2) An auditory model of the ear, including the effects of hearing loss, based on existing psychoacoustic knowledge, coupled to 3) An artificial neural......A new method for the objective estimation of sound quality for both normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listeners has been presented: OSSQAR (Objective Scaling of Sound Quality and Reproduction). OSSQAR is based on three main parts, which have been carried out and documented separately: 1...... network, which was trained to predict the sound quality ratings. OSSQAR predicts the perceived sound quality on two independent perceptual rating scales: Clearness and Sharpness. These two scales were shown to be the most relevant for assessment of sound quality, and they were interpreted the same way...

Hearing aid fitting in older persons with hearing impairment: the influence of cognitive function, age, and hearing loss on hearing aid benefit.

Science.gov (United States)

Meister, Hartmut; Rählmann, Sebastian; Walger, Martin; Margolf-Hackl, Sabine; Kießling, Jürgen

2015-01-01

To examine the association of cognitive function, age, and hearing loss with clinically assessed hearing aid benefit in older hearing-impaired persons. Hearing aid benefit was assessed using objective measures regarding speech recognition in quiet and noisy environments as well as a subjective measure reflecting everyday situations captured using a standardized questionnaire. A broad range of general cognitive functions such as attention, memory, and intelligence were determined using different neuropsychological tests. Linear regression analyses were conducted with the outcome of the neuropsychological tests as well as age and hearing loss as independent variables and the benefit measures as dependent variables. Thirty experienced older hearing aid users with typical age-related hearing impairment participated. Most of the benefit measures revealed that the participants obtained significant improvement with their hearing aids. Regression models showed a significant relationship between a fluid intelligence measure and objective hearing aid benefit. When individual hearing thresholds were considered as an additional independent variable, hearing loss was the only significant contributor to the benefit models. Lower cognitive capacity - as determined by the fluid intelligence measure - was significantly associated with greater hearing loss. Subjective benefit could not be predicted by any of the variables considered. The present study does not give evidence that hearing aid benefit is critically associated with cognitive function in experienced hearing aid users. However, it was found that lower fluid intelligence scores were related to higher hearing thresholds. Since greater hearing loss was associated with a greater objective benefit, these results strongly support the advice of using hearing aids regardless of age and cognitive function to counter hearing loss and the adverse effects of age-related hearing impairment. Still, individual cognitive capacity might

Adult-children's perspectives on a parent's hearing impairment and its impact on their relationship and communication

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Preminger, Jill E; Montano, Joseph J; Tjørnhøj-Thomsen, Tine

2015-01-01

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to describe third-party disability experienced by adult-children as a result of hearing impairment (HI) in a parent. DESIGN: Using semi-structured interviews, participants were asked to describe the impact of a parent's HI on their relationship and communication...... factors of family relationships, communication situations, and the parent's personality, adult-children considered their coping strategies and feelings that arose as a result of the HI. Coping strategies included putting forth effort in communication, yelling as an ineffective communication strategy......, and providing support to the parent with HI. The described feelings included frustration, uncertainty, and loss surrounding their communication and relationship with their parent with HI. These feelings arose as a result of implementing coping strategies, plus these feelings drove the employment of coping...

Hearing loss in children with otitis media with effusion: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Ting; McPherson, Bradley

2017-02-01

Otitis media with effusion (OME) is the presence of non-purulent inflammation in the middle ear. Hearing impairment is frequently associated with OME. Pure tone audiometry and speech audiometry are two of the most primarily utilised auditory assessments and provide valuable behavioural and functional estimation on hearing loss. This paper was designed to review and analyse the effects of the presence of OME on children's listening abilities. A systematic and descriptive review. Twelve articles reporting frequency-specific pure tone thresholds and/or speech perception measures in children with OME were identified using PubMed, Ovid, Web of Science, ProQuest and Google Scholar search platforms. The hearing loss related to OME averages 18-35 dB HL. The air conduction configuration is roughly flat with a slight elevation at 2000 Hz and a nadir at 8000 Hz. Both speech-in-quiet and speech-in-noise perception have been found to be impaired. OME imposes a series of disadvantages on hearing sensitivity and speech perception in children. Further studies investigating the full range of frequency-specific pure tone thresholds, and that adopt standardised speech test materials are advocated to evaluate hearing related disabilities with greater comprehensiveness, comparability and enhanced consideration of their real life implications.

Communication between hearing impaired and normal hearing students: a facilitative proposal of learning in higher education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krysne Kelly de França Oliveira

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Introduction: There has been an increase in the number of hearing impaired people with access to higher education. Most of them are young people from a different culture who present difficulties in communication, inter-relationship, and learning in a culture of normal hearing people, because they use a different language, the Brazilian Sign Language - LIBRAS. Objective: The present study aimed to identify the forms of communication used between hearing impaired and normal hearing students, verifying how they can interfere with the learning process of the first. Methods: A qualitative study that used the space of a private university in the city of Fortaleza, Ceará state, Brazil, from February to April 2009. We carried out semi-structured interviews with three hearing impaired students, three teachers, three interpreters, and three normal hearing students. The content of the speeches was categorized and organized by the method of thematic analysis. Results: We verified that the forms of communication used ranged from mime and gestures to writing and drawing, but the most accepted by the hearing impaired students was LIBRAS. As a method of communication, it supports the learning of hearing impaired students, and with the mediation of interpreters, it gives them conditions to settle in their zones of development, according to the precepts of Vygotsky. Conclusion: Thus, we recognize the importance of LIBRAS as predominant language, essential to the full academic achievement of hearing impaired students; however, their efforts and dedication, as well as the interest of institutions and teachers on the deaf culture, are also important for preparing future professionals.

Protein energy malnutrition associates with different types of hearing impairments in toddlers: Anemia increases cochlear dysfunction.

Science.gov (United States)

Kamel, Terez Boshra; Deraz, Tharwat Ezzat; Elkabarity, Rasha H; Ahmed, Rasha K

2016-06-01

This work aimed to highlight a challenging asymptomatic problem which is early detection of hearing impairment in toddlers with protein energy malnutrition (PEM) as a neuro-cognitive effect of PEM on developing brain in relation to hemoglobin level. 100 toddlers, aged 6-24 months, fifty with moderate/severe PEM and fifty healthy children, were included in study. Both TEOAEs and ABR testing were used to assess auditory function. Study reported an association between malnutrition and hearing impairment, 26% of cases had conductive deafness secondary to otitis media with effusion using tympanometry; 84.6% showed type B and 15.4% type C which may suggest developing or resolving otitis media. Their ABR showed 46% mild and 53% moderate impairment. 32% of PEM cases had sensory neural hearing loss and with type (A) tympanometry. Those were assessed using ABR; 58% had mild, 34% moderate and 8% profound impairment. 10% of PEM cases had mixed hearing loss with 50% type B and 50% type C tympanometry and their ABR showed moderate to profound impairment. TEOAEs latencies at different frequencies correlate negatively with hemoglobin level. Toddlers with moderate/severe PEM had hearing impairments of different types and degrees. Neuro-physiological methods could be early and safe detectors of auditory disorders especially in high-risk toddlers. Anemia increases risk for auditory dysfunction. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Attitude and help-seeking for hearing impairment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

vandenBrink, RHS; Wit, HP; Kempen, GIJM; vanHeuvelen, MJG

1996-01-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate help-seeking for hearing impairment in the elderly, and to compare groups showing dissimilar help-seeking on their attitude toward hearing loss and hearing aids. Attitude factors were based on a revised version of the Health Belief Model, and included

Hearing Impairment Among Noise-Exposed Workers - United States, 2003-2012.

Science.gov (United States)

Masterson, Elizabeth A; Bushnell, P Timothy; Themann, Christa L; Morata, Thais C

2016-04-22

Hearing loss is the third most common chronic physical condition in the United States, and is more prevalent than diabetes or cancer (1). Occupational hearing loss, primarily caused by high noise exposure, is the most common U.S. work-related illness (2). Approximately 22 million U.S. workers are exposed to hazardous occupational noise (3). CDC compared the prevalence of hearing impairment within nine U.S. industry sectors using 1,413,789 noise-exposed worker audiograms from CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Occupational Hearing Loss Surveillance Project (4). CDC estimated the prevalence at six hearing impairment levels, measured in the better ear, and the impact on quality of life expressed as annual disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), as defined by the 2013 Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study (5). The mining sector had the highest prevalence of workers with any hearing impairment, and with moderate or worse impairment, followed by the construction and manufacturing sectors. Hearing loss prevention, and early detection and intervention to avoid additional hearing loss, are critical to preserve worker quality of life.

HIV/AIDS among Adolescents with Hearing Impairment in Nigeria ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

AIDS to be elusive; such as prejudice against individuals with hearing impairment, lack of adequate data, exclusion from programmes that talk about sexuality, cultural beliefs, poor knowledge and attitude of adolescents with hearing impairment ...

Peripheral auditory processing and speech reception in impaired hearing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Strelcyk, Olaf

One of the most common complaints of people with impaired hearing concerns their difficulty with understanding speech. Particularly in the presence of background noise, hearing-impaired people often encounter great difficulties with speech communication. In most cases, the problem persists even...... if reduced audibility has been compensated for by hearing aids. It has been hypothesized that part of the difficulty arises from changes in the perception of sounds that are well above hearing threshold, such as reduced frequency selectivity and deficits in the processing of temporal fine structure (TFS......) at the output of the inner-ear (cochlear) filters. The purpose of this work was to investigate these aspects in detail. One chapter studies relations between frequency selectivity, TFS processing, and speech reception in listeners with normal and impaired hearing, using behavioral listening experiments. While...

Review of the Visiting Teachers Service for Children with Hearing and Visual Impairment in Supporting Inclusive Educational Practice in Ireland: Examining Stakeholder Feedback through an Ecological Systems Theory

Science.gov (United States)

McLinden, Mike; McCracken, Wendy

2016-01-01

In line with recent developments in inclusive practice in Ireland, children with sensory needs are increasingly educated in mainstream rather than specialist provision. Educational supports are provided by a range of practitioners and include input from the visiting teachers service for children with hearing and visual impairment. This paper…

45 CFR 1308.11 - Eligibility criteria: Hearing impairment including deafness.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES THE ADMINISTRATION FOR... impairment including deafness. (a) A child is classified as deaf if a hearing impairment exists which is so... hearing loss can include impaired listening skills, delayed language development, and articulation...

Prevalence of Hearing disorders in 3-6 year old Children of Kindergartens in Yazd City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Z Jafari

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: A hearing– impaired patient is defined as one with abnormal or reduced function in hearing resulting from an auditory disorder. The goal of any preschool and schools screening program should be to accurately indentify those children whose hearing has been impaired due to conductive and / or sensory– neural pathology. Methods: This cross– sectional descriptive study was done on 577 children (299 girls and 278 boys aged between 3–6 years at kindergartens of Yazd city from September 2005 to January 2006. The otoscopy examination, pure-tone screening and impedance study was conducted after completion of awareness form of the hearing loss existence by the parents. Results: In this study, there were 12.6% abnormal conditions of external ear canal, 34.2% abnormal tympanic membrane, 35.9% abnormal tympanograms and 13.4% hearing loss including 11.5% conductive hearing loss, 1.5% sensory-neural hearing loss and 0.5% mixed hearing loss. Conclusion: With respect to the high prevalence and negative effects of middle ear disorders in learning of preschool children, and also due to the importance of early identification and intervention of hearing loss in aural rehabilitation programs, increasing the awareness and education of people, especially parents about the effects of hearing disorders and its prevention and identification is very important

Deafness and Hearing Loss.

Science.gov (United States)

National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities, Washington, DC.

This brief overview provides information on the definition, incidence, and characteristics of children with hearing impairments and deafness. The federal definitions of hearing impairment and deafness are provided. The different types of hearing loss are noted, including: (1) conductive (caused by diseases or obstructions in the outer or middle…

Syllabic compression and speech intelligibility in hearing impaired listeners

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verschuure, J.; Dreschler, W. A.; de Haan, E. H.; van Cappellen, M.; Hammerschlag, R.; Maré, M. J.; Maas, A. J.; Hijmans, A. C.

1993-01-01

Syllabic compression has not been shown unequivocally to improve speech intelligibility in hearing-impaired listeners. This paper attempts to explain the poor results by introducing the concept of minimum overshoots. The concept was tested with a digital signal processor on hearing-impaired

Reading comprehension of pupils with hearing impairment

OpenAIRE

Pinkasová, Lucie

2010-01-01

Presented diploma thesis is focused on reading problems of people with hearing impairment. The theoretical part deals a hearing impairment, process of acquisition of reading skills of healthy people and deaf people as well. The practical part efforts to clarify preparations, process and results of the research. I am presenting my own reading comprehension test, which was compiled on purpose due to the research. The goal of my diploma thesis is to determine when the level of reading acquiremen...

The Care and Use of a Child's Hearing Aid: A Practical Guide for Parents, Teachers, and Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Michael A.

The booklet is intended to provide practical information on hearing aids for hearing impaired children, their families and teachers. Illustrations are provided to describe the hearing process. The nature of hearing loss is considered in terms of types (conductive, sensori-neural, and mixed), causes, degrees, and educational implications. Four…

Binaural pitch perception in hearing-impaired listeners

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dau, Torsten; Santurette, Sébastien; Strelcyk, Olaf

2007-01-01

When two white noises differing only in phase in a particular frequency range are presented simultaneously each to one of our ears, a pitch sensation may be perceived inside the head. This phenomenon, called ’binaural pitch’ or ’dichotic pitch’, can be produced by frequency-dependent interaural...... phasedifference patterns. The evaluation of these interaural phase differences depends on the functionality of the binaural auditory system and the spectro-temporal information at its input. A melody recognition task was performed in the present study using pure-tone stimuli and six different types of noises...... that can generate a binaural pitch sensation. Normal-hearing listeners and hearing-impaired listeners with different kinds of hearing impairment participated in the experiment....

Reading Vocabulary in Children with and without Hearing Loss: The Roles of Task and Word Type

Science.gov (United States)

Coppens, Karien M.; Tellings, Agnes; Verhoeven, Ludo; Schreuder, Robert

2013-01-01

Purpose: To address the problem of low reading comprehension scores among children with hearing impairment, it is necessary to have a better understanding of their reading vocabulary. In this study, the authors investigated whether task and word type differentiate the reading vocabulary knowledge of children with and without severe hearing loss.…

Training of Speechreading for Severely Hearing-Impaired Persons by Human and Computer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bothe, Hans-Heinrich

2007-01-01

This paper describes evaluation results for a software programme that is intended to be used as a training-aid for lipreading in German. Tests were carried out in schools for hearing-impaired children in Germany which indicate that the ability to lipread increases significantly already after use...... of the software during a short period of time....

Comparison of Different Levels of Reading Comprehension between Hearing-Impaired Loss and Normal-Hearing Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Azam Sharifi

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Background and Aim: Reading skill is one of the most important necessities of students' learning in everyday life. This skill is referred to the ability of comprehension, comment and conclusion from texts and receiving the meaning of the massage which is composed. Educational development in any student has a direct relation with the ability of the comprehension. This study is designed to investigate the effects of hearing loss on reading comprehension in hearing-impaired students compared to normal-hearing ones.Methods: Seventeen hearing-impaired students in 4th year of primary exceptional schools in Karaj, Robatkarim and Shahriyar, Iran, were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Seventeen normal-hearing students were randomly selected from ordinary schools next to exceptional ones as control group. They were compared for different levels of reading comprehension using the international standard booklet (PIRLS 2001. Results: There was a significant difference in performance between hearing-impaired and normal- hearing students in different levels of reading comprehension (p<0.05.Conclusion: Hearing loss has negative effects on different levels of reading comprehension, so in exceptional centers, reconsideration in educational planning in order to direct education from memorizing to comprehension and deeper layers of learning seems necessary.

Validation of the Korean Version of the Spatial Hearing Questionnaire for Assessing the Severity and Symmetry of Hearing Impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

Kong, Tae Hoon; Park, Yoon Ah; Bong, Jeong Pyo; Park, Sang Yoo

2017-07-01

Spatial hearing refers to the ability to understand speech and identify sounds in various environments. We assessed the validity of the Korean version of the Spatial Hearing Questionnaire (K-SHQ). We performed forward translation of the original English SHQ to Korean and backward translation from the Korean to English. Forty-eight patients who were able to read and understand Korean and received a score of 24 or higher on the Mini-Mental Status Examination were included in the study. Patients underwent pure tone audiometry (PTA) using a standard protocol and completed the K-SHQ. Internal consistency was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha, and factor analysis was performed to prove reliability. Construct validity was tested by comparing K-SHQ scores from patients with normal hearing to those with hearing impairment. Scores were compared between subjects with unilateral or bilateral hearing loss and between symmetrical and asymmetrical hearing impairment. Cronbach's alpha showed good internal consistency (0.982). Two factors were identified by factor analysis: There was a significant difference in K-SHQ scores for patients with normal hearing compared to those with hearing impairment. Patients with asymmetric hearing impairment had higher K-SHQ scores than those with symmetric hearing impairment. This is related to a lower threshold of PTA in the better ear of subjects. The hearing ability of the better ear is correlated with K-SHQ score. The K-SHQ is a reliable and valid tool with which to assess spatial hearing in patients who speak and read Korean. K-SHQ score reflects the severity and symmetry of hearing impairment. © Copyright: Yonsei University College of Medicine 2017

Reading vocabulary in children with and without hearing loss: the roles of task and word type.

Science.gov (United States)

Coppens, Karien M; Tellings, Agnes; Verhoeven, Ludo; Schreuder, Robert

2013-04-01

To address the problem of low reading comprehension scores among children with hearing impairment, it is necessary to have a better understanding of their reading vocabulary. In this study, the authors investigated whether task and word type differentiate the reading vocabulary knowledge of children with and without severe hearing loss. Seventy-two children with hearing loss and 72 children with normal hearing performed a lexical and a use decision task. Both tasks contained the same 180 words divided over 7 clusters, each cluster containing words with a similar pattern of scores on 8 word properties (word class, frequency, morphological family size, length, age of acquisition, mode of acquisition, imageability, and familiarity). Whereas the children with normal hearing scored better on the 2 tasks than the children with hearing loss, the size of the difference varied depending on the type of task and word. Performance differences between the 2 groups increased as words and tasks became more complex. Despite delays, children with hearing loss showed a similar pattern of vocabulary acquisition as their peers with normal hearing. For the most precise assessment of reading vocabulary possible, a range of tasks and word types should be used.

Concerns of Indian Mothers with Children Having Severe-to-Profound Hearing Impairment at Diagnosis and after 1–3 Years of Therapy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nachiketa Rout

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Counseling training in graduate programs continues to be underrepresented. If parental queries are not addressed adequately, they keep visiting one doctor after another. Objective. The aim of the study is to identify maternal needs of children with hearing impairment at two stages of habilitation, that is, just after diagnosis (group I and after receiving 1 to 3 years of language therapy (group II. Methods. Two groups of mothers were asked to speak their queries about aural habilitation of their children. Queries were recorded, summarized, and categorized as per their priorities. Results. Group I mothers wanted to know about how the child would learn to listen and speak (45%, causes of hearing loss (33.7%, understanding the ear and hearing (10.2%, understanding the audiogram (7%, and coping with emotional aspects of hearing loss (5%, while group II parents had priorities concerning speech development (24.5% followed by child independence and employment (17.3%, schooling (15.6%, problem behaviors (11%, amplification device (9.4%, duration of therapy (8%, future of the child (8%, and questions about how can my child get adjusted to the “normal” world (6%. Conclusions. Culture- and language-specific materials to explain these issues need to be developed.

Benefits of augmentative signs in word learning: Evidence from children who are deaf/hard of hearing and children with specific language impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

van Berkel-van Hoof, Lian; Hermans, Daan; Knoors, Harry; Verhoeven, Ludo

2016-12-01

Augmentative signs may facilitate word learning in children with vocabulary difficulties, for example, children who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing (DHH) and children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI). Despite the fact that augmentative signs may aid second language learning in populations with a typical language development, empirical evidence in favor of this claim is lacking. We aim to investigate whether augmentative signs facilitate word learning for DHH children, children with SLI, and typically developing (TD) children. Whereas previous studies taught children new labels for familiar objects, the present study taught new labels for new objects. In our word learning experiment children were presented with pictures of imaginary creatures and pseudo words. Half of the words were accompanied by an augmentative pseudo sign. The children were tested for their receptive word knowledge. The DHH children benefitted significantly from augmentative signs, but the children with SLI and TD age-matched peers did not score significantly different on words from either the sign or no-sign condition. These results suggest that using Sign-Supported speech in classrooms of bimodal bilingual DHH children may support their spoken language development. The difference between earlier research findings and the present results may be caused by a difference in methodology. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Postural control in children with typical development and children with profound hearing loss

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Monteiro de Sousa AM

2012-05-01

showed 58% of cases and congenital rubella in 16%. The discovery of deafness occurred in 70% of children before the age of 3 years.Conclusion: In this study, children with hearing loss had poorer balance performance compared to the group of hearing children. This finding confirms the need to investigate postural control through longitudinal studies to identify the area of sensory deficit causing poor balance performance and promote more specific early interventions.Keywords: postural control, hearing impairment, balance, children, sensory deprivation, early intervention

Effects of Hearing Impairment and Hearing Aid Amplification on Listening Effort: A Systematic Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Ohlenforst, Barbara; Zekveld, Adriana A; Jansma, Elise P; Wang, Yang; Naylor, Graham; Lorens, Artur; Lunner, Thomas; Kramer, Sophia E

To undertake a systematic review of available evidence on the effect of hearing impairment and hearing aid amplification on listening effort. Two research questions were addressed: Q1) does hearing impairment affect listening effort? and Q2) can hearing aid amplification affect listening effort during speech comprehension? English language articles were identified through systematic searches in PubMed, EMBASE, Cinahl, the Cochrane Library, and PsycINFO from inception to August 2014. References of eligible studies were checked. The Population, Intervention, Control, Outcomes, and Study design strategy was used to create inclusion criteria for relevance. It was not feasible to apply a meta-analysis of the results from comparable studies. For the articles identified as relevant, a quality rating, based on the 2011 Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation Working Group guidelines, was carried out to judge the reliability and confidence of the estimated effects. The primary search produced 7017 unique hits using the keywords: hearing aids OR hearing impairment AND listening effort OR perceptual effort OR ease of listening. Of these, 41 articles fulfilled the Population, Intervention, Control, Outcomes, and Study design selection criteria of: experimental work on hearing impairment OR hearing aid technologies AND listening effort OR fatigue during speech perception. The methods applied in those articles were categorized into subjective, behavioral, and physiological assessment of listening effort. For each study, the statistical analysis addressing research question Q1 and/or Q2 was extracted. In seven articles more than one measure of listening effort was provided. Evidence relating to Q1 was provided by 21 articles that reported 41 relevant findings. Evidence relating to Q2 was provided by 27 articles that reported 56 relevant findings. The quality of evidence on both research questions (Q1 and Q2) was very low, according to the Grading of

Linguistic Profiles of Children with CI as Compared with Children with Hearing or Specific Language Impairment

Science.gov (United States)

Hoog, Brigitte E.; Langereis, Margreet C.; Weerdenburg, Marjolijn; Knoors, Harry E. T.; Verhoeven, Ludo

2016-01-01

Background: The spoken language difficulties of children with moderate or severe to profound hearing loss are mainly related to limited auditory speech perception. However, degraded or filtered auditory input as evidenced in children with cochlear implants (CIs) may result in less efficient or slower language processing as well. To provide insight…

Barriers to timely diagnosis and treatment for children with hearing impairment in a southern Indian city: a qualitative study of parents and clinic staff.

