Hearing Impairment and Undiagnosed Disease: The Potential Role of Clinical Recommendations

Science.gov (United States)

Marlow, Nicole M.; Malaty, John; Jo, Ara; Tanner, Rebecca J.; Beau de Rochars, Valery M.; Carek, Peter J.; Mainous, Arch G., III

2017-01-01

Purpose: The objective of this study was to use cross-sectional, nationally representative data to examine the relationship between self-reported hearing impairment and undetected diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and chronic kidney disease. Method: We analyzed the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for the years…

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

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.

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.

Genetic and environmental influences on self-reported reduced hearing in the old and oldest old

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Kaare; Frederiksen, H; Hoffman, H J

2001-01-01

effects. Structural-equation analyses revealed a substantial heritability for self-reported reduced hearing of 40% (95% CI = 19-53%). The remaining variation could be attributed to individuals' nonfamilial environments. CONCLUSION: We found that genetic factors play an important role in self......-reported reduced hearing in both men and women age 70 and older. Because self-reports of reduced hearing involve misclassification, this estimate of the genetic influence on hearing disabilities is probably conservative. Hence, genetic and environmental factors play a substantial role in reduced hearing among......OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present twin study was to estimate the relative importance of genetic and environmental factors in variation in self-reported reduced hearing among the old and the oldest old. DESIGN: Self-reported hearing abilities of older twins assessed at intake interview...

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);…

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.

Mass transit ridership and self-reported hearing health in an urban population.

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Gershon, Robyn R M; Sherman, Martin F; Magda, Lori A; Riley, Halley E; McAlexander, Tara P; Neitzel, Richard

2013-04-01

Information on prevalence and risk factors associated with self-reported hearing health among mass transit riders is extremely limited, even though evidence suggests mass transit may be a source of excessive exposure to noise. Data on mass transit ridership were collected from 756 study participants using a self-administered questionnaire. Hearing health was measured using two symptom items (tinnitus and temporary audiometric threshold shift), two subjective measures (self-rated hearing and hearing ability), and two medical-related questions (hearing testing and physician-diagnosed hearing loss). In logistic regression analyses that controlled for possible confounders, including demographic variables, occupational noise exposure, nonoccupational noise exposure (including MP3 player use) and use of hearing protection, frequent and lengthy mass transit (all forms) ridership (1,100 min or more per week vs. 350 min or less per week) was the strongest predictor of temporary threshold shift symptoms. Noise abatement strategies, such as engineering controls, and the promotion of hearing protection use should be encouraged to reduce the risk of adverse impacts on the hearing health of mass transit users.

In situ Hearing Tests for the Purpose of a Self-Fit Hearing Aid

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boymans, Monique; Dreschler, Wouter A.

2017-01-01

This study investigated the potential and limitations of a self-fit hearing aid. This can be used in the "developing" world or in countries with large distances between the hearing-impaired subjects and the professional. It contains an on-board tone generator for in situ user-controlled, automated

Visual impairment, but not hearing impairment, is independently associated with lower subjective well-being among individuals over 95 years of age: A population-based study.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Zuyun; Wu, Di; Huang, Jiapin; Qian, Degui; Chen, Fei; Xu, Jun; Li, Shilin; Jin, Li; Wang, Xiaofeng

2016-01-01

Sensory impairment affects an increasing number of elderly adults, with a negative psychological impact. Our objective was to examine the associations of visual and hearing impairment with subjective well-being (SWB), an important psychological concept defined by life satisfaction [LS], positive affect [PA], negative affect [NA], and affect balance [AB] among long-lived individuals (LLIs) over 95 years of age. Data on 442 LLIs from the Rugao longevity cohort, a population-based study in Rugao, China, were analyzed. Graded classifications of visual and hearing impairment (none, mild, moderate, and severe) were constructed from self-reported items. Bivariate correlation and multiple regression analysis were performed to test the associations. Approximately 66.1% and 87.3% of the subjects reported varying degrees of visual and hearing impairment. Following the degree of vision impairment, LS, PA, and AB decreased linearly, whereas NA increased linearly (all p for trendimpairment with LS, NA, and AB, while diminished, still existed. Visual impairment, but not hearing impairment, was independently associated with low SWB among LLIs, and functional ability may play a mediating role in the observed relationship. The findings indicate that rehabilitation targeted for those with reduced vision and functioning in long-lived populations may be important for promoting well-being and quality of life. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

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...

Self-reported hearing performance in workers exposed to solvents

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Adrian Fuente

2013-02-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To compare hearing performance relating to the peripheral and central auditory system between solvent-exposed and non-exposed workers. METHODS: Forty-eight workers exposed to a mixture of solvents and 48 non-exposed control subjects of matched age, gender and educational level were selected to participate in the study. The evaluation procedures included: pure-tone audiometry (500 - 8,000 Hz, to investigate the peripheral auditory system; the Random Gap Detection test, to assess the central auditory system; and the Amsterdam Inventory for Auditory Disability and Handicap, to investigate subjects' self-reported hearing performance in daily-life activities. A Student t test and analyses of covariance (ANCOVA were computed to determine possible significant differences between solvent-exposed and non-exposed subjects for the hearing level, Random Gap Detection test and Amsterdam Inventory for Auditory Disability and Handicap. Pearson correlations among the three measures were also calculated. RESULTS: Solvent-exposed subjects exhibited significantly poorer hearing thresholds for the right ear than non-exposed subjects. Also, solvent-exposed subjects exhibited poorer results for the Random Gap Detection test and self-reported poorer listening performance than non-exposed subjects. Results of the Amsterdam Inventory for Auditory Disability and Handicap were significantly correlated with the binaural average of subject pure-tone thresholds and Random Gap Detection test performance. CONCLUSIONS: Solvent exposure is associated with poorer hearing performance in daily life activities that relate to the function of the peripheral and central auditory system.

Comparison of general health status in mothers of hearing and hearing-impaired children

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Movallali

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Background and Aim: The birth of a hearing-impaired child and raising him/her often brings special psychological feelings for parents, especially mothers who spend more time with the child. This study aimed to compare the general health status in mothers of hearing-impaired and hearing children. Methods: This was a descriptive-analytic study. General Health Questionnaire was used to identify general health status; and data were analyzed with independent-t test. Results: The general health level of mothers of hearing-impaired children was lower than mothers of normal hearing children (p=0.01 . The average scores of anxiety (p=0.01, depression (p= 0.01 and physical (p=0.02 symptoms and social function (p=0.01 of mothers of hearing-impaired children was higher than mothers of normal hearing ones (p=0.01. Conclusion: Having a child with hearing impairment affects mothers’ general health status. Our findings show that it’s necessary to provide psychological and social support for mothers of hearing-impaired children.

Perception of Quality of Life for Adults with Hearing Impairment in the LGBT Community

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Kelly-Campbell, Rebecca J.; Atcherson, Samuel R.

2012-01-01

The purpose of the this study was to examine the perception of both generic and disease-specific quality of life (QoL) in adults with hearing impairment who are members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Eighty-three adults who self-identified as having hearing impairment and as being members of the LGBT community and…

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

The Relationship between Self-Esteem and Academic Achievement of Girls with Hearing Impairments in Secondary Schools for the Deaf in Kenya

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Awori, Beatrice Bunyasi; Mugo, John K.; Orodho, John A.; Karugu, G. K.

2010-01-01

Several factors had been cited as contributing to the perpetually dismal academic achievement of girls with hearing impairment in Kenya. Personal esteem factors had not been adequately explored. The study used Carl Roger's client-centered theory and an Expost facto design. Rosenberg self-esteem scale was used to measure self-esteem dimensions.…

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

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Diane Bell

2016-09-01

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.

Dimensions for hearing-impaired mobile application usability model

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Elements of museum mobile augmented reality for engaging hearing impaired visitors

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Sound localization in noise in hearing-impaired listeners.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

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

Design Considerations for Internet-Delivered Self-Management Programs for Adults With Hearing Impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

Preminger, Jill E; Rothpletz, Ann M

2016-10-01

Hearing impairment (HI) is a chronic condition; thus, even with treatment, residual participation restrictions and activity limitations typically remain. Individuals must learn to self-manage their HI. The purpose of this research note is to review components of successful Internet-based self-management programs and to evaluate group auditory rehabilitation (AR) programs with varying content, in order to make recommendations for the design of future Internet-based self-management programs. Effect sizes for changes in HI-specific quality of life following group AR activities from 4 published studies were calculated to determine if effect size varied systematically as a function of group activities. These findings are described using a self-management framework. Successful group AR activities include (a) psychosocial activities to promote role management, emotional management, and social support; (b) informational lectures and group discussion to promote education; (c) communication strategy exercises to promote self-efficacy and self-management skills; and (d) the inclusion of a frequent communication partner to promote social support and self-tailoring. It is recommended that future Internet-based self-management programs focus on the mechanisms of social support and education to promote learning and self-management skills. Future research will determine if these AR activities may be implemented effectively via the Internet.

Attitudes hearing impaired children face from hearing people : a case study from Wollega, Ethiopia

OpenAIRE

Olika, Ruth Erin Liselott

2009-01-01

The aim of this research is to find out what kind of attitudes that hearing impaired children face from hearing people, and how these attitudes influence the hearing impaired child’s life. This is a qualitative research project with interview as the instrument of collecting data. The interviews were conducted in Wollega, Ethiopia with four different informant groups: Children with hearing impairment (CWHI), their parents (Parents CWHI), Children with hearing (CWH), and their parents (Parents ...

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

Perceived competence and school adjustment of hearing impaired children in mainstream primary school settings.

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Hatamizadeh, N; Ghasemi, M; Saeedi, A; Kazemnejad, A

2008-11-01

Although educational main streaming of children with special needs formally began in Iran since 1992 there is little information whether hearing impaired children feel competent in regular schools. To determine the perceived competence and school adjustment of hearing impaired children in mainstream primary school settings, the self-perception profile was administered to 60 mainstreamed hard of hearing children and 60 classmates with normal hearing matched for gender by a single interviewer. The instrument comprised 28 items, 23 of which were similar to those of 'adapted test Image for children with cochlear implants' asking children about their feelings about their own cognitive, physical, socio-emotional and communication competence and school adjustment. The Cronbach alpha coefficient for the instrument was 0.93. Hard of hearing children rated their competence significantly poorer than their hearing classmates for all domains. Mean differences for the five domains ranged from 0.48 (for physical competence) to 0.90 (for school adjustment) on a scale of 1-4. There were no significant differences between girls' and boys' competence, in either the hearing or the hearing impaired groups. Classifying overall scores for perceived competence into four groups ('poor competence', 'low competence', 'moderate competence' and 'high competence'), 23.4% of hearing impaired children but none of the hearing classmates rated themselves as having low or poor competence. On the other hand 85% of hearing children and only 18.3% of hearing impaired children rated themselves as highly competent. We suggest that periodical assessments of mainstreamed children might help to identify those children who are having difficulty adapting to their environment.

Hearing Handicap and Speech Recognition Correlate With Self-Reported Listening Effort and Fatigue.

Science.gov (United States)

Alhanbali, Sara; Dawes, Piers; Lloyd, Simon; Munro, Kevin J

To investigate the correlations between hearing handicap, speech recognition, listening effort, and fatigue. Eighty-four adults with hearing loss (65 to 85 years) completed three self-report questionnaires: the Fatigue Assessment Scale, the Effort Assessment Scale, and the Hearing Handicap Inventory for Elderly. Audiometric assessment included pure-tone audiometry and speech recognition in noise. There was a significant positive correlation between handicap and fatigue (r = 0.39, p speech recognition and fatigue (r = 0.22, p speech recognition both correlate with self-reported listening effort and fatigue, which is consistent with a model of listening effort and fatigue where perceived difficulty is related to sustained effort and fatigue for unrewarding tasks over which the listener has low control. A clinical implication is that encouraging clients to recognize and focus on the pleasure and positive experiences of listening may result in greater satisfaction and benefit from hearing aid use.

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

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 .

Hearing impairment, social support, and depressive symptoms among U.S. adults: A test of the stress process paradigm.

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West, Jessica S

2017-11-01

Hearing impairment is a growing physical disability affecting older adults and is an important physical health stressor, but few studies have examined it in relation to mental health outcomes and even fewer have considered the role of social support in buffering this relationship. The current study builds on the stress process framework and uses longitudinal data from three waves of the Health and Retirement Study (2006, 2010, 2014) to examine the relationship between hearing impairment and depressive symptoms among U.S. adults aged 50 and older (n = 6075). The analysis uses fixed-effects models to assess this relationship and examine the extent to which social support mediates (buffers) or moderates (interaction) the association. The results found that worse self-rated hearing was associated with a significant increase in depressive symptoms, even after controlling for sociodemographic factors. Social support did not buffer this relationship. Instead, social support interacted with hearing impairment: low levels of social support were associated with more depressive symptoms but only among people with poor self-rated hearing. Among those with excellent self-rated hearing, low levels of social support did not increase depressive symptoms. Moreover, high levels of social support reduced depressive symptoms for those with poor hearing. These findings suggest that hearing impairment is a chronic stressor in individuals' lives, and that responses to this stressor vary by the availability of social resources. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

38 CFR 4.85 - Evaluation of hearing impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

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...

Story retelling skills in Persian speaking hearing-impaired children.

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Jarollahi, Farnoush; Mohamadi, Reyhane; Modarresi, Yahya; Agharasouli, Zahra; Rahimzadeh, Shadi; Ahmadi, Tayebeh; Keyhani, Mohammad-Reza

2017-05-01

Since the pragmatic skills of hearing-impaired Persian-speaking children have not yet been investigated particularly through story retelling, this study aimed to evaluate some pragmatic abilities of normal-hearing and hearing-impaired children using a story retelling test. 15 normal-hearing and 15 profound hearing-impaired 7-year-old children were evaluated using the story retelling test with the content validity of 89%, construct validity of 85%, and reliability of 83%. Three macro structure criteria including topic maintenance, event sequencing, explicitness, and four macro structure criteria including referencing, conjunctive cohesion, syntax complexity, and utterance length were assessed. The test was performed with live voice in a quiet room where children were then asked to retell the story. The tasks of the children were recorded on a tape, transcribed, scored and analyzed. In the macro structure criteria, utterances of hearing-impaired students were less consistent, enough information was not given to listeners to have a full understanding of the subject, and the story events were less frequently expressed in a rational order than those of normal-hearing group (P hearing students who obtained high scores, hearing-impaired students failed to gain any scores on the items of this section. These results suggest that Hearing-impaired children were not able to use language as effectively as their hearing peers, and they utilized quite different pragmatic functions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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.

Comparison of reading comprehension and working memory in hearing-impaired and normal-hearing children

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Mohammad Rezaei

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Background and Aim: Reading is the most important human need for learning. In normal-hearing people working memory is a predictor of reading comprehension. In this study the relationship between working memory and reading comprehension skills was studied in hearing-impaired children, and then compared with the normal-hearing group.Methods: This was a descriptive-analytic study. The working memory and reading comprehension skills of 18 (8 male, 10 female sever hearing-impaired children in year five of exceptional schools were compared by means of a reading test with 18 hearing children as control group. The subjects in the control group were of the same gender and educational level of the sample group.Results: The children with hearing loss performed similarly to the normal-hearing children in tasks related to auditory-verbal memory of sounds (reverse, visual-verbal memory of letters, and visual-verbal memory of pictures. However, they showed lower levels of performance in reading comprehension (p<0.001. Moreover, no significant relationship was observed between working memory and reading comprehension skills.Conclusion: Findings indicated that children with hearing loss have a significant impairment in the reading comprehension skill. Impairment in language knowledge and vocabulary may be the main cause of poor reading comprehension in these children. In hearing-impaired children working memory is not a strong predictor of reading comprehension.

Hearing impairment among workers exposed to excessive levels of noise in ginning industries

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Kamalesh J Dube

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Cotton ginning workers have a risk of hearing loss due to excessive noise levels at the workplace environment. In this study, estimates of typical sound levels prevailing at the workplace environment and its effects on hearing ability of the exposed workers were made among cotton ginning workers. Data on self-reported health status was collected by a questionnaire survey at 10 cotton ginning industries located at Jalgaon district of Maharashtra state, India. The cotton ginning workers were exposed to continuous noise levels between 89 and 106 dBA. The hearing ability of the subjects was accessed by pure tone audiometry. The results of audiometry show mild, moderate and moderately severe degree of hearing impairment among the cotton ginning workers. The data generated during the study show that hearing loss was significantly associated with period of exposure to the workplace noise (P <0.0001. The prevalence of audiometric hearing impairment defined as a threshold average greater than 25 dB hearing level was 96% for binaural low-frequency average, 97% for binaural mid frequency average and 94% for binaural high-frequency average in the cotton ginning workers. We recommend the compulsory use of personal protective equipment like ear plug by the cotton ginning workers at the workplace environment. A regular maintenance of ginning and pressing machineries will avoid the emission of excessive noise at the workplace environment of cotton gins. A regular periodic medical examination is necessary to measure the impact of workplace noise on the health of cotton ginning workers.

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.

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.

Hearing Impairment and Incident Dementia: Findings from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

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Davies, Hilary R; Cadar, Dorina; Herbert, Annie; Orrell, Martin; Steptoe, Andrew

2017-09-01

To determine whether hearing loss is associated with incident physician-diagnosed dementia in a representative sample. Retrospective cohort study. English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Adults aged 50 and older. Cross-sectional associations between self-reported (n = 7,865) and objective hearing measures (n = 6,902) and dementia were examined using multinomial-logistic regression. The longitudinal association between self-reported hearing at Wave 2 (2004/05) and cumulative physician-diagnosed dementia up to Wave 7 (2014/15) was modelled using Cox proportional hazards regression. After adjustment for potential confounders, in cross-sectional analysis, participants who had self-reported or objective moderate and poor hearing were more likely to have a dementia diagnosis than those with normal hearing (self-reported: odds ratio OR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.1-2.4 moderate hearing; OR = 2.6, 95% CI = 1.7-3.9 poor hearing, objective: OR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.0-2.8 moderate hearing; OR = 4.4, 95% CI = 1.9-9.9 poor hearing). Longitudinally, the hazard of developing dementia was 1.4 (95% CI = 1.0-1.9) times as high in individuals who reported moderate hearing and 1.6 (95% CI = 1.1-2.0) times as high in those who reported poor hearing. Older adults with hearing loss are at greater risk of dementia than those with normal hearing. These findings are consistent with the rationale that correction of hearing loss could help delay the onset of dementia, or that hearing loss itself could serve as a risk indicator for cognitive decline. © 2017, The Authors. The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The American Geriatrics Society.

Prevalence of hearing loss and accuracy of self-report among factory workers.

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McCullagh, Marjorie C; Raymond, Delbert; Kerr, Madeleine J; Lusk, Sally L

2011-01-01

Noise represents one of the most common occupational health hazards. A Healthy People 2020 objective aims to reduce hearing loss in the noise-exposed public. The purpose of this study was to describe and compare perceived and measured hearing, and to determine the prevalence of hearing loss among a group of factory workers. Data collected as part of an intervention study promoting hearing protector use among workers at an automotive factory in the Midwest were used. Plant employees (n=2691) provided information regarding their perceived hearing ability, work role, and other demographics. The relationships among audiograms, a single-item measure of perceived hearing ability, and demographic data were explored using chi-square, McNemar's test, Mann-Whitney U-test, sensitivity, and specificity. The prevalence of hearing loss among noise-exposed factory workers was 42% (where hearing loss was defined as >25 dB loss at the OSHA-recommended frequencies of 2, 3, and 4 kHz in either ear). However, 76% of workers reported their hearing ability as excellent or good. The difference in perceived hearing ability was significant at each tested frequency between those with and without measured hearing loss. Self-reported hearing ability was poorly related to results of audiometry. Although this group of workers was employed in a regulated environment and served by a hearing conservation program, hearing loss was highly prevalent. These findings, together with national prevalence estimates, support the need for evaluation of hearing conservation programs and increased attention to the national goal of reducing adult hearing loss.

Prevalence of hearing loss and accuracy of self-report among factory workers

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Marjorie C McCullagh

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Noise represents one of the most common occupational health hazards. A Healthy People 2020 objective aims to reduce hearing loss in the noise-exposed public. The purpose of this study was to describe and compare perceived and measured hearing, and to determine the prevalence of hearing loss among a group of factory workers. Data collected as part of an intervention study promoting hearing protector use among workers at an automotive factory in the Midwest were used. Plant employees (n=2691 provided information regarding their perceived hearing ability, work role, and other demographics. The relationships among audiograms, a single-item measure of perceived hearing ability, and demographic data were explored using chi-square, McNemar′s test, Mann-Whitney U-test, sensitivity, and specificity. The prevalence of hearing loss among noise-exposed factory workers was 42% (where hearing loss was defined as >25 dB loss at the OSHA-recommended frequencies of 2, 3, and 4 kHz in either ear. However, 76% of workers reported their hearing ability as excellent or good. The difference in perceived hearing ability was significant at each tested frequency between those with and without measured hearing loss. Self-reported hearing ability was poorly related to results of audiometry. Although this group of workers was employed in a regulated environment and served by a hearing conservation program, hearing loss was highly prevalent. These findings, together with national prevalence estimates, support the need for evaluation of hearing conservation programs and increased attention to the national goal of reducing adult hearing loss.

Exploring the influence of culture on hearing help-seeking and hearing-aid uptake.

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Zhao, Fei; Manchaiah, Vinaya; St Claire, Lindsay; Danermark, Berth; Jones, Lesley; Brandreth, Marian; Krishna, Rajalakshmi; Goodwin, Robin

2015-07-01

The purpose of this paper was to highlight the importance of cultural influence in understanding hearing-help seeking and hearing-aid uptake. Information on audiological services in different countries and 'theories related to cross-culture' is presented, followed by a general discussion. Twenty-seven relevant literature reviews on hearing impairment, cross-cultural studies, and the health psychology model and others as secondary resources. Despite the adverse consequences of hearing impairment and the significant potential benefits of audiological rehabilitation, only a small number of those with hearing impairment seek professional help and take up appropriate rehabilitation. Therefore, hearing help-seeking and hearing-aid uptake has recently become the hot topic for clinicians and researchers. Previous research has identified many contributing factors for hearing help-seeking with self-reported hearing disability being one of the main factors. Although significant differences in help-seeking and hearing-aid adoption rates have been reported across countries in population studies, limited literature on the influence of cross-cultural factors in this area calls for an immediate need for research. This paper highlights the importance of psychological models and cross-cultural research in the area of hearing help-seeking and hearing-aid uptake, and consequently some directions for future research are proposed.