Science.gov (United States)

Merugumala, Sri Vamshi; Pothula, Vijay; Cooper, Max

2017-10-01

In low income countries, deaf children are identified late due to the absence of a universal screening. Hearing impairment is a common yet neglected disability in India that leads to loss of speech and language. This qualitative study explored barriers to accessing appropriate hearing services in one city in southern India. To identify the barriers in timely management of deafness, 25 semi-structured interviews were conducted. Data were examined using Applied Thematic Analysis. Seventeen mothers of deaf children, primarily from low socioeconomic backgrounds, and eight staff members at a charitable hearing centre in Hyderabad. Barriers to accessing hearing services included failure to recognise deafness, the dominant role of elders in household decisions, belief that deafness would resolve, reassurance from a child's overall good health, lack of funds and transportation barriers to reach the centre particularly from rural areas. Parents frequently learned about services through word of mouth. The challenges to accessing appropriate services for deafness operate prior to presentation and include educational, cultural, navigational and financial barriers especially for those of lower socioeconomic status and residents of rural areas. The findings highlighted the need to raise awareness and implement wider screening programmes for early interventions.

听力障碍群体的保持性注意发展%A Study on the Sustained Attention Development of Hearing Impaired Population

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

程黎; 施建农; 蹇菊华; 张兴利

2012-01-01

为了研究听力障碍儿童到成人的保持性注意发展的变化,采用瑞文标准推理测验筛选出207名智力正常的听力障碍儿童和听力正常儿童及成人作为被试,以划消测验作为实验材料,记录被试的加工速度、击中率和虚报率.结果显示:听力障碍和听力正常被试的加工速度都随年龄的增长而加快；7～9岁组的听力障碍被试的击中率显著低于听力正常组,其他年龄组的听力障碍被试和正常被试的击中率没有显著差异；7～14岁的听力障碍被试的虚报率显著高于听力正常被试.听力障碍被试和听力正常被试在所有指标上的发展趋势都相似,前者只有在青少年期的专注程度不如听力正常被试,对非目标的抑制能力比较弱.同时也必须看到,听力障碍被试在注意保持的时间分布上更好,他们能更为持久地维持注意.%In the present study,cancellation test was used to explore sustained attention development of hearing impaired children and adults. 207 hearing impaired and hearing participants were selected by using Raven Progressive Matrices intelligence test. Results showed clear age-related increases in processing speed for both hearing impaired and hearing participants. The hit rate of the hearing impaired children was significantly lower than that of the hearing children among aged 7-9 group,while that difference among other aged group was not found. The false alert rate of the hearing impaired adolescents was significantly higher than that of the hearing adolescents among aged 7-14 group. We interpret these results and concluded that,both hearing impaired and hearing participants had the similar developmental trajectory of the sustained attention;The ability of children's sustained attention appeared to improve with age,and in adolescence it reached the peak;The hearing impaired participants had the comparable sustained attention skills to the matched hearing peers. Besides, the

The effect of symmetrical and asymmetrical hearing impairment on music quality perception.

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Cai, Yuexin; Zhao, Fei; Chen, Yuebo; Liang, Maojin; Chen, Ling; Yang, Haidi; Xiong, Hao; Zhang, Xueyuan; Zheng, Yiqing

2016-09-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of symmetrical, asymmetrical and unilateral hearing impairment on music quality perception. Six validated music pieces in the categories of classical music, folk music and pop music were used to assess music quality in terms of its 'pleasantness', 'naturalness', 'fullness', 'roughness' and 'sharpness'. 58 participants with sensorineural hearing loss [20 with unilateral hearing loss (UHL), 20 with bilateral symmetrical hearing loss (BSHL) and 18 with bilateral asymmetrical hearing loss (BAHL)] and 29 normal hearing (NH) subjects participated in the present study. Hearing impaired (HI) participants had greater difficulty in overall music quality perception than NH participants. Participants with BSHL rated music pleasantness and naturalness to be higher than participants with BAHL. Moreover, the hearing thresholds of the better ears from BSHL and BAHL participants as well as the hearing thresholds of the worse ears from BSHL participants were negatively correlated to the pleasantness and naturalness perception. HI participants rated the familiar music pieces higher than unfamiliar music pieces in the three music categories. Music quality perception in participants with hearing impairment appeared to be affected by symmetry of hearing loss, degree of hearing loss and music familiarity when they were assessed using the music quality rating test (MQRT). This indicates that binaural symmetrical hearing is important to achieve a high level of music quality perception in HI listeners. This emphasizes the importance of provision of bilateral hearing assistive devices for people with asymmetrical hearing impairment.

COMPARISON OF ABILITY OF OPPOSITION WORDS PROCESSING BETWEEN HEARING AND HEARING IMPAIRED STUDENT IN FIFTH GRADE IN TEHRAN

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B SHAFIEI

2003-12-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Hearing impaired Persons have disorders in Communication. Theu are not able to learning many aspects of language Structures in Paroper time; quantity and quality. They can not Process these factors as same as Partners. In this research we going to assess and comparison opposite word in hearing and hearing impaired Student in fifth grade. This is a semantic research.
Methods: Subjects of this research were hearing impaired students in fifth grade in tehramwohad + 70dbheaing loss in Best Binaural Average and in order to comparison with them, we selected hearing students in fifth grade. In this research four non linguistic factors were investigated (age, sex, words of Farsi language. The subjects must read these words and write an opposite Word in front of it. In this examination the quantity of types: right, false and without answers.
Findings: The sequence of right answers had significant different in two group. The Sequence of learned words had significant different two groups. The time of processing in hearing students was shorter than hearing impaired students. The female subjects gave right answers more than male subjects. Discussion: The differences between bearing and hearing impaired students were in the quantity of answers specially in right answers and time of doing the test. probably these differences were due to lack of proper lexicon words and/or poor of it. The hearing students had more right answers and were shorter in time of processing.

Teaching Strategies for Economics to the Hearing Impaired | Adu ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study sought to look at the teaching strategies for economics to the hearing impaired. Economics is said to be a living and dynamic subject, which is a vehicle of strict intellectual discipline, that involves looking at the world in a way which is for most, if not all of us quite new. Hearing impairment in a generic term covering ...

Age, duration of work, noise and vibration in inducing hearing and balance impairments

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Jenny Bashiruddin

2005-06-01

Full Text Available Noisy and vibrating bajaj, a public transportation in Jakarta, is a potential risk in inducing hearing and balance problems. Bajaj drivers in the Jakarta area were chosen by consecutive sampling and examined medically in the Neurotological Subdivision of the ENT Department of the Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jakarta. Hearing and balance impairments were then diagnosed from audiometric and posturographic tests. The study was carried out from March 2000 until October 2001. A number of 350 bajaj drivers participated in this study. There were 97 subjects without hearing and balance impairments, and 96 subjects suffered from hearing and balance impairments. Compared to drivers aged less than 40 years, those aged 41 years or more had a four-fold increased risk of developing hearing and balance impairments [adjusted odds ratio (OR = 3.90; 95% confidence interval (CI = 1.67-9.01. Drivers working 9 hours or more a day had an increased risk 2.3 times of developing hearing and balance impairments compared those working less than 9 hours a day (adjusted OR = 2.32; 95% CI=I.22-4.41. Furthermore, when compared to those who had been working for 1-5 years, those who had been working for 5 years had an increased tendency of developing hearing and balance impairments. Those who had been working 21-30 years had a seven-fold increased risk of developing hearing and balance impairments (adjusted OR = 7.11; 95% CI = 1.88-26.92. To minimize hearing and balance impairments bajaj drivers are recommended to work less than 8 hours a day. (Med J Indones 2005; 14: 101-6Keywords: noise, vibration, hearing, balance impairments, driver

Modeling Speech Intelligibility in Hearing Impaired Listeners

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Scheidiger, Christoph; Jørgensen, Søren; Dau, Torsten

2014-01-01

speech, e.g. phase jitter or spectral subtraction. Recent studies predict SI for normal-hearing (NH) listeners based on a signal-to-noise ratio measure in the envelope domain (SNRenv), in the framework of the speech-based envelope power spectrum model (sEPSM, [20, 21]). These models have shown good...... agreement with measured data under a broad range of conditions, including stationary and modulated interferers, reverberation, and spectral subtraction. Despite the advances in modeling intelligibility in NH listeners, a broadly applicable model that can predict SI in hearing-impaired (HI) listeners...... is not yet available. As a firrst step towards such a model, this study investigates to what extent eects of hearing impairment on SI can be modeled in the sEPSM framework. Preliminary results show that, by only modeling the loss of audibility, the model cannot account for the higher speech reception...

Hearing aids in children: the importance of the verification and validation processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Rissatto, Mara Renata; Novaes, Beatriz Cavalcanti de Albuquerque Caiuby

2009-01-01

during the fitting of hearing aids in children it is important, besides using a verification protocol, to have a validation process. to describe and discuss the use of a protocol for the fitting and the verification of hearing aids in children, as well as the impact of the adjustment of the acoustic characteristics in speech perception tasks. ten children aging from three to eleven years were enrolled in this study. All children presented bilateral sensorineural hearing impairment, were users of hearing aids and were followed at a public hearing health care service in Bahia. The children were submitted to the following procedures: pure tone air and bone conduction thresholds; real-ear coupler difference (RECD); verification with real-ear measurement equipment: coupler gain/output and insertion gain and to speech perception tasks: 'The Six-Sound Test' (Ling, 2006) and the 'Word Associations for Syllable Perception' (WASP - Koch, 1999). The programmed electro acoustic characteristics of the hearing aids were compared to the electro acoustic characteristics prescribed by the DSL [i/o] v4.1 software. The speech perception tasks were reapplied on three occasions: straight after the modification of the electro acoustic characteristics, after 30 days and 60 days. for more than 50% of the tested children, the programmed electro acoustic characteristics of the hearing aids did not correspond to that suggested by the DSL [i/o] software. Adequate prescription was verified in 70% of the investigated sample; this was also confirmed by the results in the speech perception tasks (p=0.000). This data confirmed that the mean percentage of correct answers increased after the modification of the electro acoustic characteristics. the use of a protocol that verifies and validates the fitting of hearing aids in children is necessary.

Acompanhamento da adaptação de próteses auditivas em crianças surdas Evaluating the adaptation of hearing aids for hearing impaired children

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Bianca Pinheiro Lanzetta

2010-06-01

Full Text Available OBJETIVOS: descrever as características audiológicas e sociais de crianças surdas e avaliar a incidência de retornos para acompanhamento no Programa de Saúde Auditiva. MÉTODOS: foram analisados os prontuários de crianças que receberam as próteses auditivas pelo Programa de Saúde Auditiva, em Vila Velha - Espírito Santo. A população estudada foi constituída por 50 crianças, na faixa etária de zero a oito anos, de ambos os sexos, com diagnóstico de perda auditiva sensorioneural de grau leve a profundo. O protocolo de pesquisa foi preenchido a partir dos dados de prontuários para a obtenção das informações desejadas. RESULTADOS: a solicitação de retorno pelo Serviço Social propiciou o comparecimento de quase da metade da população (44%; os demais achados foram indicativos da associação entre o retorno para acompanhamento e a rotina escolar. CONCLUSÕES: o referido programa atinge predominantemente famílias com rendimento mensal entre um e dois salários mínimos; o diagnóstico da surdez ocorre entre dois e três anos de idade cronológica neste estudo; a época da primeira adaptação de próteses auditivas, aos seis anos de idade, é bastante tardia; o contato com os pais, por meio do Serviço Social, viabiliza o acompanhamento proposto, influenciado positivamente também pela rotina escolar.PURPOSE: to describe the compliance and attitudes of hearing-impaired children towards the treatment and support offered by the Hearing Health Program, a public health endeavor, and assessing patients’ returns for follow-ups. METHODS: participants consisted of fifty children aged from 0 to 8 years, with a diagnosis of mild to severe sensorineural hearing loss. The children received the hearing aids from the Hearing Health Program, in Vila Velha, in the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil. The research protocol was completed using both medical records and a socio-economical profile survey of the affected children, including the

Using singing to nurture children's hearing? A pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Welch, Graham F; Saunders, Jo; Edwards, Sian; Palmer, Zoe; Himonides, Evangelos; Knight, Julian; Mahon, Merle; Griffin, Susanna; Vickers, Deborah A

2015-09-01

This article reports a pilot study of the potential benefits of a sustained programme of singing activities on the musical behaviours and hearing acuity of young children with hearing impairment (HI). Twenty-nine children (n=12 HI and n=17 NH) aged between 5 and 7 years from an inner-city primary school in London participated, following appropriate ethical approval. The predominantly classroom-based programme was designed by colleagues from the UCL Institute of Education and UCL Ear Institute in collaboration with a multi-arts charity Creative Futures and delivered by an experienced early years music specialist weekly across two school terms. There was a particular emphasis on building a repertoire of simple songs with actions and allied vocal exploration. Musical learning was also supported by activities that drew on visual imagery for sound and that included simple notation and physical gesture. An overall impact assessment of the pilot programme embraced pre- and post-intervention measures of pitch discrimination, speech perception in noise and singing competency. Subsequent statistical data analyses suggest that the programme had a positive impact on participant children's singing range, particularly (but not only) for HI children with hearing aids, and also in their singing skills. HI children's pitch perception also improved measurably over time. Findings imply that all children, including those with HI, can benefit from regular and sustained access to age-appropriate musical activities.

Measuring Levels of Stress and Depression in Mothers of Children Using Hearing Aids and Cochlear Implants: A Comparative Study

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Prakash, Santhi S; Prakash, S. G. R.; Ravichandran, Aparna; Susan, K. Y.; Alex, Winnie

2013-01-01

Hearing impairment is an exceptional circumstance that restricts the child's ability to communicate verbally. Depression is a common stress-related response for hearing parents of children with hearing loss. Evidence suggests that mothers are more inclined than fathers to experience depression in response to their child's hearing loss (Mavrolas,…

Audiometric Characteristics of a Dutch DFNA10 Family With Mid-Frequency Hearing Impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

van Beelen, Eline; Oonk, Anne M M; Leijendeckers, Joop M; Hoefsloot, Elisabeth H; Pennings, Ronald J E; Feenstra, Ilse; Dieker, Hendrik-Jan; Huygen, Patrick L M; Snik, Ad F M; Kremer, Hannie; Kunst, Henricus P M

2016-01-01

Mutations in EYA4 can cause nonsyndromic autosomal dominant sensorineural hearing impairment (DFNA10) or a syndromic variant with hearing impairment and dilated cardiomyopathy. A mutation in EYA4 was found in a Dutch family, causing DFNA10. This study is focused on characterizing the hearing impairment in this family. Whole exome sequencing was performed in the proband. In addition, peripheral blood samples were collected from 23 family members, and segregation analyses were performed. All participants underwent otorhinolaryngological examinations and pure-tone audiometry, and 12 participants underwent speech audiometry. In addition, an extended set of audiometric measurements was performed in five family members to evaluate the functional status of the cochlea. Vestibular testing was performed in three family members. Two individuals underwent echocardiography to evaluate the nonsyndromic phenotype. The authors present a Dutch family with a truncating mutation in EYA4 causing a mid-frequency hearing impairment. This mutation (c.464del) leads to a frameshift and a premature stop codon (p.Pro155fsX). This mutation is the most N-terminal mutation in EYA4 found to date. In addition, a missense mutation, predicted to be deleterious, was found in EYA4 in two family members. Echocardiography in two family members revealed no signs of dilated cardiomyopathy. Results of caloric and velocity step tests in three family members showed no abnormalities. Hearing impairment was found to be symmetric and progressive, beginning as a mid-frequency hearing impairment in childhood and developing into a high-frequency, moderate hearing impairment later in life. Furthermore, an extended set of audiometric measurements was performed in five family members. The results were comparable to those obtained in patients with other sensory types of hearing impairments, such as patients with Usher syndrome type IIA and presbyacusis, and not to those obtained in patients with (cochlear

Tone, rhythm, and timbre perception in school-age children using cochlear implants and hearing aids.

Science.gov (United States)

Innes-Brown, Hamish; Marozeau, Jeremy P; Storey, Christine M; Blamey, Peter J

2013-10-01

Children with hearing impairments, especially those using hearing devices such as the cochlear implant (CI) or hearing aid (HA), are sometimes not encouraged to attend music classes, as they or their parents and teachers may be unsure whether the child can perform basic musical tasks. The objective of the current study was to provide a baseline for the performance of children using CIs and HAs on standardized tests of rhythm and pitch perception as well as an instrument timbre identification task. An additional aim was to determine the effect of structured music training on these measures during the course of a school year. The Intermediate Measures of Music Audiation (IMMA) Tonal and Rhythmic subtests were administered four times, with 6 wk between tests. All children in the study were also enrolled in "Music Club" teaching sessions. Measures were compared between groups and across the four testing sessions. Twenty children from a single school in Melbourne, Australia, were recruited. Eleven (four girls) had impaired hearing, including six with a unilateral CI or CI and HA together (two girls) and five with bilateral HAs (two girls). Nine were normally hearing, selected to match the age and gender of the hearing-impaired children. Ages ranged from 9-13 yr. All children participated in a weekly Music Club--a 45 min session of musical activities based around vocal play and the integration of aural, visual, and kinesthetic modes of learning. Audiological data were collected from clinical files. IMMA scores were converted to percentile ranks using published norms. Between-group differences were tested using repeated-measures analysis of variance, and between-session differences were tested using a linear mixed model. Linear regression was used to model the effect of hearing loss on the test scores. In the first session, normally hearing children had a mean percentile rank of ∼50 in both the Tonal and Rhythmic subtests of the IMMA. Children using CIs showed trends

Autism and peripheral hearing loss: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Beers, Alison N; McBoyle, Melanie; Kakande, Emily; Dar Santos, Rachelle C; Kozak, Frederick K

2014-01-01

To systematically review the literature describing the relationship between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and peripheral hearing loss including literature recommendations for audiological assessment and auditory habilitation in cases where peripheral hearing loss and ASD coexist. Published studies indexed in MEDLINE (1948-2011). The search strategy identified 595 potential studies. After a review of the titles, 115 abstracts were reviewed and 39 articles were retrieved and assessed independently by at least two authors for possible inclusion. 22 articles pertained to children with ASD and peripheral hearing loss, hearing assessment in children with ASD, audiological habilitation for children with ASD or hyper-responsiveness in children with ASD. 17 further studies were garnered from the reference section of the 22 papers. Controversy exists in the literature regarding prevalence of hearing impairment among individuals with ASD. In cases where ASD and hearing impairment co-exist, diagnosis of one condition often leads to a delay in diagnosing the other. Audiological assessment can be difficult in children with ASD and test-retest reliability of behavioural thresholds can be poor. In cases where hearing impairment exists and hearing aids or cochlear implantation are recommended, devices are often fit with special considerations for the child with ASD. Hyper-responsiveness to auditory stimuli may be displayed by individuals with ASD. Evidence or the suspicion of hyper-responsiveness may be taken into consideration when fitting amplification and planning behavioural intervention. Prevalence rates of hearing impairment among individuals with ASD continue to be debated. At present there is no conclusive evidence that children with ASD are at increased risk of peripheral hearing loss. A complete audiological assessment is recommended in all cases where ASD is suspected so as not to delay the diagnosis of hearing impairment in the event that hearing loss and ASD co

Incidence of risk factors for hearing impairment in premature babies

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Nikolić Mina

2016-01-01

Full Text Available According to the World Health Organization, the incidence of hearing impairment in newborn population is 1-3 per 1000 (WHO, 2012. Apart from that, many authors have found that the incidence of hearing impairment is twenty times higher, 2-4%, in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU. Thus, a congenital hearing loss is the most frequent sensory or motor deficit that could be diagnosed immediately upon birth. The objective of this study was to determine the incidence of risk factors for hearing impairment in the population of preterm babies. We were especially interested in the impact of gestational age at birth on the incidence of risk factors for hearing loss. A cohort of 150 preterm babies was enrolled in the study. They were hospitalized in the Institute for Neonatology in Belgrade during 2014 and 2015 and the data were obtained from their medical files. The results of this study indicate high incidence of risk factors for hearing impairment in this population of babies. Gestational age at birth had a strong, statistically significant, correlation with risk factor incidence in lower gestational age and vice versa. High incidence of risk factors and their interaction could account for twenty times higher occurrence of congenital and early acquired hearing loss in population of preterm babies compared to term neonates. These results imply the need for systematic audiological surveillance of prematurely born babies at least until 12 months of corrected age.

Evaluation of hearing ability in Danish children at the time of school start and at the end of school

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gissel, S.; Mortensen, Jens Tølbøll; Juul, S.

2002-01-01

Since previous studies have shown reduced hearing ability in children and adolescents at school start, this study was undertaken to evaluate the hearing ability in Danish children at the time of start and end of school. Children starting school in 1977, 1987, and 1997 from four minor municipalities...... in North Jutland County, Denmark were evaluated for hearing ability by a review of 1,605 school health records. We found a higher prevalence of impaired hearing ability in children who started school 1987 and 1997 compared to those who started school 1977. Reduced hearing was typically at high frequencies....... At the end of school, hearing ability of the year group 1977 was just as poor as for the year group 1987. Whether reduced hearing can influence the learning abilities of these children should be evaluated by further studies including information on the exposure to noise....

Multilingual Children with Hearing Loss: Factors Contributing to Language Use at Home and in Early Education

Science.gov (United States)

Crowe, Kathryn; McKinnon, David H.; McLeod, Sharynne; Ching, Teresa Y. C.

2013-01-01

Understanding the relationship between children's cultural and linguistic diversity and child, caregiver, and environmental characteristics is important to ensure appropriate educational expectations and provisions. As part of the Longitudinal Outcomes of Children with Hearing Impairment (LOCHI) study, children's caregivers and educators completed…

Performance, fatigue and stress in open-plan offices: The effects of noise and restoration on hearing impaired and normal hearing individuals

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Helena Jahncke

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Hearing impaired and normal hearing individuals were compared in two within-participant office noise conditions (high noise: 60 L Aeq and low noise: 30 L Aeq . Performance, subjective fatigue, and physiological stress were tested during working on a simulated open-plan office. We also tested two between-participants restoration conditions following the work period with high noise (nature movie or continued office noise. Participants with a hearing impairment (N = 20 were matched with normal hearing participants (N = 18 and undertook one practice session and two counterbalanced experimental sessions. In each experimental session they worked for two hours with basic memory and attention tasks. We also measured physiological stress indicators (cortisol and catecholamines and self-reports of mood and fatigue. The hearing impaired participants were more affected by high noise than the normal hearing participants, as shown by impaired performance for tasks that involve recall of semantic information. The hearing impaired participants were also more fatigued by high noise exposure than participants with normal hearing, and they tended to have higher stress hormone levels during the high noise compared to the low noise condition. Restoration with a movie increased performance and motivation for the normal hearing participants, while rest with continued noise did not. For the hearing impaired participants, continued noise during rest increased motivation and performance, while the movie did not. In summary, the impact of noise and restorative conditions varied with the hearing characteristics of the participants. The small sample size does however encourage caution when interpreting the results.

Childhood Hearing Impairment: How Do Parents Feel About It ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

-Briggs. Abstract. Background Hearing impairment or deafness is a major disabling condition worldwide. Etiology of the hearing loss range from congenital to acquired, and includes common and preventable childhood infections like otitis ...

Children with minimal sensorineural hearing loss: prevalence, educational performance, and functional status.

Science.gov (United States)

Bess, F H; Dodd-Murphy, J; Parker, R A

1998-10-01

This study was designed to determine the prevalence of minimal sensorineural hearing loss (MSHL) in school-age children and to assess the relationship of MSHL to educational performance and functional status. To determine prevalence, a single-staged sampling frame of all schools in the district was created for 3rd, 6th, and 9th grades. Schools were selected with probability proportional to size in each grade group. The final study sample was 1218 children. To assess the association of MSHL with educational performance, children identified with MSHL were assigned as cases into a subsequent case-control study. Scores of the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (4th Edition) (CTBS/4) then were compared between children with MSHL and children with normal hearing. School teachers completed the Screening Instrument for Targeting Education Risk (SIFTER) and the Revised Behavior Problem Checklist for a subsample of children with MSHL and their normally hearing counterparts. Finally, data on grade retention for a sample of children with MSHL were obtained from school records and compared with school district norm data. To assess the relationship between MSHL and functional status, test scores of all children with MSHL and all children with normal hearing in grades 6 and 9 were compared on the COOP Adolescent Chart Method (COOP), a screening tool for functional status. MSHL was exhibited by 5.4% of the study sample. The prevalence of all types of hearing impairment was 11.3%. Third grade children with MSHL exhibited significantly lower scores than normally hearing controls on a series of subtests of the CTBS/4; however, no differences were noted at the 6th and 9th grade levels. The SIFTER results revealed that children with MSHL scored poorer on the communication subtest than normal-hearing controls. Thirty-seven percent of the children with MSHL failed at least one grade. Finally, children with MSHL exhibited significantly greater dysfunction than children with normal hearing

Attitudes of a group of primary school teachers towards the educational inclusion of hearing-impaired learners in regular classrooms.

Science.gov (United States)

Keith, K; Ross, E

1998-01-01

Research has clearly demonstrated a link between the attitudes of regular education teachers and the success of inclusion of learners with special educational needs. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the attitudes of a group of junior primary school teachers from the Gauteng area towards the inclusion of hearing-impaired children into regular classes. A survey research design was employed which utilized a questionnaire as the research tool. Analysis of results indicated that the teachers surveyed were relatively positive in their attitudes towards inclusion. Greater exposure to disability in terms of training and experience was related to more positive attitudes. Similarly, more positive attitudes were related to greater perceived competence in teaching hearing-impaired pupils. All of the teachers surveyed felt that speech-language pathologists and audiologists (SLPs & As) should be involved in facilitating inclusion of hearing-impaired children. Many of the respondents expressed concern regarding their lack of training, knowledge and skills. The findings from the research project highlight the need for an adequate training and support system for teachers prior to the implementation of an inclusive educational policy, and the potential role of SLPs & As in this regard.

Early Detection of Hearing Impairment Among High Risk Neonates in a Tertiary Care Hospital

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Gurudutt Joshi

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Background: Hearing impairment has a devastating, detrimental and an invariably adverse impact on the development of the newborns and the psychological well-being of their families. It also adversely affects development of the central auditory nervous system, and can affect speech perception that interferes with growth in social, emotional, behavioural and cognitive spheres, academic achievement, vocational options, employment opportunities and economic selfsufficiency. Objectives: To find out incidence of hearing impairment in high risk neonates in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU, prevalence of hearing impairment with and without high risk factors in newborns and to correlate the risk factors with hearing impairment. Material and Methods: A cohort study was carried out at a tertiary care hospital of Surat, Gujarat, India consisting of 190 normal newborns and 163 newborns with high risk factors. These newborns underwent a systematized Transient Otoacoustic Emissions Examination (TOAE and Brain Stem Evoked Audiometry (BERA examination according to designed protocol and were followed up with repeated ear examinations. Data were recorded and analyzed statistically. Results: The incidence of hearing impairment in NICU, newborns were 3.6% and the prevalence of hearing impairment was 13%. Hearing impairment was statistically significant in newborns with high risk factors such as low birth weight, preterms 5 days when compared to normal newborns. Conclusion: Presence of risk factors in newborns predisposes them to hearing impairment more as compared to normal newborns and the more the number of risk factors they are exposed to, the more will be the chances of hearing impairment.

Externalization versus Internalization of Sound in Normal-hearing and Hearing-impaired Listeners

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ohl, Björn; Laugesen, Søren; Buchholz, Jörg

2010-01-01

The externalization of sound, i. e. the perception of auditory events as being located outside of the head, is a natural phenomenon for normalhearing listeners, when perceiving sound coming from a distant physical sound source. It is potentially useful for hearing in background noise......, but the relevant cues might be distorted by a hearing impairment and also by the processing of the incoming sound through hearing aids. In this project, two intuitive tests in natural real-life surroundings were developed, which capture the limits of the perception of externalization. For this purpose...

Computer-Based Auditory Training Programs for Children with Hearing Impairment - A Scoping Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Nanjundaswamy, Manohar; Prabhu, Prashanth; Rajanna, Revathi Kittur; Ningegowda, Raghavendra Gulaganji; Sharma, Madhuri

2018-01-01

Introduction  Communication breakdown, a consequence of hearing impairment (HI), is being fought by fitting amplification devices and providing auditory training since the inception of audiology. The advances in both audiology and rehabilitation programs have led to the advent of computer-based auditory training programs (CBATPs). Objective  To review the existing literature documenting the evidence-based CBATPs for children with HIs. Since there was only one such article, we also chose to review the commercially available CBATPs for children with HI. The strengths and weaknesses of the existing literature were reviewed in order to improve further researches. Data Synthesis  Google Scholar and PubMed databases were searched using various combinations of keywords. The participant, intervention, control, outcome and study design (PICOS) criteria were used for the inclusion of articles. Out of 124 article abstracts reviewed, 5 studies were shortlisted for detailed reading. One among them satisfied all the criteria, and was taken for review. The commercially available programs were chosen based on an extensive search in Google. The reviewed article was well-structured, with appropriate outcomes. The commercially available programs cover many aspects of the auditory training through a wide range of stimuli and activities. Conclusions  There is a dire need for extensive research to be performed in the field of CBATPs to establish their efficacy, also to establish them as evidence-based practices.

Prevalence of Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media (CSOM and Associated Hearing Impairment Among School-aged Children in Yemen

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Salem Muftah

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Background: Chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM is one of the leading causes of preventable disabling hearing impairment (DHI in developing countries. Early detection and management complements advances made in other survival programs, improves work capacity, and enhances learning opportunities for school children. We aimed to determine the prevalence of CSOM and associated DHI among school children aged six to 16 years in Socotra Island, Yemen. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional community-based survey, from 20 April 2011 to 20 June 2011. The study procedures involved completing a questionnaire, an otoscopic ear examination, an audiometric test of hearing, and tuning fork tests for the type of DHI. Results: A total of 686 children were interviewed and examined for CSOM and associated DHI of CSOM cases. The prevalence of CSOM was 7.4%, (95% CI 5.5–9.4. CSOM status was significantly associated with DHI (p=0.001, but no significant associations were found between demographic characteristics and CSOM status. Logistic regression identified four significant independent contributing factors: history of ear discharge in the last 12 months (odds ratio (OR 7.8, 95% CI 3.9–15.6; swimming in local pools (OR 6.0, 95% CI 1.4–25.4; recurrent respiratory tract infection more than three times per year (OR 5.3, 95% CI 2.5–11.0; and overcrowding with more than three families per house (OR 4.4, 95% CI 1.7–11.5. . Conclusion: The burden of CSOM in the children studied indicates a high level of DHI in these communities within Yemen. A history of ear discharge, swimming in local pools, recurrent respiratory infections, and overcrowded housing were the strongest predictors for CSOM. There is a need for better ear care and screening programs for early detection and management of this disease.

Association Between Portable Music Player Use and Hearing Loss Among Children of School Age in the Netherlands.

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le Clercq, Carlijn M P; Goedegebure, André; Jaddoe, Vincent W V; Raat, Hein; Baatenburg de Jong, Robert J; van der Schroeff, Marc P

2018-06-14

Portable music player use may have harmful effects on hearing. The magnitude and effect of frequent music exposure, especially at younger ages, on hearing are unclear. To examine the prevalence of noise-induced hearing loss in a 9- to 11-year-old population and associations with portable music player use and sociodemographic factors. A cross-sectional study within an ongoing, prospective, birth cohort study within Rotterdam, the Netherlands was conducted. Between ages 9 and 11 years, 5355 children underwent their first audiometric evaluation. Children were excluded if they had missing or failed tympanometry results. The study was conducted from April 16, 2012, to October 25, 2015. Portable music player (PMP) use and sociodemographic factors assessed via parental questionnaires. Hearing acuity measured by pure-tone audiometry at 0.5 to 8 kHz. Possible noise-induced hearing loss was contingent on a high-frequency notch and/or high-frequency hearing loss in the audiogram, or reported hearing-related symptoms. The final sample included 3116 participants who were a mean (interquartile range) age of 9.7 (9.6-9.9) years and equally distributed between boys (1550 [49.7%]) and girls (1566 [50.3%]). Of these, 1244 (39.9%) reported no PMP use, 577 (18.5%) reported use 1 or 2 days per week, 254 (8.2%) reported use 3 or more days per week, and for 1041 (33.4%), PMP use was not reported. Audiometric notches and high-frequency hearing loss were present in 443 (14.2%) of all children; 140 (4.5%) fulfilled the criteria of a notch, 238 (7.6%) of high-frequency hearing loss, and 65 (2.1%) of both. Of the cohort, 52 (1.7%) showed bilateral impairment. Hearing-related symptoms were reported for 232 (11.3%) of the respondents, and 831 (40.0%) of the respondents used portable music players. Portable music player use was associated with high-frequency hearing loss (odds ratio [OR], 2.88; 95% CI, 1.36-6.980 for 1 or 2 days per week and OR, 2.74; 95% CI, 1.22-6.96 for ≥3 days per week

Modeling auditory perception of individual hearing-impaired listeners

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jepsen, Morten Løve; Dau, Torsten

showed that, in most cases, the reduced or absent cochlear compression, associated with outer hair-cell loss, quantitatively accounts for broadened auditory filters, while a combination of reduced compression and reduced inner hair-cell function accounts for decreased sensitivity and slower recovery from...... selectivity. Three groups of listeners were considered: (a) normal hearing listeners; (b) listeners with a mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing loss; and (c) listeners with a severe sensorineural hearing loss. A fixed set of model parameters were derived for each hearing-impaired listener. The simulations...

Age-related Hearing Impairment and the Triad of Acquired Hearing Loss

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Chao-Hui eYang

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Understanding underlying pathological mechanisms is prerequisite for a sensible design of protective therapies against hearing loss. The triad of age-related, noise-generated, and drug-induced hearing loss ¬¬displays intriguing similarities in some cellular responses of cochlear sensory cells such as a potential involvement of reactive oxygen species and apoptotic and necrotic cell death. On the other hand, detailed studies have revealed that molecular pathways are considerably complex and, importantly, it has become clear that pharmacological protection successful against one form of hearing loss will not necessarily protect against another. This review will summarize pathological and pathophysiological features of age-related hearing impairment (ARHI in human and animal models and address selected aspects of the commonality (or lack thereof of cellular responses in ARHI to drugs and noise.

Severe hearing impairment among military veterans--United States, 2010.

Science.gov (United States)

2011-07-22

A substantial proportion of hearing loss in the United States is attributable to employment-related exposure to noise. Among military veterans, the most common service-connected disabilities are hearing impairments, suggesting that occupational noise exposure during military service might cause more veterans to have hearing loss than nonveterans. However, a recent analysis of data from the 1993-1995 Epidemiology of Hearing Loss Study did not find significant differences between the two groups. To further investigate hearing loss among veterans, specifically the prevalence of severe hearing impairment (SHI), data from the 2010 Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) to the Current Population Survey (CPS) were analyzed. This report describes the results of those analyses, which indicated that the prevalence of SHI among veterans was significantly greater than among nonveterans. Veterans were 30% more likely to have SHI than nonveterans after adjusting for age and current occupation, and veterans who served in the United States or overseas during September 2001-March 2010, the era of overseas contingency operations (including Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom), were four times more likely than nonveterans to have SHI. These findings suggest a need for increased emphasis on improving military hearing conservation programs (HCPs) and on hearing loss surveillance in military and veterans' health systems.

Sentence Writing and Perception of Written Sentences in Hearing-Impaired and Normal-Hearing Primary School Students in Hamadan, Western Iran

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Afsaneh Yaghobi

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Background and Aim: Learning language is acquired in early childhood and gradually developed by new words and new structures. Hearing sense is the most important acquisition for learning this skill. Hearing disorders are barriers for natural language learning. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between writing sentences and perception of written sentences in hearing-impaired and normal-hearing students.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among thirty hearing-impaired students with hearing loss of 70-90 dB and thirty normal hearing students. They were selected from 3rd grade primary school students in Hamadan, a large city in Western Iran. The language skills and non language information was assessed by questionnaire, Action Picture Test, and Sentence Perception Test.Results: Results showed that there was a significant relation between writing sentences and perception of written sentences in hearing impaired students (p<0.001, (r=0.8. This significant relation was seen in normal-hearing students as well (p<0.001, (r=0.7.Conclusion: Disability of hearing-impaired students in verbal communication is not only related to articulation and voice disorders but also is related to their disability to explore and use of language rules. They suffer lack of perception of written sentences, and they are not skilled to convey their feelings and thoughts in order to presenting themselves by using language structures.

Hearing Status in Pediatric Renal Transplant Recipients.

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Gulleroglu, Kaan; Baskin, Esra; Aydin, Erdinc; Ozluoglu, Levent; Moray, Gokhan; Haberal, Mehmet

2015-08-01

Renal transplant provides a long-term survival. Hearing impairment is a major factor in subjective health status. Status of hearing and the cause of hearing impairment in the pediatric renal transplant group have not been evaluated. Here, we studied to evaluate hearing status in pediatric renal transplant patients and to determine the factors that cause hearing impairment. Twenty-seven pediatric renal transplant recipients were investigated. All patients underwent audiologic assessment by means of pure-tone audiometry. The factors on hearing impairment were performed. Sensorineural hearing impairment was found in 17 patients. There was marked hearing impairment for the higher frequencies between 4000 and 8000 Hz. Sudden hearing loss developed in 2 patients, 1 of them had tinnitus. Decrease of speech understanding was found in 8 patients. The cyclosporine level was significantly high in patients with hearing impairment compared with group without hearing impairment. Cyclosporine levels also were found to be statistically significantly high when compared with the group with decrease of speech understanding and the group without decrease of speech understanding. Similar relations cannot be found between tacrolimus levels and hearing impairment and speech understanding. Sensorineural hearing impairment prevalence was high in pediatric renal transplant recipients when compared with the general population of children. Cyclosporine may be responsible for causing hearing impairment after renal transplant. We suggest that this effect is a dose-dependent toxicity.

Hearing Loss in Children With Otitis Media With Effusion: Actual and Simulated Effects on Speech Perception.

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Cai, Ting; McPherson, Bradley; Li, Caiwei; Yang, Feng

2017-11-14

the effects of OME-related hearing loss on speech perception impairment in quiet environments. In noisy environments, the simulation method could only approximately estimate the effects of OME-related hearing loss on speech perception in typical classroom noise levels. Children with OME-related hearing loss may develop compensatory strategies to reduce the effects of hearing loss in adverse listening environments.

Hearing Impairment Caused by Occupational Noise | Mets | South ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Occupational noise-induced hearing impairment is an insidiously developing injury which only becomes apparent when it affects the hearing of conversational speech. As no remedy is possible, prevention is the only answer. In view of the impending legislation in South Africa a review of the literature is presented. This is ...

Anger Expression Styles of Hearing Impaired Individuals Doing Sport and Those Not Doing Sport

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Altin, Mehmet

2015-01-01

The aim of this research was to determine the anger expression styles between the sportive hearing impaired individuals and the sedentary hearing impaired individuals. In the sportive hearing impaired group, there were 170 participants: 62 females and 108 males doing basketball, volleyball and football teams as licensed sportsmen in various clubs…

Psychosocial Aspects of Hearing Loss in Children.

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Sorkin, Donna L; Gates-Ulanet, Patricia; Mellon, Nancy K

2015-12-01

Pediatric hearing loss changed more in the past two decades than it had in the prior 100 years with children now identified in the first weeks of life and fit early with amplification. Dramatic improvements in hearing technology allow children the opportunity to listen, speak and read on par with typically hearing peers. National laws mandate that public and private schools, workplaces, and anywhere people go must be accessible to individuals with disabilities. In 2015, most children with hearing loss attended mainstream schools with typically hearing peers. Psychosocial skills still present challenges for some children with hearing loss. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Finite Verb Morphology in the Spontaneous Speech of Dutch-Speaking Children With Hearing Loss.

Science.gov (United States)

Hammer, Annemiek; Coene, Martine

2016-01-01

results are of importance for speech-language pathologists who are working with children with a hearing impairment indicating the need to focus on subject-verb agreement in speech-language therapy.

Hearing Impairment Affects Dementia Incidence. An Analysis Based on Longitudinal Health Claims Data in Germany

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Teipel, Stefan; Óvári, Attila; Kilimann, Ingo; Witt, Gabriele; Doblhammer, Gabriele

2016-01-01

Recent research has revealed an association between hearing impairment and dementia. The objective of this study is to determine the effect of hearing impairment on dementia incidence in a longitudinal study, and whether ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist care, care level, institutionalization, or depression mediates or moderates this pathway. The present study used a longitudinal sample of 154,783 persons aged 65 and older from claims data of the largest German health insurer; containing 14,602 incident dementia diagnoses between 2006 and 2010. Dementia and hearing impairment diagnoses were defined according to International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, codes. We used a Kaplan Meier estimator and performed Cox proportional hazard models to explore the effect of hearing impairment on dementia incidence, controlling for ENT specialist care, care level, institutionalization, and depression. Gender, age, and comorbidities were controlled for as potential confounders. Patients with bilateral (HR = 1.43, pimpairment had higher risks of dementia incidence than patients without hearing impairment. We found no significant effect for unilateral hearing impairment and other diseases of the ear. The effect of hearing impairment was only partly mediated through ENT specialist utilization. Significant interaction between hearing impairment and specialist care, care level, and institutionalization, respectively, indicated moderating effects. We discuss possible explanations for these effects. This study underlines the importance of the association between hearing impairment and dementia. Preserving hearing ability may maintain social participation and may reduce the burden associated with dementia. The particular impact of hearing aid use should be the subject of further investigations, as it offers potential intervention on the pathway to dementia. PMID:27391486

Important Factors in the Cognitive Development of Children with Hearing Impairment: Case Studies of Candidates for Cochlear Implants

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Nasralla, Heloisa Romeiro

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction The factors that affect the development of children with and without hearing disabilities are similar, provided their innate communication abilities are taken into account. Parents need to mourn the loss of the expected normally hearing child, and it is important that parents create bonds of affection with their child. Objective To conduct a postevaluation of the development and cognition of 20 candidates for cochlear implants between 1 and 13 years of age and to observe important factors in their development. Methods The following instruments were used in accordance with their individual merits: interviews with parents; the Vineland Social Maturity Scale; the Columbia Maturity Scale; free drawings; Bender and Pre-Bender testing; and pedagogical tests. Results The results are described. Conclusion Parental acceptance of a child's deafness proved to be the starting point for the child's verbal or gestural communication development, as well as for cognitive, motor, and emotional development. If the association between deafness and fine motor skills (with or without multiple disabilities undermines the development of a child's speech, it does not greatly affect communication when the child interacts with his or her peers and receives maternal stimulation. Overprotection and poor sociability make children less independent, impairs their development, and causes low self-esteem. Further observational studies are warranted to determine how cochlear implants contribute to patient recovery.