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.

Stereotype Threat Lowers Older Adults' Self-Reported Hearing Abilities.

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Barber, Sarah J; Lee, Soohyoung Rain

2015-01-01

Although stereotype threat is a well-documented phenomenon, previous studies examining it in older adults have almost exclusively focused on objective cognitive outcomes. Considerably less attention has been paid to the impact of stereotype threat on older adults' subjective assessments of their own abilities or to the impact of stereotype threat in noncognitive domains. Older adults are stereotyped as having experienced not only cognitive declines, but physical declines as well. The current study tested the prediction that stereotype threat can negatively influence older adults' subjective hearing abilities. To test this, 115 adults (mean age 50.03 years, range 41-67) read either a positive or negative description about how aging affects hearing. All participants then answered a questionnaire in which they assessed their own hearing abilities. The impact of stereotype threat on self-reported hearing was moderated by chronological age. Participants in their 40s and early 50s were unaffected by the stereotype threat manipulation. In contrast, participants in their late 50s and 60s rated their hearing as being subjectively worse when under stereotype threat. The current study provides a clear demonstration that stereotype threat negatively impacts older adults' subjective assessments of their own abilities. It is also the first study to demonstrate an effect of stereotype threat within the domain of hearing. These results have important implications for researchers investigating age-related hearing decline. Stereotype threat can lead to overestimation of the prevalence of age-related hearing decline. It can also serve as a confounding variable when examining the psychosocial correlates of hearing loss. Because of this, researchers studying age-related hearing loss should aim to provide a stereotype threat-free testing environment and also include assessments of stereotype threat within their studies. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Stereotype threat lowers older adults’ self-reported hearing abilities

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Barber, Sarah J.; Lee, Soohyoung Rain

2016-01-01

Background Although stereotype threat is a well-documented phenomenon, previous studies examining it in older adults have almost exclusively focused on objective cognitive outcomes. Considerably less attention has been paid to the impact of stereotype threat on older adults’ subjective assessments of their own abilities or to the impact of stereotype threat in non-cognitive domains. Objective Older adults are stereotyped as having experienced not only cognitive declines, but physical declines as well. The current study tested the prediction that stereotype threat can negatively influence older adult's subjective hearing abilities. Methods To test this, 115 adults (M age = 50.02, range = 41-67) read either a positive or negative description about how aging affects hearing. All participants then answered a questionnaire in which they assessed their own hearing abilities. Results The impact of stereotype threat on self-reported hearing was moderated by chronological age. Participants in their 40's and early 50's were unaffected by the stereotype threat manipulation. In contrast, participants in their late 50's and 60's rated their hearing as being subjectively worse when under stereotype threat. Conclusion The current study provides a clear demonstration that stereotype threat negatively impacts older adults’ subjective assessments of their own abilities. It is also the first study to demonstrate an effect of stereotype threat within the domain of hearing. These results have important implications for researchers investigating age-related hearing decline. Stereotype threat can lead to overestimation of the prevalence of age-related hearing decline. It can also serve as a confounding variable when examining the psychosocial correlates of hearing loss. Because of this, researchers studying age-related hearing loss should aim to provide a stereotype-threat free testing environment and also include assessments of stereotype threat within their studies. PMID:26461273

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.

Concurrent Speech Segregation Problems in Hearing Impaired Children

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Hossein Talebi

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Objective: This study was a basic investigation of the ability of concurrent speech segregation in hearing impaired children. Concurrent segregation is one of the fundamental components of auditory scene analysis and plays an important role in speech perception. In the present study, we compared auditory late responses or ALRs between hearing impaired and normal children. Materials & Methods: Auditory late potentials in response to 12 double vowels were recorded in 10 children with moderate to severe sensory neural hearing loss and 10 normal children. Double vowels (pairs of synthetic vowels were presented concurrently and binaurally. Fundamental frequency (F0 of these vowels and the size of the difference in F0 between vowels was 100 Hz and 0.5 semitones respectively. Results: Comparing N1-P2 amplitude showed statistically significant difference in some stimuli between hearing impaired and normal children (P<0.05. This complex indexing the vowel change detection and reflecting central auditory speech representation without active client participation was decreased in hearing impaired children. Conclusion: This study showed problems in concurrent speech segregation in hearing impaired children evidenced by ALRs. This information indicated deficiencies in bottom-up processing of speech characteristics based on F0 and its differences in these children.

Self-reported disability and handicap after hearing-aid fitting and benefit of hearing aids: comparison of fitting procedures, degree of hearing loss, experience with hearing aids and uni- and bilateral fittings

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Metselaar, Mick; Maat, Bert; Krijnen, Pieta; Verschuure, Hans; Dreschler, Wouter A.; Feenstra, Louw

2009-01-01

Self-reported outcome on hearing disability and handicap as well as overall health-related quality of life were measured after hearing-aid fitting in a large-scale clinical population. Fitting was performed according to two different procedures in a double-blind study design. We used a comparative

Self-reported disability and handicap after hearing-aid fitting and benefit of hearing aids : comparison of fitting procedures, degree of hearing loss, experience with hearing aids and uni- and bilateral fittings

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Metselaar, Mick; Maat, Bert; Krijnen, Pieta; Verschuure, Hans; Dreschler, Wouter A; Feenstra, Louw

Self-reported outcome on hearing disability and handicap as well as overall health-related quality of life were measured after hearing-aid fitting in a large-scale clinical population. Fitting was performed according to two different procedures in a double-blind study design. We used a comparative

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LIFE BUILDING SKILLS AND SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT OF STUDENTS WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENT: IMPLICATIONS FOR COUNSELING

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Samuel O. ADENIYI

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Introduction Hearing impairment contributes greatly to social and psychological deficits of the affected individuals, which can affect their interpersonal relation. The inability to hear and communicate effectively results in adjustment problem that leads to social isolation. Objectives: The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between life building skills and social adjustment of students with hearing impairment. Methods: The study employed descriptive survey research design. The samples consisted of 150 students with hearing impairment purposively selected from two inclusive schools in Lagos state, Nigeria. The samples comprised of 65 boys and 85 girls with age range between 15 and 18 years in the Senior Secondary School. The instruments used for data collection were Life building skills inventory (adapted with reliability of 0.80 and Social adjustment scale (Self developed. The instruments consisted of two sections namely: A&B. Section A of Life building skills contained bio- data of the respondents, while B contained 3 subscales: Self-efficacy inventory adapted from Schwarzer and Jerusalem 1995 with reliability of 0.85, Decision-making inventory adapted from Rowe 1997 with reliability of 0.75, Assertiveness inventory adapted from Aberti and Emmons 1995 with reliability of 0.80. The self-constructed Social Adjustment scale contained 10 items probing questions with reliability of 0.69. Data collected was analysed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Multiple Regression. Results: The results revealed relative contributions of some life building skills to social adjustment of students with hearing impairment. There were joint contributions of the independent variables to dependent variable, while decision-making contributed mostly. Conclusion: This study examined relationship between life building skills and social adjustment of students with hearing impairment with a bid to provide adequate counseling services. It was

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.

French-Canadian translation and validation of four questionnaires assessing hearing impairment and handicap.

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Vincent, Claude; Gagné, Jean-Pierre; Leroux, Tony; Clothier, Audrey; Larivière, Marianne; Dumont, Frédéric S; Gendron, Martine

2017-04-01

Questionnaires evaluating hearing impairment are available in English but there is a need for French standardised questionnaires for researchers as well as for audiologists and other clinicians. The objective of this study is to describe the translation and validation of four questionnaires that assess different aspects of hearing impairment and handicap among elders with hearing loss, by comparing the main score and psychometric evaluation of original and French-Canadian (FC) versions of the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Scale II (WHO-DAS II), the Screening Test for Hearing Problems (STHP), the Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB) and the Measure of Audiologic Rehabilitation Self-Efficacy for Hearing Aids (MARS-HA). Vallerand method: translation and back-translation by two translators, revision by a committee of experts and pre-tested with five bilingual older participants. Participants (n = 29) were 65 years of age or older including 21 with hearing aids. The psychometric properties (internal consistency, temporal stability after four weeks) indicate good reliability for most of the translated questionnaires and their subscales, especially the WHO-DAS II. The translations in FC of two hearing loss and two hearing aid questionnaires were validated. It is recommended to pursue the demonstration for temporal stability for the STHP.

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.

Status of Perceived Social Support and Quality of Life among Hearing-Impaired Adolescents

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Tayebeh Reyhani

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Background Annual four to five thousand babies are born with hearing loss in the Iran. Hearing impairment is a disability that affects the quality of life of people with this problem. These individuals need to support from family and friends because of their specific conditions that this received support has impact on their quality of life. This study was conducted to assess the status of perceived social support and quality of life of hearing-impaired adolescent. Material and Methods A cross-correlation study was performed with cluster and multi stage random sampling method on 83 students with hearing impairment who met the inclusion criteria of the study in Mashhad. The data collection tools included Pediatric quality of life inventory (adolescent form and perceived social support inventory (from family and friends.The data obtained from the questionnaires were analyzed through SPSS software version 16. Results The results showed that the majority of the most of adolescents with hearing impairment were reported moderate total quality of life (%51.8. But the majority of them reported perceived social support from family was moderate (%61.5 and from friends was week (%45.8. Also there was a significant relationship between category of total quality of life of adolescent viewpoint with perceived social support from family (P=0.056. Conclusion Based on the obtained results, the majority of the most of adolescents with hearing impairment were reported moderate total quality of life. Disability and condition of these persons affects quality of life of them, so need for adequate support from family, friends and society. Nurses play an important role in identifying and introduce these needs and condition and how to deal with them.

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.

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.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Hearing aid fitting for visual and hearing impaired patients with Usher syndrome type IIa.

Science.gov (United States)

Hartel, B P; Agterberg, M J H; Snik, A F; Kunst, H P M; van Opstal, A J; Bosman, A J; Pennings, R J E

2017-08-01

Usher syndrome is the leading cause of hereditary deaf-blindness. Most patients with Usher syndrome type IIa start using hearing aids from a young age. A serious complaint refers to interference between sound localisation abilities and adaptive sound processing (compression), as present in today's hearing aids. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of advanced signal processing on binaural hearing, including sound localisation. In this prospective study, patients were fitted with hearing aids with a nonlinear (compression) and linear amplification programs. Data logging was used to objectively evaluate the use of either program. Performance was evaluated with a speech-in-noise test, a sound localisation test and two questionnaires focussing on self-reported benefit. Data logging confirmed that the reported use of hearing aids was high. The linear program was used significantly more often (average use: 77%) than the nonlinear program (average use: 17%). The results for speech intelligibility in noise and sound localisation did not show a significant difference between type of amplification. However, the self-reported outcomes showed higher scores on 'ease of communication' and overall benefit, and significant lower scores on disability for the new hearing aids when compared to their previous hearing aids with compression amplification. Patients with Usher syndrome type IIa prefer a linear amplification over nonlinear amplification when fitted with novel hearing aids. Apart from a significantly higher logged use, no difference in speech in noise and sound localisation was observed between linear and nonlinear amplification with the currently used tests. Further research is needed to evaluate the reasons behind the preference for the linear settings. © 2016 The Authors. Clinical Otolaryngology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

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

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.

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

Associations Between the Self-Reported Frequency of Hearing Chemical Alarms in Theater and Visuospatial Function in Gulf War Veterans.

Science.gov (United States)

Chao, Linda L

2016-10-01

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the self-reported frequencies of hearing chemical alarms during deployment and visuospatial function in Gulf War (GW) veterans. The relationship between the self-reported frequency of hearing chemical alarms, neurobehavioral, and volumetric brain imaging data was examined with correlational, regression, and mediation analyses. The self-reported frequency of hearing chemical alarms was inversely associated with and significantly predicted performance on a visuospatial task (ie, Block Design) over and above potentially confounding variables, including concurrent, correlated GW-related exposures. This effect was partially mediated by the relationship between hearing chemical alarms and lateral occipital cortex volume. Exposure to substances that triggered chemical alarms during GW deployment likely had adverse effects on veterans' brain structure and function, warranting further investigation of whether these GW veterans are at an increased risk for dementia.

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.

Explaining Discrepancies Between the Digit Triplet Speech-in-Noise Test Score and Self-Reported Hearing Problems in Older Adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Pronk, Marieke; Deeg, Dorly J H; Kramer, Sophia E

2018-04-17

The purpose of this study is to determine which demographic, health-related, mood, personality, or social factors predict discrepancies between older adults' functional speech-in-noise test result and their self-reported hearing problems. Data of 1,061 respondents from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam were used (ages ranged from 57 to 95 years). Functional hearing problems were measured using a digit triplet speech-in-noise test. Five questions were used to assess self-reported hearing problems. Scores of both hearing measures were dichotomized. Two discrepancy outcomes were created: (a) being unaware: those with functional but without self-reported problems (reference is aware: those with functional and self-reported problems); (b) reporting false complaints: those without functional but with self-reported problems (reference is well: those without functional and self-reported hearing problems). Two multivariable prediction models (logistic regression) were built with 19 candidate predictors. The speech reception threshold in noise was kept (forced) as a predictor in both models. Persons with higher self-efficacy (to initiate behavior) and higher self-esteem had a higher odds to being unaware than persons with lower self-efficacy scores (odds ratio [OR] = 1.13 and 1.11, respectively). Women had a higher odds than men (OR = 1.47). Persons with more chronic diseases and persons with worse (i.e., higher) speech-in-noise reception thresholds in noise had a lower odds to being unaware (OR = 0.85 and 0.91, respectively) than persons with less diseases and better thresholds, respectively. A higher odds to reporting false complaints was predicted by more depressive symptoms (OR = 1.06), more chronic diseases (OR = 1.21), and a larger social network (OR = 1.02). Persons with higher self-efficacy (to complete behavior) had a lower odds (OR = 0.86), whereas persons with higher self-esteem had a higher odds to report false complaints (OR = 1.21). The explained variance

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...

Improving Hearing Aid Self-Efficacy and Utility Through Revising a Hearing Aid User Guide: A Pilot Study.

Science.gov (United States)

McMullan, Alexandra; Kelly-Campbell, Rebecca J; Wise, Kim

2018-03-08

This pilot study aimed to investigate whether revising a hearing aid user guide (HAUG) is associated with improved hearing aid self-efficacy and utility performance. In Part 1, an HAUG was evaluated using the Suitability Assessment of Material (SAM) and readability formulas (Flesch Reading Ease [Flesch, 1943], Flesch-Kincaid Readability Formula [Kincaid, Fishburne, Rogers, & Chissom, 1957], and Simple Measure of Gobbledygook [McLaughlin, 1969]). The HAUG was revised using results from the SAM and best practice guidelines. The revision included generating a video. In Part 2, 30 adults with hearing impairment were randomly assigned to use either the original guide (N = 15) or the revised guide and video (N = 15) to perform a utility task. Participants' self-efficacy was measured using the Basic and Advanced Handling subscales of the Measure of Audiologic Rehabilitation Self-Efficacy for Hearing Aids questionnaire. SAM and readability were compared between the original and revised guides (Doak, Doak, & Root, 1996). SAM and readability were improved following the revision. Participants in the revised guide group performed significantly better on the utility task and on the Measure of Audiologic Rehabilitation Self-Efficacy for Hearing Aids subscales than participants in the original guide group. These results are encouraging as they indicate that there is scope to influence self-efficacy and utility performance through the use of appropriate HAUGs.

Hearing Aid Use and Mild Hearing Impairment: Learnings from Big Data.

Science.gov (United States)

Timmer, Barbra H B; Hickson, Louise; Launer, Stefan

2017-09-01

Previous research, mostly reliant on self-reports, has indicated that hearing aid (HA) use is related to the degree of hearing impairment (HI). No large-scale investigation of the relationship between data-logged HA use and HI has been conducted to date. This study aimed to investigate if objective measures of overall daily HA use and HA use in various listening environments are different for adults with mild HI compared to adults with moderate HI. This retrospective study used data extracted from a database of fitting appointments from an international group of HA providers. Only data from the participants' most recent fitting appointment were included in the final dataset. A total of 8,489 bilateral HA fittings of adults over the age of 18 yr, conducted between January 2013 and June 2014, were included. Participants were subsequently allocated to HI groups, based on British Society of Audiology and American Speech-Language-Hearing Association audiometric descriptors. Fitting data from participating HA providers were regularly transferred to a central server. The data, with all personal information except age and gender removed, contained participants' four-frequency average (at 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz) as well as information on HA characteristics and usage. Following data cleaning, bivariate and post hoc statistical analyses were conducted. The total sample of adults' average daily HA use was 8.52 hr (interquartile range [IQR] = 5.49-11.77) in the left ear and 8.51 hr (IQR = 5.49-11.72) in the right ear. With a few exceptions, there were no statistical differences between hours of HA use for participants with mild HI compared to those with moderate impairment. Across all mild and moderate HI groups, the most common overall HA usage was between 8 and 12 hr per day. Other factors such as age, gender, and HA style also showed no relationship to hours of use. HAs were used, on average, for 7 hr (IQR = 4.27-9.96) per day in quiet and 1 hr (IQR = 0.33-1.41) per

Hearing acuity as a predictor of walking difficulties in older women.

Science.gov (United States)

Viljanen, Anne; Kaprio, Jaakko; Pyykkö, Ilmari; Sorri, Martti; Koskenvuo, Markku; Rantanen, Taina

2009-12-01

To examine whether hearing acuity correlates with walking ability and whether impaired hearing at baseline predicts new self-reported walking difficulties after 3 years. Prospective follow-up. Research laboratory and community. Four hundred thirty-four women aged 63 to 76. Hearing was measured using clinical audiometry. A person was defined as having a hearing impairment if a pure-tone average of thresholds at 0.5 to 4 kHz in the better ear was 21 dB or greater. Maximal walking speed was measured over 10 m (m/s), walking endurance as the distance (m), covered in 6 minutes and difficulties in walking 2 km according to self-report. At baseline, women with hearing impairment (n=179) had slower maximal walking speed (1.7 +/- 0.3 m/s vs 1.8 +/- 0.3 m/s, P=.007), lower walking endurance (520 +/- 75 m vs 536 +/- 75 m, P=.08), and more selfreported major difficulties in walking 2 km (12.8% vs 5.5%, P=.02) than those without hearing impairment. During follow-up, major walking difficulties developed for 33 participants. Women with hearing impairment at baseline had a twice the age-adjusted risk for new walking difficulties as those without hearing impairment (odds ratio=2.04, 95% confidence interval=0.96-4.33). Hearing acuity correlated with mobility, which may be explained by the association between impaired hearing and poor balance and greater risk for falls, both of which underlie decline in mobility. Prevention of hearing loss is not only important for the ability to communicate, but may also have more wide-ranging influences on functional ability.

Hearing loss prevention education using adopt-a-band: changes in self-reported earplug use in two high school marching bands.

Science.gov (United States)

Auchter, Melissa; Le Prell, Colleen G

2014-06-01

Hearing loss prevention has always been an important issue for audiologists. The importance of hearing loss prevention education for young musicians is now recognized by the National Association for Music Education as well as the National Association of Schools of Music. Adopt-a-Band is a commercial program designed to foster hearing loss prevention behavior in young musicians. This study assessed changes in earplug use, measured using self-report surveys, after Adopt-a-Band training. Participants were members of 2 high school marching bands who viewed an informational DVD and reviewed fact sheets. Flat-attenuation earplugs were distributed, and training was provided. In addition, study participants engaged in discussion of hearing loss with a doctor of audiology student. Before training, 23% of participants reported they had previously used hearing protection. Immediately after training, 94% of participants reported they planned to use hearing protection at least occasionally. In a final end-of-season survey, earplug use had reliably increased; 62% of participants reported they used earplugs at least occasionally. Earplug use increased, but self-reported behavioral change was not as robust as predicted from self-reported participant intentions. Participant comments regarding factors that influenced their earplug use decisions suggest opportunities to improve training.

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

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.

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...

Negotiating hearing disability and hearing disabled identities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lykke Hindhede, Anette

2012-01-01

  　 Using disability theory as a framework and social science theories of identity to strengthen the arguments, this paper explores empirically how working-age adults confront the medical diagnosis of hearing impairment. For most participants hearing impairment threatens the stability of social...... interaction and the construction of hearing disabled identities is seen as shaped in the interaction with the hearing impaired person‟s surroundings. In order to overcome the potential stigmatisation the „passing‟ as normal becomes predominant. For many the diagnosis provokes radical redefinitions of the self....... The discursively produced categorisation and subjectivity of senescence mean that rehabilitation technologies such as hearing aids identify a particular life-style (disabled) which determines their social significance. Thus wearing a hearing aid works against the contemporary attempt to create socially ideal...

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

Motivation to Address Self-Reported Hearing Problems in Adults with Normal Hearing Thresholds

Science.gov (United States)

Alicea, Carly C. M.; Doherty, Karen A.

2017-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the motivation to change in relation to hearing problems in adults with normal hearing thresholds but who report hearing problems and that of adults with a mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing loss. Factors related to their motivation were also assessed. Method: The motivation to change in…

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...

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....

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

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.

Rhyme and Syllable Recognition in Severe to Profound Hearing-Impaired Children

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MohammadReza Keihani

2003-09-01

Full Text Available Objective: A research was conducted to assess the phonological awareness in hearing-impaired children in comparison to normal children. In this context, we discussed about the ability of these children in identification of rhyme and word segmentation to syllables. Method and Material: The sample of this study is composed of 320 children, 160 normal & 160 hearing-impaired with a hearing-loss. Of over 70 dB, studying in the 1st t 4th grade of the primary schools in Tehran. They are divided into two groups at each level (20 girls & 20 boys. Results: 1 Hearing-impaired children's scores on test related to rhyme and syllable is lower as compared with normal children. 2 Hearing-impaired children are more potent on test of word segmentation to syllables in comparison to that related to rhyme, while normal children are more successful on test of word segmentation to syllables as compared with that related to rhyme. Discussion: Hearing is an important factor in phonological awareness. Formal education at special schools doesn't compensate for the hearing impairment as to development of the phonological awareness.

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

Cantonese tone production performance of mainstream school children with hearing impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheung, Karen K L; Lau, Ada H Y; Lam, Joffee H S; Lee, Kathy Y S

2014-12-01

This study investigated the Cantonese tone production ability of children with hearing impairment studying in mainstream schools. The participants were 87 Cantonese-speaking children with mild-to-profound degrees of hearing loss aged 5.92-13.58 in Hong Kong. Most of the children were fitted with hearing aids (n = 65); 17 of them had profound hearing impairment, one who had severe hearing loss had cochlear implantation, and four who had mild hearing loss were without any hearing device. The Hong Kong Cantonese Articulation Test was administered, and the tones produced were rated by two of the authors and a speech-language pathologist. Group effects of tones, hearing loss level, and also an interaction of the two were found to be significant. The children with profound hearing impairment performed significantly worse than most of the other children. Tone 1 was produced most accurately, whereas tone 6 productions were the poorest. No relationship was found between the number of years of mainstreaming and tone production ability. Tone production error pattern revealed that confusion patterns in tone perception coincided with those in production. Tones having a similar fundamental frequency (F0) at the onset also posed difficulty in tone production for children with hearing impairment.

Narrative competence among hearing-impaired and normal-hearing children: analytical cross-sectional study

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Alexandra Dezani Soares

Full Text Available CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Oral narrative is a means of language development assessment. However, standardized data for deaf patients are scarce. The aim here was to compare the use of narrative competence between hearing-impaired and normal-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 moderately to profoundly bilaterally hearing-impaired children (cases and 21 normal-hearing children without language abnormalities (controls, matched according to sex, age, schooling level and school type, were studied. A board showing pictures in a temporally logical sequence was presented to each child, to elicit a narrative, and the child's performance relating to narrative structure and cohesion was measured. The frequencies of variables, their associations (Mann-Whitney test and their 95% confidence intervals was analyzed. RESULTS: The deaf subjects showed poorer performance regarding narrative structure, use of connectives, cohesion measurements and general punctuation (P < 0.05. There were no differences in the number of propositions elaborated or in referent specification between the two groups. The deaf children produced a higher proportion of orientation-related propositions (P = 0.001 and lower proportions of propositions relating to complicating actions (P = 0.015 and character reactions (P = 0.005. CONCLUSION: Hearing-impaired children have abnormalities in different aspects of language, involving form, content and use, in relation to their normal-hearing peers. Narrative competence was also associated with the children's ages and the school type.

Envelhecimento e deficiência auditiva referida: um estudo de base populacional Aging and self-reported hearing loss: a population-based study

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Karina Mary de Paiva

2011-07-01

-time activities and 11.4% needed help in routine activities, while 63.3% required no assistance due to their impairment. The high prevalence of self-reported hearing loss in the elderly, especially in men, highlights the importance of this public health problem. Population aging is a new reality, placing increasing demands on healthcare professionals and government.

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

Hearing Impairment Among Children Referred to a Public Audiology Clinic in Gaborone, Botswana.

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Banda, Francis M; Powis, Kathleen M; Mokoka, Agnes B; Mmapetla, Moalosi; Westmoreland, Katherine D; David, Thuso; Steenhoff, Andrew P

2018-01-01

Objective . To describe and quantify hearing impairment among children referred to the audiology clinic in Princess Marina Hospital, a public referral hospital in Botswana. Methods . In a retrospective case series, we reviewed medical records of children aged 10 years and younger whose hearing was assessed between January 2006 and December 2015 at the audiology clinic of Princess Marina Hospital in Gaborone, Botswana. Results . Of 622 children, 50% were male, and median age was 6.7 years (interquartile range = 5.0-8.3). Hearing impairment was diagnosed in 32% of clinic attendees, comprising sensorineural (23%), conductive (25%), and mixed (11%) hearing loss, while 41% of children with diagnosed hearing impairment did not have a classification type. Hearing impairment was mild in 22.9%, moderate in 22.4%, severe in 19.4%, profound in 16.9%, and of undocumented severity in 18.4%. Children younger than 5 years were 2.7 times (95% confidence interval = 1.29-5.49; P = .008) more likely to be diagnosed with sensorineural hearing impairment compared with those older than 5 years. By contrast, children older than 5 years were 9.6 times (95% confidence interval = 2.22-41.0; P = .002) more likely to be diagnosed with conductive hearing loss compared with those under 5 years. Conclusion . Hearing impairment was common among children referred to this audiology clinic in Botswana. Of those with hearing impairment, more than a third had moderate or severe deficits, suggesting that referrals for hearing assessments are not occurring early enough. Hearing awareness programs individually tailored to parents, educators, and health care workers are needed. Neonatal and school hearing screening programs would also be beneficial.

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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...

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

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.

O autoconceito do adolescente deficiente auditivo e sua relação com o uso do aparelho de amplificação sonora individual Hearing impaired adolescents' self-concept and their relations to hearing aids

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Ana Paula Zugliani

2007-04-01

Full Text Available Para o adolescente com deficiência auditiva, o processo de formação da identidade tem nuances próprias. Além do conflito específico da fase, ele tem que formar sua identidade como pessoa que possui uma perda auditiva e que necessita usar aparelho de amplificação sonora individual (AASI. Considerando que os fatores que influenciam o uso desse recurso são inúmeros, este trabalho teve por objetivo verificar a relação do autoconceito do adolescente deficiente auditivo (DA com o uso do AASI, a partir da percepção do próprio adolescente e de seus pais. A Escala de Autoconceito - EACIJ - e questionários foram aplicados a 30 adolescentes deficientes auditivos, com idades de 12 a 16 anos, em tratamento no Centro de Distúrbios da Audição, Linguagem e Visão (CEDALVI do HRAC/USP e a seus pais. Os resultados mostraram que a maioria dos adolescentes estudados faz uso efetivo de seu AASI e tem autoconceito positivo. Concluiu-se que o uso constante desse recurso está associado às boas condições do autoconceito e ao suporte psicossocial da equipe multi / interdisciplinar.For adolescents who have hearing impairment, the identity formation process has its own subtleties. Besides the conflicts which are a part of being a teenager, he/she has to form his/her identity as someone who has a hearing loss and needs a hearing aid. Taking into account the countless factors influencing the use of this resource, this study aimed to undercover the relations between self-concepts of deaf adolescents to the use of hearing aid, looking at the adolescents' own perceptions and those of his parents. The Self-concept Scale - EACIJ - and questionnaires were applied to 30 hearing impaired adolescents, aged 12-16 years, undergoing treatment at the Centro de Distúrbios da Audição, Linguagem e Visão (CEDALVI, a service center within the HRAC/USP, and to their parents. The results showed that most of the subjects involved in the study actually use their hearing

Acoustics and sociolinguistics: Patterns of communication in hearing impairing classrooms

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Perception Development of Complex Syntactic Construction in Children with Hearing Impairment

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Robab Teymouri

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Objectives: Auditory perception or hearing ability is critical for children in acquisition of language and speech hence hearing loss has different effects on individuals’ linguistic perception, and also on their functions. It seems that deaf people suffer from language and speech impairments such as in perception of complex linguistic constructions. This research was aimed to study the perception of complex syntactic constructions in children with hearing-impairment. Methods: The study design was case-control. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, twenty children with severe to profound hearing impairment, aged 8-12 years and twenty normal-hearing children, aged 6-7 years were selected in a simple random sampling from exceptional schools for deaf people and from normal kindergartens and schools for normal cases. The perception of sentences was tested by using a researcher-made task called sentence-picture matching task. At first the content validity was determined and then the reliability was confirmed with Cronbach Alpha Test. Data were analyzed by statistical tests such as Independent Samples T-Test and Mann-Whitney U Test using SPSS. Results: Perception of the group with hearing-impairment was significantly lower than the normal control group. The hearing-impaired children failed to perceive complex syntactic structures. Linguistic function of the group with hearing-impairment on perception of sentences with simple word order was better than on complex sentences. Discussion: If rich linguistic inputs are not available for children during the critical period of the first language acquisition, the syntactic skill, especially in complex syntactic constructions, will not normally develop. In order to establish a foundation for a healthy perfect development of syntax, at the early years of life, children should be exposed to a natural language.

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.

Self-Fitting Hearing Aids

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Gitte Keidser

2016-04-01

Full Text Available A self-contained, self-fitting hearing aid (SFHA is a device that enables the user to perform both threshold measurements leading to a prescribed hearing aid setting and fine-tuning, without the need for audiological support or access to other equipment. The SFHA has been proposed as a potential solution to address unmet hearing health care in developing countries and remote locations in the developed world and is considered a means to lower cost and increase uptake of hearing aids in developed countries. This article reviews the status of the SFHA and the evidence for its feasibility and challenges and predicts where it is heading. Devices that can be considered partly or fully self-fitting without audiological support were identified in the direct-to-consumer market. None of these devices are considered self-contained as they require access to other hardware such as a proprietary interface, computer, smartphone, or tablet for manipulation. While there is evidence that self-administered fitting processes can provide valid and reliable results, their success relies on user-friendly device designs and interfaces and easy-to-interpret instructions. Until these issues have been sufficiently addressed, optional assistance with the self-fitting process and on-going use of SFHAs is recommended. Affordability and a sustainable delivery system remain additional challenges for the SFHA in developing countries. Future predictions include a growth in self-fitting products, with most future SFHAs consisting of earpieces that connect wirelessly with a smartphone and providers offering assistance through a telehealth infrastructure, and the integration of SFHAs into the traditional hearing health-care model.

The effectiveness of linguistic plays on the grammatical skills of hearing-impaired children with hearing aids

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Sahar Mohammad Esmaeilzadeh

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Background and Aim: Grammatical skills development of hearing-impaired children depends on using appropriate educational rehabilitation programs. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of linguistic plays on the grammatical skills in hearing-impaired children with hearing aids.Methods: Ten hearing-impaired children with hearing aids, aged between 5 and 7, were randomly assigned to two groups (5 children in each group. Each treatment group received 12 sessions on linguistic plays. The grammatical skills of these children were evaluated via the TOLD-P: 3 (Persian version; in addition, their level of intelligence was assessed by the Raven test.Results: The difference between the scores of both control and treatment groups revealed a statistically significant difference in grammatical skills (t=7.61, p=0.001 and three subskills of the children who participated in the linguistic plays. These subskills include syntactic understanding (t=3.16, p=0.013, sentence imitation (t=1.71, p=0.006, and morphological completion (t=6.55, p=0.001. In other words, the findings suggest that linguistic plays have a significant impact on the improvement of the aforementioned skills in hearing-impaired children.Conclusion: Results suggest that it would be beneficial to include linguistic plays as part of routine rehabilitation programs as a means of improving the grammatical difficulties of children. After partaking in linguistic plays, children significantly improved their ability to comprehend the meaning of sentences and also to recognize, understand, and use common Persian morphological forms.

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 ...

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

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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.

Self-Evaluation Scores of Hearing Difficulties and Quality of Life Components among Retired Workers with Noise-Related Hearing Loss

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MIYAKITA, T.; UEDA, A.; ZUSHO, H.; KUDOH, Y.

2002-02-01

This study is intended to clarify the relationships between hearing loss caused both by noise exposure and aging and self-rated scores of hearing disabilities and to elucidate the structure of the quality of life (QOL) determinants and their moderating conditions among retired workers with noise-related hearing loss. The questionnaire consisted of three parts: background questions, the hearing disabilities and handicap scale (HDHS), and questions regarding QOL covering five areas, self-rated health, personal health practice, social support network, life satisfaction, and life events. Two hundred ten retired workers aged 56-65 years old (60·6±1·6) with noise-related hearing loss responded to our questionnaire. All were previously engaged in noise exposed work such as shipbuilding, steel and woodwork. According to the hearing disability score (DIS score), subjects were divided into three groups and comparisons were made of the hearing handicap score (HD score) among those groups. Although groups with a higher DIS score showed a higher HD score, a large individual difference in HD score was observed in each of the three groups with the same DIS score level. The results of multiple regression analysis including two variables (life satisfaction and HD score) as the dependent variables and seven variables as the independent variables showed that the strongest explanatory variable for life satisfaction was social support network, followed by handicaps caused by hearing disabilities, self-rated health and personal health practice. It was demonstrated that hearing disabilities and handicap measured by the Japanese version of the HDHS were directly associated with the deterioration in QOL. Measures of the social support network, life satisfaction, and hearing disabilities and handicaps may assist in the detection of workers who can be targeted for a variety of interventions, such as audiological rehabilitation or the creation of a barrier-free community that is supportive

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

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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...

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

Modeling auditory perception of individual hearing-impaired listeners

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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...

Working memory and novel word learning in children with hearing impairment and children with specific language impairment.

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Hansson, K; Forsberg, J; Löfqvist, A; Mäki-Torkko, E; Sahlén, B

2004-01-01

Working memory is considered to influence a range of linguistic skills, i.e. vocabulary acquisition, sentence comprehension and reading. Several studies have pointed to limitations of working memory in children with specific language impairment. Few studies, however, have explored the role of working memory for language deficits in children with hearing impairment. The first aim was to compare children with mild-to-moderate bilateral sensorineural hearing impairment, children with a preschool diagnosis of specific language impairment and children with normal language development, aged 9-12 years, for language and working memory. The special focus was on the role of working memory in learning new words for primary school age children. The assessment of working memory included tests of phonological short-term memory and complex working memory. Novel word learning was assessed according to the methods of. In addition, a range of language tests was used to assess language comprehension, output phonology and reading. Children with hearing impairment performed significantly better than children with a preschool diagnosis of specific language impairment on tasks assessing novel word learning, complex working memory, sentence comprehension and reading accuracy. No significant correlation was found between phonological short-term memory and novel word learning in any group. The best predictor of novel word learning in children with specific language impairment and in children with hearing impairment was complex working memory. Furthermore, there was a close relationship between complex working memory and language in children with a preschool diagnosis of specific language impairment but not in children with hearing impairment. Complex working memory seems to play a significant role in vocabulary acquisition in primary school age children. The interpretation is that the results support theories suggesting a weakened influence of phonological short-term memory on novel word

Subjective Fatigue in Children with Hearing Loss Assessed Using Self- and Parent-Proxy Report

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Hornsby, Benjamin W. Y.; Gustafson, Samantha J.; Lancaster, Hope; Cho, Sun-Joo; Camarata, Stephen; Bess, Fred H.

2017-01-01

Purpose: The primary purposes of this study were to examine the effects of hearing loss and respondent type (self- vs. parent-proxy report) on subjective fatigue in children. We also examined associations between child-specific factors and fatigue ratings. Method: Subjective fatigue was assessed using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory…

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.

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.

[Assistive Services in the Workplace of People with Hearing Impairment in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia].

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Weber, A; Menzel, F; Weber, U; Niehaus, M; Kaul, T; Schlenker-Schulte, C

2015-09-01

many areas of North Rhine-Westphalia reported much less positive evaluations. They reported that they did not (yet) have an accessible workplace and that assistive services are not available to all hearing impaired workers. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Motor Skills in Hearing Impaired Children with or without Cochlear Implant--A Systematic Review.

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Vidranski, Tihomir; Farkaš, Daria

2015-07-01

Hearing impairment is a major limitation in communication, and it can obstruct psychological development, development of social skills and motor development. Hearing impairment is the third most common contemporary chronic health condition, and it has become a public health problem. The effectiveness of problem solving in everyday life and in emergency situations depends greatly on the amount and quality of the motor programs. Therefore, it is evident that the normal motor development in persons with hearing impairment is essential for everyday life. The aim of this research is to analyze the available information pertaining to motor skills of hearing impaired children both with and without a cochlear implant (CI) and to analyze possibilities of influencing their motor skills. The relevant studies on motor skills of hearing impaired children both with and without CI were obtained by an extensive computer search of various databases using special keywords and extraction with respect to certain criteria, resulting in 22 studies. The overall results of this systematic review indicate that the children with hearing impairment exhibit suboptimal levels of motor skills especially balance. Very few studies compared children with hearing impairment with CI units and without CI units and the results of those studies are quite contradictory. Numerous studies have confirmed that the regular and appropriate physical exercise can improve motor skills of children with hearing impairment, especially balance. The fact that the development of motor skills is crucial for the child's interaction with the outside world, action, perception and acquisition of academic skills and other skills necessary for life shows the importance of motor skills development for children with hearing impairment.

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 ...

National Research Conference on Day Programs for Hearing Impaired Children (Lake Mohonk, New York, May 10-13, 1967). Final Report.

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Mulholland, Ann M.; Fellendorf, George W.

State needs in public school education for the hearing impaired and steps in the development of comprehensive state planning are presented along with recommendations of conference participants, a summary report, and models for regional planning, day programs, and the team approach. The interest of the Alexander Graham Bell Association and the U.S.…

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…

Phrasing in the speech and reading of the hearing impaired.

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Gregory, J F

1986-08-01

The study reported here explored a partial explanation for the fourth-grade "bottleneck" in literacy advancement by hearing-impaired students. Speech samples from 21 deaf subjects were rated for degree of evident phrasal quality. Likewise, reading comprehension scores for each student were obtained under four reading conditions: reading in whole sentences, in phrases, in fragmented word groups, and in single words. Degree of rated speech phrasality was found to relate significantly and positively to correct recall answers to questions based upon silent reading of passages typed in meaningful word groups (but not when the passages were typed in whole sentences, fragmented word groups, or in single words). The results were taken to suggest that--whereas staccato-speaking deaf students may lack a sense of the phrase altogether--phrasal-speaking deaf youngsters fail to independently apply their phrase sense in the normal reading situation. Thus, both types of deaf youngsters have difficulty affecting the transition to phrase reading that is common for hearing students at or about the fourth-grade level. Finally, I argue that this phrase sense can be instilled in hearing-impaired students and that they can be trained to use it in reading.

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

Hearing in middle age: a population snapshot of 40–69 year olds in the UK

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Dawes, Piers; Fortnum, Heather; Moore, David R.; Emsley, Richard; Norman, Paul; Cruickshanks, Karen; Davis, Adrian; Edmondson-Jones, Mark; McCormack, Abby; Lutman, Mark; Munro, Kevin

2014-01-01

Objective To report population-based prevalence of hearing impairment based on speech recognition in noise testing in a large and inclusive sample of UK adults aged 40 to 69 years. The present study is the first to report such data. Prevalence of tinnitus and use of hearing aids is also reported. Design The research was conducted using the UK Biobank resource. The better-ear unaided speech reception threshold was measured adaptively using the Digit Triplet Test (n = 164,770). Self-report data on tinnitus, hearing aid use, noise exposure as well as demographic variables were collected. Results Overall, 10.7% of adults (95%CI 10.5–10.9%) had significant hearing impairment. Prevalence of tinnitus was 16.9% (95%CI 16.6–17.1%) and hearing aid use was 2.0% (95%CI 1.9–2.1%). Odds of hearing impairment increased with age, with a history of work- and music-related noise exposure, for lower socioeconomic background and for ethnic minority backgrounds. Males were at no higher risk of hearing impairment than females. Conclusion Around 1 in 10 adults aged 40 to 69 years have substantial hearing impairment. The reasons for excess risk of hearing impairment particularly for those from low socioeconomic and ethnic minority backgrounds require identification, as this represents a serious health inequality. The underutilization of hearing aids has altered little since the 1980s, and is a major cause for concern. PMID:24518430

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.

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

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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)

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

The Emotional Communication in Hearing Questionnaire (EMO-CHeQ): Development and Evaluation.

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Singh, Gurjit; Liskovoi, Lisa; Launer, Stefan; Russo, Frank

2018-06-11

The objectives of this research were to develop and evaluate a self-report questionnaire (the Emotional Communication in Hearing Questionnaire or EMO-CHeQ) designed to assess experiences of hearing and handicap when listening to signals that contain vocal emotion information. Study 1 involved internet-based administration of a 42-item version of the EMO-CHeQ to 586 adult participants (243 with self-reported normal hearing [NH], 193 with self-reported hearing impairment but no reported use of hearing aids [HI], and 150 with self-reported hearing impairment and use of hearing aids [HA]). To better understand the factor structure of the EMO-CHeQ and eliminate redundant items, an exploratory factor analysis was conducted. Study 2 involved laboratory-based administration of a 16-item version of the EMO-CHeQ to 32 adult participants (12 normal hearing/near normal hearing (NH/nNH), 10 HI, and 10 HA). In addition, participants completed an emotion-identification task under audio and audiovisual conditions. In study 1, the exploratory factor analysis yielded an interpretable solution with four factors emerging that explained a total of 66.3% of the variance in performance the EMO-CHeQ. Item deletion resulted in construction of the 16-item EMO-CHeQ. In study 1, both the HI and HA group reported greater vocal emotion communication handicap on the EMO-CHeQ than on the NH group, but differences in handicap were not observed between the HI and HA group. In study 2, the same pattern of reported handicap was observed in individuals with audiometrically verified hearing as was found in study 1. On the emotion-identification task, no group differences in performance were observed in the audiovisual condition, but group differences were observed in the audio alone condition. Although the HI and HA group exhibited similar emotion-identification performance, both groups performed worse than the NH/nNH group, thus suggesting the presence of behavioral deficits that parallel self-reported

Older Adults With a Combination of Vision and Hearing Impairment Experience Higher Rates of Cognitive Impairment, Functional Dependence, and Worse Outcomes Across a Set of Quality Indicators.

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Davidson, Jacob G S; Guthrie, Dawn M

2017-08-01

Hearing and vision impairment were examined across several health-related outcomes and across a set of quality indicators (QIs) in home care clients with both vision and hearing loss (or dual sensory impairment [DSI]). Data collected using the Resident Assessment Instrument for Home Care (RAI-HC) were analyzed in a sample of older home care clients. The QIs represent the proportion of clients experiencing negative outcomes (e.g., falls, social isolation). The average age of clients was 82.8 years ( SD = 7.9), 20.5% had DSI and 8.5% had a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Clients with DSI were more likely to have a diagnosis of dementia (not AD), have functional impairments, report loneliness, and have higher rates across 20 of the 22 QIs, including communication difficulty and cognitive decline. Clients with highly impaired hearing, and any visual impairment, had the highest QI rates. Individuals with DSI experience higher rates of adverse events across many health-related outcomes and QIs. Understanding the unique contribution of hearing and vision in this group can promote optimal quality of care.

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

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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 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.

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…

Rotatory and collic vestibular evoked myogenic potential testing in normal-hearing and hearing-impaired children.