Important factors in the cognitive development of children with hearing impairment: case studies of candidates for cochlear implants.

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Nasralla, Heloisa Romeiro; Goffi Gomez, Maria Valéria Schimidt; Magalhaes, Ana Tereza; Bento, Ricardo Ferreira

2014-10-01

Introduction The factors that affect the development of children with and without hearing disabilities are similar, provided their innate communication abilities are taken into account. Parents need to mourn the loss of the expected normally hearing child, and it is important that parents create bonds of affection with their child. Objective To conduct a postevaluation of the development and cognition of 20 candidates for cochlear implants between 1 and 13 years of age and to observe important factors in their development. Methods The following instruments were used in accordance with their individual merits: interviews with parents; the Vineland Social Maturity Scale; the Columbia Maturity Scale; free drawings; Bender and Pre-Bender testing; and pedagogical tests. Results The results are described. Conclusion Parental acceptance of a child's deafness proved to be the starting point for the child's verbal or gestural communication development, as well as for cognitive, motor, and emotional development. If the association between deafness and fine motor skills (with or without multiple disabilities) undermines the development of a child's speech, it does not greatly affect communication when the child interacts with his or her peers and receives maternal stimulation. Overprotection and poor sociability make children less independent, impairs their development, and causes low self-esteem. Further observational studies are warranted to determine how cochlear implants contribute to patient recovery.

Early identification: Language skills and social functioning in deaf and hard of hearing preschool children.

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Netten, Anouk P; Rieffe, Carolien; Theunissen, Stephanie C P M; Soede, Wim; Dirks, Evelien; Korver, Anna M H; Konings, Saskia; Oudesluys-Murphy, Anne Marie; Dekker, Friedo W; Frijns, Johan H M

2015-12-01

Permanent childhood hearing impairment often results in speech and language problems that are already apparent in early childhood. Past studies show a clear link between language skills and the child's social-emotional functioning. The aim of this study was to examine the level of language and communication skills after the introduction of early identification services and their relation with social functioning and behavioral problems in deaf and hard of hearing children. Nationwide cross-sectional observation of a cohort of 85 early identified deaf and hard of hearing preschool children (aged 30-66 months). Parents reported on their child's communicative abilities (MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory III), social functioning and appearance of behavioral problems (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire). Receptive and expressive language skills were measured using the Reynell Developmental Language Scale and the Schlichting Expressive Language Test, derived from the child's medical records. Language and communicative abilities of early identified deaf and hard of hearing children are not on a par with hearing peers. Compared to normative scores from hearing children, parents of deaf and hard of hearing children reported lower social functioning and more behavioral problems. Higher communicative abilities were related to better social functioning and less behavioral problems. No relation was found between the degree of hearing loss, age at amplification, uni- or bilateral amplification, mode of communication and social functioning and behavioral problems. These results suggest that improving the communicative abilities of deaf and hard of hearing children could improve their social-emotional functioning. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dialogue enabling speech-to-text user assistive agent system for hearing-impaired person.

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Lee, Seongjae; Kang, Sunmee; Han, David K; Ko, Hanseok

2016-06-01

A novel approach for assisting bidirectional communication between people of normal hearing and hearing-impaired is presented. While the existing hearing-impaired assistive devices such as hearing aids and cochlear implants are vulnerable in extreme noise conditions or post-surgery side effects, the proposed concept is an alternative approach wherein spoken dialogue is achieved by means of employing a robust speech recognition technique which takes into consideration of noisy environmental factors without any attachment into human body. The proposed system is a portable device with an acoustic beamformer for directional noise reduction and capable of performing speech-to-text transcription function, which adopts a keyword spotting method. It is also equipped with an optimized user interface for hearing-impaired people, rendering intuitive and natural device usage with diverse domain contexts. The relevant experimental results confirm that the proposed interface design is feasible for realizing an effective and efficient intelligent agent for hearing-impaired.

Hearing-impaired child at the pediatrician office from a phoniatrician‘s point of view

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Myska, P.

2014-01-01

Early diagnosis of hearing impairment is of crucial importance in a child’s life. For this reason, a pediatrician should perform a hearing exam, along with other necessary specialised tests, immediately after he/she had identified risks of hearing impairment in the newborn‘s anamnesis or had ben warned by the parents about a possible problem. Both the diagnosis of congenital or acquired hearing impairment after birth, and the installment of hearing aids, should take place by the end of the first year in a child’s life at the latest. (author)

A comparison between parents of children with cochlear implants and parents of children with hearing aids regarding parental distress and treatment expectations.

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Spahn, Claudia; Richter, Bernhard; Burger, Thorsten; Löhle, Erwin; Wirsching, Michael

2003-09-01

The aim of the present study was to compare the parents of children with a hearing aid (HA) and children with a cochlear implant (CI) regarding their psychological distress, their expectations from treatment, their family climate, and the way they first obtained information on HA/CI. 154 parents (return quota 41%; 81 mothers and 73 fathers) of 90 children with a HA and 103 parents (return quota 59%; 57 mothers and 46 fathers) of 57 children with a CI were interviewed by means of a questionnaire. Both groups of parents felt distressed, particularly at the time of diagnosis. Their psychological well-being was gradually stabilized in the further course of rehabilitation. Due to the operation associated with it, fitting with a CI brought on a phase of heightened parental psychological distress compared with less invasive treatment with a HA. Regarding family climate, more distress was found in parents of CI children than in parents of HA children. Expectations from therapy appeared realistic in both parental groups; however, after CI fitting, the parents of the CI children showed heightened expectations by comparison with the parents of the HA children. The results of our study suggest that the parents of hearing impaired children fitted with a HA or a CI may be divided into two subgroups with divergent psychosocial parameters. For the counseling of the parents of hearing impaired children in clinical practice, it would seem important to take these specific differences into consideration.

Speech understanding and directional hearing for hearing-impaired subjects with in-the-ear and behind-the-ear hearing aids

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leeuw, A. R.; Dreschler, W. A.

1987-01-01

With respect to acoustical properties, in-the-ear (ITE) aids should give better understanding and directional hearing than behind-the-ear (BTE) aids. Also hearing-impaired subjects often prefer ITEs. A study was performed to assess objectively the improvement in speech understanding and directional

TELEGRAM: contribution in assistive technology indication for individuals with hearing impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacob, Regina Tangerino de Souza; Lopes, Natália Barreto Frederigue; Cruz, Aline Duarte da; Alves, Tacianne Kriscia Machado; Santos, Larissa Germiniani Dos; Angelo, Thais Corina Said de; Mondelli, Maria Fernanda Capoani Garcia; Moret, Adriane Lima Mortari

2017-02-23

The objective of the study was to translate and culturally adapt to Portuguese the TELEGRAM instrument and to evaluate its effectiveness in adults with hearing impairment using hearing aids. The TELEGRAM was translated into the Portuguese language, reviewed for grammatical and idiomatic equivalences (reverse translations) and linguistic and cultural adaptations. After translation, the TELEGRAM was applied to 20 individuals with hearing impairment. A descriptive analysis of the results was performed. After the grammatical and idiomatic equivalence, the replacement of one term/item was suggested, which was modified and adapted to the Brazilian context. In general, the questions of the instrument were considered easy to understand. Among the categories assessed, individuals with hearing loss had greater difficulty using the telephone and in activities such as attending church gatherings, parties, or in situations of noisy environments, distance and reverberation. The TELEGRAM translated into Brazilian Portuguese proved to be an easily applicable tool in population studies and effective to assess which are the main situations where individuals with hearing impairment have greater difficulty in communication, reinforcing the importance of hearing rehabilitation and assistive technology to minimize these difficulties.

Hearing devices for children with unilateral hearing loss: Patient- and parent-reported perspectives.

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Purcell, Patricia L; Jones-Goodrich, Rose; Wisneski, Meghan; Edwards, Todd C; Sie, Kathleen C Y

2016-11-01

Management of children with unilateral hearing loss is not standardized. The primary goal of this study was to elicit patient- and parent-reported perspectives regarding usage of hearing devices in pediatric UHL and to suggest a basic algorithmic approach to management. Our tertiary care center recruited families of youth ages 5-19 years with unilateral hearing loss from January 2014 through October 2015. Parents of all youths completed a 36-item survey, and some youth ages 11-19 years participated in hour-long interviews. We assessed patterns of hearing device usage among participants, and performed qualitative data analysis to understand factors considered by youths when deciding whether or not to use a hearing device. Survey information was collected for 50 patients. Distribution of hearing loss severity in affected ear was mild 14%, moderate 26%, severe 22%, and profound 38%. The majority of children had sensorineural hearing loss (57%), followed by mixed (32%), and then conductive (11%). 34 children (68%) had tried a hearing device; 20 continued to use the device. Retention rates were similar among children with different degrees of hearing loss: mild 66%, moderate 50%, severe 60%, profound 64%. Sixteen children tried a wireless contralateral routing of signal (CROS) device, and 15 tried a behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aid. Retention rates for CROS and BTE devices were 69% and 47%, respectively. The most common reason for cessation of use was discomfort, followed by lack of benefit. A majority of children with unilateral hearing loss who tried a hearing device continued to use it, and retention rates were similar across all degrees of hearing loss. These findings suggest that personal hearing devices should be included in management protocols. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hearing aid and cochlear implant use in children with hearing loss at three years of age: Predictors of use and predictors of changes in use

Science.gov (United States)

Marnane, Vivienne; Ching, Teresa YC

2015-01-01

Objective To examine usage patterns of hearing aids and cochlear implants in children up to three years of age, how usage changes longitudinally, and factors associated with device usage. Design Parent report and Parent’s Evaluation of Aural/oral performance of Children (PEACH) data were obtained at six and twelve months after hearing-aid fitting or cochlear implant switch-on, and again at three years of age. The effect of device use on auditory functional performance was investigated using the PEACH questionnaire. Study sample Four hundred and thirteen participants from the Longitudinal Outcomes of Children with Hearing Impairment (LOCHI) study were included for analysis. Result For users of hearing aids, higher usage at three years was associated with higher maternal education, and more severe hearing loss. For users of cochlear implants, higher usage was associated with higher maternal education and the absence of additional disabilities. Higher PEACH scores was associated with higher usage scores. After allowing for the effects of demographic characteristics, device use was not a significant predictor of functional performance. Conclusions Sixty-two percent of children achieved consistent use (>75% of waking hours) within the first year of receiving a hearing aid or a cochlear implant, and 71% by three years of age. PMID:25816866

Music Training Program: A Method Based on Language Development and Principles of Neuroscience to Optimize Speech and Language Skills in Hearing-Impaired Children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samaneh Sadat Dastgheib

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction: In recent years, music has been employed in many intervention and rehabilitation program to enhance cognitive abilities in patients. Numerous researches show that music therapy can help improving language skills in patients including hearing impaired. In this study, a new method of music training is introduced based on principles of neuroscience and capabilities of Persian language to optimize language development in deaf children after implantation.    Materials and Methods: The candidate children are classified in three groups according to their hearing age and language development. The music training program is established and centered on four principles, as follows: hearing and listening to music (with special attention to boost hearing, singing, rhythmic movements with music and playing musical instruments.   Results: Recently much research has demonstrated that even after cochlear implant operation, a child cannot acquire language to the same level of detail as a normal child. As a result of this study music could compensate this developmental delay .It is known that the greater the area of the brain that is activated, the more synaptic learning and plasticity changes occur in that specific area. According to the principles of neural plasticity, music could improve language skills by activating the same areas for language processing in the brain.   Conclusion:  In conclusion, the effects of music on the human brain seem to be very promising and therapeutic in various types of disorders and conditions, including cochlear implantation.

Elements of museum mobile augmented reality for engaging hearing impaired visitors

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Baker, Esraa Jaffar; Bakar, Juliana Aida Abu; Zulkifli, Abdul Nasir

2017-10-01

Nowadays, designers are more concern with the issue of engagement and informal learning at museum and gallery sites. This has made studies to focus more on the use of Mobile Augmented Reality (MAR) at museum and gallery sites. However, most of the MAR applications for museum visitors are largely tailored to normal hearing visitors while the hearing-impaired (HI) visitors are not supported. The hearing impaired (HI) community account for over 5% of the world's populace which is about 360 million people. Thus, this paper explores the design elements of mobile augmented reality for engaging hearing impaired visitors at the museum site. The findings of this paper argues that there are eleven major elements of engagement of MAR needed for the design of an efficient museum MAR app for hearing impaired visitors. These eleven elements include Aesthetics, Curiosity, Usability, Interaction, Motivation, Satisfaction, Self-Efficacy, Perceived Control, Enjoyment, Focused Attention and Interest. This study pointed out that for an efficient and engaged MAR app for the HI community especially HI visitors to museum sites, these eleven elements are critical. This finding will help MAR designers and developers on how to design an efficient and engaged MAR app for the HI community at large and museum HI visitors specifically.

Students with hearing impairment at a South African university: Self-identity and disclosure

Science.gov (United States)

2016-01-01

Background A growing number of students with hearing loss are being granted access to higher education in South Africa due to the adoption of inclusive educational policies. However, available statistics indicate that participation by students with hearing impairments in higher education remains low and research suggests that support provisioning for those who do gain access is inadequate. Objectives This article aims to illustrate that the assumed self-identity of students with hearing impairment influences their choice to disclose their disability. The choice not to disclose their hearing loss prevents them from accessing the necessary reasonable accommodations and this in turn may affect their eventual educational success. Method Reported here is a qualitative descriptive case study at a South African university. Purposive sampling methods were employed. Data were gathered from in-depth interviews with seven students with hearing impairment ranging from moderate to profound, using spoken language. Constructivist grounded theory was used as an approach to the process of generating and transforming the data, as well as the construction of theory. Findings All the student participants identified as having a hearing rather than a D/deaf identity cultural paradigm and viewed themselves as ‘normal’. Linked to this was their unwillingness to disclose their hearing impairment and thus access support. Conclusion It is crucially important for academic, support and administrative staff to be aware of both the assumed ‘hearing’ identity and therefore subsequent non-disclosure practices of students with a hearing impairment using the oral method of communication. Universities need to put measures in place to encourage students to voluntarily disclose their hearing impairment in order to provide more targeted teaching and learning support. This could lead to improved educational outcomes for students. PMID:28730053

Effects of self-reported hearing or vision impairment on depressive symptoms: a population-based longitudinal study.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, J H; Lee, H J; Jung, J; Park, E-C

2018-02-08

The aims of this study were to investigate the effects of either hearing, vision or dual sensory impairment on depressive symptoms and to identify subgroups that are vulnerable and significantly affected. Data from the 2006-2014 Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA) were used and a total of 5832 individuals were included in this study. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D10) scale. Sensory impairment was assessed according to the levels of self-reported hearing or vision, which were categorised as either good (excellent, very good or good) or poor (fair or poor). The changes in hearing or vision from records of previous survey were investigated. Changes from good to poor, which indicates new onset, were defined as hearing impairment or vision impairment. Interactions of changes in hearing and vision were considered in the analysis. Dual sensory impairment was indicated when hearing impairment and vision impairment both developed at the same time. Demographic, socioeconomic and health-related factors were considered as potential confounders and were adjusted for in the generalised estimating equation model. Individuals with hearing impairment demonstrated significantly more severe depressive symptoms [β = 0.434, standard errors (s.e.) = 0.097, p impairment also showed significantly elevated depressive symptoms (β = 0.253, s.e. = 0.058, p impairment showed significantly more severe depressive symptoms (β = 0.768, s.e. = 0.197, p impairment on depressive symptoms was significant in both sexes and across age groups, except for vision impairment in male participants. Hearing, vision and dual sensory impairment are significantly associated with depressive symptoms. Our results suggest that treatment or rehabilitation of either hearing or vision impairment would help prevent depression.

A Review of Self-Esteem of the Hearing Impaired Football Players

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Açak, Mahmut; Kaya, Oktay

2016-01-01

The current study aimed at reviewing the level of self-esteem of the hearing impaired football players. The sample of the study was composed of 95 football players who played in the 1st hearing impaired football league. To gather the study-data; a Personal Information Form and Self-esteem Scale were used. The data obtained were analyzed through…

The effect of hearing aid noise reduction on listening effort in hearing-impaired adults.

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Desjardins, Jamie L; Doherty, Karen A

2014-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effect of a noise-reduction (NR) algorithm on the listening effort hearing-impaired participants expend on a speech in noise task. Twelve hearing-impaired listeners fitted with behind-the-ear hearing aids with a fast-acting modulation-based NR algorithm participated in this study. A dual-task paradigm was used to measure listening effort with and without the NR enabled in the hearing aid. The primary task was a sentence-in-noise task presented at fixed overall speech performance levels of 76% (moderate listening condition) and 50% (difficult listening condition) correct performance, and the secondary task was a visual-tracking test. Participants also completed measures of working memory (Reading Span test), and processing speed (Digit Symbol Substitution Test) ability. Participants' speech recognition in noise scores did not significantly change with the NR algorithm activated in the hearing aid in either listening condition. The NR algorithm significantly decreased listening effort, but only in the more difficult listening condition. Last, there was a tendency for participants with faster processing speeds to expend less listening effort with the NR algorithm when listening to speech in background noise in the difficult listening condition. The NR algorithm reduced the listening effort adults with hearing loss must expend to understand speech in noise.

Ipsilateral distortion product otoacoustic emission (2 f1-f2) suppression in children with sensorineural hearing loss

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Abdala, Carolina; Fitzgerald, Tracy S.

2003-08-01

Distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) ipsilateral suppression has been applied to study cochlear function and maturation in laboratory animals and humans. Although DPOAE suppression appears to be sensitive to regions of specialized cochlear function and to cochlear immaturity, it is not known whether it reflects permanent cochlear damage, i.e., sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), in a reliable and systematic manner in humans. Eight school-aged children with mild-moderate SNHL and 20 normal-hearing children served as subjects in this study. DPOAE (2 f1-f2) suppression data were collected at four f2 frequencies (1500, 3000, 4000, and 6000 Hz) using moderate-level primary tones. Features of the DPOAE iso-suppression tuning curves and suppression growth were analyzed for both subject groups. Results show that DPOAE suppression tuning curves from hearing-impaired subjects can be reliably recorded. DPOAE suppression tuning curves were generally normal in appearance and shape for six out of eight hearing-impaired subjects but showed subtle abnormalities in at least one feature. There was not one single trend or pattern of abnormality that characterized all hearing-impaired subjects. The most prominent patterns of abnormality included: broadened tuning, elevated tip, and downward shift of tip frequency. The unique patterns of atypical DPOAE suppression in subjects with similar audiograms may suggest different patterns of underlying sensory cell damage. This speculation warrants further investigation.

Causes of permanent childhood hearing impairment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Korver, Anna M. H.; Admiraal, Ronald J. C.; Kant, Sarina G.; Dekker, Friedo W.; Wever, Capi C.; Kunst, Henricus P. M.; Frijns, Johan H. M.; Oudesluys-Murphy, Anne Marie; Oudesluys-Murphy, A. M.; Korver, A. M. H.; Frijns, J. H. M.; Wever, C. C.; Konings, S.; Beers, W.; Dekker, F. W.; de Vries, J. J. C.; Vossen, A. C. T. M.; Kant, S. G.; van den Akker-van Marle, M. E.; Rieffe, C.; Ens-Dokkum, M. H.; van Straaten, H. L. M.; Uilenburg, N. N.; Elvers, B.; Loeber, G.; Meuwese-Jongejeugd, J.; Maré, M. J.; Van Zanten, G. A.; Goedegebure, A.; Coster, F.; Goverts, S. T.; Admiraal, R. J. C.; Cremers, C. W. R. J.; Kunst, H. P. M.; de Leeuw, M.; Dijkhuizen, J.; Scharloo, M.; Hoeben, D.; Rijpma, G.; Graef, W.; Linschoten, D.; Kuijper, J.; Hof, N. J.; Pans, D.; Jorritsma, F.; van Beurden, M.; ter Huurne, C. T.; Brienesse, P.; Koldewijn, G. J.; Letourneur, K. G.

2011-01-01

The causes of Permanent Childhood Hearing Impairment (PCHI) are often quoted as being hereditary in 50%, acquired in 25%, and unknown in 25% of cases. Interest in the causes of PCHI has grown recently due to increasing diagnostic possibilities. We investigated the evidence for the reported

Causes of permanent childhood hearing impairment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Korver, A.M.; Admiraal, R.J.C.; Kant, S.G.; Dekker, F.W.; Wever, C.; Kunst, H.P.M.; Frijns, J.H.; Oudesluys-Murphy, A.M.

2011-01-01

INTRODUCTION: The causes of Permanent Childhood Hearing Impairment (PCHI) are often quoted as being hereditary in 50%, acquired in 25%, and unknown in 25% of cases. Interest in the causes of PCHI has grown recently due to increasing diagnostic possibilities. We investigated the evidence for the

Computer-Based Auditory Training Programs for Children with Hearing Impairment – A Scoping Review

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Nanjundaswamy, Manohar; Prabhu, Prashanth; Rajanna, Revathi Kittur; Ningegowda, Raghavendra Gulaganji; Sharma, Madhuri

2018-01-01

Introduction  Communication breakdown, a consequence of hearing impairment (HI), is being fought by fitting amplification devices and providing auditory training since the inception of audiology. The advances in both audiology and rehabilitation programs have led to the advent of computer-based auditory training programs (CBATPs). Objective  To review the existing literature documenting the evidence-based CBATPs for children with HIs. Since there was only one such article, we also chose to review the commercially available CBATPs for children with HI. The strengths and weaknesses of the existing literature were reviewed in order to improve further researches. Data Synthesis  Google Scholar and PubMed databases were searched using various combinations of keywords. The participant, intervention, control, outcome and study design (PICOS) criteria were used for the inclusion of articles. Out of 124 article abstracts reviewed, 5 studies were shortlisted for detailed reading. One among them satisfied all the criteria, and was taken for review. The commercially available programs were chosen based on an extensive search in Google. The reviewed article was well-structured, with appropriate outcomes. The commercially available programs cover many aspects of the auditory training through a wide range of stimuli and activities. Conclusions  There is a dire need for extensive research to be performed in the field of CBATPs to establish their efficacy, also to establish them as evidence-based practices. PMID:29371904

Noise-Induced Hearing Impairment As An Occupational Risk Factor ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Noise pollution in workplaces poses serious health risks including that of cardiovascular disturbances and impairment of hearing. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of occupational noise on hearing among selected industrial workers in Benin City, Nigeria. Male and female workers (n=150) in sawmills, ...

Group Communication Training for Young People with Combined Visual and Hearing Impairments

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Khokhlova A. Yu.

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The article presents the experience of the communication training for young people with visual and hearing impairments. Boys and girls aged 16–25 with simultaneous hearing and visual impairments of varying severity took part in the group trainings. The variety of means of communication used by them described, conditions of effective training work outlined. The results showed that young people with visual and hearing impairments demonstrate a fairly high level of possession of various means of communication without pronounced additional violations. Communicative needs and preferences in young people with visual and hearing impairments are age-appropriate. Communication training allows the following: to eliminate some of the objective communicative difficulties which are exists in deaf-blind people, to motivate participants to show initiative in communication, to learn new about each other. Also communicative training creates a positive experience of communication with a wider range of people. The most important result is the opportunity to talk about ones feelings in a supportive atmosphere.

The Prevalence of Hearing Disorders among the 3-6 Years Old Children of Kindergartens in Welfare Organization of Tehran Province

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Younes Lotfi

2001-06-01

Full Text Available Objective: A “hearing-impaired is defined as abnormal or reduced function in hearing resulting from auditory disorder” (Stach,1997. The goal of any preschool and school screening program should be to accurately identify those children whose hearing has impaired resulting from either conductive and / or sensory - neural pathology. Although some ear pathologies (e.g., middle ear effusion might not produce a significant hearing loss, screening for these pathologies should be a part of the screening program because they may influence the potential to learn. Materials & Methods: This research was carried out in a cross-sectional descriptive study on 577 children (278 girls and 299 boys among the 3-6 years old children of kindergartens in Welfare Organization of the Tehran Province from March to June 2001. The otoscopy examination, pure-tone screening and impedance screening was conducted after completion the parents awareness form of the hearing loss existence. Results: In this study, there were 12.58% abnormal conditions of external ear canal, 23.7% abnormal tympanic membrane, 34.3% abnormal tympanograms, 35% no acoustic reflex, 12.6% hearing loss including 9.7% bilateral and 2.9% unilateral hearing loss (12.0% conductive hearing loss, 0.64% sensory-neural hearing loss and 0.36% mixed hearing loss, higher prevalence of left ear disorders and statistically meaning difference between two ears (P<0.05 in all of studied items, except of acoustic reflex condition. Conclusion: With respect to high prevalence of need to medical care and the negative effects of middle ear disorders in learning of preschool children, and also due to the importance of early identification and intervention of hearing loss in aural rehabilitation programs, awaring and teaching the people about the effects of hearing disorders and it's prevention and identification are very important.

Evaluation of Extended-Wear Hearing Technology for Children with Hearing Loss.

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Wolfe, Jace; Schafer, Erin; Martella, Natalie; Morais, Mila; Mann, Misty

2015-01-01

Research shows that many older children and teenagers who have mild to moderately severe sensorineural hearing loss do not use their hearing instruments during all waking hours. A variety of reasons may contribute toward this problem, including concerns about cosmetics associated with hearing aid use and the inconvenience of daily maintenance associated with hearing instruments. Extended-wear hearing instruments are inserted into the wearer's ear canal by an audiologist and are essentially invisible to outside observers. The goal of this study was to evaluate the potential benefits and limitations associated with use of extended-wear hearing instruments in a group of children with hearing loss. A two-way repeated measures design was used to examine performance differences obtained with the participants' daily-wear hearing instruments versus that obtained with extended-wear hearing instruments. Sixteen children, ages 10-17 yr old, with sensorineural hearing loss ranging from mild to moderately severe. Probe microphone measures were completed to evaluate the aided output of device. Behavioral test measures included word recognition in quiet, sentence recognition in noise, aided warble-tone thresholds, and psychophysical loudness scaling. Questionnaires were also administered to evaluate subjective performance with each hearing technology. Data logging suggested that many participants were not using their daily-wear hearing instruments during all waking hours (mean use was less than 6 h/day). Real ear probe microphone measurements indicated that a closer fit to the Desired Sensation Level Version 5 prescriptive targets was achieved with the children's daily-wear instruments when compared to the extended-wear instruments. There was no statistically significant difference in monosyllabic word recognition at 50 or 60 dBA obtained with the two hearing technologies. Sentence recognition in noise obtained with use of the extended-wear devices was, however, significantly

Grammatical Deviations in the Spoken and Written Language of Hebrew-Speaking Children With Hearing Impairments.

Science.gov (United States)

Tur-Kaspa, Hana; Dromi, Esther

2001-04-01

The present study reports a detailed analysis of written and spoken language samples of Hebrew-speaking children aged 11-13 years who are deaf. It focuses on the description of various grammatical deviations in the two modalities. Participants were 13 students with hearing impairments (HI) attending special classrooms integrated into two elementary schools in Tel Aviv, Israel, and 9 students with normal hearing (NH) in regular classes in these same schools. Spoken and written language samples were collected from all participants using the same five preplanned elicitation probes. Students with HI were found to display significantly more grammatical deviations than their NH peers in both their spoken and written language samples. Most importantly, between-modality differences were noted. The participants with HI exhibited significantly more grammatical deviations in their written language samples than in their spoken samples. However, the distribution of grammatical deviations across categories was similar in the two modalities. The most common grammatical deviations in order of their frequency were failure to supply obligatory morphological markers, failure to mark grammatical agreement, and the omission of a major syntactic constituent in a sentence. Word order violations were rarely recorded in the Hebrew samples. Performance differences in the two modalities encourage clinicians and teachers to facilitate target linguistic forms in diverse communication contexts. Furthermore, the identification of linguistic targets for intervention must be based on the unique grammatical structure of the target language.

Outcomes of 3-Year-Old Children With Hearing Loss and Different Types of Additional Disabilities

Science.gov (United States)

Cupples, Linda

2014-01-01

This research investigated the speech, language, and functional auditory outcomes of 119 3-year-old children with hearing loss and additional disabilities. Outcomes were evaluated using direct assessment and caregiver report. Multiple regressions revealed that type of additional disability and level of maternal education were significant predictors of language outcomes. Poorer outcomes were achieved in a combined group of children with autism, cerebral palsy, and/or developmental delay (DD) (Group A), compared with children with vision or speech output impairments, syndromes not entailing DD, or medical disorders (Group B). Better outcomes were associated with higher levels of maternal education. The association between better language outcomes and earlier cochlear implant switch-on approached significance. Further regression analyses were conducted separately for children with different types of additional disabilities. Level of maternal education was the only significant predictor of outcomes for Group A children, whereas degree of hearing loss was the strongest predictor for children in Group B. The findings highlight the variable impact that different types of additional disabilities can have on language development in children with hearing loss. PMID:24150488

Hearing preservation cochlear implantation in children: The HEARRING Group consensus and practice guide.

Science.gov (United States)

Rajan, Gunesh; Tavora-Vieira, Dayse; Baumgartner, Wolf-Dieter; Godey, Benoit; Müller, Joachim; O'Driscoll, Martin; Skarzynski, Henryk; Skarzynski, Piotr; Usami, Shin-Ichi; Adunka, Oliver; Agrawal, Sumit; Bruce, Iain; De Bodt, Marc; Caversaccio, Marco; Pilsbury, Harold; Gavilán, Javier; Hagen, Rudolf; Hagr, Abdulrahman; Kameswaran, Mohan; Karltorp, Eva; Kompis, Martin; Kuzovkov, Vlad; Lassaletta, Luis; Yongxin, Li; Lorens, Artur; Manoj, Manikoth; Martin, Jane; Mertens, Griet; Mlynski, Robert; Parnes, Lorne; Pulibalathingal, Sasidharan; Radeloff, Andreas; Raine, Christopher H; Rajeswaran, Ranjith; Schmutzhard, Joachim; Sprinzl, Georg; Staecker, Hinrich; Stephan, Kurt; Sugarova, Serafima; Zernotti, Mario; Zorowka, Patrick; Van de Heyning, Paul

2018-01-01

To provide multidisciplinary cochlear implant teams with a current consensus statement to support hearing preservation cochlear implantation (HPCI) in children, including those children with symptomatic partial deafness (PD) where the intention is to use electric-acoustic stimulation (EAS). The main objectives are to provide guidelines on who is a candidate, how to assess these children and when to implant if Med-El Flex electrode arrays are chosen for implantation. The HEARRING group reviewed the current evidence and practice regarding the management of children to be considered for HPCI surgery emphasizing the assessment needed prior to implantation in order to demonstrate the benefits in these children over time. The consensus statement addresses following three key questions: (1) Should these children be treated? (2) How to identify these children? (3) How to manage these children? The HEARRING group concludes that irrespective of the degree of residual hearing present, the concepts of hearing and structure preservation should be applied in every child undergoing cochlear implantation and that HPCI is a safe and reliable treatment option. Early detection and multidisciplinary assessment are key to the identification of children with symptomatic PD, these children should undergo HPCI as early as possible.

The communicative performance of a severely hearing-impaired adolescent

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Ann Russel

1981-11-01

Full Text Available This study describes the communicative performance of a severely hearing-impaired adolescent.The experimenter taught the subject how to play Russian Backgammon. The subject conversed with, and afterwards taught his mother, speech therapist, and a peer how to play the game. Each dyad played the game once. Videotape recordings were made of each dyadic situation. The channels of communication, both verbal and nonverbal, used by each speaker, were determined. A relational communication coding scheme, involving the analysis of requests and subsequent responses, was applied to the data. Results indicate that the hearing-impaired adolescent, though not always able to hold a dominant position in a dyadic situation, was capable of expressing the same types of control as normal adults. Moreover, the types of control expressed varied as a function of each contextual setting. Whenever the subject did hold a dominant position, the combined verbal plus nonverbal channel was his predominant mode of  communication. These findings  suggest that a sociolinguistic approach provides important information regarding a hearing-impaired adolescent's communicative performance.

Hearing impairment in genotyped Wolfram syndrome patients.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Plantinga, R.F.; Pennings, R.J.E.; Huygen, P.L.M.; Bruno, R.; Eller, P.; Barrett, T.G.; Vialettes, B.; Paquis-Fluklinger, V.; Lombardo, F.; Cremers, C.W.R.J.

2008-01-01

OBJECTIVES: Wolfram syndrome is a progressive neurodegenerative syndrome characterized by the features "DIDMOAD" (diabetes insipidus, diabetes mellitus, optic atrophy, and deafness). We sought to study the audiometric data of genotyped Wolfram syndrome patients with sensorineural hearing impairment.

DECIBEL study: Congenital cytomegalovirus infection in young children with permanent bilateral hearing impairment in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Korver, A. M. H.; de Vries, J. J. C.; Konings, S.; de Jong, J. W.; Dekker, F. W.; Vossen, A. C. T. M.; Frijns, J. H. M.; Oudesluys-Murphy, A. M.; Wever, C. C.; Beers, M.; Soede, W.; Kant, S. G.; van den Akker-van Marle, M. E.; Rieffe, C.; Ens-Dokkum, M. H.; van Straaten, H. L. M.; Meuwese-Jongejeugd, J.; Elvers, B.; Loeber, G.; Maré, M. J.; Van Zanten, G. A.; Goedegebure, A.; Coster, F.; de Leeuw, M.; Dijkhuizen, J.; Scharloo, M.; Hoeben, D.; Rijpma, G.; Graef, W.; Linschoten, D.; Kuijper, J.; Hof, N. J.; Pans, D.; Jorritsma, F.; van Beurden, M.; ter Huurne, C. T.; Brienesse, P.; Koldewijn, G. J.; Letourneur, K. G.; Seekles, L.; Thijssen, A.; Lievense, A.; van Egdom-van der Wind, M.; Theunissen, S. C. P. M.; Mooij, S.

2009-01-01

A significant number of asymptomatic newborns infected with congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) will present with permanent childhood hearing impairment (PCHI) during early childhood. To investigate the role of congenital CMV infection in causing PCHI in the Netherlands, and assess the efficacy of two

Stress coping strategies in hearing-impaired students

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Bahman Akbari

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Background and Aim: The majority of people experience problems and stressors, such as job layoffs and illnesses during their lives. However, the way people cope with stress varies. According to previous research, use of effective coping strategies can significantly reduce stress and tension. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of stress coping strategies on hearing-impaired students.Methods: This is a quasi-experimental study with pre-test, post-test, and control group. The sample consisted of 40 hearing-impaired male students of guidance and high schools of the city of Sari, Iran, in the years 2010 and 2011. They were randomly selected and assigned to two experimental and control groups (n=20. The data collection tool was the General Health Questionnaire-28. The experimental group was administered eight sessions of stress coping strategies based on cognitive-behavioral techniques two hours weekly. Data were analyzed using statistical indices including mean, standard deviation, and two-way analysis of variance.Results: There was a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scores in the subscales of somatic symptoms, anxiety and insomnia, depression, and social function (p<0.05. Moreover, after the eight sessions the rate of general health of the experimental group was higher than the control group.Conclusion: Stress coping strategies based on cognitive-behavioral techniques increased the general health of hearing-impaired people. Therefore, stress management training should be developed and expanded as an appropriate intervention.

Comparison of Reading Comprehension Skill of Students with Severe to Profound Hearing Impairment from Second up to Fifth Grade of Exceptional Schools with Normal Hearing Students

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Maryam Jalalipour

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Background: Reading is known as one of the most important learning tools. Research results consistently have shown that even a mild hearing impairment could affect the reading skills. Due to the reported differences in reading comprehension skills between hearing impaired students and their normal hearing peers, this research was conducted to compare the differences between the two groups. The other aim was to find any changes in the reading ability of hearing impaired group during elementary school. Methods: This study is a cross-sectional (descriptive–analytic one in which reading comprehension ability of 91 students with severe and profound hearing impairment (33 girls and 58 boys from 2nd up to 5th grade of exceptional schools were compared with 50 2nd grade normal hearing students in Ahvaz, Iran. The first section of Diagnostic Reading Test (Shirazi – Nilipour, 2004 was used in this study. Then the mean reading scores of hearing impaired students in each grade was compared with control group using SPSS 13 with Mann Whitney test. Results: There was a significant difference between average scores of hearing impaired students (boys and girls in 2nd to 5th grade with normal hearing students of 2nd grade (P<0.001. Reading comprehension scores of students with hearing impairment in higher grades had improved slightly, but it was still lower than that of the normal hearing students in the 2nd grade. Conclusion: It appears that reading comprehension skill of students with significant hearing impairment near the end of elementary school years becomes weaker than normal hearing students in the second grade. Therefore, it is essential to find and resolve the underlying reasons of this condition by all professionals who work in the field of education and rehabilitation of these students.

Hearing Evaluation in Children (For Parents)

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Association between diabetes mellitus and hearing impairment in American and Korean populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Moon, Shinje; Park, Jung Hwan; Yu, Jae Myung; Choi, Moon-Ki; Yoo, Hyung Joon

2018-04-20

The aim of this study was to evaluate ethnic- and sex-specific associations between DM and hearing impairment. For this cross-sectional study using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in the U.S. and Korea, the total number of eligible participants included was 7081 in the U.S. and 15,704 in Korea. Hearing impairment was defined as a pure tone threshold level ≥ 25 dB. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted, adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, body mass index, noise exposure, smoking, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. The association between DM and hearing impairment was found to be sex-specific. The multivariate adjusted ORs of high-frequency impairment were 0.843 (95% CI, 0.524-1.356) in American men, and 1.073 (95% CI, 0.835-1.379) in Korean men, while the ORs in women from U.S. and Korea were 1.911 (95% CI, 1.244-2.935) and 1.421 (95% CI, 1.103-1.830), respectively. A subgroup analysis of each race/ethnicity among the U.S. adults showed similar results. In contrast to high-frequency impairment, there was no significant association between low-frequency impairment and DM in both men and women. Our results suggest that DM is associated with hearing impairment in only women, irrespective of race/ethnicity groups. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Processing Mechanisms in Hearing-Impaired Listeners: Evidence from Reaction Times and Sentence Interpretation.

Science.gov (United States)

Carroll, Rebecca; Uslar, Verena; Brand, Thomas; Ruigendijk, Esther

The authors aimed to determine whether hearing impairment affects sentence comprehension beyond phoneme or word recognition (i.e., on the sentence level), and to distinguish grammatically induced processing difficulties in structurally complex sentences from perceptual difficulties associated with listening to degraded speech. Effects of hearing impairment or speech in noise were expected to reflect hearer-specific speech recognition difficulties. Any additional processing time caused by the sustained perceptual challenges across the sentence may either be independent of or interact with top-down processing mechanisms associated with grammatical sentence structure. Forty-nine participants listened to canonical subject-initial or noncanonical object-initial sentences that were presented either in quiet or in noise. Twenty-four participants had mild-to-moderate hearing impairment and received hearing-loss-specific amplification. Twenty-five participants were age-matched peers with normal hearing status. Reaction times were measured on-line at syntactically critical processing points as well as two control points to capture differences in processing mechanisms. An off-line comprehension task served as an additional indicator of sentence (mis)interpretation, and enforced syntactic processing. The authors found general effects of hearing impairment and speech in noise that negatively affected perceptual processing, and an effect of word order, where complex grammar locally caused processing difficulties for the noncanonical sentence structure. Listeners with hearing impairment were hardly affected by noise at the beginning of the sentence, but were affected markedly toward the end of the sentence, indicating a sustained perceptual effect of speech recognition. Comprehension of sentences with noncanonical word order was negatively affected by degraded signals even after sentence presentation. Hearing impairment adds perceptual processing load during sentence processing

Analysis of Undergraduate Training Given to Students with Hearing Impairment in their Acquisition of Professional Competences

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Mariona DALMAU MONTALÀ

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to understand how university graduates with a hearing impairment in Spain perceived their studies. The method used was quantitativequalitative and descriptive. The participating sample consisted of 84 Spanish university graduates with a hearing impairment. The results allow us to confirm that: university graduates with a hearing impairment, in general, are not provided with appropriate/ sufficient support at university to develop their professional competence; these graduates believe that employers consider good command of professional competences to be pivotal; professionalizing practices during university studies are an opportunity for the employment of graduates with hear impairment; finally, it is highlighted that university lecturers lack knowledge of the needs and difficulties of students with hearing impairment.

Hearing impairment associated with oral terbinafine use

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Scholl, Joep; Van Grootheest, Kees; Van Puijenbroek, Eugene

Background: The Netherlands Pharmacovigilance Centre Lareb received six reports of hearing impairment in association with oral terbinafine use. This study describes these cases and provides support for this association from the Lareb database of spontaneous ADR reporting and from Vigibase, the

Could Neonatal Hypernatremia Dehydration Influence Hearing Status?

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Hassan Boskabadi

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Neonatal hypernatremia dehydration (NHD is a dangerous condition in neonates, which is accompanied by acute complications (renal failure, cerebral edema, and cerebral hemorrhage and chronic complications (developmental delay. Children begin learning language from birth, and hearing impairment interferes with this process. We assessed the hearing status of infants with hypernatremia dehydration.   Materials and Methods: In a case-control study in 110 infants presenting at the Ghaem Hospital (Mashhad, Iran between 2007 and 2011, we examined the incidence of hearing impairment in infants suffering from hypernatremia dehydration (serum sodium >150 mEq/L in comparison with infants with normal sodium level (serum sodium ≤150 mEq/L.   Results: Three of 110 cases examined in the study group showed a transient hearing impairment. A mean serum sodium level of 173mg/dl was reported among hearing-impaired infants.   Conclusion:  Transient hearing impairment was higher in infants with hypernatremia; although this difference was not significant (P>0.05. Hearing impairment was observed in cases of severe hypernatremia.  

Association between dipstick proteinuria and hearing impairment in health check-ups among Japanese workers: a cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Umesawa, Mitsumasa; Hara, Mikako; Sairenchi, Toshimi; Haruyama, Yasuo; Nagao, Masanori; Matsushita, Munehiro; Kobashi, Gen

2018-05-14

Prevention of hearing impairment is important because it is difficult to recover from it. Epidemiological studies have examined the risk factors for hearing impairment; however, the association between dipstick proteinuria and hearing impairment has not been previously examined. This study aimed to clarify the association between dipstick proteinuria and hearing impairment. Cross-sectional study. Office and factory workers from all over Japan. The total number of subjects was 7005. All were employees of the same company. Of these, we recruited 6192 subjects who underwent dipstick urine test and hearing test by audiometry in annual health check-ups (mean age 44.9 years, men 88.3%). Hearing tests were performed at two frequencies (1 kHz, 4 kHz) as prescribed by law in Japan. We defined the inability of subjects to respond to 30 dB at 1 kHz and/or 40 dB at 4 kHz as overall moderate hearing impairment. In addition, we defined moderate hearing impairment at 1 kHz (4 kHz) as an abnormal finding at 1 kHz (4 kHz). We examined the associations between degree of dipstick proteinuria and hearing impairment after adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, serum creatinine level and history of noisy work environment. Overall moderate hearing impairment was noted in 324 subjects (5.2%). Of these, 107 subjects (1.7%) had moderate hearing impairment at 1 kHz and 278 subjects (4.5%) at 4 kHz. Dipstick proteinuria was significantly associated with overall moderate hearing impairment, as well as moderate hearing impairment at both 1 kHz and 4 kHz. The prevalence of overall moderate hearing impairment among subjects with proteinuria ≥2+ was 23.5%, while that among subjects without proteinuria was 5.2% (pimpairment in Japanese workers. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Using Modality Replacement to Facilitate Communication between Visually and Hearing-Impaired People

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Moustakas, K.; Tzovaras, D.; Dybkjaer, L.

2011-01-01

Using sign language, speech, and haptics as communication modalities, a virtual treasure-hunting game serves as an entertainment and educational tool for visually-and hearing-impaired users.......Using sign language, speech, and haptics as communication modalities, a virtual treasure-hunting game serves as an entertainment and educational tool for visually-and hearing-impaired users....