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

2014-01-01

Vertigo and imbalance are often underestimated in the pediatric population, due to limited communication abilities, atypical symptoms, and relatively quick adaptation and compensation in children. Moreover, examination and interpretation of vestibular tests are very challenging, because of difficulties with cooperation and maintenance of alertness, and because of the sometimes nauseatic reactions. Therefore, it is of great importance for each vestibular laboratory to implement a child-friendly test protocol with age-appropriate normative data. Because of the often masked appearance of vestibular problems in young children, the vestibular organ should be routinely examined in high-risk pediatric groups, such as children with a hearing impairment. Purposes of the present study were (1) to determine age-appropriate normative data for two child-friendly vestibular laboratory techniques (rotatory and collic vestibular evoked myogenic potential [cVEMP] test) in a group of children without auditory or vestibular complaints, and (2) to examine vestibular function in a group of children presenting with bilateral hearing impairment. Forty-eight typically developing children (mean age 8 years 0 months; range: 4 years 1 month to 12 years 11 months) without any auditory or vestibular complaints as well as 39 children (mean age 7 years 8 months; range: 3 years 8 months to 12 years 10 months) with a bilateral sensorineural hearing loss were included in this study. All children underwent three sinusoidal rotations (0.01, 0.05, and 0.1 Hz at 50 degrees/s) and bilateral cVEMP testing. No significant age differences were found for the rotatory test, whereas a significant increase of N1 latency and a significant threshold decrease was noticeable for the cVEMP, resulting in age-appropriate normative data. Hearing-impaired children demonstrated significantly lower gain values at the 0.01 Hz rotation and a larger percentage of absent cVEMP responses compared with normal-hearing children

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.

Health related quality of life in parents of children with speech and hearing impairment.

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Aras, Ivana; Stevanović, Ranko; Vlahović, Sanja; Stevanović, Siniša; Kolarić, Branko; Kondić, Ljiljana

2014-02-01

Hearing impairment and specific language disorder are two entities that seriously affect language acquisition in children and reduce their communication skills. These children require specific treatment and higher levels of care than healthy children. Their language abilities also strongly influence parent-child interactions. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of the parents of hearing-impaired children and the parents of children with speech difficulties (specific language disorder). Our study subjects included 349 parents (182 mothers and 167 fathers) of preschool-aged children with receptive expressive language disorder and 131 parents (71 mothers and 60 fathers) of children with severe hearing impairment. A control group was composed of 146 parents (82 mothers and 64 fathers) of healthy children of the same age. HRQOL was assessed using the SF-36 questionnaire. For all groups of parents, the mothers had poorer scores compared with the fathers, but large differences were apparent depending on the child's impairment. In the control group, the scores of the mothers were significantly lower than the fathers' scores in only two (of eight) health domains. In contrast, the scores were lower in three domains for the mothers of speech-impaired children and in six domains for the mothers of hearing-impaired children, representing the greatest difference between the parents. When compared with the control group, both the mothers and fathers of speech-impaired children scored significantly worse in five health domains. Fathers of hearing-impaired children scored significantly worse than controls in three health domains. The lowest scores, indicating the poorest HRQOL, were observed for mothers of hearing-impaired children, who obtained significantly lower scores than the control mothers in all health domains except the emotional role. The parents of preschool-aged speech-and hearing-impaired children experience poorer HRQOL

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

The comparison of stress and marital satisfaction status of parents of hearing-impaired and normal children

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Karim Gharashi

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Background and Aim: Stress is the source of many problems in human-kind lives and threatens people's life constantly. Having hearing-impaired child, not only causes stress in parents, but also affects their marital satisfaction. The purpose of this study was comparing the stress and marital satisfaction status between the normal and hearing-impaired children's parents.Methods: This was a causal-comparative study. Eighty parents of normal children and 80 parents of hearing-impaired children were chosen from rehabilitation centers and kindergartens in city of Tabriz, Iran by available and clustering sampling method. All parents were asked to complete the Friedrich's source of stress and Enrich marital satisfaction questionnaires.Results: Parents of hearing-impaired children endure more stress than the normal hearing ones (p<0.001. The marital satisfaction of hearing-impaired children's parents was lower than the parents of normal hearing children, too (p<0.001.Conclusion: Having a hearing-impaired child causes stress and threatens the levels of marital satisfaction. This requires much more attention and a distinct planning for parents of handicap children to reduce their stress.

Screening tools for the identification of dementia for adults with age-related acquired hearing or vision impairment: a scoping review.

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Pye, Annie; Charalambous, Anna Pavlina; Leroi, Iracema; Thodi, Chrysoulla; Dawes, Piers

2017-11-01

Cognitive screening tests frequently rely on items being correctly heard or seen. We aimed to identify, describe, and evaluate the adaptation, validity, and availability of cognitive screening and assessment tools for dementia which have been developed or adapted for adults with acquired hearing and/or vision impairment. Electronic databases were searched using subject terms "hearing disorders" OR "vision disorders" AND "cognitive assessment," supplemented by exploring reference lists of included papers and via consultation with health professionals to identify additional literature. 1,551 papers were identified, of which 13 met inclusion criteria. Four papers related to tests adapted for hearing impairment; 11 papers related to tests adapted for vision impairment. Frequently adapted tests were the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA). Adaptations for hearing impairment involved deleting or creating written versions for hearing-dependent items. Adaptations for vision impairment involved deleting vision-dependent items or spoken/tactile versions of visual tasks. No study reported validity of the test in relation to detection of dementia in people with hearing/vision impairment. Item deletion had a negative impact on the psychometric properties of the test. While attempts have been made to adapt cognitive tests for people with acquired hearing and/or vision impairment, the primary limitation of these adaptations is that their validity in accurately detecting dementia among those with acquired hearing or vision impairment is yet to be established. It is likely that the sensitivity and specificity of the adapted versions are poorer than the original, especially if the adaptation involved item deletion. One solution would involve item substitution in an alternative sensory modality followed by re-validation of the adapted test.

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.

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.

Headphone listening habits and hearing thresholds in swedish adolescents

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Stephen E Widen

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate self-reported hearing and portable music listening habits, measured hearing function and music exposure levels in Swedish adolescents. The study was divided into two parts. Materials and Methods: The first part included 280 adolescents, who were 17 years of age and focused on self-reported data on subjective hearing problems and listening habits regarding portable music players. From this group, 50 adolescents volunteered to participate in Part II of the study, which focused on audiological measurements and measured listening volume. Results: The results indicated that longer lifetime exposure in years and increased listening frequency were associated with poorer hearing thresholds and more self-reported hearing problems. A tendency was found for listening to louder volumes and poorer hearing thresholds. Women reported more subjective hearing problems compared with men but exhibited better hearing thresholds. In contrast, men reported more use of personal music devices, and they listen at higher volumes. Discussion: Additionally, the study shows that adolescents listening for ≥3 h at every occasion more likely had tinnitus. Those listening at ≥85 dB LAeq, FF and listening every day exhibited poorer mean hearing thresholds, reported more subjective hearing problems and listened more frequently in school and while sleeping. Conclusion: Although the vast majority listened at moderate sound levels and for shorter periods of time, the study also indicates that there is a subgroup (10% that listens between 90 and 100 dB for longer periods of time, even during sleep. This group might be at risk for developing future noise-induced hearing impairments.

Self-masking: Listening during vocalization. Normal hearing.

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Borg, Erik; Bergkvist, Christina; Gustafsson, Dan

2009-06-01

What underlying mechanisms are involved in the ability to talk and listen simultaneously and what role does self-masking play under conditions of hearing impairment? The purpose of the present series of studies is to describe a technique for assessment of masked thresholds during vocalization, to describe normative data for males and females, and to focus on hearing impairment. The masking effect of vocalized [a:] on narrow-band noise pulses (250-8000 Hz) was studied using the maximum vocalization method. An amplitude-modulated series of sound pulses, which sounded like a steam engine, was masked until the criterion of halving the perceived pulse rate was reached. For masking of continuous reading, a just-follow-conversation criterion was applied. Intra-session test-retest reproducibility and inter-session variability were calculated. The results showed that female voices were more efficient in masking high frequency noise bursts than male voices and more efficient in masking both a male and a female test reading. The male had to vocalize 4 dBA louder than the female to produce the same masking effect on the test reading. It is concluded that the method is relatively simple to apply and has small intra-session and fair inter-session variability. Interesting gender differences were observed.

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.

Hearing impairment associated with oral terbinafine use: a case series and case/non-case analysis in the Netherlands Pharmacovigilance Centre Lareb database and VigiBase™.

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Scholl, Joep H G; van Puijenbroek, Eugene P

2012-08-01

The Netherlands Pharmacovigilance Centre Lareb received reports of six cases of hearing impairment in association with oral terbinafine use. This study describes these cases and provides support for this association from the Lareb database for spontaneous adverse drug reaction (ADR) reporting and from Vigibase™, the ADR database of the WHO Collaborating Centre for International Drug Monitoring, the Uppsala Monitoring Centre. The objective of the current study was to identify whether the observed association between oral terbinafine use and hearing impairment, based on cases received by Lareb, constitutes a safety signal. Cases of hearing impairment in oral terbinafine users are described. In a case/non-case analysis, the strength of the association in Vigibase™ and the Lareb database was determined (date of analysis August 2011) by calculating the reporting odds ratios (RORs), adjusted for possible confounding by age, sex and ototoxic concomitant medication. For the purpose of this study, RORs were calculated for deafness, hypoacusis and the combination of both, defined as hearing impairment. In the Lareb database, six reports concerning individuals aged 31-82 years, who developed hearing impairment after starting oral terbinafine, were present. The use of oral terbinafine was disproportionally associated with hypoacusis in both the Lareb database (adjusted ROR 3.9; 95% CI 1.7, 9.0) and in Vigibase™ (adjusted ROR 1.7; 95% CI 1.0, 2.8). Deafness was not disproportionally present in either of the databases. Based on the described cases and the statistical analyses from both databases, a causal relationship between the use of oral terbinafine and hearing impairment is possible. The mechanism by which terbinafine could cause hearing impairment has not been elucidated yet. The pharmacological action of terbinafine is based on the inhibition of squalene epoxidase, an enzyme present in both fungal and human cells. This inhibition might result in a decrease in

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.

Associations between the self-reported frequency of hearing chemical alarms in theater and regional brain volume in Gulf War Veterans.

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Chao, Linda L; Reeb, Rosemary; Esparza, Iva L; Abadjian, Linda R

2016-03-01

We previously reported evidence of reduced cortical gray matter (GM), white matter (WM), and hippocampal volume in Gulf War (GW) veterans with predicted exposure to low-levels of nerve agent according to the 2000 Khamisiyah plume model analysis. Because there is suggestive evidence that other nerve agent exposures may have occurred during the Gulf War, we examined the association between the self-reported frequency of hearing chemical alarms sound during deployment in the Gulf War and regional brain volume in GW veterans. Ninety consecutive GW veterans (15 female, mean age: 52±8years) participating in a VA-funded study underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on a 3T scanner. Freesurfer (version 5.1) was used to obtain regional measures of cortical GM, WM, hippocampal, and insula volume. Multiple linear regression was used to determine the association between the self-reported frequencies of hearing chemical alarms during the Gulf War and regional brain volume. There was an inverse association between the self-reported frequency of hearing chemical alarms sound and total cortical GM (adjusted p=0.007), even after accounting for potentially confounding demographic and clinical variables, the veterans' current health status, and other concurrent deployment-related exposures that were correlated with hearing chemical alarms. Post-hoc analyses extended the inverse relationship between the frequency of hearing chemical alarms to GM volume in the frontal (adjusted p=0.02), parietal (adjusted p=0.01), and occipital (adjusted p=0.001) lobes. In contrast, regional brain volumes were not significantly associated with predicted exposure to the Khamisiyah plume or with Gulf War Illness status defined by the Kansas or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria. Many veterans reported hearing chemical alarms sound during the Gulf War. The current findings suggest that exposure to substances that triggered those chemical alarms during the Gulf War likely

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.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

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.

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

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

Self-esteem in children and adolescents with hearing loss.

Science.gov (United States)

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

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.

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?

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Psychosocial health of cochlear implant users compared to that of adults with and without hearing aids: Results of a nationwide cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bosdriesz, J R; Stam, M; Smits, C; Kramer, S E

2018-06-01

This study aimed to examine the psychosocial health status of adult cochlear implant (CI) users, compared to that of hearing aid (HA) users, hearing-impaired adults without hearing aids and normally hearing adults. Cross-sectional observational study, using both self-reported survey data and a speech-in-noise test. Data as collected within the Netherlands Longitudinal Study on Hearing (NL-SH) between September 2011 and June 2016 were used. Data from 1254 Dutch adults (aged 23-74), selected in a convenience sample design, were included for analyses. Psychosocial health measures included emotional and social loneliness, anxiety, depression, distress and somatisation. Psychosocial health, hearing status, use of hearing technology and covariates were measured by self-report; hearing ability was assessed through an online digit triplet speech-in-noise test. After adjusting for the degree of hearing impairment, HA users (N = 418) and hearing-impaired adults (N = 247) had significantly worse scores on emotional loneliness than CI users (N = 37). HA users had significantly higher anxiety scores than CI users in some analyses. Non-significant differences were found between normally hearing (N = 552) and CI users for all psychosocial outcomes. Psychosocial health of CI users is not worse than that of hearing-impaired adults with or without hearing aids. CI users' level of emotional loneliness is even lower than that of their hearing-impaired peers using hearing aids. A possible explanation is that CI patients receive more professional and family support, and guidance along their patient journey than adults who are fitted with hearing aids. © 2017 The Authors. Clinical Otolaryngology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Recreational Activities of Hearing-impaired Children of a Young School Age

OpenAIRE

Šrámková, Markéta

2007-01-01

In my diploma work I would like to focus on theme of spending free time in school for hearing impaired children (age 6-12) . The work has two parts. In the first one - theoretical- literary - I will describe types of spending free time of deaf and hard of hearing children different enviroments : family, school, out of school. In the second one -practical research - I will focus on the profile of school for hearing impaired children. I would like to touch the problem of activities (during the ...

Measuring Disability in Population Based Surveys: The Interrelationship between Clinical Impairments and Reported Functional Limitations in Cameroon and India.

Science.gov (United States)

Mactaggart, Islay; Kuper, Hannah; Murthy, G V S; Oye, Joseph; Polack, Sarah

2016-01-01

To investigate the relationship between two distinct measures of disability: self-reported functional limitations and objectively-screened clinical impairments. We undertook an all age population-based survey of disability in two areas: North-West Cameroon (August/October 2013) and Telangana State, India (Feb/April 2014). Participants were selected for inclusion via two-stage cluster randomised sampling (probability proportionate to size cluster selection and compact segment sampling within clusters). Disability was defined as the presence of self-reported functional limitations across eight domains, or presence of moderate or greater clinical impairments. Clinical impairment screening comprised of visual acuity testing for vision impairment, pure tone audiometry for hearing impairment, musculoskeletal functioning assessment for musculoskeletal impairment, reported seizure history for epilepsy and reported symptoms of clinical depression (depression adults only). Information was collected using structured questionnaires, observations and examinations. Self-reported disability prevalence was 5.9% (95% CI 4.7-7.4) and 7.5% (5.9-9.4) in Cameroon and India respectively. The prevalence of moderate or greater clinical impairments in the same populations were 8.4% (7.5-9.4) in Cameroon and 10.5% (9.4-11.7) in India. Overall disability prevalence (self-report and/or screened positive to a moderate or greater clinical impairment) was 10.5% in Cameroon and 12.2% in India, with limited overlap between the sub-populations identified using the two types of tools. 33% of participants in Cameroon identified to have a disability, and 45% in India, both reported functional limitations and screened positive to objectively-screened impairments, whilst the remainder were identified via one or other tool only. A large proportion of people with moderate or severe clinical impairments did not self-report functional difficulties despite reporting participation restrictions. Tools to

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

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.

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?

Science.gov (United States)

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

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.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

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.

Mismatch between aspects of hearing impairment and hearing disability/handicap in adult/elderly Cantonese speakers: some hypotheses concerning cultural and linguistic influences.

Science.gov (United States)

Doyle, J; Wong, L L

1996-12-01

This paper addresses the observation that some Cantonese-speaking adults do not perceive a hearing problem even when hearing screening identifies hearing loss. A sample of 49 Cantonese speakers was surveyed about their self-perceptions of hearing prior to a 25 dB HTL pure-tone screening test. All 49 persons failed the screening test, yet 34 (69.4%) reported that they had no problems hearing during conversations. Persons who admitted hearing difficulties tended to have mean hearing levels in excess of 45 dB HTL. A number of hypotheses concerning cultural and linguistic influences are proposed as explanations for the apparent lack of significance of auditory sensitivity loss for some Cantonese speakers. Ways in which these hypotheses might be tested are suggested.

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...

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

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.

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.

Fractionated vs. single-fraction stereotactic radiotherapy in patients with vestibular schwannoma. Hearing preservation and patients' self-reported outcome based on an established questionnaire

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kessel, Kerstin A.; Fischer, Hanna; Vogel, Marco M.E.; Combs, Stephanie E.; Oechsner, Markus; Bier, Henning; Meyer, Bernhard

2017-01-01

Stereotactic radiotherapy (RT) has been established as a valid treatment alternative in patients with vestibular schwannoma (VS). There is ongoing controversy regarding the optimal fractionation. Hearing preservation may be the primary goal for patients with VS, followed by maintenance of quality of life (QoL). From 2002 to 2015, 184 patients with VS were treated with radiosurgery (RS) or fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (FSRT). A survey on current symptoms and QoL was conducted between February and June 2016. Median follow-up after RT was 7.5 years (range 0-14.4 years). Mean overall survival (OS) after RT was 31.1 years, with 94 and 87% survival at 5 and 10 years, respectively. Mean progression-free survival (PFS) was 13.3 years, with 5- and 10-year PFS of 92%. Hearing could be preserved in RS patients for a median of 36.3 months (range 2.3-13.7 years). Hearing worsened in 17 (30%) cases. Median hearing preservation for FSRT was 48.7 months (range 0.0-13.8 years); 29 (23%) showed hearing deterioration. The difference in hearing preservation was not significant between RS and FSRT (p = 0.3). A total of 123/162 patients participated in the patient survey (return rate 76%). The results correlate well with the information documented in the patient files for tinnitus and facial and trigeminal nerve toxicity. Significant differences appeared regarding hearing impairment, gait uncertainty, and imbalance. These data confirm that RS and FSRT are comparable in terms of local control for VS. RS should be reserved for smaller lesions, while FSRT can be offered independently of tumor size. Patient self-reported outcome during follow-up is of high value. The established questionnaire could be validated in the independent cohort. (orig.) [de

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.

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-Assessed Hearing Handicap in Older Adults with Poorer-than-Predicted Speech Recognition in Noise

Science.gov (United States)

Eckert, Mark A.; Matthews, Lois J.; Dubno, Judy R.

2017-01-01

Purpose: Even older adults with relatively mild hearing loss report hearing handicap, suggesting that hearing handicap is not completely explained by reduced speech audibility. Method: We examined the extent to which self-assessed ratings of hearing handicap using the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly (HHIE; Ventry & Weinstein, 1982)…

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...

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.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

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...

[Analysis of prevalence of self-reported hearing loss and associated factors: primary versus proxy informant].

Science.gov (United States)

Quevedo, André Luis Alves de; Leotti, Vanessa Bielefeldt; Goulart, Bárbara Niegia Garcia de

2017-07-03

The objective was to evaluate differences between prevalence rates for self-reported hearing loss and associated factors, obtained from responses by primary and proxy informants in a Population-Based Study on Human Communication Disorders (DCH-POP in Portuguese). This was a study on epidemiological methods using data from a cross-sectional household survey with a sample of 1,253 individuals from Southern Brazil. To verify differences between prevalence rates comparing primary informants and proxy informants, we used the chi-square or Fisher's exact test for categorical variables and Mann-Whitney for continuous variables. The log-binomial model was adjusted for hearing loss as the dependent variable, considering three datasets: the entire sample, only primary informants, and only proxy informants, estimating association by prevalence ratios. In the final models, only the independent variables age and dizziness were associated with hearing loss, independently of the dataset that was used. Proxy informants generally underestimated the prevalence rates for the target outcomes, when compared to primary informants.

An Estimation of the Whole-of-Life Noise Exposure of Adolescent and Young Adult Australians with Hearing Impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

Carter, Lyndal; Black, Deborah; Bundy, Anita; Williams, Warwick

2016-10-01

Since amplified music gained widespread popularity, there has been community concern that leisure-noise exposure may cause hearing loss in adolescents and young adults who would otherwise be free from hearing impairment. Repeated exposure to personal stereo players and music events (e.g., nightclubbing, rock concerts, and music festivals) are of particular concern. The same attention has not been paid to leisure-noise exposure risks for young people with hearing impairment (either present from birth or acquired before adulthood). This article reports on the analysis of a subset of data (leisure participation measures) collected during a large, two-phase study of the hearing health, attitudes, and behaviors of 11- to 35-yr-old Australians conducted by the National Acoustic Laboratories (n = 1,667 hearing threshold level datasets analyzed). The overall aim of the two-phase study was to determine whether a relationship between leisure-noise exposure and hearing loss exists. In the current study, the leisure activity profiles and accumulated ("whole-of-life") noise exposures of young people with (1) hearing impairment and (2) with normal hearing were compared. Cross-sectional cohort study. Hearing impaired (HI) group, n = 125; normal (nonimpaired) hearing (NH) group, n = 296, analyzed in two age-based subsets: adolescents (13- to 17-yr-olds) and young adults (18- to 24-yr-olds). Participant survey. The χ² test was used to identify systematic differences between the leisure profiles and exposure estimates of the HI and NH groups. Whole-of-life noise exposure was estimated by adapting techniques described in ISO 1999. For adolescents, leisure profiles were similar for the two groups and few individuals exceeded the stated risk criterion. For young adults, participation was significantly lower for the HI group for 7 out of 18 leisure activities surveyed. Activity diversity and whole-of-life exposure were also significantly lower for the HI group young adults. A

Static and Dynamic Balance in Congenital Severe to Profound Hearing-Impaired Children

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Farideh HajiHeydari

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Background and Aim: Research conducted since the early 1900s has consistently identified differences between deaf and hearing children on performance of a wide variety of motor tasks, most notably balance. Our study was performed to test static and dynamic balance skills in congenital severe to profound hearing impaired children in comparison with normal age-matched children.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 30 severe to profound hearing impaired and 40 normal children with age 6 to 10 years old. Bruininks-Oseretsky test of motor proficiency 2, balance subset with 9 parts was used for evaluation of balance skills.Results: Hearing-impaired children showed 16.7 to 100% fail results in 7 parts of the balance subset. In normal children fail result was revealed just in 3 parts of the balance subset from 2.5 to 57.5%, and differences between two groups were significant (p<0.0001. There was a significant difference between two groups in two static balance skills of standing on one leg on a line and standing on one leg on a balance beam with eyes closed (p<0.0001.conclusion: It seems that development of static balance skills are longer than dynamic ones. Because severe to profound hearing-impaired children showed more weakness than normal children in both static and dynamic balance abilities, functional tests of balance proficiency can help to identify balance disorders in these children.