Investigation of Psychophysiological and Subjective Effects of Long Working Hours - Do Age and Hearing Impairment Matter?

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Wagner-Hartl, Verena; Kallus, K Wolfgang

2017-01-01

Following current prognosis, demographic development raises expectations of an aging of the working population. Therefore, keeping employees healthy and strengthening their ability to work, becomes more and more important. When employees become older, dealing with age-related impairments of sensory functions, such as hearing impairment, is a central issue. Recent evidence suggests that negative effects that are associated with reduced hearing can have a strong impact at work. Especially under exhausting working situations such as working overtime hours, age and hearing impairment might influence employees' well-being. Until now, neither the problem of aged workers and long working hours, nor the problem of hearing impairment and prolonged working time has been addressed explicitly. Therefore, a laboratory study was examined to answer the research question: Do age and hearing impairment have an impact on psychophysiological and subjective effects of long working hours. In total, 51 white-collar workers, aged between 24 and 63 years, participated in the laboratory study. The results show no significant effects for age and hearing impairment on the intensity of subjective consequences (perceived recovery and fatigue, subjective emotional well-being and physical symptoms) of long working hours. However, the psychophysiological response (the saliva cortisol level) to long working hours differs significantly between hearing impaired and normal hearing employees. Interestingly, the results suggest that from a psychophysiological point of view long working hours were more demanding for normal hearing employees.

The role of the health system in the prevention of hearing loss among children in Sub-Saharan Africa

OpenAIRE

Abdalla, Fayrouz Mohammed; Omar, Mayeh Abu

2011-01-01

Around 1.2 million children living in Sub-Saharan Africa have a hearing impairment (HI) or hearing loss (HL). Limited attention and scarce resources dedicated to this condition means that such children often receive no management for their problem. This has substantial negative effects on their development, and ultimately results in poverty. Half of the number of cases of HI in such countries results from preventable causes. Formulation of effective prevention strategies to address the causes...

Can You Hear What I Think? Theory of Mind in Young Children With Moderate Hearing Loss.

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Netten, Anouk P; Rieffe, Carolien; Soede, Wim; Dirks, Evelien; Korver, Anna M H; Konings, Saskia; Briaire, Jeroen J; Oudesluys-Murphy, Anne Marie; Dekker, Friedo W; Frijns, Johan H M

The first aim of this study was to examine various aspects of Theory of Mind (ToM) development in young children with moderate hearing loss (MHL) compared with hearing peers. The second aim was to examine the relation between language abilities and ToM in both groups. The third aim was to compare the sequence of ToM development between children with MHL and hearing peers. Forty-four children between 3 and 5 years old with MHL (35 to 70 dB HL) who preferred to use spoken language were identified from a nationwide study on hearing loss in young children. These children were compared with 101 hearing peers. Children were observed during several tasks to measure intention understanding, the acknowledgement of the other's desires, and belief understanding. Parents completed two scales of the child development inventory to assess expressive language and language comprehension in all participants. Objective language test scores were available from the medical files of children with MHL. Children with MHL showed comparable levels of intention understanding but lower levels of both desire and belief understanding than hearing peers. Parents reported lower language abilities in children with MHL compared with hearing peers. Yet, the language levels of children with MHL were within the average range compared with test normative samples. A stronger relation between language and ToM was found in the hearing children than in children with MHL. The expected developmental sequence of ToM skills was divergent in approximately one-fourth of children with MHL, when compared with hearing children. Children with MHL have more difficulty in their ToM reasoning than hearing peers, despite the fact that their language abilities lie within the average range compared with test normative samples.

Polish universal neonatal hearing screening program-4-year experience (2003-2006).

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Szyfter, Witold; Wróbel, Maciej; Radziszewska-Konopka, Marzanna; Szyfter-Harris, Joanna; Karlik, Michał

2008-12-01

The aim of this paper is to share our experience and observations in running the Universal Neonatal Hearing Screening Program on a national level, present results and indicate some problems that have arisen during these 4 years. Polish Universal Neonatal Hearing Screening Program started back in 2002 in all neonatal units in Poland. Implemented testing methods consisted of test of transient evoked otoacoustic emission (TEOAE) performed in all new born children in their first 2-3 days of life and auditory brainstem response testing (ABR) conducted on children, who did not meet the TEOAE pass criteria. Additional questionnaire registered information on ototoxic drugs and family history of hearing impairment in every newborn. Diagnosed children were further referred for treatment and rehabilitation. After 4 years of running the program (between 2003 and 2006) a total number of 1,392,427 children were screened for hearing impairment, what stands for 96.3% of all delivered babies, registered in Poland. The screening program enabled to identify and refer for further treatment 2485 children with various types of hearing loss, 312 with profound (0.02% of population) and 145 with severe sensorineural hearing loss (0.11% of population). Our results indicate the accuracy of newborn hearing screening which remain an issue. Although improvement is needed in both intervention systems and diagnostic follow-up of hospitals, the Polish Universal Neonatal Hearing Program fully has achieved the main goal, the identification and treatment of hearing impaired children.

Effects of Noise on Speech Recognition and Listening Effort in Children with Normal Hearing and Children with Mild Bilateral or Unilateral Hearing Loss

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Lewis, Dawna; Schmid, Kendra; O'Leary, Samantha; Spalding, Jody; Heinrichs-Graham, Elizabeth; High, Robin

2016-01-01

Purpose: This study examined the effects of stimulus type and hearing status on speech recognition and listening effort in children with normal hearing (NH) and children with mild bilateral hearing loss (MBHL) or unilateral hearing loss (UHL). Method Children (5-12 years of age) with NH (Experiment 1) and children (8-12 years of age) with MBHL,…

Comprehensive molecular etiology analysis of nonsyndromic hearing impairment from typical areas in China

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Kang Dongyang

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Every year, 30,000 babies are born with congenital hearing impairment in China. The molecular etiology of hearing impairment in the Chinese population has not been investigated thoroughly. To provide appropriate genetic testing and counseling to families, we performed a comprehensive investigation of the molecular etiology of nonsyndromic deafness in two typical areas from northern and southern China. Methods A total of 284 unrelated school children with hearing loss who attended special education schools in China were enrolled in this study, 134 from Chifeng City in Inner Mongolia and the remaining 150 from Nangtong City in JiangSu Province. Screening was performed for GJB2, GJB3, GJB6, SLC26A4, 12S rRNA, and tRNAser(UCN genes in this population. All patients with SLC26A4 mutations or variants were subjected to high-resolution temporal bone CT scan to verify the enlarged vestibular aqueduct. Results Mutations in the GJB2 gene accounted for 18.31% of the patients with nonsyndromic hearing loss, 1555A>G mutation in mitochondrial DNA accounted for 1.76%, and SLC26A4 mutations accounted for 13.73%. Almost 50% of the patients with nonsyndromic hearing loss in these typical Chinese areas carried GJB2 or SLC26A4 mutations. No significant differences in mutation spectrum or prevalence of GJB2 and SLC26A4 were found between the two areas. Conclusion In this Chinese population, 54.93% of cases with hearing loss were related to genetic factors. The GJB2 gene accounted for the etiology in about 18.31% of the patients with hearing loss, SLC26A4 accounted for about 13.73%, and mtDNA 1555A>G mutation accounted for 1.76%. Mutations in GJB3, GJB6, and mtDNA tRNAser(UCN were not common in this Chinese cohort. Conventionally, screening is performed for GJB2, SLC26A4, and mitochondrial 12S rRNA in the Chinese deaf population.

Reasons for low uptake of referrals to ear and hearing services for children in Malawi.

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Tess Bright

Full Text Available Early detection and appropriate intervention for children with hearing impairment is important for maximizing functioning and quality of life. The lack of ear and hearing services in low income countries is a significant challenge, however, evidence suggests that even where such services are available, and children are referred to them, uptake is low. The aim of this study was to assess uptake of and barriers to referrals to ear and hearing services for children in Thyolo District, Malawi.This was a mixed methods study. A survey was conducted with 170 caregivers of children who were referred for ear and hearing services during community-based screening camps to assess whether they had attended their referral and reasons for non-attendance. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 caregivers of children who did not take up their referral to explore in-depth the reasons for non-uptake. In addition, 15 stakeholders were interviewed. Thematic analysis of the interview data was conducted and emerging trends were analysed.Referral uptake was very low with only 5 out of 150 (3% children attending. Seven main interacting themes for non-uptake of referral were identified in the semi-structured interviews: location of the hospital, lack of transport, other indirect costs of seeking care, fear and uncertainty about the referral hospital, procedural problems within the camps, awareness and understanding of hearing loss, and lack of visibility and availability of services.This study has highlighted a range of interacting challenges faced by families in accessing ear and hearing services in this setting. Understanding these context specific barriers to non-uptake of ear and hearing services is important for designing appropriate interventions to increase uptake.

Hearing loss in children treated for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.

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Seddon, James A; Thee, Stephanie; Jacobs, Kayleen; Ebrahim, Adam; Hesseling, Anneke C; Schaaf, H Simon

2013-04-01

The aminoglycosides and polypeptides are vital drugs for the management of multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (TB). Both classes of drug cause hearing loss. We aimed to determine the extent of hearing loss in children treated for MDR-TB. In this retrospective study, children (Hearing was assessed and classified using audiometry and otoacoustic emissions. Ninety-four children were included (median age: 43 months). Of 93 tested, 28 (30%) were HIV-infected. Twenty-three (24%) children had hearing loss. Culture-confirmed, as opposed to presumed, diagnosis of TB was a risk factor for hearing loss (OR: 4.12; 95% CI: 1.13-15.0; p = 0.02). Seven of 11 (64%) children classified as having hearing loss using audiometry had progression of hearing loss after finishing the injectable drug. Hearing loss is common in children treated for MDR-TB. Alternative drugs are required for the treatment of paediatric MDR-TB. Copyright © 2012 The British Infection Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Speech perception benefits of internet versus conventional telephony for hearing-impaired individuals.

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Mantokoudis, Georgios; Dubach, Patrick; Pfiffner, Flurin; Kompis, Martin; Caversaccio, Marco; Senn, Pascal

2012-07-16

Telephone communication is a challenge for many hearing-impaired individuals. One important technical reason for this difficulty is the restricted frequency range (0.3-3.4 kHz) of conventional landline telephones. Internet telephony (voice over Internet protocol [VoIP]) is transmitted with a larger frequency range (0.1-8 kHz) and therefore includes more frequencies relevant to speech perception. According to a recently published, laboratory-based study, the theoretical advantage of ideal VoIP conditions over conventional telephone quality has translated into improved speech perception by hearing-impaired individuals. However, the speech perception benefits of nonideal VoIP network conditions, which may occur in daily life, have not been explored. VoIP use cannot be recommended to hearing-impaired individuals before its potential under more realistic conditions has been examined. To compare realistic VoIP network conditions, under which digital data packets may be lost, with ideal conventional telephone quality with respect to their impact on speech perception by hearing-impaired individuals. We assessed speech perception using standardized test material presented under simulated VoIP conditions with increasing digital data packet loss (from 0% to 20%) and compared with simulated ideal conventional telephone quality. We monaurally tested 10 adult users of cochlear implants, 10 adult users of hearing aids, and 10 normal-hearing adults in the free sound field, both in quiet and with background noise. Across all participant groups, mean speech perception scores using VoIP with 0%, 5%, and 10% packet loss were 15.2% (range 0%-53%), 10.6% (4%-46%), and 8.8% (7%-33%) higher, respectively, than with ideal conventional telephone quality. Speech perception did not differ between VoIP with 20% packet loss and conventional telephone quality. The maximum benefits were observed under ideal VoIP conditions without packet loss and were 36% (P = .001) for cochlear implant users, 18

Etiology of hearing loss in children.

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José Ignacio BENITO-OREJAS

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction and objective: The neonatal hearing loss is one of the most common disabilities, with lifelong implications for the child and his family. The implementation of the universal newborn hearing screening and the development in molecular medicine, genetic and integrative neuroscience has perfected the early diagnosis of the hearing loss children and consequently its intervention. With this work, we want to clarify the audiological aspects and causes of the permanent hearing loss diagnosed during the past 20 years. Method: We reviewed retrospectively the records of the children diagnosed with less than 3 years of age of permanent hearing loss, during the period 1994-2015, in a tertiary center. Evaluate the time of home, laterality, type and degree of hearing loss. Depending on the background, genetic testing and other complementary explorations, we present the results of our diagnostic study. Results: In the study-population (n = 183, 71% of the permanent hearing loss > 30 dB HL was diagnosed at birth (congenital. Its main features are the bilaterality (81%, the predominance sensorineural (85% and the grade profound (42% or moderate (30%, more prevalent in the unilateral forms. About the etiologic diagnosis, a 47% of the cases are of origin genetic (29% of which are syndromic, a 25% of cause environmental and a 28% unknown. Discussion: Our results are consistent for the generally accepted distribution of causes, but there are discrepancies in the literature. Despite the different tests used, we had to infer the etiology in 62% of children with hearing loss, finally unknown by 28%. Conclusions: We consider fundamental the monitoring for a consensus standardized etiological protocol that orient in the diagnostic process of hearing loss in children.

Audiometric Characteristics of a Dutch DFNA10 Family With Mid-Frequency Hearing Impairment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beelen, E. van; Oonk, A.M.M.; Leijendeckers, J.M.; Hoefsloot, E.H.; Pennings, R.J.E.; Feenstra, I.; Dieker, H.J.; Huygen, P.L.M.; Snik, A.F.M.; Kremer, H.; Kunst, H.P.M.

2016-01-01

OBJECTIVES: Mutations in EYA4 can cause nonsyndromic autosomal dominant sensorineural hearing impairment (DFNA10) or a syndromic variant with hearing impairment and dilated cardiomyopathy. A mutation in EYA4 was found in a Dutch family, causing DFNA10. This study is focused on characterizing the

Noonan Syndrome: An Underestimated Cause of Severe to Profound Sensorineural Hearing Impairment. Which Clues to Suspect the Diagnosis?

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Ziegler, Alban; Loundon, Natalie; Jonard, Laurence; Cavé, Hélène; Baujat, Geneviève; Gherbi, Souad; Couloigner, Vincent; Marlin, Sandrine

2017-09-01

To highlight Noonan syndrome as a clinically recognizable cause of severe to profound sensorineural hearing impairment. New clinical cases and review. Patients evaluated for etiological diagnosis by a medical geneticist in a reference center for hearing impairment. Five patients presenting with confirmed Noonan syndrome and profound sensorineural hearing impairment. Diagnostic and review of the literature. Five patients presented with profound sensorineural hearing impairment and molecularly confirmed Noonan syndrome. Sensorineural hearing impairment has been progressive for three patients. Cardiac echography identified pulmonary stenosis in two patients and was normal for the three other patients. Short stature was found in two patients. Mild intellectual disability was found in one patient. Inconspicuous clinical features as facial dysmorphism, cryptorchidism, or easy bruising were of peculiar interest to reach the diagnosis of Noonan syndrome. Profound sensorineural hearing impairment can be the main feature of Noonan syndrome. Associated features are highly variable; thus, detailed medical history and careful physical examination are mandatory to consider the diagnosis in case of a sensorineural hearing impairment.

Effect of Cigarette Smoking and Passive Smoking on Hearing Impairment: Data from a Population–Based Study

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Chang, Jiwon; Ryou, Namhyung; Jun, Hyung Jin; Hwang, Soon Young; Song, Jae-Jun; Chae, Sung Won

2016-01-01

Objectives In the present study, we aimed to determine the effect of both active and passive smoking on the prevalence of the hearing impairment and the hearing thresholds in different age groups through the analysis of data collected from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Study Design Cross-sectional epidemiological study. Methods The KNHANES is an ongoing population study that started in 1998. We included a total of 12,935 participants aged ≥19 years in the KNHANES, from 2010 to 2012, in the present study. Pure-tone audiometric (PTA) testing was conducted and the frequencies tested were 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 kHz. Smoking status was categorized into three groups; current smoking group, passive smoking group and non-smoking group. Results In the current smoking group, the prevalence of speech-frequency bilateral hearing impairment was increased in ages of 40−69, and the rate of high frequency bilateral hearing impairment was elevated in ages of 30−79. When we investigated the impact of smoking on hearing thresholds, we found that the current smoking group had significantly increased hearing thresholds compared to the passive smoking group and non-smoking groups, across all ages in both speech-relevant and high frequencies. The passive smoking group did not have an elevated prevalence of either speech-frequency bilateral hearing impairment or high frequency bilateral hearing impairment, except in ages of 40s. However, the passive smoking group had higher hearing thresholds than the non-smoking group in the 30s and 40s age groups. Conclusion Current smoking was associated with hearing impairment in both speech-relevant frequency and high frequency across all ages. However, except in the ages of 40s, passive smoking was not related to hearing impairment in either speech-relevant or high frequencies. PMID:26756932

Cigarette smoking causes hearing impairment among Bangladeshi population.

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Ahmed Faisal Sumit

Full Text Available Lifestyle including smoking, noise exposure with MP3 player and drinking alcohol are considered as risk factors for affecting hearing synergistically. However, little is known about the association of cigarette smoking with hearing impairment among subjects who carry a lifestyle without using MP3 player and drinking alcohol. We showed here the influence of smoking on hearing among Bangladeshi subjects who maintain a lifestyle devoid of using MP3 player and drinking alcohol. A total of 184 subjects (smokers: 90; non-smokers: 94 were included considering their duration and frequency of smoking for conducting this study. The mean hearing thresholds of non-smoker subjects at 1, 4, 8 and 12 kHz frequencies were 5.63 ± 2.10, 8.56±5.75, 21.06 ± 11.06, 40.79 ± 20.36 decibel (dB, respectively and that of the smokers were 7 ± 3.8, 13.27 ± 8.4, 30.66 ± 12.50 and 56.88 ± 21.58 dB, respectively. The hearing thresholds of the smokers at 4, 8 and 12 kHz frequencies were significantly (p5 years showed higher level of auditory threshold (62.16 ± 19.87 dB at 12 kHz frequency compared with that (41.52 ± 19.21 dB of the subjects smoked for 1-5 years and the difference in auditory thresholds was statistically significant (p<0.0002. In this study, the Brinkman Index (BI of smokers was from 6 to 440 and the adjusted odds ratio showed a positive correlation between hearing loss and smoking when adjusted for age and body mass index (BMI. In addition, age, but not BMI, also played positive role on hearing impairment at all frequencies. Thus, these findings suggested that cigarette smoking affects hearing level at all the frequencies tested but most significantly at extra higher frequencies.

A framework for communication between visually impaired, hearing impaired and speech impaired using arduino

Science.gov (United States)

Sujatha, R.; Khandelwa, Prakhar; Gupta, Anusha; Anand, Nayan

2017-11-01

A long time ago our society accepted the notion of treating people with disabilities not as unviable and disabled but as differently-abled, recognizing their skills beyond their disabilities. The next step has to be taken by our scientific community, that is, to normalize lives of the people with disabilities and make it so as if they are no different to us. The primary step in this direction would be to normalize communication between people. People with an impaired speech or impaired vision or impaired hearing face difficulties while having a casual conversation with others. Any form of communication feels so strenuous that the impaired end up communicating just the important information and avoid a casual conversation. To normalize conversation between the impaired we need a simple and compact device which facilitates the conversation by providing the information in the desired form.

The benefit of gestures during communication: evidence from hearing and hearing-impaired individuals.

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Obermeier, Christian; Dolk, Thomas; Gunter, Thomas C

2012-07-01

There is no doubt that gestures are communicative and can be integrated online with speech. Little is known, however, about the nature of this process, for example, its automaticity and how our own communicative abilities and also our environment influence the integration of gesture and speech. In two Event Related Potential (ERP) experiments, the effects of gestures during speech comprehension were explored. In both experiments, participants performed a shallow task thereby avoiding explicit gesture-speech integration. In the first experiment, participants with normal hearing viewed videos in which a gesturing actress uttered sentences which were either embedded in multi-speaker babble noise or not. The sentences contained a homonym which was disambiguated by the information in a gesture, which was presented asynchronous to speech (1000 msec earlier). Downstream, the sentence contained a target word that was either related to the dominant or subordinate meaning of the homonym and was used to indicate the success of the disambiguation. Both the homonym and the target word position showed clear ERP evidence of gesture-speech integration and disambiguation only under babble noise. Thus, during noise, gestures were taken into account as an important communicative cue. In Experiment 2, the same asynchronous stimuli were presented to a group of hearing-impaired students and age-matched controls. Only the hearing-impaired individuals showed significant speech-gesture integration and successful disambiguation at the target word. The age-matched controls did not show any effect. Thus, individuals who chronically experience suboptimal communicative situations in daily life automatically take gestures into account. The data from both experiments indicate that gestures are beneficial in countering difficult communication conditions independent of whether the difficulties are due to external (babble noise) or internal (hearing impairment) factors. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier

Causes of permanent childhood hearing impairment.

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Korver, Anna M H; Admiraal, Ronald J C; Kant, Sarina G; Dekker, Friedo W; Wever, Capi C; Kunst, Henricus P M; Frijns, Johan H M; Oudesluys-Murphy, Anne Marie

2011-02-01

The causes of Permanent Childhood Hearing Impairment (PCHI) are often quoted as being hereditary in 50%, acquired in 25%, and unknown in 25% of cases. Interest in the causes of PCHI has grown recently due to increasing diagnostic possibilities. We investigated the evidence for the reported distribution of these causes. Population-based study and a systematic review. Inclusion criteria for population-based study: children born between 2003 and 2005, resident in The Netherlands at birth, known at an Audiology Center with PCHI at the age of 3-5 years. The causes of PCHI were determined prospectively by detection of congenital cytomegalovirus on dried blood spots and/or genetic diagnostic investigations in addition to reviewing data from medical records. A systematic review was carried out using three terms (hearing loss, infant, and etiology) and limited to articles published between January 1997 and July 2009. Main outcome measures were: the (weighted) proportions of the various causes of PCHI following diagnostic investigations. In the study-population (n = 185) a hereditary cause was found in 38.9%, acquired cause in 29.7%, miscellaneous cause in 7.1%, and the cause remained unknown in 24.3%. The systematic review of the literature (n = 9 articles) resulted in a weighted mean of 30.4% hereditary, 19.2% acquired, and 48.3% unknown causes of PCHI. The systematic review and the results of the population-based study provided little support for the generally accepted distribution of causes of PCHI. Copyright © 2010 The American Laryngological, Rhinological, and Otological Society, Inc.