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.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

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...

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.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

Visual Impairment and Self-Esteem: What Makes a Difference?

Science.gov (United States)

Bowen, Jayne

2010-01-01

This account follows on from the research report "Visual impairment and its impact on self-esteem" (Bowen, 2010) published in this journal. The original article reported the results of an investigation of self-esteem levels amongst a sample group of 60 children with visual impairment. Four children, whose self-esteem was measured as…

Self-Assessment of Hearing and Purchase of Hearing Aids by Middle-Aged and Elderly Adults

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Otavio, Andressa Colares da Costa

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction Presbycusis is a consequence of aging. Prescription of hearing aids is part of the treatment, although the prevalence of use by elderly people is still small. Objective To verify whether or not self-assessment of hearing is a predictor for purchase of hearing aids. Methods Quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive, and observational study. Participants were subjects who sought a private hearing center for selection of hearing aids. During the diagnostic interview, subjects answered the following question: “On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the worst and 10 the best, how would you rate your overall hearing ability?” After that, subjects underwent audiometry, selected a hearing aid, performed a home trial, and decided whether or not to purchase the hearing aid. The variables were associated and analyzed statistically. Results The sample was comprised of 32 subjects, both men and women, with a higher number of women. Mean age was 71.41 ± 12.14 years. Self-assessment of hearing ranged from 2 to 9 points. Overall, 71.9% of the subjects purchased hearing aids. There was no association between scores in the self-assessment and the purchase of hearing aids (p = 0.263. Among those who scored between 2 and 5 points, 64.7% purchased the device; between 6 and 7 points, 76.09% purchased the device; and between 8 and 9 points, 50% purchased the device, respectively. Conclusion There is evidence that low self-assessment scores lead to the purchase of hearing aids, although no significant association was observed in the sample.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Phenotypic and molecular assessment of seven patients with 6p25 deletion syndrome: Relevance to ocular dysgenesis and hearing impairment

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Ritch Robert

2004-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Thirty-nine patients have been described with deletions involving chromosome 6p25. However, relatively few of these deletions have had molecular characterization. Common phenotypes of 6p25 deletion syndrome patients include hydrocephalus, hearing loss, and ocular, craniofacial, skeletal, cardiac, and renal malformations. Molecular characterization of deletions can identify genes that are responsible for these phenotypes. Methods We report the clinical phenotype of seven patients with terminal deletions of chromosome 6p25 and compare them to previously reported patients. Molecular characterization of the deletions was performed using polymorphic marker analysis to determine the extents of the deletions in these seven 6p25 deletion syndrome patients. Results Our results, and previous data, show that ocular dysgenesis and hearing impairment are the two most highly penetrant phenotypes of the 6p25 deletion syndrome. While deletion of the forkhead box C1 gene (FOXC1 probably underlies the ocular dysgenesis, no gene in this region is known to be involved in hearing impairment. Conclusions Ocular dysgenesis and hearing impairment are the two most common phenotypes of 6p25 deletion syndrome. We conclude that a locus for dominant hearing loss is present at 6p25 and that this locus is restricted to a region distal to D6S1617. Molecular characterization of more 6p25 deletion patients will aid in refinement of this locus and the identification of a gene involved in dominant hearing loss.

Prevalence of hearing impairment in a rural midwestern cohort: estimates from the Keokuk county rural health study, 1994 to 1998.

Science.gov (United States)

Flamme, Gregory A; Mudipalli, V Ranjit; Reynolds, Stephen J; Kelly, Kevin M; Stromquist, Ann M; Zwerling, Craig; Burmeister, Leon F; Peng, Shu-Chen; Merchant, James A

2005-06-01

The current paper estimates the prevalence of hearing problems in a rural population, analyzes the prevalence of hearing problems across age groups, and compares the prevalence of hearing problems in this population with results obtained in other populations. Data were obtained from a random sample of the residents of a rural county, stratified by farm, rural non-farm, and town residence. Hearing test results were obtained from participants between the ages of 8 and 92 years (N = 1972; 47% male). Pure-tone thresholds were classified as normal or impaired using a number of metrics, including speech intelligibility index values. Selected comparisons of crude rates were made with previous population-based studies of hearing loss prevalence. Nearly all (99%) of the participants in this study had significant hearing impairment. Atypical hearing impairment is most prevalent at 6 kHz. In males, this excess impairment shifts to lower frequencies with age but monotonically decreases in females. Notched configurations were most common among those between 30 and 59 years old. In females, the prevalence of hearing impairments sufficient to interfere with speech understanding begins to rapidly increase in the 6th decade (4th decade in males). Comparisons with prior population-based studies in the United States and Great Britain identified few significant differences. Significant hearing impairment is common in rural populations. The high prevalence in this population is similar to that found in other population-based studies. Future studies are needed to examine (1) the risk factors for hearing impairment, (2) the natural course of hearing problems across the life span, and (3) the effect of programs for the prevention of hearing impairment and rehabilitation for persons with existing hearing impairments.

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.

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

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.

Siblings of the Hearing Impaired: Perspectives for Parents.

Science.gov (United States)

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…

Selective attention in normal and impaired hearing.

Science.gov (United States)

Shinn-Cunningham, Barbara G; Best, Virginia

2008-12-01

A common complaint among listeners with hearing loss (HL) is that they have difficulty communicating in common social settings. This article reviews how normal-hearing listeners cope in such settings, especially how they focus attention on a source of interest. Results of experiments with normal-hearing listeners suggest that the ability to selectively attend depends on the ability to analyze the acoustic scene and to form perceptual auditory objects properly. Unfortunately, sound features important for auditory object formation may not be robustly encoded in the auditory periphery of HL listeners. In turn, impaired auditory object formation may interfere with the ability to filter out competing sound sources. Peripheral degradations are also likely to reduce the salience of higher-order auditory cues such as location, pitch, and timbre, which enable normal-hearing listeners to select a desired sound source out of a sound mixture. Degraded peripheral processing is also likely to increase the time required to form auditory objects and focus selective attention so that listeners with HL lose the ability to switch attention rapidly (a skill that is particularly important when trying to participate in a lively conversation). Finally, peripheral deficits may interfere with strategies that normal-hearing listeners employ in complex acoustic settings, including the use of memory to fill in bits of the conversation that are missed. Thus, peripheral hearing deficits are likely to cause a number of interrelated problems that challenge the ability of HL listeners to communicate in social settings requiring selective attention.

Masker phase effects in normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listeners: evidence for peripheral compression at low signal frequencies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Oxenham, Andrew J.; Dau, Torsten

2004-01-01

curvature. Results from 12 listeners with sensorineural hearing loss showed reduced masker phase effects, when compared with data from normal-hearing listeners, at both 250- and 1000-Hz signal frequencies. The effects of hearing impairment on phase-related masking differences were not well simulated...... are affected by a common underlying mechanism, presumably related to cochlear outer hair cell function. The results also suggest that normal peripheral compression remains strong even at 250 Hz....

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

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Toshiba

low literacy level, cycle of poverty among people with hearing impairment ... some strategies, such as participatory approaches, deaf-friendly .... incapable of learning. ... that the greatest life challenge to any persons with disability is social.

Predictors of flourishing among children with hearing loss.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Assessing challenging behaviour in people with hearing impairments and profound intellectial disabilities : the development of an Individual behaviour observation and recording scale

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Buskermolen, M.; Hoekman, J.; Aldenkamp, A.P.

2013-01-01

Background and Objective: Studies on people with both Hearing Impairments (HI) and an Intellectual Disability (ID) are rare, although in clinical practice aggressive incidents such as destructive behaviour aimed at objects or other people and self-harming behaviour are mentioned as common problems.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

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.

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.

The influence of Pilates exercises on body balance in the standing position of hearing impaired people.

Science.gov (United States)

Walowska, Jagoda; Bolach, Bartosz; Bolach, Eugeniusz

2017-11-13

Hearing impairment may affect the body posture maintenance. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of modified Pilates exercise program on the body posture maintenance in hearing impaired people. Eighty students (aged 13-24) were enrolled and randomly allocated into two groups: test group (n = 41) which attended an original program based on modified Pilates exercises and control group (n = 39) which attended standard physical education classes. Stabilographic tests were conducted at baseline and after 6-week training program. Both groups showed improved control of body balance in a standing position manifested in reductions of the length of path, surface area, and speed of deflection. Modified Pilates program was significantly more effective in improving body balance control in relaxed posture and with feet together than standard physical education classes. The greater efficiency of the modified Pilates program was expressed in a significant improvement in balance control parameters, i.e., path length, surface area, and speed of deflection. The modified Pilates program was more effective in improving body balance control in the hearing impaired people than standard physical education classes. Modification of physical activity recommendations for hearing impaired students may be considered; however, further research is required. Implications for Rehabilitation Hearing impairment impacts the mental, social and, physical spheres of life as well as deteriorates equivalent reactions and the way body posture is maintained. In hearing impaired people, control of body balance and muscle coordination is often disturbed, thus more attention should be paid to exercises associated with balance which may improve the ability to learn and develop motor skills. Modified Pilates program was significantly more effective in improving body balance control than standard physical education classes in hearing impaired people.

Personal Experiences of Hearing-impaired People in Higher ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This qualitative paper analyses the personal experiences of hearing-impaired people in accessing, participating and completing higher education in Zimbabwe, and the authors' experiences in the education of students with disabilities. A 6As' framework is informed by the 4As framework of Tomaševski (2001), namely ...

Temporal Fine-Structure Coding and Lateralized Speech Perception in Normal-Hearing and Hearing-Impaired Listeners

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Locsei, Gusztav; Pedersen, Julie Hefting; Laugesen, Søren

2016-01-01

This study investigated the relationship between speech perception performance in spatially complex, lateralized listening scenarios and temporal fine-structure (TFS) coding at low frequencies. Young normal-hearing (NH) and two groups of elderly hearing-impaired (HI) listeners with mild or moderate...... hearing loss above 1.5 kHz participated in the study. Speech reception thresholds (SRTs) were estimated in the presence of either speech-shaped noise, two-, four-, or eight-talker babble played reversed, or a nonreversed two-talker masker. Target audibility was ensured by applying individualized linear...... threshold nor the interaural phase difference threshold tasks showed a correlation with the SRTs or with the amount of masking release due to binaural unmasking, respectively. The results suggest that, although HI listeners with normal hearing thresholds below 1.5 kHz experienced difficulties with speech...

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 ...

A portable digital speech-rate converter for hearing impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

Nejime, Y; Aritsuka, T; Imamura, T; Ifukube, T; Matsushima, J

1996-06-01

A real-time hand-sized portable device that slows speech speed without changing the pitch is proposed for hearing impairment. By using this device, people can listen to fast speech at a comfortable speed. A combination of solid-state memory recording and real-time digital signal processing with a single chip processor enables this unique function. A simplified pitchsynchronous, time-scale-modification algorithm is proposed to minimize the complexity of the DSP operation. Unlike the traditional algorithm, this dynamic-processing algorithm reduces distortion even when the expansion rate is only just above 1. Seven out of 10 elderly hearing-impaired listeners showed improvement in a sentence recognition test when using speech-rate conversion with the largest expansion rate, although no improvement was observed in a word recognition test. Some subjects who showed large improvement had limited auditory temporal resolution, but the correlation was not significant. The results suggest that, unlike conventional hearing aids, this device can be used to overcome the deterioration of auditory ability by improving the transfer of information from short-term (echoic) memory into a more stable memory trace in the human auditory system.

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.

Processing of Binaural Pitch Stimuli in Hearing-Impaired Listeners

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Santurette, Sébastien; Dau, Torsten

2009-01-01

Binaural pitch is a tonal sensation produced by introducing a frequency-dependent interaural phase shift in binaurally presented white noise. As no spectral cues are present in the physical stimulus, binaural pitch perception is assumed to rely on accurate temporal fine structure coding and intact...... binaural integration mechanisms. This study investigated to what extent basic auditory measures of binaural processing as well as cognitive abilities are correlated with the ability of hearing-impaired listeners to perceive binaural pitch. Subjects from three groups (1: normal-hearing; 2: cochlear...... hearingloss; 3: retro-cochlear impairment) were asked to identify the pitch contour of series of five notes of equal duration, ranging from 523 to 784 Hz, played either with Huggins’ binaural pitch stimuli (BP) or perceptually similar, but monaurally detectable, pitches (MP). All subjects from groups 1 and 2...

Reaching Out to Develop the Creative Reading Potential of the Hearing Impaired in Community Colleges.

Science.gov (United States)

Norton, Audree L.

Hearing impaired students need the opportunity to develop their creative reading ability (the ability to acquire ideas and information through printed words, to apply them to personal problems, and to attempt to resolve those problems). Although many hearing impaired students have the intelligence to be successful readers, they have been…

Career Education of Hearing-Impaired Students: A Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Bullis, Michael, Ed.; Watson, Douglas, Ed.

This monograph reviews the many efforts that have been made in the fields of education and vocational rehabilitation to develop and refine career preparation services for hearing-impaired individuals. The following papers are included in the volume: "Career Education: A Literature Review," by Charlene Dwyer; "A Current Profile of Career Education…

Effect of simultaneous exposure to occupational noise and cigarette smoke on binaural hearing impairment

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Saber Mohammadi

2010-01-01

Full Text Available In recent years, it has been postulated that cigarette smoking can aggravate noise-induced hearing loss. In this study, we aimed to assess the effect of concurrent exposure to cigarette smoke and occupational noise on binaural hearing impairment (BHI. In an analytic study on the workers of a large wagon manufacturing company in 2007, 622 male workers (252 smokers and 370 non-smokers, matched for other variables participated and their BHI was compared. BHI was significantly higher in smokers than in non-smokers (odds ratio= 5.6, P < 0.001, 95% CI =3.4-9.4. Logistic regression confirmed this significant difference as well, and showed a direct relationship between the amount of BHI and pack/years of smoking. Cigarette smoking accompanied by exposure to workplace noise may play a role in causing binaural hearing impairment, so giving up or decreasing the amount of smoking may prevent or at least delay binaural hearing impairment, and eventually reduce its compensation costs.

Risk behaviors and sexual abuse among men and woman with visual or hearing impairments

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Silvia Susana Robles Montijo

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The present study proposed a descriptive analysis of sociodemographic and family variables, as well as risky sexual behaviors and sexual abuse in a sample of young Mexicans with hearing or visual impairments, examining differences based on gender and type of disability of the participants. 128 young persons (64 hearing impaired and 64 visually impaired of whom, 53.2% were male and 86.6% were single, were included in the study. The instruments used were adapted linguistically to be answered by young people with hearing disabilities, and translated into Braille for visually impaired young people. The results show that participants maintain an active sex life with a risk profile that is characterized by the early onset of sexual intercourse, lack of planning their first sexual encounter, underuse of condoms and victimization of some form of sexual abuse. The risk was higher in women and among those with visual disabilities.

Sensorineural hearing loss after magnetic resonance imaging

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mollasadeghi, Abolfazl; Mehrparvar, Amir Houshang; Atighechi, Saeid

2013-01-01

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) devices produce noise, which may affect patient's or operators' hearing. Some cases of hearing impairment after MRI procedure have been reported with different patterns (temporary or permanent, unilateral or bilateral, with or without other symptoms like tinnitus)......). In this report, a case of bilateral sensorineural hearing loss in an otherwise healthy patient underwent brain MRI was described. The patient's hearing loss was accompanied with tinnitus and was not improved after 3 months of followup.......Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) devices produce noise, which may affect patient's or operators' hearing. Some cases of hearing impairment after MRI procedure have been reported with different patterns (temporary or permanent, unilateral or bilateral, with or without other symptoms like tinnitus...

MEASURING SELF-ESTEEM OF DEAF/HARD OF HEARING COLLEGE STUDENTS

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Jin ZHENG

2013-03-01

Full Text Available This study examines Deaf/hard of hearing college students' implicit and explicit self-esteem, with thirty-six 18 to 21 year old (Age ± SD, 19.4±0.9 subjects. Following are the results of this study: Just as hearing students, Deaf/hard of hearing students also have significant implicit self-esteem effect; none of the observed correlations with explicit esteem is significant for either attributive IAT or the affective IAT; Implicit self-esteem of males is higher than that of females; No significant correlation exists between implicit self-esteem and the level of depression. Social comparisons and negative evaluations and attitudes of others always tend to damage explicit self-esteem of Deaf/hard of hearing students. However, positive self-attitude characterizations still exist in their self-schema.

Benefit of Analog, Programmable and Digital Hearing Aids

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Jamileh Fatahi

2006-12-01

Full Text Available Background and Aims: As the hearing aid technology progressively promotes toward replacing analog hearing aids with digital and programmable ones, comparison of the patient satisfaction of those kinds of hearing aids by means of a valuable tool seems so necessary. So, the aim of this study was to compare self-reported benefit of analog, digitally controlled programmable and digital hearing aids for reducing disability caused by hearing impairment in mild to severe sensorineural hearing impaired persons. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 90 persons with mild to severe sensorineural hearing loss dividing into three groups: 43 subjects were fitted with digital, 15 with programmable, 32 with analog hearing aids. After pure tone audiometry, Abbreviated profile of hearing aid benefit (APHAB was completed before and one month after using hearing aids to determine the benefit of them. Results: Global APHAB mean scores for digital, programmable and analog hearing aids were 49.05, 33.19 and 39.53, respectively. Ease of Communication subscale mean scores were 53.46 for digitals, 37.66 for programmables and 39.09 for analogs. Background noise subscale mean scores for digital programmable and analog hearing aids were 46.36, 25.53 and 35.31, respectively. Global and also both subscale mean scores showed significant difference between digital hearing aids and programmable and analog ones. There was no significant difference between reverberation subscale mean scores of three groups. Conclusion: It seems digital hearing aids may be more beneficial to reduce disability caused by hearing loss than analog and programmable hearing aids are.

Hearing Impairment

Science.gov (United States)

... Ear Hears Think about how you can feel speakers vibrate on your sound system or feel your throat vibrate when you speak. Sound, which is made up of invisible waves of energy, causes these vibrations. Hearing begins when sound waves that travel through ...

Assistive Technologies for Improving Communication of Hearing Impairment in the Higher Education in Panama

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lineth Alain

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The ability to communicate, specifically the gift of hearing, is a necessity often taken for granted. A lack of sense of hearing affects the intellectual and emotional development of the human being who suffers from it. It prevents the fluid exchange of knowledge, thoughts and ideas that allow personal growth and development. This article emerges due to an interest in providing assistive technologies that can be considered to improve communication among hearing impaired and normal hearing listeners in the class-room of a higher education level in the Republic of Panama. Information has been compiled from various primary and secondary sources highlighting the communication problem facing this group of disabled people. Information about the situation of hearing impairment, laws, organizations, the reality with the higher education system, and finally, we will talk about Information and Communication Technologies (TICs that will work as technology support in order to improve communication in the classroom in higher education among normal-hearing and deaf people.

CE: Original Research: Understanding the Hospital Experience of Older Adults with Hearing Impairment.

Science.gov (United States)

Funk, Amy; Garcia, Christina; Mullen, Tiara

2018-06-01

: Background: Older hospitalized adults with hearing impairment are vulnerable to adverse outcomes. These patients are at risk for being labeled confused, experiencing a loss of control, experiencing heightened fear and anxiety, and misunderstanding the plan of care. This qualitative study sought to assess the hospital experience of older adults with hearing impairment in order to formulate suggestions for improving nursing care. Open-ended interviews were conducted with eight participants, ages 70 to 95 years, who were identified as having a hearing impairment and were admitted as inpatients to a midwestern medical center. Through data analysis, three common themes emerged: health care communication difficulties, passivity and vulnerability, and frustration with family. Nurses will benefit from having a deeper understanding of the hospital experience of this vulnerable population. Efforts to address their needs can be accomplished through the following nursing actions: assess, accommodate, educate, empower, and advocate.

Perception of a Sung Vowel as a Function of Frequency-Modulation Rate and Excursion in Listeners with Normal Hearing and Hearing Impairment

Science.gov (United States)

Vatti, Marianna; Santurette, Sébastien; Pontoppidan, Niels Henrik; Dau, Torsten

2014-01-01

Purpose: Frequency fluctuations in human voices can usually be described as coherent frequency modulation (FM). As listeners with hearing impairment (HI listeners) are typically less sensitive to FM than listeners with normal hearing (NH listeners), this study investigated whether hearing loss affects the perception of a sung vowel based on FM…

A new nonsyndromic X-linked sensorineural hearing impairment linked to Xp21.2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lalwani, A.K.; Brister, J.R.; Fex, J.; Grundfast, K.M.; Pikus, A.T.; Ploplis, B.; San Agustin, T.; Skarka, H.; Wilcox, E.R. [National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (United States)

1994-10-01

X-linked deafness is a rare cause of hereditary hearing impairment. We have identified a family with X-linked dominant sensorineural hearing impairment, characterized by incomplete penetrance and variable expressivity in carrier females, that is linked to the Xp21.2, which contains the Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) locus. The auditory impairment in affected males was congenital, bilateral, profound, sensorineural, affecting all frequencies, and without evidence of radiographic abnormality of the temporal bone. Adult carrier females manifested bilateral, mild-to-moderate high-frequency sensorineural hearing impairment of delayed onset during adulthood. Eighteen commercially available polymorphic markers from the X chromosome, generating a 10-15-cM map, were initially used for identification of a candidate region. DXS997, located within the DMD gene, generated a two-point LOD score of 2.91 at {theta} = 0, with every carrier mother heterozygous at this locus. Recombination events at DXS992 (located within the DMD locus, 3{prime} to exon 50 of the dystrophin gene) and at DXS1068 (5{prime} to the brain promoter of the dystrophin gene) were observed. No recombination events were noted with the following markers within the DMD locus: 5{prime}DYS II, intron 44, DXS997, and intron 50. There was no clinical evidence of Duchenne or Becker muscular dystrophy in any family member. It is likely that this family represents a new locus on the X chromosome, which when mutated results in nonsyndromic sensorineural hearing loss and is distinct from the heterogeneous group of X-linked hearing losses that have been previously described. 57 refs., 6 figs., 1 tab.

Severe difficulties with word recognition in noise after platinum chemotherapy in childhood, and improvements with open-fitting hearing-aids.

Science.gov (United States)

Einarsson, Einar-Jón; Petersen, Hannes; Wiebe, Thomas; Fransson, Per-Anders; Magnusson, Måns; Moëll, Christian

2011-10-01

To investigate word recognition in noise in subjects treated in childhood with chemotherapy, study benefits of open-fitting hearing-aids for word recognition, and investigate whether self-reported hearing-handicap corresponded to subjects' word recognition ability. Subjects diagnosed with cancer and treated with platinum-based chemotherapy in childhood underwent audiometric evaluations. Fifteen subjects (eight females and seven males) fulfilled the criteria set for the study, and four of those received customized open-fitting hearing-aids. Subjects with cisplatin-induced ototoxicity had severe difficulties recognizing words in noise, and scored as low as 54% below reference scores standardized for age and degree of hearing loss. Hearing-impaired subjects' self-reported hearing-handicap correlated significantly with word recognition in a quiet environment but not in noise. Word recognition in noise improved markedly (up to 46%) with hearing-aids, and the self-reported hearing-handicap and disability score were reduced by more than 50%. This study demonstrates the importance of testing word recognition in noise in subjects treated with platinum-based chemotherapy in childhood, and to use specific custom-made questionnaires to evaluate the experienced hearing-handicap. Open-fitting hearing-aids are a good alternative for subjects suffering from poor word recognition in noise.

Auditory and Non-Auditory Contributions for Unaided Speech Recognition in Noise as a Function of Hearing Aid Use.

Science.gov (United States)

Gieseler, Anja; Tahden, Maike A S; Thiel, Christiane M; Wagener, Kirsten C; Meis, Markus; Colonius, Hans

2017-01-01

Differences in understanding speech in noise among hearing-impaired individuals cannot be explained entirely by hearing thresholds alone, suggesting the contribution of other factors beyond standard auditory ones as derived from the audiogram. This paper reports two analyses addressing individual differences in the explanation of unaided speech-in-noise performance among n = 438 elderly hearing-impaired listeners ( mean = 71.1 ± 5.8 years). The main analysis was designed to identify clinically relevant auditory and non-auditory measures for speech-in-noise prediction using auditory (audiogram, categorical loudness scaling) and cognitive tests (verbal-intelligence test, screening test of dementia), as well as questionnaires assessing various self-reported measures (health status, socio-economic status, and subjective hearing problems). Using stepwise linear regression analysis, 62% of the variance in unaided speech-in-noise performance was explained, with measures Pure-tone average (PTA), Age , and Verbal intelligence emerging as the three most important predictors. In the complementary analysis, those individuals with the same hearing loss profile were separated into hearing aid users (HAU) and non-users (NU), and were then compared regarding potential differences in the test measures and in explaining unaided speech-in-noise recognition. The groupwise comparisons revealed significant differences in auditory measures and self-reported subjective hearing problems, while no differences in the cognitive domain were found. Furthermore, groupwise regression analyses revealed that Verbal intelligence had a predictive value in both groups, whereas Age and PTA only emerged significant in the group of hearing aid NU.

Cognitive skills and the effect of noise on perceived effort in employees with aided hearing impairment and normal hearing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Håkan Hua

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of the following study was to examine the relationship between working memory capacity (WMC, executive functions (EFs and perceived effort (PE after completing a work-related task in quiet and in noise in employees with aided hearing impairment (HI and normal hearing. The study sample consisted of 20 hearing-impaired and 20 normally hearing participants. Measures of hearing ability, WMC and EFs were tested prior to performing a work-related task in quiet and in simulated traffic noise. PE of the work-related task was also measured. Analysis of variance was used to analyze within- and between-group differences in cognitive skills, performance on the work-related task and PE. The presence of noise yielded a significantly higher PE for both groups. However, no significant group differences were observed in WMC, EFs, PE and performance in the work-related task. Interestingly, significant negative correlations were only found between PE in the noise condition and the ability to update information for both groups. In summary, noise generates a significantly higher PE and brings explicit processing capacity into play, irrespective of hearing. This suggest that increased PE involves other factors such as type of task that is to be performed, performance in the cognitive skill required solving the task at hand and whether noise is present. We therefore suggest that special consideration in hearing care should be made to the individual′s prerequisites on these factors in the labor market.

Fine-structure processing, frequency selectivity and speech perception in hearing-impaired listeners

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Strelcyk, Olaf; Dau, Torsten

2008-01-01

Hearing-impaired people often experience great difficulty with speech communication when background noise is present, even if reduced audibility has been compensated for. Other impairment factors must be involved. In order to minimize confounding effects, the subjects participating in this study...... consisted of groups with homogeneous, symmetric audiograms. The perceptual listening experiments assessed the intelligibility of full-spectrum as well as low-pass filtered speech in the presence of stationary and fluctuating interferers, the individual's frequency selectivity and the integrity of temporal...... modulation were obtained. In addition, these binaural and monaural thresholds were measured in a stationary background noise in order to assess the persistence of the fine-structure processing to interfering noise. Apart from elevated speech reception thresholds, the hearing impaired listeners showed poorer...

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.

The effectiveness of mental rehabilitation based on positive thinking skills training on increasing happiness in hearing impaired adolescents

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Mohammad Rostami

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Background and Aim: Hearing impairment can have an impact on adolescents’ quality of life and can lead to their isolation and depression. The main purpose of this research was to study the effectiveness of a mental rehabilitation program based on positive thinking skills training on increasing happiness in a group of hearing impaired girls and boys.Methods: In this experimental study, pre- and post-test plan with a control group was used. All of the hearing impaired students (girls and boys in all high schools of southern parts of Tehran, Iran, in year 2012-13 were our statistical research community. 48 hearing impaired girls and boys were selected by multistage sampling including stratified, purposive, and random sampling. They were randomly divided into two groups of experimental and control. Each group consists of 12 boys and 12 girls. Positive thinking skills were trained to experimental groups during eight 45-minutes sessions, twice a week. We used the Oxford happiness questionnaire to assess the level of happiness.Results: Using analysis of covariance showed that positive thinking skills training had meaningful and positive effect on increasing happiness of hearing impaired boys and girls in the experimental groups (p<0.01. Also, the mean happiness scores of boys and girls were meaningfully different (p<0.01.Conclusion: Positive thinking skills training increases the happiness scores of hearing impaired adolescents. So, the approach taken in this study can be considered as an appropriate method for psychological-education interventions, counseling and treatment in hearing impaired adolescent.

Speech intelligibility of normal listeners and persons with impaired hearing in traffic noise

Science.gov (United States)

Aniansson, G.; Peterson, Y.

1983-10-01

Speech intelligibility (PB words) in traffic-like noise was investigated in a laboratory situation simulating three common listening situations, indoors at 1 and 4 m and outdoors at 1 m. The maximum noise levels still permitting 75% intelligibility of PB words in these three listening situations were also defined. A total of 269 persons were examined. Forty-six had normal hearing, 90 a presbycusis-type hearing loss, 95 a noise-induced hearing loss and 38 a conductive hearing loss. In the indoor situation the majority of the groups with impaired hearing retained good speech intelligibility in 40 dB(A) masking noise. Lowering the noise level to less than 40 dB(A) resulted in a minor, usually insignificant, improvement in speech intelligibility. Listeners with normal hearing maintained good speech intelligibility in the outdoor listening situation at noise levels up to 60 dB(A), without lip-reading (i.e., using non-auditory information). For groups with impaired hearing due to age and/or noise, representing 8% of the population in Sweden, the noise level outdoors had to be lowered to less than 50 dB(A), in order to achieve good speech intelligibility at 1 m without lip-reading.

Writing Skills of Hearing-Impaired Students Who Benefit from Support Services at Public Schools in Turkey

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Karasu, H. Pelin

2017-01-01

Support services provide an essential role for hearing-impaired students attending public schools, in terms of improving their language and academic skills. In this study, the writing skills of hearing-impaired students enrolled in public schools were evaluated, and the relationship between the writing scores, audiological variables and…

The Self-Concept of Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing and Hearing Students

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Mekonnen, Mulat; Hannu, Savolainen; Elina, Lehtomäki; Matti, Kuorelahti

2016-01-01

The present study investigated the self-concept of deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students in different educational settings compared with those of hearing students in Ethiopia. The research involved a sample of 103 Grade 4 students selected from 7 towns in Ethiopia. They were selected from a special school for the deaf, a special class for 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.  

Binaural speech discrimination under noise in hearing-impaired listeners

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Kumar, K. V.; Rao, A. B.

1988-01-01

This paper presents the results of an assessment of speech discrimination by hearing-impaired listeners (sensori-neural, conductive, and mixed groups) under binaural free-field listening in the presence of background noise. Subjects with pure-tone thresholds greater than 20 dB in 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 kHz were presented with a version of the W-22 list of phonetically balanced words under three conditions: (1) 'quiet', with the chamber noise below 28 dB and speech at 60 dB; (2) at a constant S/N ratio of +10 dB, and with a background white noise at 70 dB; and (3) same as condition (2), but with the background noise at 80 dB. The mean speech discrimination scores decreased significantly with noise in all groups. However, the decrease in binaural speech discrimination scores with an increase in hearing impairment was less for material presented under the noise conditions than for the material presented in quiet.

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.

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.

Self-Report and Brain Indicators of Impaired Emotion Regulation in the Broad Autism Spectrum

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Groot, K. (Kristel); J.W. van Strien (Jan)

2017-01-01

textabstractAlthough not used as a diagnostic criterion, impaired emotion regulation is frequently observed in autism. The present study examined self-reported use of emotion regulation strategies in individuals scoring low or high on autistic traits. In addition, the late positive potential, which

Modeling auditory processing and speech perception in hearing-impaired listeners

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jepsen, Morten Løve

in a diagnostic rhyme test. The framework was constructed such that discrimination errors originating from the front-end and the back-end were separated. The front-end was fitted to individual listeners with cochlear hearing loss according to non-speech data, and speech data were obtained in the same listeners......A better understanding of how the human auditory system represents and analyzes sounds and how hearing impairment affects such processing is of great interest for researchers in the fields of auditory neuroscience, audiology, and speech communication as well as for applications in hearing......-instrument and speech technology. In this thesis, the primary focus was on the development and evaluation of a computational model of human auditory signal-processing and perception. The model was initially designed to simulate the normal-hearing auditory system with particular focus on the nonlinear processing...

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…

The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status for Hearing Impaired Individuals (RBANS-H) before and after Cochlear Implantation: A Protocol for a Prospective, Longitudinal Cohort Study.

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Claes, Annes J; Mertens, Griet; Gilles, Annick; Hofkens-Van den Brandt, Anouk; Fransen, Erik; Van Rompaey, Vincent; Van de Heyning, Paul

2016-01-01

Background: Currently, an independent relationship between hearing loss and cognitive decline in older adults is suggested by large prospective studies. In general, cochlear implants improve hearing and the quality of life in severely to profoundly hearing impaired older persons. However, little is known about the effects of cochlear implantation on the cognitive evolution in this population. Aim of the study: The primary goal of this prospective, longitudinal cohort study is to explore the cognitive profile of severely to profoundly postlingually hearing impaired subjects before and after cochlear implantation. In addition, the current study aims to investigate the relationship between the cognitive function, audiometric performances, quality of life, and self-reliance in these patients. Methods: Twenty-five patients aged 55 or older, scheduled for cochlear implantation, will be enrolled in the study. They will be examined prior to implantation, at 6 and 12 months after implantation and annually thereafter. The test battery consists of (1) a cognitive examination, using the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status adapted for Hearing impaired persons (RBANS-H), (2) an audiological examination, including unaided and aided pure tone audiometry, speech audiometry in quiet and speech audiometry in noise, (3) the administration of four questionnaires evaluating quality of life and subjective hearing benefit and (4) a semi-structured interview about the self-reliance of the participant. Discussion: Up until now only one study has been conducted on this topic, focusing on the short-term effects of cochlear implantation on cognition in older adults. The present study is the first study to apply a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment adapted for severely to profoundly hearing impaired subjects in order to investigate the cognitive capabilities before and after cochlear implantation. Trial registration: The present protocol is

Contributions of physical and cognitive impairments to self-reported driving difficulty in chronic whiplash-associated disorders.

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Takasaki, Hiroshi; Treleaven, Julia; Johnston, Venerina; Jull, Gwendolen

2013-08-15

Cross-sectional. To conduct a preliminary analysis of the physical, cognitive, and psychological domains contributing to self-reported driving difficulty after adjusting for neck pain, dizziness, and relevant demographics in chronic whiplash-associated disorders (WAD) using hierarchical regression modeling. Pain is a risk factor for car crashes, and dizziness may affect fitness to drive. Both symptoms are common in chronic WAD and difficulty driving is a common complaint in this group. Chronic WAD is often accompanied by physical, cognitive, and psychological impairments. These impairments may contribute to self-reported driving difficulty beyond neck pain, dizziness, and relevant demographics. Forty individuals with chronic WAD participated. Dependent variables were the magnitude of self-reported driving difficulty assessed in the strategic, tactical, and operational levels of the Neck Pain Driving Index. Three models were developed to assess the contributions of independent variables (physical, cognitive, and psychological domains) to each of the 3 dependent variables after adjusting for neck pain intensity, dizziness, and driving demographics. The measures included were: physical domain-range and maximum speed of head rotation, performances during gaze stability, eye-head coordination, and visual dependency tests; cognitive domain-self-reported cognitive symptoms including fatigue and the trail making tests; and psychological domain-general stress, traumatic stress, depression, and fear of neck movements and driving. Symptom duration was relevant to driving difficulty in the strategic and tactical levels. The cognitive domain increased statistical power to estimate the strategic and operational levels (P < 0.1) beyond other contributors. The physical domain increased statistical power to estimate the tactical level (P < 0.1) beyond other contributors. Physical and cognitive impairments independently contributed to self-reported driving difficulty in chronic WAD

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)

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.

Auditory stream segregation with multi-tonal complexes in hearing-impaired listeners

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Rogers, Deanna S.; Lentz, Jennifer J.

2004-05-01

The ability to segregate sounds into different streams was investigated in normally hearing and hearing-impaired listeners. Fusion and fission boundaries were measured using 6-tone complexes with tones equally spaced in log frequency. An ABA-ABA- sequence was used in which A represents a multitone complex ranging from either 250-1000 Hz (low-frequency region) or 1000-4000 Hz (high-frequency region). B also represents a multitone complex with same log spacing as A. Multitonal complexes were 100 ms in duration with 20-ms ramps, and- represents a silent interval of 100 ms. To measure the fusion boundary, the first tone of the B stimulus was either 375 Hz (low) or 1500 Hz (high) and shifted downward in frequency with each progressive ABA triplet until the listener pressed a button indicating that a ``galloping'' rhythm was heard. When measuring the fusion boundary, the first tone of the B stimulus was 252 or 1030 Hz and shifted upward with each triplet. Listeners then pressed a button when the ``galloping rhythm ended.'' Data suggest that hearing-impaired subjects have different fission and fusion boundaries than normal-hearing listeners. These data will be discussed in terms of both peripheral and central factors.

Hearing Loss Associated with Retinitis Pigmentosa. Short Reports.

Science.gov (United States)

Karp, Adrienne

1985-01-01

The article describes a variation of Usher's Syndrome, a genetic condition characterized by visual and auditory impairments, in which moderate, postlingual, and sometimes progressive hearing impairments may go undetected. Identification guidelines are offered. (Author/CL)

The contribution of perceived parental support to the career self-efficacy of deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Michael, Rinat; Most, Tova; Cinamon, Rachel Gali

2013-01-01

The current study examined the contribution of different types of parental support to career self-efficacy among 11th and 12th grade students (N = 160): 66 students with hearing loss (23 hard of hearing and 43 deaf) and 94 hearing students. Participants completed the Career-Related Parent Support Scale, the Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Self-Efficacy for the Management of Work-Family Conflict questionnaire. Different aspects of parental support predicted different types of career self-efficacies across the 3 groups. Differences among groups were also found when levels of parental support were compared. The deaf group perceived lower levels of parental career-related modeling and verbal encouragement in comparison with the hard-of-hearing students and higher levels of parental emotional support compared with the hearing participants. No significant differences were found among the research groups in career decision-making self-efficacy and self-efficacy in managing work-family conflict. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

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.

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…

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...

DEVELOPMENT OF MULTIMEDIA-BASED INSTRUCTIONAL OF NATURAL SCIENCE IN SOLAR SYSTEM MATERIAL IN THE GRADE IX FOR HEARING IMPAIRMENT STUDENTS

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Nurvita Dwi Andriani

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Hearing impairment students have limitation in obtaining information. Hearing impairment students needs a multimedia-based instructional to visualize a subject matter as a learning experience. This study was aimed at producing a theoretically and empirically valid multimedia-based instructional of Natural Science in Solar System material which is reviewed by experts and could be implemented in Segment B of SMPLB (Hearing impairment students. This study employed a research and development (R&D model by William W. Lee and Diana L. Owens. Overall, the multimedia-based instructional of Natural Science in Solar System material for Segment B of SMPLB (Hearing impairment students was valid

Stress coping strategies in hearing-impaired students

OpenAIRE

Bahman Akbari; Zohreh Teymori; Shahnam Abolghasemi; Hamidreza Khorshidiyan

2013-01-01

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...

Impact of Sensory Impairments on Functional Disability in Adults With Arthritis

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Fisher, Diana E.; Ward, Michael M.; Hoffman, Howard J.; Li, Chuan-Ming; Cotch, Mary Frances

2015-01-01

Introduction Mobility is reduced in people with sensory impairments and those with arthritis. The joint impact of these conditions may be underappreciated. This study examines the associations between impairments in vision, hearing, and balance and functional ability in adults with versus without arthritis. Methods Using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data from 1999–2004, arthritis status, functional ability, and sensory impairments (vision, hearing, and balance) were assessed from self-reported responses by 6,654 individuals aged ≥50 years (mean age, 63.4 years; 46.3% male). Multivariable regression analyses, conducted in 2014, assessed the associations between sensory impairment and arthritis on functional ability and mobility. Results Among study participants, 41.8% reported having arthritis; of these, 27.1%, 44.9%, and 35.1% reported impaired vision, hearing, or balance, respectively. Having multiple sensory impairments was significantly associated with reduced functional ability in people with arthritis; individuals with three sensory impairments reported the highest levels of disability for all functional domains (compared with no impairment; lower extremity mobility, 80.2% vs 39.1%; general physical activities, 94.7% vs 75.9%; activities of daily living, 69.7% vs 27.2%; instrumental activities of daily living, 77.2% vs 37.4%; leisure and social activities, 66.3% vs 30.6%; impaired gait speed, 48.1% vs 16.3%; all parthritis, had the greatest impact on mobility, with odds of impaired mobility at least twice as high as for individuals without arthritis. Conclusions Addressing sensory deficits, especially difficulties with vision, may improve functional ability, which may be particularly helpful for adults with arthritis. PMID:26410186

Adaptation of the Fresenius PD+ Cycler for a hearing-impaired patient.

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Kushner, A

2000-01-01

Continuous cycling peritoneal dialysis (CCPD) uses a cycler to perform dialysis exchanges and requires the patient to respond to an audible alarm signifying an interruption in the therapy. Consequently, an unassisted hearing-impaired patient could not use the system. By converting the standard alarm to a vibrating signal, the cycler was successfully adapted to accommodate the special needs of our hearing-impaired patient. The items required for the modification were the Sonic Alert Wake Up Alarm (Model SA-WA300: Sonic Alert, Troy, MI, U.S.A.) and the Sonic Alert Super Shaker Bed Vibrator (Model SA-SS120V: Sonic Alert). The patient can place the vibrator under either the pillow or the mattress. When the cycler alarm is activated, vibration wakens the patient. The equipment was purchased from Harris Communications (Eden Prairie, MN, U.S.A.) through a referral by the Easter Seal Society. Three days were needed to complete training compared to an average of one or two days for patients previously trained for continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). The patient remained on cycler therapy for approximately four months when the unrelated development of an abdominal hernia required termination of peritoneal dialysis and subsequent transfer to hemodialysis. In conclusion, a modified cycler can provide a safe and efficient renal replacement therapy option for a hearing-impaired patient.

[The occupational risk of hearing impairment associated with cardiovascular pathologies in the subjects engaged in 'noisy' industries].

Science.gov (United States)

Pankova, V B; Preobrazhenskaya, E A; Fedina, I N

The objective of the present study was to analyze the structure of concomitant somatic pathology in the subjects experiencing the occupational hearing problems. The study demonstrated the increase in the frequency of concomitant chronic diseases and the prevalence of polynosological conditions with the increasing severity of hearing impairment. It was shown that cardiovascular pathologies tend to enhance the risk of hearing loss in the employees engaged in «noisy» occupations. The cause-and-effect relationships were elucidated as the contribution of the "vascular" factor to the formation of occupational pathology of the organs of hearing. The clinical audilogical features of co-morbid occupational hearing impairment associated with vascular pathology were characterized by the accelerated development and progression of the hearing disorders with the gradual disappearance of the audiological signs characteristic of noise-induced lesions.

Exploring an educational assessment tool to measure registered nurses' knowledge of hearing impairment and effective communication strategies: A USA study.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruesch, Amy L

2018-01-01

Poor communication between the Registered Nurse and a hearing impaired patient can affect quality of care and health outcomes. Communication skills training programs for healthcare providers are needed to improve patient centered care. A descriptive research study, using a knowledge assessment tool developed and validated by the researcher, was conducted on 339 Registered Nurses to identify knowledge deficits to be addressed in a communication skills training program being designed. The educational tool measured the Registered Nurses' knowledge across four areas - hearing impairment, hearing aids, communication strategies, and regulations regarding access to care for a person with a hearing disability. Knowledge deficits were detected in all four areas. Using this educational assessment tool may enable nurse educators to tailor communication skills training programs to specifically address the gaps identified regarding hearing impairment and how to effectively communicate with the hearing impaired patient. Post training program, nurse educators can use the tool to evaluate effectiveness. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Otitis Media and Children with Hearing Impairments: A Sequela.

Science.gov (United States)

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)

An assistive technology for hearing-impaired persons: analysis, requirements and architecture.