Spoken language and everyday functioning in 5-year-old children using hearing aids or cochlear implants.

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Cupples, Linda; Ching, Teresa Yc; Button, Laura; Seeto, Mark; Zhang, Vicky; Whitfield, Jessica; Gunnourie, Miriam; Martin, Louise; Marnane, Vivienne

2017-09-12

This study investigated the factors influencing 5-year language, speech and everyday functioning of children with congenital hearing loss. Standardised tests including PLS-4, PPVT-4 and DEAP were directly administered to children. Parent reports on language (CDI) and everyday functioning (PEACH) were collected. Regression analyses were conducted to examine the influence of a range of demographic variables on outcomes. Participants were 339 children enrolled in the Longitudinal Outcomes of Children with Hearing Impairment (LOCHI) study. Children's average receptive and expressive language scores were approximately 1 SD below the mean of typically developing children, and scores on speech production and everyday functioning were more than 1 SD below. Regression models accounted for 70-23% of variance in scores across different tests. Earlier CI switch-on and higher non-verbal ability were associated with better outcomes in most domains. Earlier HA fitting and use of oral communication were associated with better outcomes on directly administered language assessments. Severity of hearing loss and maternal education influenced outcomes of children with HAs. The presence of additional disabilities affected outcomes of children with CIs. The findings provide strong evidence for the benefits of early HA fitting and early CI for improving children's outcomes.

The prevalence of Usher syndrome and other retinal dystrophy-hearing impairment associations.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenberg, T; Haim, M; Hauch, A M; Parving, A

1997-05-01

The study was undertaken to procure population-based prevalence data on the various types of Usher syndrome and other retinal dystrophy-hearing impairment associations. The medical files on 646 patients with a panretinal pigmentary dystrophy aged 20-49 years derived from the Danish Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) register were scrutinised. The data were supplemented by a prior investigation on hearing ability in a part of the study population. After exclusion of patients with possibly extrinsic causes of hearing impairments, 118 patients, including 89 cases of Usher syndrome were allocated to one of five clinically defined groups. We calculated the following prevalence rates: Usher syndrome type I: 1.5/100,000, Usher syndrome type II: 2.2/100,000, and Usher syndrome type III: 0.1/100,000 corresponding to a 2:3 ratio between Usher syndrome type I and II. The overall prevalence rate of Usher syndrome was estimated to 5/100,000 in the Danish population, devoid of genetic isolates. The material comprised 11 cases with retinal dystrophy, hearing impairment, and additional syndromic features. Finally, 18 subjects with various retinal dystrophy-hearing impairment associations without syndromic features were identified, corresponding to a prevalence rate of 0.8/100,000. This group had a significant overrepresentation of X-linked RP, including two persons harboring a mutation in the retinitis pigmentosa GTP-ase regulator (RPGR) gene.

Progress and Prospects in Human Genetic Research into Age-Related Hearing Impairment

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Yasue Uchida

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Age-related hearing impairment (ARHI is a complex, multifactorial disorder that is attributable to confounding intrinsic and extrinsic factors. The degree of impairment shows substantial variation between individuals, as is also observed in the senescence of other functions. This individual variation would seem to refute the stereotypical view that hearing deterioration with age is inevitable and may indicate that there is ample scope for preventive intervention. Genetic predisposition could account for a sizable proportion of interindividual variation. Over the past decade or so, tremendous progress has been made through research into the genetics of various forms of hearing impairment, including ARHI and our knowledge of the complex mechanisms of auditory function has increased substantially. Here, we give an overview of recent investigations aimed at identifying the genetic risk factors involved in ARHI and of what we currently know about its pathophysiology. This review is divided into the following sections: (i genes causing monogenic hearing impairment with phenotypic similarities to ARHI; (ii genes involved in oxidative stress, biologic stress responses, and mitochondrial dysfunction; and (iii candidate genes for senescence, other geriatric diseases, and neurodegeneration. Progress and prospects in genetic research are discussed.

Self-esteem in children and adolescents with hearing loss.

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Warner-Czyz, Andrea D; Loy, Betty A; Evans, Christine; Wetsel, Ashton; Tobey, Emily A

2015-03-09

Children with hearing loss are at risk for lower self-esteem due to differences from hearing peers relative to communication skills, physical appearance, and social maturity. This study examines the influence of generic factors unrelated to hearing loss (e.g., age, gender, temperament) and specific factors associated with hearing loss (e.g., age at identification, communication skills) on how children with hearing loss wearing cochlear implants or hearing aids appraise self-esteem. Fifty children with hearing loss wearing cochlear implants or hearing aids participated (Mean age: 12.88 years; mean duration of device use: 3.43 years). Participants independently completed online questionnaires to assess communication skills, social engagement, self-esteem, and temperament. Children with hearing loss rated global self-esteem significantly more positively than hearing peers, t = 2.38, p = .02. Self-esteem ratings attained significant positive correlations with affiliation (r = .42, p = .002) and attention (r = .45, p = .001) temperaments and a significant negative association with depressive mood (r = - .60, p self-esteem and demographic factors, communication skills, or social engagement. Because successful communication abilities do not always co-occur with excellent quality of life, clinicians and professionals working with children with hearing loss need to understand components contributing to self-esteem to improve identification, counseling, and external referrals for children in this population. © The Author(s) 2015.

Self-Esteem in Children and Adolescents With Hearing Loss

Science.gov (United States)

Loy, Betty A.; Evans, Christine; Wetsel, Ashton; Tobey, Emily A.

2015-01-01

Children with hearing loss are at risk for lower self-esteem due to differences from hearing peers relative to communication skills, physical appearance, and social maturity. This study examines the influence of generic factors unrelated to hearing loss (e.g., age, gender, temperament) and specific factors associated with hearing loss (e.g., age at identification, communication skills) on how children with hearing loss wearing cochlear implants or hearing aids appraise self-esteem. Fifty children with hearing loss wearing cochlear implants or hearing aids participated (Mean age: 12.88 years; mean duration of device use: 3.43 years). Participants independently completed online questionnaires to assess communication skills, social engagement, self-esteem, and temperament. Children with hearing loss rated global self-esteem significantly more positively than hearing peers, t = 2.38, p = .02. Self-esteem ratings attained significant positive correlations with affiliation (r = .42, p = .002) and attention (r = .45, p = .001) temperaments and a significant negative association with depressive mood (r = − .60, p self-esteem and demographic factors, communication skills, or social engagement. Because successful communication abilities do not always co-occur with excellent quality of life, clinicians and professionals working with children with hearing loss need to understand components contributing to self-esteem to improve identification, counseling, and external referrals for children in this population. PMID:25755025

Investigation of Psychophysiological and Subjective Effects of Long Working Hours – Do Age and Hearing Impairment Matter?

Science.gov (United States)

Wagner-Hartl, Verena; Kallus, K. Wolfgang

2018-01-01

Following current prognosis, demographic development raises expectations of an aging of the working population. Therefore, keeping employees healthy and strengthening their ability to work, becomes more and more important. When employees become older, dealing with age-related impairments of sensory functions, such as hearing impairment, is a central issue. Recent evidence suggests that negative effects that are associated with reduced hearing can have a strong impact at work. Especially under exhausting working situations such as working overtime hours, age and hearing impairment might influence employees’ well-being. Until now, neither the problem of aged workers and long working hours, nor the problem of hearing impairment and prolonged working time has been addressed explicitly. Therefore, a laboratory study was examined to answer the research question: Do age and hearing impairment have an impact on psychophysiological and subjective effects of long working hours. In total, 51 white-collar workers, aged between 24 and 63 years, participated in the laboratory study. The results show no significant effects for age and hearing impairment on the intensity of subjective consequences (perceived recovery and fatigue, subjective emotional well-being and physical symptoms) of long working hours. However, the psychophysiological response (the saliva cortisol level) to long working hours differs significantly between hearing impaired and normal hearing employees. Interestingly, the results suggest that from a psychophysiological point of view long working hours were more demanding for normal hearing employees. PMID:29379452

Investigation of Psychophysiological and Subjective Effects of Long Working Hours – Do Age and Hearing Impairment Matter?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Verena Wagner-Hartl

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Following current prognosis, demographic development raises expectations of an aging of the working population. Therefore, keeping employees healthy and strengthening their ability to work, becomes more and more important. When employees become older, dealing with age-related impairments of sensory functions, such as hearing impairment, is a central issue. Recent evidence suggests that negative effects that are associated with reduced hearing can have a strong impact at work. Especially under exhausting working situations such as working overtime hours, age and hearing impairment might influence employees’ well-being. Until now, neither the problem of aged workers and long working hours, nor the problem of hearing impairment and prolonged working time has been addressed explicitly. Therefore, a laboratory study was examined to answer the research question: Do age and hearing impairment have an impact on psychophysiological and subjective effects of long working hours. In total, 51 white-collar workers, aged between 24 and 63 years, participated in the laboratory study. The results show no significant effects for age and hearing impairment on the intensity of subjective consequences (perceived recovery and fatigue, subjective emotional well-being and physical symptoms of long working hours. However, the psychophysiological response (the saliva cortisol level to long working hours differs significantly between hearing impaired and normal hearing employees. Interestingly, the results suggest that from a psychophysiological point of view long working hours were more demanding for normal hearing employees.

A Review of literature on the clinical psychological study on the hearing impaired in Japan

OpenAIRE

Fujitomo, Masakazu

2002-01-01

The purpose of this paper was to review literatures about past clinical psychological studies on the hearing impaired in japan, in order to get suggestions about subjects on psychological supports and clinical psychological studies for the hearing impaired in Japan. First, in the topic of the history and subjects on the clinical psychological study and psycological supports for the hearing impaired, it was showed that the pathological viewpoint was taken place for the cultural viewpoint in th...

Screening an elderly hearing impaired population for mild cognitive impairment using Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA).

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Magdalene Yeok Leng; Loo, Jenny Hooi Yin

2018-07-01

To determine if there is an association between hearing loss and poorer cognitive scores on Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and to determine if poor hearing acuity affects scoring on the cognitive screening tests of MMSE and MoCA. One hundred fourteen elderly patients (Singapore residents) aged between 55 and 86 years were sampled. Participants completed a brief history questionnaire, pure tone audiometry, and 2 cognitive screening tests-the MMSE and MoCA. Average hearing thresholds of the better ear in the frequencies of 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz were used for data analysis. Hearing loss was significantly associated with poorer cognitive scores in Poisson regression models adjusted for age. Mini-Mental State Examination scores were shown to decrease by 2.8% (P = .029), and MoCA scores by 3.5% (P = .013) for every 10 dB of hearing loss. Analysis of hearing-sensitive components of "Registration" and "Recall" in MMSE and MoCA using chi-square tests showed significantly poorer performance in the hearing loss group as compared to the normal hearing group. Phonetic analysis of target words with high error rates shows that the poor performance was likely contributed by decreased hearing acuity, on top of a possible true deficit in cognition in the hearing impaired. Hearing loss is associated with poorer cognitive scores on MMSE and MoCA, and cognitive scoring is likely confounded by poor hearing ability. This highlights an important, often overlooked aspect of sensory impairment during cognitive screening. Provisions should be made when testing for cognition in the hearing-impaired population to avoid over-referral and subsequent misdiagnoses of cognitive impairment. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Difficulty understanding speech in noise by the hearing impaired: underlying causes and technological solutions.

Science.gov (United States)

Healy, Eric W; Yoho, Sarah E

2016-08-01

A primary complaint of hearing-impaired individuals involves poor speech understanding when background noise is present. Hearing aids and cochlear implants often allow good speech understanding in quiet backgrounds. But hearing-impaired individuals are highly noise intolerant, and existing devices are not very effective at combating background noise. As a result, speech understanding in noise is often quite poor. In accord with the significance of the problem, considerable effort has been expended toward understanding and remedying this issue. Fortunately, our understanding of the underlying issues is reasonably good. In sharp contrast, effective solutions have remained elusive. One solution that seems promising involves a single-microphone machine-learning algorithm to extract speech from background noise. Data from our group indicate that the algorithm is capable of producing vast increases in speech understanding by hearing-impaired individuals. This paper will first provide an overview of the speech-in-noise problem and outline why hearing-impaired individuals are so noise intolerant. An overview of our approach to solving this problem will follow.

Bone-anchored hearing devices in children with unilateral conductive hearing loss: a patient-carer perspective.

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Banga, Rupan; Doshi, Jayesh; Child, Anne; Pendleton, Elizabeth; Reid, Andrew; McDermott, Ann-Louise

2013-09-01

We sought to determine the outcome of implantation of a bone-anchored hearing device in children with unilateral conductive hearing loss. A retrospective case note analysis was used in a tertiary referral pediatric hospital to study 17 consecutive cases of pediatric patients with unilateral conductive hearing loss who were fitted with a bone-anchored hearing device between 2005 and 2010. The average age of the patients at the time of bone-anchored hearing device fitting was 10 years 6 months (range, 6 years 3 months to 16 years). Qualitative subjective outcome measures demonstrated benefit. The vast majority of patients reported improved social and physical functioning and improved quality of life. All 17 patients are currently using their bone-anchored hearing device on a daily basis after a follow-up of 6 months. This study has shown improved quality of life in children with unilateral hearing loss after implantation of their bone-anchored hearing device. There was a high degree of patient satisfaction and improvement in health status reported by children and/or carers. Bone-anchored hearing devices have an important role in the management of children with symptomatic unilateral hearing loss. Perhaps earlier consideration of a bone-anchored hearing device would be appropriate in selected cases.

Speech Perception Benefits of Internet Versus Conventional Telephony for Hearing-Impaired Individuals

Science.gov (United States)

Dubach, Patrick; Pfiffner, Flurin; Kompis, Martin; Caversaccio, Marco

2012-01-01

Background Telephone communication is a challenge for many hearing-impaired individuals. One important technical reason for this difficulty is the restricted frequency range (0.3–3.4 kHz) of conventional landline telephones. Internet telephony (voice over Internet protocol [VoIP]) is transmitted with a larger frequency range (0.1–8 kHz) and therefore includes more frequencies relevant to speech perception. According to a recently published, laboratory-based study, the theoretical advantage of ideal VoIP conditions over conventional telephone quality has translated into improved speech perception by hearing-impaired individuals. However, the speech perception benefits of nonideal VoIP network conditions, which may occur in daily life, have not been explored. VoIP use cannot be recommended to hearing-impaired individuals before its potential under more realistic conditions has been examined. Objective To compare realistic VoIP network conditions, under which digital data packets may be lost, with ideal conventional telephone quality with respect to their impact on speech perception by hearing-impaired individuals. Methods We assessed speech perception using standardized test material presented under simulated VoIP conditions with increasing digital data packet loss (from 0% to 20%) and compared with simulated ideal conventional telephone quality. We monaurally tested 10 adult users of cochlear implants, 10 adult users of hearing aids, and 10 normal-hearing adults in the free sound field, both in quiet and with background noise. Results Across all participant groups, mean speech perception scores using VoIP with 0%, 5%, and 10% packet loss were 15.2% (range 0%–53%), 10.6% (4%–46%), and 8.8% (7%–33%) higher, respectively, than with ideal conventional telephone quality. Speech perception did not differ between VoIP with 20% packet loss and conventional telephone quality. The maximum benefits were observed under ideal VoIP conditions without packet loss and

Self-Esteem in Children and Adolescents With Hearing Loss

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea D. Warner-Czyz

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Children with hearing loss are at risk for lower self-esteem due to differences from hearing peers relative to communication skills, physical appearance, and social maturity. This study examines the influence of generic factors unrelated to hearing loss (e.g., age, gender, temperament and specific factors associated with hearing loss (e.g., age at identification, communication skills on how children with hearing loss wearing cochlear implants or hearing aids appraise self-esteem. Fifty children with hearing loss wearing cochlear implants or hearing aids participated (Mean age: 12.88 years; mean duration of device use: 3.43 years. Participants independently completed online questionnaires to assess communication skills, social engagement, self-esteem, and temperament. Children with hearing loss rated global self-esteem significantly more positively than hearing peers, t = 2.38, p = .02. Self-esteem ratings attained significant positive correlations with affiliation (r = .42, p = .002 and attention (r = .45, p = .001 temperaments and a significant negative association with depressive mood (r = − .60, p < .0001. No significant correlations emerged between self-esteem and demographic factors, communication skills, or social engagement. Because successful communication abilities do not always co-occur with excellent quality of life, clinicians and professionals working with children with hearing loss need to understand components contributing to self-esteem to improve identification, counseling, and external referrals for children in this population.

Parasympathetic Nervous System Dysfunction, as Identified by Pupil Light Reflex, and Its Possible Connection to Hearing Impairment.

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Yang Wang

Full Text Available Although the pupil light reflex has been widely used as a clinical diagnostic tool for autonomic nervous system dysfunction, there is no systematic review available to summarize the evidence that the pupil light reflex is a sensitive method to detect parasympathetic dysfunction. Meanwhile, the relationship between parasympathetic functioning and hearing impairment is relatively unknown.To 1 review the evidence for the pupil light reflex being a sensitive method to evaluate parasympathetic dysfunction, 2 review the evidence relating hearing impairment and parasympathetic activity and 3 seek evidence of possible connections between hearing impairment and the pupil light reflex.Literature searches were performed in five electronic databases. All selected articles were categorized into three sections: pupil light reflex and parasympathetic dysfunction, hearing impairment and parasympathetic activity, pupil light reflex and hearing impairment.Thirty-eight articles were included in this review. Among them, 36 articles addressed the pupil light reflex and parasympathetic dysfunction. We summarized the information in these data according to different types of parasympathetic-related diseases. Most of the studies showed a difference on at least one pupil light reflex parameter between patients and healthy controls. Two articles discussed the relationship between hearing impairment and parasympathetic activity. Both studies reported a reduced parasympathetic activity in the hearing impaired groups. The searches identified no results for pupil light reflex and hearing impairment.As the first systematic review of the evidence, our findings suggest that the pupil light reflex is a sensitive tool to assess the presence of parasympathetic dysfunction. Maximum constriction velocity and relative constriction amplitude appear to be the most sensitive parameters. There are only two studies investigating the relationship between parasympathetic activity and hearing

Parasympathetic Nervous System Dysfunction, as Identified by Pupil Light Reflex, and Its Possible Connection to Hearing Impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yang; Zekveld, Adriana A; Naylor, Graham; Ohlenforst, Barbara; Jansma, Elise P; Lorens, Artur; Lunner, Thomas; Kramer, Sophia E

2016-01-01

Although the pupil light reflex has been widely used as a clinical diagnostic tool for autonomic nervous system dysfunction, there is no systematic review available to summarize the evidence that the pupil light reflex is a sensitive method to detect parasympathetic dysfunction. Meanwhile, the relationship between parasympathetic functioning and hearing impairment is relatively unknown. To 1) review the evidence for the pupil light reflex being a sensitive method to evaluate parasympathetic dysfunction, 2) review the evidence relating hearing impairment and parasympathetic activity and 3) seek evidence of possible connections between hearing impairment and the pupil light reflex. Literature searches were performed in five electronic databases. All selected articles were categorized into three sections: pupil light reflex and parasympathetic dysfunction, hearing impairment and parasympathetic activity, pupil light reflex and hearing impairment. Thirty-eight articles were included in this review. Among them, 36 articles addressed the pupil light reflex and parasympathetic dysfunction. We summarized the information in these data according to different types of parasympathetic-related diseases. Most of the studies showed a difference on at least one pupil light reflex parameter between patients and healthy controls. Two articles discussed the relationship between hearing impairment and parasympathetic activity. Both studies reported a reduced parasympathetic activity in the hearing impaired groups. The searches identified no results for pupil light reflex and hearing impairment. As the first systematic review of the evidence, our findings suggest that the pupil light reflex is a sensitive tool to assess the presence of parasympathetic dysfunction. Maximum constriction velocity and relative constriction amplitude appear to be the most sensitive parameters. There are only two studies investigating the relationship between parasympathetic activity and hearing impairment

Understanding Basic Temporal Relations in Primary School Pupils with Hearing Impairments.

Science.gov (United States)

Dulcić, Adinda; Bakota, Koraljka; Saler, Zrinka

2015-09-01

Time can be observed as a subjective, as well as an objective phenomenon which is a component of our life, and due to its communicational needs, it is standardized by temporal signs and symbols. The aim of this study was to determine the understanding of basic temporal relations of pupils with hearing impairments. We assumed that the knowledge of basic time relations is a precondition for the acquisition of knowledge that is connected with the understanding of the syllabus in regular school programs. Three groups of pupils have been examined: pupils with hearing impairments who attend the primary school of SUVAG Polyclinic under special condition, integrated hearing impaired pupils with minor additional difficulties who attend regular primary schools in Zagreb with a prolonged expert procedure and pupils of the control group. The subjects have been examined with a measuring instrument constructed by the expert team of the Polyclinic Suvag. Twenty nine subjects have been questioned, chronologically aged between 10 and 12.

Speech intelligibility for normal hearing and hearing-impaired listeners in simulated room acoustic conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arweiler, Iris; Dau, Torsten; Poulsen, Torben

Speech intelligibility depends on many factors such as room acoustics, the acoustical properties and location of the signal and the interferers, and the ability of the (normal and impaired) auditory system to process monaural and binaural sounds. In the present study, the effect of reverberation...... on spatial release from masking was investigated in normal hearing and hearing impaired listeners using three types of interferers: speech shaped noise, an interfering female talker and speech-modulated noise. Speech reception thresholds (SRT) were obtained in three simulated environments: a listening room......, a classroom and a church. The data from the study provide constraints for existing models of speech intelligibility prediction (based on the speech intelligibility index, SII, or the speech transmission index, STI) which have shortcomings when reverberation and/or fluctuating noise affect speech...