Science.gov (United States)

Mielke, Matthias; Grunewald, Armin; Bruck, Rainer

2013-01-01

In this contribution, a concept of an assistive technology for hearing-impaired and deaf persons is presented. The concept applies pattern recognition algorithms and makes use of modern communication technology to analyze the acoustic environment around a user, identify critical acoustic signatures and give an alert to the user when an event of interest happened. A detailed analysis of the needs of deaf and hearing-impaired people has been performed. Requirements for an adequate assisting device have been derived from the results of the analysis, and have been turned into an architecture for its implementation that will be presented in this article. The presented concept is the basis for an assistive system which is now under development at the Institute of Microsystem Engineering at the University of Siegen.

Impaired Prefrontal-Amygdala Pathway, Self-Reported Emotion, and Erection in Psychogenic Erectile Dysfunction Patients With Normal Nocturnal Erection

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Jianhuai Chen

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Background: Neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that the prefrontal cortex and amygdala play an important role in sexual arousal (SA. However, little is known about the interactions between the prefrontal and cortex amygdala, which mediate the cognitive regulation of emotion and SA.Objective: We seek to determine whether nocturnal erection of psychogenic erectile dysfunction (pED patients are normal and whether there are changes of topological organization in the prefrontal-amygdala pathway of brain network in pED. In addition, whether there are correlations between network property changes and self-reported emotion and erection.Design, setting, and participants: We used the RigiScan device to evaluate erectile function of patients and employed diffusion MRI and graph theory to construct brain networks of 21 pED patients and 24 healthy controls.Outcome measurements and statistical analysis: We considered four nodal metrics and their asymmetry scores, and nocturnal penile tumescence (NPT parameters, to evaluate the topological properties of brain networks of pED and their relationships with the impaired self-reported emotion and erection.Results and limitations: All the pED patients showed normal nocturnal penile erection, however impaired self-reported erection and negative emotion. In addition, patients showed lower connectivity degree and strength in the left prefrontal-amygdala pathway. We also found that pED exhibited lower leftward asymmetry in the inferior frontal gyrus. Furthermore, patients showed more hub regions and fewer pivotal connections. Moreover, the degree of the left amygdala of pED showed significantly negative correlation with the self-reported erection and positive correlation with the self-reported negative emotion.Conclusions: Together, these results suggest normal nocturnal erection in pED. However, abnormalities of brain network organization in pED, particularly in the left prefrontal-amygdala pathway, are associated

Impaired Prefrontal-Amygdala Pathway, Self-Reported Emotion, and Erection in Psychogenic Erectile Dysfunction Patients With Normal Nocturnal Erection

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jianhuai; Chen, Yun; Gao, Qingqiang; Chen, Guotao; Dai, Yutian; Yao, Zhijian; Lu, Qing

2018-01-01

Background: Neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that the prefrontal cortex and amygdala play an important role in sexual arousal (SA). However, little is known about the interactions between the prefrontal and cortex amygdala, which mediate the cognitive regulation of emotion and SA. Objective: We seek to determine whether nocturnal erection of psychogenic erectile dysfunction (pED) patients are normal and whether there are changes of topological organization in the prefrontal-amygdala pathway of brain network in pED. In addition, whether there are correlations between network property changes and self-reported emotion and erection. Design, setting, and participants: We used the RigiScan device to evaluate erectile function of patients and employed diffusion MRI and graph theory to construct brain networks of 21 pED patients and 24 healthy controls. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis: We considered four nodal metrics and their asymmetry scores, and nocturnal penile tumescence (NPT) parameters, to evaluate the topological properties of brain networks of pED and their relationships with the impaired self-reported emotion and erection. Results and limitations: All the pED patients showed normal nocturnal penile erection, however impaired self-reported erection and negative emotion. In addition, patients showed lower connectivity degree and strength in the left prefrontal-amygdala pathway. We also found that pED exhibited lower leftward asymmetry in the inferior frontal gyrus. Furthermore, patients showed more hub regions and fewer pivotal connections. Moreover, the degree of the left amygdala of pED showed significantly negative correlation with the self-reported erection and positive correlation with the self-reported negative emotion. Conclusions: Together, these results suggest normal nocturnal erection in pED. However, abnormalities of brain network organization in pED, particularly in the left prefrontal-amygdala pathway, are associated with the

Web-based auditory self-training system for adult and elderly users of hearing aids.

Science.gov (United States)

Vitti, Simone Virginia; Blasca, Wanderléia Quinhoneiro; Sigulem, Daniel; Torres Pisa, Ivan

2015-01-01

Adults and elderly users of hearing aids suffer psychosocial reactions as a result of hearing loss. Auditory rehabilitation is typically carried out with support from a speech therapist, usually in a clinical center. For these cases, there is a lack of computer-based self-training tools for minimizing the psychosocial impact of hearing deficiency. To develop and evaluate a web-based auditory self-training system for adult and elderly users of hearing aids. Two modules were developed for the web system: an information module based on guidelines for using hearing aids; and an auditory training module presenting a sequence of training exercises for auditory abilities along the lines of the auditory skill steps within auditory processing. We built aweb system using PHP programming language and a MySQL database .from requirements surveyed through focus groups that were conducted by healthcare information technology experts. The web system was evaluated by speech therapists and hearing aid users. An initial sample of 150 patients at DSA/HRAC/USP was defined to apply the system with the inclusion criteria that: the individuals should be over the age of 25 years, presently have hearing impairment, be a hearing aid user, have a computer and have internet experience. They were divided into two groups: a control group (G1) and an experimental group (G2). These patients were evaluated clinically using the HHIE for adults and HHIA for elderly people, before and after system implementation. A third web group was formed with users who were invited through social networks for their opinions on using the system. A questionnaire evaluating hearing complaints was given to all three groups. The study hypothesis considered that G2 would present greater auditory perception, higher satisfaction and fewer complaints than G1 after the auditory training. It was expected that G3 would have fewer complaints regarding use and acceptance of the system. The web system, which was named Sis

Self-Fitting Hearing Aids: Status Quo and Future Predictions.

Science.gov (United States)

Keidser, Gitte; Convery, Elizabeth

2016-04-12

A self-contained, self-fitting hearing aid (SFHA) is a device that enables the user to perform both threshold measurements leading to a prescribed hearing aid setting and fine-tuning, without the need for audiological support or access to other equipment. The SFHA has been proposed as a potential solution to address unmet hearing health care in developing countries and remote locations in the developed world and is considered a means to lower cost and increase uptake of hearing aids in developed countries. This article reviews the status of the SFHA and the evidence for its feasibility and challenges and predicts where it is heading. Devices that can be considered partly or fully self-fitting without audiological support were identified in the direct-to-consumer market. None of these devices are considered self-contained as they require access to other hardware such as a proprietary interface, computer, smartphone, or tablet for manipulation. While there is evidence that self-administered fitting processes can provide valid and reliable results, their success relies on user-friendly device designs and interfaces and easy-to-interpret instructions. Until these issues have been sufficiently addressed, optional assistance with the self-fitting process and on-going use of SFHAs is recommended. Affordability and a sustainable delivery system remain additional challenges for the SFHA in developing countries. Future predictions include a growth in self-fitting products, with most future SFHAs consisting of earpieces that connect wirelessly with a smartphone and providers offering assistance through a telehealth infrastructure, and the integration of SFHAs into the traditional hearing health-care model. © The Author(s) 2016.

Treatment Efficacy: Hearing Aids in the Management of Hearing Loss in Adults.

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Weinstein, Barbara E.

1996-01-01

This article reviews the efficacy of hearing aids in adults with hearing impairments. Information is provided on the prevalence of hearing impairments; the daily effects of a hearing impairment; and the role of the audiologist. The effectiveness and benefits of hearing aids are reviewed, and a case study is provided. (CR)

Clinical measurement of various aspects of hearing impairment and their relation to auditory functioning: the development of an Auditory Profile

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Esch, T.E.M.

2013-01-01

In terms of disability and handicap, problems in auditory function involve much more than a reduced sensitivity to soft sounds, the most commonly used measure of hearing impairment. In daily life, many hearing-impaired (HI) listeners suffer more from impaired processing of audible sounds, than from

Cognitive impairment and self-care in heart failure

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Hajduk AM

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Alexandra M Hajduk,1,2 Stephenie C Lemon,3 David D McManus,1,2,4 Darleen M Lessard,1 Jerry H Gurwitz,1,2,4 Frederick A Spencer,5 Robert J Goldberg,1,2 Jane S Saczynski1,2,4 1Division of Epidemiology of Chronic Diseases and Vulnerable Populations, Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA; 2Meyers Primary Care Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA; 3Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA; 4Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA; 5Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada Background: Heart failure (HF is a prevalent chronic disease in older adults that requires extensive self-care to prevent decompensation and hospitalization. Cognitive impairment may impact the ability to perform HF self-care activities. We examined the association between cognitive impairment and adherence to self-care in patients hospitalized for acute HF. Design: Prospective cohort study. Setting and participants: A total of 577 patients (mean age = 71 years, 44% female hospitalized for HF at five medical centers in the United States and Canada. Measurements and methods: Participants were interviewed for information on self-reported adherence to self-care using the European Heart Failure Self-care Behaviour Scale. We assessed cognitive impairment in three domains (memory, processing speed, and executive function using standardized measures. Patients' demographic and clinical characteristics were obtained through medical record review. Multivariable linear regression was used to examine the association between cognitive impairment and self-care practices adjusting for demographic and clinical factors. Results: A total of 453 patients (79% were impaired in at least one cognitive

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.

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…

Hearing impairment caused by mutations in two different genes responsible for nonsyndromic and syndromic hearing loss within a single family.

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Niepokój, Katarzyna; Rygiel, Agnieszka M; Jurczak, Piotr; Kujko, Aleksandra A; Śniegórska, Dominika; Sawicka, Justyna; Grabarczyk, Alicja; Bal, Jerzy; Wertheim-Tysarowska, Katarzyna

2018-02-01

Usher syndrome is rare genetic disorder impairing two human senses, hearing and vision, with the characteristic late onset of vision loss. This syndrome is divided into three types. In all cases, the vision loss is postlingual, while loss of hearing is usually prelingual. The vestibular functions may also be disturbed in Usher type 1 and sometimes in type 3. Vestibular areflexia is helpful in making a proper diagnosis of the syndrome, but, often, the syndrome is misdiagnosed as a nonsyndromic hearing loss. Here, we present a Polish family with hearing loss, which was clinically classified as nonsyndromic. After excluding mutations in the DFNB1 locus, we implemented the next-generation sequencing method and revealed that hearing loss was syndromic and mutations in the USH2A gene indicate Usher syndrome. This research highlights the importance of molecular analysis in establishing a clinical diagnosis of congenital hearing loss.

Does extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy cause hearing impairment?

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Tuncer, Murat; Erdogan, Banu A; Yazici, Ozgur; Sahin, Cahit; Altin, Gokhan; Faydaci, Gokhan; Eryildirim, Bilal; Sarica, Kemal

2014-07-01

To evaluate the possible effects of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) on the hearing status of the patients in this prospective controlled study. A total of 40 patients with normal hearing function were included to the study. We had 20 patients each in the study group and control group. The treatment parameters were standardized in all 3 sessions in which a total of 3000 shock waves with a rate of 90/min along with a total energy value of 126 J at the fourth energy level have been applied (Dornier Compact Sigma, Medtech, Germany). In addition to the testing of hearing functions and possible cochlear impairment by Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions test at 1.0, 1.4, 2.0, 2.8, and 4.0 kHz frequencies, complications such as ear pain, tinnitus, and hearing loss have been well evaluated in each patient before the procedure and 2 hours and 1 month after the completion of the third session of ESWL in the study group. The same evaluation procedures were performed before the study and after 7-weeks in the control group. Regarding Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions data obtained in study group and control group patients, there was no significant alteration in values obtained after ESWL when compared with the values before the procedure. A well-planned ESWL procedure is a safe and effective treatment in urinary stones and causes no detectable harmful effect on the hearing function of treated patients. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sign-Lingo : Feasibility of a Serious Game for Involving Parents in the Language Development of their Deaf or Hearing Impaired Child

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Schalk, I van der; Spruit, M.

2017-01-01

Family involvement plays a critical factor in the language development of a deaf or hearing impaired child. Hearing parents often have major difficulties in communicating with their child when it is deaf or hearing impaired. These difficulties often lead to issues in the language development of the

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

The role of social frailty in explaining the association between hearing problems and mild cognitive impairment in older adults.

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Bae, Seongryu; Lee, Sangyoon; Lee, Sungchul; Jung, Songee; Makino, Keitaro; Park, Hyuntae; Shimada, Hiroyuki

2018-06-01

We examined the role of social frailty in the association between hearing problems and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and investigated which cognitive impairment domains are most strongly involved. Participants were 4251 older adults (mean age 72.5 ± 5.2 years, 46.1% male) who met the study inclusion criteria. Hearing problems were measured using the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly. Social frailty was identified using responses to five questions. Participants were divided into four groups depending on the presence of social frailty and hearing problems: control, social frailty, hearing problem, and co-occurrence. We assessed memory, attention, executive function, and processing speed using the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology-Functional Assessment Tool. Participants were categorized into normal cognition, single- and multiple-domain MCI, depending on the number of impaired cognitive domains. Participants with multiple-domain MCI exhibited the highest odds ratios (OR) of the co-occurrence group (OR: 3.89, 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 1.96-7.72), followed by the social frailty (OR: 2.65, 95% CI: 1.49-4.67), and hearing problem (OR: 1.90, 95% CI: 1.08-3.34) groups, compared with the control group. However, single-domain MCI was not significantly associated with any group. Cognitive domain analysis revealed that impaired executive function and processing speed were associated with the co-occurrence, hearing problem, and social frailty groups, respectively. Social frailty and hearing problems were independently associated with multiple-domain MCI. Comorbid conditions were more strongly associated with multiple-domain MCI. Longitudinal studies are needed to elucidate the causal role of social frailty in the association between hearing impairment and MCI. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Getting in and Getting On? The Experiences of Young People with Visual Impairments and Hearing Impairments in Third-Level Education

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Byrne, Bronagh

2014-01-01

Young disabled people continue to be under-represented throughout further and higher education settings. Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu's social theory of habitus, capital and field, this paper explores the practices of domination and oppression that have made it difficult for young people with visual impairments and hearing impairments to participate…

Description of Adults Seeking Hearing Help for the First Time According to Two Health Behavior Change Approaches: Transtheoretical Model (Stages of Change) and Health Belief Model.

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Saunders, Gabrielle H; Frederick, Melissa T; Silverman, ShienPei C; Nielsen, Claus; Laplante-Lévesque, Ariane

2016-01-01

, individuals with more hearing impairment were at more advanced stages of change as measured by the URICA (i.e., higher contemplation and action scores relative to their precontemplation score), and they perceived fewer barriers and more susceptibility, severity, benefits and cues to action as measured by the HBQ. Multiple regression analyses showed participation restrictions (HHI scores) to be a highly significant predictor of stages of change explaining 30% to 37% of the variance, as were duration of hearing difficulty, and perceived benefits, severity, self-efficacy and cues to action assessed by the HBQ. The main predictors of stages of change in first-time help seekers were reported participation restrictions and duration of hearing difficulty, with constructs from the health belief model also explaining some of the variance in stages of change scores. The transtheoretical model and the health belief model are valuable for understanding hearing health behaviors and can be applied when developing interventions to promote help seeking.

Oral communication in individuals with hearing impairment – considerations regarding attentional, cognitive and social resources

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Ulrike eLemke

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Traditionally, audiology research has focused primarily on hearing and related disorders. In recent years, however, growing interest and insight has developed into the interaction of hearing and cognition. This applies to a person’s listening and speech comprehension ability and the neural realization thereof. The present perspective extends this view to oral communication, when two or more people interact in social context. Specifically, the impact of hearing impairment and cognitive changes with age is discussed.In focus are executive functions, a group of top-down processes that guide attention, thought and action according to goals and intentions. The strategic allocation of the limited cognitive processing capacity among concurrent tasks is often effortful, especially under adverse communication conditions and in old age. Working memory, a sub-function extensively discussed in cognitive hearing science, is here put into the context of other executive and cognitive functions required for oral communication and speech comprehension. Finally, taking an ecological view on hearing impairment, activity limitations and participation restrictions are discussed regarding their psycho-social impact and third-party disability.

The influence of unilateral saccular impairment on functional balance performance and self-report dizziness.

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McCaslin, Devin L; Jacobson, Gary P; Grantham, Sarah L; Piker, Erin G; Verghese, Susha

2011-09-01

Postural stability in humans is largely maintained by vestibular, visual, and somatosensory inputs to the central nervous system. Recent clinical advances in the assessment of otolith function (e.g., cervical and ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials [cVEMPs and oVEMPs], subjective visual vertical [SVV] during eccentric rotation) have enabled investigators to identify patients with unilateral otolith impairments. This research has suggested that patients with unilateral otolith impairments perform worse than normal healthy controls on measures of postural stability. It is not yet known if patients with unilateral impairments of the saccule and/or inferior vestibular nerve (i.e., unilaterally abnormal cVEMP) perform differently on measures of postural stability than patients with unilateral impairments of the horizontal SCC (semicircular canal) and/or superior vestibular nerve (i.e., unilateral caloric weakness). Further, it is not known what relationship exists, if any, between otolith system impairment and self-report dizziness handicap. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the extent to which saccular impairments (defined by a unilaterally absent cVEMP) and impairments of the horizontal semicircular canal (as measured by the results of caloric testing) affect vestibulospinal function as measured through the Sensory Organization Test (SOT) of the computerized dynamic posturography (CDP). A secondary objective of this investigation was to measure the effects, if any, that saccular impairment has on a modality-specific measure of health-related quality of life. A retrospective cohort study. Subjects were assigned to one of four groups based on results from balance function testing: Group 1 (abnormal cVEMP response only), Group 2 (abnormal caloric response only), Group 3 (abnormal cVEMP and abnormal caloric response), and Group 4 (normal control group). Subjects were 92 adult patients: 62 were seen for balance function testing due to complaints

Self-reported quality of life measure is reliable and valid in adult patients suffering from schizophrenia with executive impairment.

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Baumstarck, Karine; Boyer, Laurent; Boucekine, Mohamed; Aghababian, Valérie; Parola, Nathalie; Lançon, Christophe; Auquier, Pascal

2013-06-01

Impaired executive functions are among the most widely observed in patients suffering from schizophrenia. The use of self-reported outcomes for evaluating treatment and managing care of these patients has been questioned. The aim of this study was to provide new evidence about the suitability of self-reported outcome for use in this specific population by exploring the internal structure, reliability and external validity of a specific quality of life (QoL) instrument, the Schizophrenia Quality of Life questionnaire (SQoL18). cross-sectional study. age over 18 years, diagnosis of schizophrenia according to the DSM-IV criteria. sociodemographic (age, gender, and education level) and clinical data (duration of illness, Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia); QoL (SQoL18); and executive performance (Stroop test, lexical and verbal fluency, and trail-making test). Non-impaired and impaired populations were defined for each of the three tests. For the six groups, psychometric properties were compared to those reported from the reference population assessed in the validation study. One hundred and thirteen consecutive patients were enrolled. The factor analysis performed in the impaired groups showed that the questionnaire structure adequately matched the initial structure of the SQoL18. The unidimensionality of the dimensions was preserved, and the internal/external validity indices were close to those of the non-impaired groups and the reference population. Our study suggests that executive dysfunction did not compromise the reliability or validity of self-reported disease-specific QoL questionnaire. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

PROMIS Sleep Disturbance and Sleep-Related Impairment in Adolescents: Examining Psychometrics Using Self-Report and Actigraphy.

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Hanish, Alyson E; Lin-Dyken, Deborah C; Han, Joan C

The National Institutes of Health Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) has self-reported health measures available for both pediatric and adult populations, but no pediatric measures are available currently in the sleep domains. The purpose of this observational study was to perform preliminary validation studies on age-appropriate, self-reported sleep measures in healthy adolescents. This study examined 25 healthy adolescents' self-reported daytime sleepiness, sleep disturbance, sleep-related impairment, and sleep patterns. Healthy adolescents completed a physical exam at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (Bethesda, MD), had no chronic medical conditions, and were not taking any chronic medications. The Cleveland Adolescent Sleepiness Questionnaire (CASQ), PROMIS Sleep Disturbance (v. 1.0; 8a), and PROMIS Sleep-Related Impairment (v. 1.0; 8b) questionnaires were completed, and sleep patterns were assessed using actigraphy. Total scores on the three sleep questionnaires were correlated (all Spearman's r > .70, p psychometrically sound sleep questionnaires. Findings suggest the potential research and clinical utility of adult versions of PROMIS sleep measures in adolescents. Future studies should include larger, more diverse samples and explore additional psychometric properties of PROMIS sleep measures to provide age-appropriate, validated, and reliable measures of sleep in adolescents.

Obtaining Data on Hearing Experience Through Self-tracking

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johansen, Benjamin; Petersen, Michael Kai; Larsen, Jakob Eg

2016-01-01

This position paper argues that self-tracking data can enrich a pre-fitting process of hearing aids. It is argued that hearing loss consist of three parts. Tonal sensitivity, signal to-noise-sensitivity, and cognitive capabilities which can be assessed by using smartphones. Combining this with co...

[The prevalence of hearing impairment in transport workers and peculiarities of management of occupational loss of hearing (as exemplified by the situation in the air and railway transport)].

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Pankova, V B; Skryabina, L Yu; Kas'kov, Yu N

2016-01-01

This article presents data on the prevalence of hearing impairment among the workers engaged in the main means of transportation(air and railway transport). They show that the relative frequency of occupational loss of hearing in the cockpit members of commercial aviation amounts to one third of all cases of analogous diseases in this country. The main professional groups of transport works suffering from hearing impairment are constituted by the representatives of the so-called elite specialities, such as flying crew personnel, locomotive engineers, and their assistants. This fact constitutes an important aspect (not only of medical but also of socio-economic significance) of the problem under consideration. The high prevalence of professional hearing impairment among the transport workers is attributable to the high noise level in the cabins of locomotives and aircraft cockpits as well as to the inadequate expert and diagnostic work or imperfection of the regulatory documentation.

A population-based survey of visual impairment and its correlates in Mahabubnagar district, Telangana State, India.