Sistema de frequência modulada em crianças com deficiência auditiva: avaliação de resultados Frequency modulation systems in hearing impaired children: outcome evaluation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Regina Tangerino de Souza Jacob

2012-12-01

Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Avaliar a percepção da fala de crianças deficientes auditivas com o aparelho de amplificação sonora individual (AASI e sistema de frequência modulada (FM em situações de ruído em campo livre e em sala de aula. MÉTODOS: Participaram 13 crianças deficientes auditivas entre 7 e 17 anos. Foi aplicado o Hearing in Noise Test (HINT com AASI e com o FM. Também foi aplicado o questionário Avaliação do Sistema FM, respondido pelos professores das crianças, com o intuito de avaliar, individualmente, o desempenho da criança em diferentes situações auditivas somente com AASI e com o AASI e o sistema FM. RESULTADOS: Houve diferença para todas as situações com e sem FM no teste HINT. O mesmo aconteceu com os resultados do questionário, sendo que sem FM a pontuação foi sempre menor do que com FM, independentemente da condição. CONCLUSÃO: O uso de medidas subjetivas, como o questionário, é fundamental para determinar a eficácia da indicação dos dispositivos auxiliares para o deficiente auditivo. A efetividade do sistema FM pode ser observada pela "vantagem FM", que é a diferença média mínima de 10 dB encontrada nas avaliações de percepção da fala com e sem FM nas diferentes situações de ruído. Os benefícios encontrados na presente pesquisa com o uso do sistema FM na melhora da percepção da fala podem ser extrapolados não só para a sala de aula e para a legislação da educação inclusiva, mas também para atividades sociais e de lazer.PURPOSE: To assess speech perception of hearing impaired children with hearing aids (HA and frequency modulated system (FM in situations of noise in free field and in the classroom. METHODS: Subjects were 13 hearing impaired children between 7 and 17 years. It used the Hearing in Noise Test (HINT with hearing aids and FM. Questionnaire Evaluation System FM was also applied responded by teachers of children in order to assess individually the child's performance in

Prevalence of hearing loss among primary school children in Mbarara, Uganda.

Science.gov (United States)

Basañez, Irving; Nakku, Doreen; Stangl, Susan; Wanna, George B

2015-12-01

Hearing loss in children is a common entity worldwide. We examined the prevalence and etiology of hearing loss among primary school children in Mbarara, Uganda. Cross-sectional study in primary school children aged 5-14 was performed to determine the prevalence of hearing loss. Ugandan primary school children were screened for disabling hearing loss (threshold >30dB) and confirmatory audiometry was performed on those who failed the screening. There were 639 children screened. Thirty-five (5.5%) of children screened failed and were referred for further testing. Two children were lost to follow-up. The percentage of children with true hearing loss was 3.1%. The incidence of failed hearing screening and hearing loss in Mbarara, Uganda is similar to other populations. Hearing loss is a significant problem in Uganda and efforts should be made for primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention of hearing loss. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Differences and similarities in early vocabulary development between children with hearing aids and children with cochlear implant enrolled in 3-year auditory verbal intervention.

Science.gov (United States)

Percy-Smith, Lone; Hallstrøm, Maria; Josvassen, Jane Lignel; Mikkelsen, Jeanette Hølledig; Nissen, Lena; Dieleman, Eveline; Cayé-Thomasen, Per

2018-05-01

The overall objective of this study was to evaluate the implementation of a Nordic Auditory Verbal (AV) intervention for children with all degrees and types of hearing impairment (HI) using all kinds of hearing technology. A first specific objective was to identify differences and similarities in early vocabulary development between children with cochlear implant (CI) compared with children with hearing aids (HAs)/Bone anchored hearing aids (Bahs) enrolled in a 3-year AVprogram, and to compare the group of children with HI to a control group of children with normal hearing (NH). A second specific objective was to study universal neonatal hearing screening (UNHS) using the 1-3-6 Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) guidelines. Effect of AV intervention for children with HI using different hearing technology is not thoroughly studied. It is relevant to question, whether children with mild to moderate HI encounter the same intensive need for AV intervention as children with congenital deafness. A longitudinal and comparative study design was used involving two cohorts of children, i.e. 36 children with CI and 19 children with HA/Bahs. The children were the first in Denmark to receive a 3-year AV intervention by formally trained AV-practitioners. Children were tested annually with standardized speech and language tests, i.e. Peabody Picture Vocabulary test, Reynell test and a Danish test for active vocabulary, Viborgmaterialet. Categorical variables were compared using Fischer's exact test and continuous variables were compared using Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test, as data was not normally distributed. Median age of diagnosis was 6 months and median age at intervention was 13 and 12 months respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of scores according to age equivalency for the three tests. However, there was a significant difference between children with HI regardless of hearing technology and children with

Postural Evaluation of Vertebral Column in Children and Teenagers with Hearing Loss

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Toscano, Carla Fabiana da Silva

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Posture is determined by the performance of the visual, somatosensory and vestibular systems. Children with hearing loss can present problems in their posture or postural control, enabling postural deviations and alterations to appear in their vertebral column, possibly provoked by a hypoactivity of the vestibular system as a result of deafness. Objective: To evaluate the posture of the vertebral column in children and teenagers with hearing loss at school age, taking into consideration the sample gender and age. Method: A descriptive and prospective study was performed at both Duque de Caxias School and Rotary Rehabilitation and Special Education Center in Caruaru - Pernambuco. 44 students aged between 7-17 years old, out of whom 22 were female and 22 were male, with hearing loss were evaluated. The study was developed by way of a postural evaluation, using a symmetrograph, marking specific anatomical points with stickers placed over polystyrene balls and fixed with double-sided adhesive tape. Results:The results showed that all of the individuals evaluated in this study presented some kind of postural alteration in their vertebral column. Scoliosis was the most observed alteration among the students (84.1%, followed by thoracic hyperkyphosis (68.2%. Conclusion: It has been concluded that children and teenagers with hearing loss are exposed to postural alteration in their vertebral column. Such a condition can be associated with a number of factors comprising unfavorable ergonomics of the school environment, bad postural habits and impairment of the vestibular system by virtue of the hearing loss.

The influence of hearing aids on the speech and language development of children with hearing loss.

Science.gov (United States)

Tomblin, J Bruce; Oleson, Jacob J; Ambrose, Sophie E; Walker, Elizabeth; Moeller, Mary Pat

2014-05-01

IMPORTANCE Hearing loss (HL) in children can be deleterious to their speech and language development. The standard of practice has been early provision of hearing aids (HAs) to moderate these effects; however, there have been few empirical studies evaluating the effectiveness of this practice on speech and language development among children with mild-to-severe HL. OBJECTIVE To investigate the contributions of aided hearing and duration of HA use to speech and language outcomes in children with mild-to-severe HL. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS An observational cross-sectional design was used to examine the association of aided hearing levels and length of HA use with levels of speech and language outcomes. One hundred eighty 3- and 5-year-old children with HL were recruited through records of Universal Newborn Hearing Screening and referrals from clinical service providers in the general community in 6 US states. INTERVENTIONS All but 4 children had been fitted with HAs, and measures of aided hearing and the duration of HA use were obtained. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Standardized measures of speech and language ability were obtained. RESULTS Measures of the gain in hearing ability for speech provided by the HA were significantly correlated with levels of speech (ρ179 = 0.20; P = .008) and language: ρ155 = 0.21; P = .01) ability. These correlations were indicative of modest levels of association between aided hearing and speech and language outcomes. These benefits were found for children with mild and moderate-to-severe HL. In addition, the amount of benefit from aided hearing interacted with the duration of HA experience (Speech: F4,161 = 4.98; P < .001; Language: F4,138 = 2.91; P < .02). Longer duration of HA experience was most beneficial for children who had the best aided hearing. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The degree of improved hearing provided by HAs was associated with better speech and language development in children

Predicting behavior problems in deaf and hearing children: the influences of language, attention, and parent-child communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Barker, David H; Quittner, Alexandra L; Fink, Nancy E; Eisenberg, Laurie S; Tobey, Emily A; Niparko, John K

2009-01-01

The development of language and communication may play an important role in the emergence of behavioral problems in young children, but they are rarely included in predictive models of behavioral development. In this study, cross-sectional relationships between language, attention, and behavior problems were examined using parent report, videotaped observations, and performance measures in a sample of 116 severely and profoundly deaf and 69 normally hearing children ages 1.5 to 5 years. Secondary analyses were performed on data collected as part of the Childhood Development After Cochlear Implantation Study, funded by the National Institutes of Health. Hearing-impaired children showed more language, attention, and behavioral difficulties, and spent less time communicating with their parents than normally hearing children. Structural equation modeling indicated there were significant relationships between language, attention, and child behavior problems. Language was associated with behavior problems both directly and indirectly through effects on attention. Amount of parent-child communication was not related to behavior problems.

GRM7 variants confer susceptibility to age-related hearing impairment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Friedman, Rick A; Van Laer, Lut; Huentelman, Matthew J

2009-01-01

Age-related hearing impairment (ARHI), or presbycusis, is the most prevalent sensory impairment in the elderly. ARHI is a complex disease caused by an interaction between environmental and genetic factors. Here we describe the results of the first whole genome association study for ARHI. The stud...

Auditory Outcomes with Hearing Rehabilitation in Children with Unilateral Hearing Loss: A Systematic Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Appachi, Swathi; Specht, Jessica L; Raol, Nikhila; Lieu, Judith E C; Cohen, Michael S; Dedhia, Kavita; Anne, Samantha

2017-10-01

Objective Options for management of unilateral hearing loss (UHL) in children include conventional hearing aids, bone-conduction hearing devices, contralateral routing of signal (CROS) aids, and frequency-modulating (FM) systems. The objective of this study was to systematically review the current literature to characterize auditory outcomes of hearing rehabilitation options in UHL. Data Sources PubMed, EMBASE, Medline, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library were searched from inception to January 2016. Manual searches of bibliographies were also performed. Review Methods Studies analyzing auditory outcomes of hearing amplification in children with UHL were included. Outcome measures included functional and objective auditory results. Two independent reviewers evaluated each abstract and article. Results Of the 249 articles identified, 12 met inclusion criteria. Seven articles solely focused on outcomes with bone-conduction hearing devices. Outcomes favored improved pure-tone averages, speech recognition thresholds, and sound localization in implanted patients. Five studies focused on FM systems, conventional hearing aids, or CROS hearing aids. Limited data are available but suggest a trend toward improvement in speech perception with hearing aids. FM systems were shown to have the most benefit for speech recognition in noise. Studies evaluating CROS hearing aids demonstrated variable outcomes. Conclusions Data evaluating functional and objective auditory measures following hearing amplification in children with UHL are limited. Most studies do suggest improvement in speech perception, speech recognition in noise, and sound localization with a hearing rehabilitation device.

Binaural integration: a challenge to overcome for children with hearing loss.

Science.gov (United States)

Gordon, Karen A; Cushing, Sharon L; Easwar, Vijayalakshmi; Polonenko, Melissa J; Papsin, Blake C

2017-12-01

Access to bilateral hearing can be provided to children with hearing loss by fitting appropriate hearing devices to each affected ear. It is not clear, however, that bilateral input is properly integrated through hearing devices to promote binaural hearing. In the present review, we examine evidence indicating that abnormal binaural hearing continues to be a challenge for children with hearing loss despite early access to bilateral input. Behavioral responses and electrophysiological data in children, combined with data from developing animal models, reveal that deafness in early life disrupts binaural hearing and that present hearing devices are unable to reverse these changes and/or promote expected development. Possible limitations of hearing devices include mismatches in binaural place, level, and timing of stimulation. Such mismatches could be common in children with hearing loss. One potential solution is to modify present device fitting beyond providing audibility to each ear by implementing binaural fitting targets. Efforts to better integrate bilateral input could improve spatial hearing in children with hearing loss.

Impact of Age and Hearing Impairment on Work Performance during Long Working Hours

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Verena Wagner-Hartl

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Based on demographic prognoses, it must be assumed that a greater number of older workers will be found in the future labor market. How to deal with their possible age-related impairments of sensory functions, like hearing impairment and work performance during extended working time, has not been addressed explicitly until now. The study addresses this interplay. The study was performed on two consecutive days after normal working hours. The 55 participants had to “work” in the study at least three additional hours to simulate a situation of long working hours. The tested measures for (job performance were: general attention, long-term selective attention, concentration, and reaction time. All of the investigated variables were taken at both days of the study (2 × 2 × 2 repeated measurement design. The results show effects for age, the interaction of hearing impairment and time of measurement, and effects of the measurement time. Older participants reacted slower than younger participants did. Furthermore, younger participants reacted more frequently in a correct way. Hearing impairment seems to have a negative impact especially on measures of false reactions, and therefore especially on measurement time 1. The results can be interpreted in a way that hearing-impaired participants are able to compensate their deficits over time.

Impact of Age and Hearing Impairment on Work Performance during Long Working Hours.

Science.gov (United States)

Wagner-Hartl, Verena; Grossi, Nina R; Kallus, K Wolfgang

2018-01-09

Based on demographic prognoses, it must be assumed that a greater number of older workers will be found in the future labor market. How to deal with their possible age-related impairments of sensory functions, like hearing impairment and work performance during extended working time, has not been addressed explicitly until now. The study addresses this interplay. The study was performed on two consecutive days after normal working hours. The 55 participants had to "work" in the study at least three additional hours to simulate a situation of long working hours. The tested measures for (job) performance were: general attention, long-term selective attention, concentration, and reaction time. All of the investigated variables were taken at both days of the study (2 × 2 × 2 repeated measurement design). The results show effects for age, the interaction of hearing impairment and time of measurement, and effects of the measurement time. Older participants reacted slower than younger participants did. Furthermore, younger participants reacted more frequently in a correct way. Hearing impairment seems to have a negative impact especially on measures of false reactions, and therefore especially on measurement time 1. The results can be interpreted in a way that hearing-impaired participants are able to compensate their deficits over time.

Auditory development in early amplified children: factors influencing auditory-based communication outcomes in children with hearing loss.

Science.gov (United States)

Sininger, Yvonne S; Grimes, Alison; Christensen, Elizabeth

2010-04-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of selected predictive factors, primarily age at fitting of amplification and degree of hearing loss, on auditory-based outcomes in young children with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. Forty-four infants and toddlers, first identified with mild to profound bilateral hearing loss, who were being fitted with amplification were enrolled in the study and followed longitudinally. Subjects were otherwise typically developing with no evidence of cognitive, motor, or visual impairment. A variety of subject factors were measured or documented and used as predictor variables, including age at fitting of amplification, degree of hearing loss in the better hearing ear, cochlear implant status, intensity of oral education, parent-child interaction, and the number of languages spoken in the home. These factors were used in a linear multiple regression analysis to assess their contribution to auditory-based communication outcomes. Five outcome measures, evaluated at regular intervals in children starting at age 3, included measures of speech perception (Pediatric Speech Intelligibility and Online Imitative Test of Speech Pattern Contrast Perception), speech production (Arizona-3), and spoken language (Reynell Expressive and Receptive Language). The age at fitting of amplification ranged from 1 to 72 mo, and the degree of hearing loss ranged from mild to profound. Age at fitting of amplification showed the largest influence and was a significant factor in all outcome models. The degree of hearing loss was an important factor in the modeling of speech production and spoken language outcomes. Cochlear implant use was the other factor that contributed significantly to speech perception, speech production, and language outcomes. Other factors contributed sparsely to the models. Prospective longitudinal studies of children are important to establish relationships between subject factors and outcomes. This study clearly

Phonological processes in the speech of school-age children with hearing loss: Comparisons with children with normal hearing.

Science.gov (United States)

Asad, Areej Nimer; Purdy, Suzanne C; Ballard, Elaine; Fairgray, Liz; Bowen, Caroline

2018-04-27

In this descriptive study, phonological processes were examined in the speech of children aged 5;0-7;6 (years; months) with mild to profound hearing loss using hearing aids (HAs) and cochlear implants (CIs), in comparison to their peers. A second aim was to compare phonological processes of HA and CI users. Children with hearing loss (CWHL, N = 25) were compared to children with normal hearing (CWNH, N = 30) with similar age, gender, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Speech samples obtained from a list of 88 words, derived from three standardized speech tests, were analyzed using the CASALA (Computer Aided Speech and Language Analysis) program to evaluate participants' phonological systems, based on lax (a process appeared at least twice in the speech of at least two children) and strict (a process appeared at least five times in the speech of at least two children) counting criteria. Developmental phonological processes were eliminated in the speech of younger and older CWNH while eleven developmental phonological processes persisted in the speech of both age groups of CWHL. CWHL showed a similar trend of age of elimination to CWNH, but at a slower rate. Children with HAs and CIs produced similar phonological processes. Final consonant deletion, weak syllable deletion, backing, and glottal replacement were present in the speech of HA users, affecting their overall speech intelligibility. Developmental and non-developmental phonological processes persist in the speech of children with mild to profound hearing loss compared to their peers with typical hearing. The findings indicate that it is important for clinicians to consider phonological assessment in pre-school CWHL and the use of evidence-based speech therapy in order to reduce non-developmental and non-age-appropriate developmental processes, thereby enhancing their speech intelligibility. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Daily Stress, Hearing-Specific Stress and Coping: Self-Reports from Deaf or Hard of Hearing Children and Children with Auditory Processing Disorder

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Eschenbeck, Heike; Gillé, Vera; Heim-Dreger, Uwe; Schock, Alexandra; Schott, Andrea

2017-01-01

This study evaluated stressors and coping strategies in 70 children who are deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH) or with auditory processing disorder (APD) attending Grades 5 and 6 of a school for deaf and hard-of-hearing children. Everyday general stressors and more hearing-specific stressors were examined in a hearing-specific modified stress and…

Language and cognitive development in deaf children: deaf children with deaf and deaf children with hearing parents

OpenAIRE

Ajda Pfifer

2011-01-01

The article reviews the current studies regarding language and cognitive development in children who are deaf. Deaf communicate orally and with sign language. 90 % of deaf children are born into hearing families and hearing parents in most cases do not know the sign language. Besides, hearing parents usually want for their child to become "normally" speaking. Most of the deaf children born into hearing families have very poor early communication. It is now well established that deaf children ...

Self-Esteem in Children and Adolescents With Hearing Loss

OpenAIRE

Warner-Czyz, Andrea D.; Loy, Betty A.; Evans, Christine; Wetsel, Ashton; Tobey, Emily A.

2015-01-01

Children with hearing loss are at risk for lower self-esteem due to differences from hearing peers relative to communication skills, physical appearance, and social maturity. This study examines the influence of generic factors unrelated to hearing loss (e.g., age, gender, temperament) and specific factors associated with hearing loss (e.g., age at identification, communication skills) on how children with hearing loss wearing cochlear implants or hearing aids appraise self-esteem. Fifty chil...

Hearing Parents of Children with Hearing Loss: Perceptions of the IEP Process

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Stegman, Robin Fern

2016-01-01

Under federal guidelines, parents of school-aged children with hearing loss are required to attend an individualized education program (IEP) meeting on behalf of their child. However, it remains unclear how prepared hearing parents are to oversee development of IEPs that guarantee their children the best educational outcomes, as well as how much…

Hearing impairment related to age in Usher syndrome types 1B and 2A.

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Wagenaar, M; van Aarem, A; Huygen, P; Pieke-Dahl, S; Kimberling, W; Cremers, C

1999-04-01

To evaluate hearing impairment in 2 common genetic subtypes of Usher syndrome, USH1B and USH2A. Cross-sectional analysis of hearing threshold related to age in patients with genotypes determined by linkage and mutation analysis. Otolaryngology department, university referral center. Nineteen patients with USH1B and 27 with USH2A were examined. All participants were living in the Netherlands and Belgium. Pure tone audiometry of the best ear at last visit. The patients with USH1B had residual hearing without age dependence, with minimum thresholds of 80, 95, and 120 dB at 0.25, 0.5, and 1 to 2 kHz, respectively. Mean thresholds of patients with USH2A were about 45 to 55 dB better than these minimum values. Distinctive audiographic features of patients with USH2A were maximum hearing thresholds of 70, 80, and 100 dB at 0.25, 0.5, and 1 kHz, respectively, only at younger than 40 years. Progression of hearing impairment in USH2A was 0.7 dB/y on average for 0.25 to 4 kHz and could not be explained by presbyacusis alone. The USH1B and USH2A can be easily distinguished by hearing impairment at younger than 40 years at the low frequencies. Hearing impairment in our patients with USH2A could be characterized as progressive.

The assessment of static balance in children with hearing, visual and intellectual disabilities

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Aija Klavina

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Background: Balance is a fundamental part of many movement tasks a child performs. Maintaining upright posture is a complex process involving multiple body parts and functional systems. Objective: This study aimed to explore the mean amplitude and velocity of the center of pressure (COP displacements during static balance tests in children with and without disabilities. Methods: Participants were 34 children (age 8.5 to 10.8 years including 6 typically developed children, 8 children with hearing, 8 children with visual and 12 children with intellectual disabilities. Static balance data were obtained in 15 s bipedal stance with eyes open and eyes closed, and also in 10 s unipedal stance. A force plate was used to collect data of COP amplitude in anterior-posterior (COPA-P, medio-lateral (COPM-L directions and COP velocity (COPV. Results: Study outcomes revealed that all subgroups presented larger COP displacement and velocity with eyes closed (p < .001. During bipedal stance with eyes open for results of COPM-L and COPV no significant differences were found between children with and without disabilities (p > .05. Children with intellectual and visual impairments presented significantly larger displacement in COPA-P and COPM-L in comparison with children with hearing impairment and without disability (p < .05. Conclusions: This study provided evidence of comparative outcomes on static stability assessment in elementary school children with and without disability. While in many test items children with disability did not demonstrate a significantly decreased level of postural control outcomes comparing to their peers without disability, the balance assessment should be used for early detection of dysfunction in children, so as to guide the application of appropriate intervention.

Auditory, Visual, and Auditory-Visual Perceptions of Emotions by Young Children with Hearing Loss versus Children with Normal Hearing

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Most, Tova; Michaelis, Hilit

2012-01-01

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the effect of hearing loss (HL) on emotion-perception ability among young children with and without HL. Method: A total of 26 children 4.0-6.6 years of age with prelingual sensory-neural HL ranging from moderate to profound and 14 children with normal hearing (NH) participated. They were asked to identify…