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Mactaggart, Islay; Polack, Sarah; Murthy, Gvs; Kuper, Hannah

2018-06-01

To estimate the prevalence and correlates of visual impairment in Mahabubnagar district, Telangana, India. Fifty-one clusters of 80 people (all ages) were sampled with probability proportionate to size. Households within clusters were selected through the compact segment sampling. Visual acuity (VA) was measured with a tumbling "E" chart. An Ophthalmic Assistant or Vision Technician examined people with VAimpairments (hearing, physical) were clinically assessed and self-reported functional difficulties measured using the Washington Group Extended Set. People with visual impairment and age-sex matched controls with normal vision were interviewed about poverty, employment and education. 4,125 people were enumerated and 3,574 screened (86.6%). The prevalence of visual impairment (VAvisual impairment, and cataract the leading cause of blindness. Cataract surgical coverage (proportion of all cataracts that had received surgery) was relatively low (41% of people at VAvisual impairment, 15% had a moderate/severe physical impairment or epilepsy and 25% had a moderate/severe hearing impairment. Self-reported difficulties in vision were relatively closely related to visual acuity. People with visual impairment were more likely to be in the poorest quartile (OR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.0-3.4) or unemployed (5.0, 2.2-10.0), compared to controls. Visual impairment was common in Mahabubnagar district, was mostly avoidable, and was correlated with poverty markers.

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.

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.

The impact of hearing impairment and noise-induced hearing injury on quality of life in the active-duty military population: challenges to the study of this issue.

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Alamgir, Hasanat; Turner, Caryn A; Wong, Nicole J; Cooper, Sharon P; Betancourt, Jose A; Henry, James; Senchak, Andrew J; Hammill, Tanisha L; Packer, Mark D

2016-01-01

The objectives of this research were to 1) summarize the available evidence on the impact of hearing loss on quality of life (QOL) among U.S. active-duty service members, 2) describe the QOL instruments that have been used to quantify the impact of hearing loss on quality of life, 3) examine national population-level secondary databases and report on their utility for studying the impact of hearing loss on QOL among active-duty service members, and 4) provide recommendations for future studies that seek to quantify the impact of hearing loss in this population. There is a lack of literature that addresses the intersection of hearing impairment, the military population, and quality of life measures. For audiological research, U.S. military personnel offer a unique research population, as they are exposed to noise levels and blast environments that are highly unusual in civilian work settings and can serve as a model population for studying the impact on QOL associated with these conditions. Our team recommends conducting a study on the active-duty service member population using a measurement instrument suitable for determining decreases in QOL specifically due to hearing loss.

Do Hearing Protectors Protect Hearing?

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Groenewold, Matthew R.; Masterson, Elizabeth A.; Themann, Christa L.; Davis, Rickie R.

2015-01-01

Background We examined the association between self-reported hearing protection use at work and incidence of hearing shifts over a 5-year period. Methods Audiometric data from 19,911 workers were analyzed. Two hearing shift measures—OSHA standard threshold shift (OSTS) and high-frequency threshold shift (HFTS)—were used to identify incident shifts in hearing between workers’ 2005 and 2009 audiograms. Adjusted odds ratios were generated using multivariable logistic regression with multi-level modeling. Results The odds ratio for hearing shift for workers who reported never versus always wearing hearing protection was nonsignificant for OSTS (OR 1.23, 95% CI 0.92–1.64) and marginally significant for HFTS (OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.00–1.59). A significant linear trend towards increased risk of HFTS with decreased use of hearing protection was observed (P = 0.02). Conclusion The study raises concern about the effectiveness of hearing protection as a substitute for noise control to prevent noise-induced hearing loss in the workplace. Am. J. Ind. Med. 57:1001–1010, 2014. Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. PMID:24700499

A self-fitting hearing aid: need and concept.

Science.gov (United States)

Convery, Elizabeth; Keidser, Gitte; Dillon, Harvey; Hartley, Lisa

2011-12-01

The need for reliable access to hearing health care services is growing globally, particularly in developing countries and in remotely located, underserved regions in many parts of the developed world. Individuals with hearing loss in these areas are at a significant disadvantage due to the scarcity of local hearing health care professionals and the high cost of hearing aids. Current approaches to making hearing rehabilitation services more readily available to underserved populations include teleaudiology and the provision of amplification devices outside of the traditional provider-client relationship. Both strategies require access to such resources as dedicated equipment and/or specially trained staff. Another possible strategy is a self-fitting hearing aid, a personal amplification device that is equipped with an onboard tone generator to enable user-controlled, automated, in situ audiometry; an onboard prescription to determine the initial hearing aid settings; and a trainable algorithm to enable user-controlled fine-tuning. The device is thus assembled, fitted, and managed by the user without the need for audiological or computer support. This article details the self-fitting concept and its potential application in both developing and developed countries. Potential advantages and disadvantages of such a device are discussed, and considerations for further investigations into the concept are presented. Overall, the concept is considered technologically viable with the main challenges anticipated to be development of clear, simple user instructions and a delivery model that ensures reliable supplies of instant-fit ear tips and batteries.

Genome-wide SNP-based linkage scan identifies a locus on 8q24 for an age-related hearing impairment trait

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Huyghe, J.R.; Laer, L. Van; Hendrickx, J.J.

2008-01-01

Age-related hearing impairment (ARHI), or presbycusis, is a very common multifactorial disorder. Despite the knowledge that genetics play an important role in the etiology of human ARHI as revealed by heritability studies, to date, its precise genetic determinants remain elusive. Here we report t...

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

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)

Health-related quality of life among people aged ≥65 years with self-reported visual impairment: findings from the 2006-2010 behavioral risk factor surveillance system.

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Crews, John E; Chou, Chiu-Fang; Zhang, Xinzhi; Zack, Matthew M; Saaddine, Jinan B

2014-10-01

To examine the association between health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and visual impairment among people aged ≥65 years. We used cross-sectional data from the 2006-2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to examine six HRQoL measures: self-reported health, physically unhealthy days, mentally unhealthy days, activity limitation days, life satisfaction, and disability. Visual impairment was categorized as no, a little, and moderate/severe. We examined the association between self-reported visual impairment and HRQoL using logistic regression accounting for the survey's complex design. People with self-reported moderate/severe visual impairment had more frequent (≥14) physically unhealthy days, mentally unhealthy days, and activity limitation days in the last 30 days compared to those reporting a little or no visual impairment. After controlling for all covariates (age, sex, marital status, race/ethnicity, education, income, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, heart attack, body mass index, leisure time activity, smoking, and medical care cost concerns) and comparing to those with no self-reported visual impairment, people reporting a little visual impairment were more likely to have fair/poor health (odds ratio, OR, 1.2, 95% confidence interval, CI, 1.1-1.3), life dissatisfaction (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.3-2.0), and disability (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.3-1.6), and those with self-reported moderate/severe visual impairment had more fair/poor health (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.6-2.0), life dissatisfaction (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.8-2.9), and disability (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.8-2.2). They also had more frequent physically unhealthy days (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.7-2.1), mentally unhealthy days (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.5-2.1), and activity limitations days (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.6-2.2). Poor HRQoL is strongly associated with the severity of self-reported visual impairment among people aged ≥65 years.

Readability of Internet Information on Hearing: Systematic Literature Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Laplante-Lévesque, Ariane; Thorén, Elisabet Sundewall

2015-09-01

This systematic literature review asks the following question: “ What is the readability of Internet information on hearing that people with hearing impairment and their significant others can access in the context of their hearing care?” Searches were completed in three databases: CINAHL, PubMed, and Scopus. Seventy-eight records were identified and systematically screened for eligibility: 8 records were included that contained data on the readability of Internet information on hearing that people with hear ing impairment and their significant others can access in the context of their hearing care. Records reported mean readability levels from 9 to over 14. In other words, people with hearing impairment and their significant others need 9 to 14 years of education to read and understand Internet information on hearing that they access in the context of their hearing care. The poor readability of Internet information on hearing has been well documented; it is time to focus on valid and sustainable initiatives that address this problem.

Ira as a pioneer in audiology: His contributions to the clinical measurement of hearing and hearing impairment

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Formby, C.; Gagne, J. P.

2002-05-01

Ira Hirsh's contributions to clinical science and research are diverse and significant. In fact, approximately one-third of the 100+ publications that Ira lists in his curriculum vitae (CV) are clinical in nature, dealing with various aspects of audiology, deafness, hearing aids, aural rehabilitation, and speech and language pathology. The majority of these citations, fully one-quarter of his publication list, addresses problems specific to the clinical measurement of hearing and hearing impairment. Undoubtedly, the most influential of these published works appears in his CV under the citation ``The Measurement of Hearing.'' The forward for this publication, his only textbook, was penned in June, 1952 (now precisely half a century past at the time of this session). The aims of this presentation are to (1) provide perspective on the fundamental importance of his virtually timeless text in shaping the fledgling discipline of audiology, and (2) celebrate Ira's many contributions to the profession and practice of audiology. [Preparation for this presentation was supported, in part, by a K24 career development award from NIDCD.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Methods of technical and tactical training basketball players with hearing impairments using innovative technologies

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Zh.L Kozina

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Purpose: to develop information technology for technical and tactical training of skilled basketball players with hearing impairments. Material : the study involved 24 women's national team athletes Ukrainian Basketball hearing impaired (age - 25-30 years. Technical protocols were processed 12 games from the World Cup and Europe, XXII Summer Deaflympics. Fixed number of shots and hit free throws, steals, rebounds and on its offensive rebounds, fouls and errors. Results : the developed system of tactical training basketball players with hearing impairments. Accentuation was made of the prevalence of method visibility while developing tactical interactions. The main result was the development of the author's method of video tutorials with animated illustrations. Also, use the lamp LS Line-3-65-12-C to control the training process athletes. Conclusions : there was a significant improvement in competitive activity athletes. Athletes performed significantly more hits from the foul line and successful shots from long range compared to main rivals. Also increased the number of interceptions in games. Application of information technology had an impact on the competitive result: basketball team of Ukraine took the second place in the Deaflympics in Sofia in 2013.

Suicide Attempts Among Adolescents with Self-Reported Disabilities.

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Moses, Tally

2018-06-01

This study examines the relative risk for suicide attempts (SA) among high-school students self-identifying with one or more disability classifications (nine); assesses the extent to which youth with disabilities are disproportionately vulnerable to risk factors that predict suicidal behavior among all adolescents; and explores whether disability status adds to risk for SA after accounting for a comprehensive set of known risk and protective factors for SA. Analyses using Wisconsin's 2012 Dane County Youth Assessment Survey data found that youth in each disability category were 3-9 times more likely to report suicide attempt(s) relative to peers, and the endorsement of multiple disabilities tripled the risk SA relative to youth reporting a single disability. Some disability sub-groups, including youth reporting autism spectrum disorder, hearing, and vision impairments reported surprisingly high rates of SA. While youth with disabilities reported disproportionate exposure to adversity in every life domain examined, similar to youth reporting SA, disability status added unique risk for suicidal behavior. This suggests that disability may be a 'fundamental cause' of suicidal behavior, a question that requires further investigation.

Long-term hearing outcomes after recurrent acute otitis media during early childhood.

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Krakau, Mattias; Dagöö, Britta Rynnel; Hellström, Sten; Granath, Anna

2017-12-01

To survey long-term hearing outcomes and middle ear pathology in a 30-year follow-up in individuals with onset of recurrent acute otitis media (rAOM) before three years of age. 28 adults, aged 30.1-31.8 years, who originally - at the age of 12-32 months - participated in a study on rAOM between 1979 and 1983, were re-examined regarding self-reported ear problems, current tympanic membrane changes and audiology. Thirteen subjects had suffered from rAOM during early childhood and 15 subjects served as a control group. Recurrent acute otitis media subjects reported hearing problems comparable to those of the controls. Pure tone audiometry, at 125-8000 Hz, did not differ between groups. The rAOM group had a trend for impaired high-frequency (9000-14,000 Hz) threshold levels (9000-14,000 Hz); implying that their cochlear function seemed to have deteriorated. Adults, who suffered from recurrent acute otitis media as infants, did not show any clinically significant hearing loss for pure tone audiometry when compared to controls, but there was a trend for impaired results regarding extended high frequency audiometry (9-14 kHz). Children suffering from rAOM will be at low risk of developing hearing loss and severe middle ear disease.

Pediatric hearing aid use: parent-reported challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Muñoz, Karen; Olson, Whitney A; Twohig, Michael P; Preston, Elizabeth; Blaiser, Kristina; White, Karl R

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate parent-reported challenges related to hearing aid management and parental psychosocial characteristics during the first 3 years of the child's life. Using a cross-sectional survey design, surveys were distributed to parents of children with hearing loss via state Early Intervention programs in Utah and Indiana. Packets contained one family demographic form and two sets of three questionnaires to obtain responses from mothers and fathers separately: the Parent Hearing Aid Management Inventory explored parent access to information, parent confidence in performing skills, expectations, communication with the audiologist, and hearing aid use challenges. The Acceptance and Action Questionnaire measured psychological flexibility, experiential avoidance, and internal thought processes that can affect problem-solving ability and decrease an individual's ability to take value-based actions. The Patient Health Questionnaire identified symptoms of depression. Thirty-seven families completed questionnaires (35 mothers and 20 fathers). Most responses were parents of toddlers (M = 22 months) who had been wearing binaural hearing aids for an average of 15 months. Both mothers and fathers reported that even though the amount of information they received was overwhelming, most (84%) preferred to have all the information at the beginning, rather than to receive it over an extended time period. Parents reported an array of challenges related to hearing aid management, with the majority related to daily management, hearing aid use, and emotional adjustment. Sixty-six percent of parents reported an audiologist taught them how to complete a listening check using a stethoscope, however, only one-third reported doing a daily hearing aid listening check. Both mothers and fathers reported a wide range of variability in their confidence in performing activities related to hearing aid management, and most reported minimal confidence in their ability to

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…

The preparation for the year main competition teams in basketball with hearing impairments with innovative technologies

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I.N. Sobko

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Purpose : develop and prove experimentally comprehensive training program on the Ukrainian national team basketball with hearing impairment in the annual cycle for the major competitions. Material : The study involved 12 basketball hearing impaired 20-25 years old - female players team of Ukraine on basketball. Also analyzed the test results and competitive activity 12 basketball players with hearing impairments - Lithuanian team players. Results : We showed the need for a qualitative change in the training process through the development and application of innovative technologies. This allows a greater level of communication between the coach and athletes to intensify training process. Developed and experimentally substantiated comprehensive training program for the Ukrainian national team. In technical training device used light. This increased mobility, agility, activity and intensity workouts. In tactical training improved situational and planned change tactical drawing game using copyright protection of video tutorials with animated illustrations. Conclusions : A positive impact of the developed system for basketball training result in major competitions.

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

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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)

Combined impairments in vision, hearing and cognition are associated with greater levels of functional and communication difficulties than cognitive impairment alone: Analysis of interRAI data for home care and long-term care recipients in Ontario.

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Dawn M Guthrie

Full Text Available The objective of the current study was to understand the added effects of having a sensory impairment (vision and/or hearing impairment in combination with cognitive impairment with respect to health-related outcomes among older adults (65+ years old receiving home care or residing in a long-term care (LTC facility in Ontario, Canada.Cross-sectional analyses were conducted using existing data collected with one of two interRAI assessments, one for home care (n = 291,824 and one for LTC (n = 110,578. Items in the assessments were used to identify clients with single sensory impairments (e.g., vision only [VI], hearing only [HI], dual sensory impairment (DSI; i.e., vision and hearing and those with cognitive impairment (CI. We defined seven mutually exclusive groups based on the presence of single or combined impairments.The rate of people having all three impairments (i.e., CI+DSI was 21.3% in home care and 29.2% in LTC. Across the seven groups, individuals with all three impairments were the most likely to report loneliness, to have a reduction in social engagement, and to experience reduced independence in their activities of daily living (ADLs and instrumental ADLs (IADLs. Communication challenges were highly prevalent in this group, at 38.0% in home care and 49.2% in LTC. In both care settings, communication difficulties were more common in the CI+DSI group versus the CI-alone group.The presence of combined sensory and cognitive impairments is high among older adults in these two care settings and having all three impairments is associated with higher rates of negative outcomes than the rates for those having CI alone. There is a rising imperative for all health care professionals to recognize the potential presence of hearing, vision and cognitive impairments in those for whom they provide care, to ensure that basic screening occurs and to use those results to inform care plans.

Self-reported emotional dysregulation but no impairment of emotional intelligence in borderline personality disorder: an explorative study.

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Beblo, Thomas; Pastuszak, Anna; Griepenstroh, Julia; Fernando, Silvia; Driessen, Martin; Schütz, Astrid; Rentzsch, Katrin; Schlosser, Nicole

2010-05-01

Emotional dysfunction is a key feature of patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) but emotional intelligence (EI) has rarely been investigated in this sample. This study aimed at an investigation of ability EI, general intelligence, and self-reported emotion regulation in BPD. We included 19 patients with BPD and 20 healthy control subjects in the study. EI was assessed by means of the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso emotional intelligence test and the test of emotional intelligence. For the assessment of general intelligence, we administered the multidimensional "Leistungsprüfsystem-Kurzversion." The emotion regulation questionnaire and the difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale were used to assess emotion regulation. The patients with BPD did not exhibit impairments of ability EI and general intelligence but reported severe impairments in emotion regulation. Ability EI was related both to general intelligence (patients and controls) and to self-reported emotion regulation (patients). In conclusion, emotional dysfunction in BPD might primarily affect self-perceived behavior rather than abilities. Intense negative emotions in everyday life may trigger dysfunctional emotion regulation strategies in BPD although patients possess sufficient theoretical knowledge about optimal regulation strategies.

Involuntary and Persistent Environmental Noise Influences Health and Hearing in Beirut, Lebanon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fooladi, M.M.; Fooladi, M.M.; Fooladi, M.M.

2012-01-01

Objective. This study was conducted to assess the effects of involuntary and persistent noise exposure on health and hearing among Lebanese adults in Beirut, Lebanon, where people are exposed to noise from construction sites, power generators, honking cars, and motorcycles. Methods. Using a descriptive and exploratory design with mixed methods, participants were surveyed, interviewed, and tested for hearing while street noise levels were measured near their residents and work places. Results. Self-reports of 83 Lebanese adult, who lived and worked in Beirut, helped identify common patterns in experiences such as irritability, anger, headaches, and sleep disturbances due to noise annoyance. Of those tested, 30% suffered from high-frequency hearing impairment. Our results showed that environmental sound dB had increased by 12% and sound intensity by 400% above the maximum standard level when compared to the WHO report of 1999. Conclusion. Environmental noise contributes to premature hearing loss and potentiate systemic diseases among Lebanese

Sensorineural hearing loss after magnetic resonance imaging

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mollasadeghi, Abolfazl; Mehrparvar, Amir Houshang; Atighechi, Saeid

2013-01-01

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) devices produce noise, which may affect patient's or operators' hearing. Some cases of hearing impairment after MRI procedure have been reported with different patterns (temporary or permanent, unilateral or bilateral, with or without other symptoms like tinnitus......). In this report, a case of bilateral sensorineural hearing loss in an otherwise healthy patient underwent brain MRI was described. The patient's hearing loss was accompanied with tinnitus and was not improved after 3 months of followup....

Non-suicidal self-injury among children with hearing loss and intellectual disability.

Science.gov (United States)

Akram, Bushra; Tariq, Amina; Rafi, Zeeshan

2017-10-01

To find the prevalence and to identify the predictors of non-suicidal self-injury among school-going children.. This cross-sectional study was conducted at the University of Gujrat, Gujrat Pakistan, from September 2015 to October 2016, and comprised children with intellectual disability and hearing loss. Participants were recruited from schools for special children located in Gujranwala, Jhelum and Gujrat. Multistage stratified sampling technique was used. Of the 325 children, 178(50.4%) had intellectual disability and 175(49.6%) had hearing loss. Findings indicated that the prevalence of self-injurious behaviour was higher in children with intellectual disability 48(27%) compared to their counterparts with hearing loss 3(2%). Neural network, when administered on whole data set, indicated type of disability 0.474(100%), education/training 0.99(20.9%) and access of counselling 0.114(24%) as important predictors of non-suicidal self-injury in both groups. On the other hand, the degree of disability (hearing loss 0.42[100%]; intellectual disability 0.32[100%]), education/ training (hearing loss 0.18[43%]; intellectual disability 0.27[84.5%]) and access of counselling (hearing loss 0.175[41.8%]; intellectual disability 0.256[78.7%]) were important predictors of non-suicidal self-injury among the participants, when neural network was run on the split files on the basis of disability. The prevalence of non-suicidal self-injury among children with intellectual disability was higher as compared to those with hearing loss.

Relations between psychophysical data and speech perception for hearing-impaired subjects. II

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dreschler, W. A.; Plomp, R.

1985-01-01

Twenty-one sensorineurally hearing-impaired adolescents were studied with an extensive battery of tone-perception, phoneme-perception, and speech-perception tests. Tests on loudness perception, frequency selectivity, and temporal resolution at the test frequencies of 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz were

Health-Related Quality of Life Among People Aged ≥65 Years with Self-reported Visual Impairment: Findings from the 2006–2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System

Science.gov (United States)

Crews, John E.; Chou, Chiu-Fang; Zhang, Xinzhi; Zack, Matthew M.; Saaddine, Jinan B.

2016-01-01

Purpose To examine the association between health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and visual impairment among people aged ≥65 years. Methods We used cross-sectional data from the 2006–2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to examine six HRQoL measures: self-reported health, physically unhealthy days, mentally unhealthy days, activity limitation days, life satisfaction, and disability. Visual impairment was categorized as no, a little, and moderate/severe. We examined the association between self-reported visual impairment and HRQoL using logistic regression accounting for the survey’s complex design. Results People with self-reported moderate/severe visual impairment had more frequent (≥14) physically unhealthy days, mentally unhealthy days, and activity limitation days in the last 30 days compared to those reporting a little or no visual impairment. After controlling for all covariates (age, sex, marital status, race/ethnicity, education, income, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, heart attack, body mass index, leisure time activity, smoking, and medical care cost concerns) and comparing to those with no self-reported visual impairment, people reporting a little visual impairment were more likely to have fair/poor health (odds ratio, OR, 1.2, 95% confidence interval, CI, 1.1–1.3), life dissatisfaction (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.3–2.0), and disability (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.3–1.6), and those with self-reported moderate/severe visual impairment had more fair/poor health (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.6–2.0), life dissatisfaction (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.8–2.9), and disability (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.8–2.2). They also had more frequent physically unhealthy days (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.7–2.1), mentally unhealthy days (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.5–2.1), and activity limitations days (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.6–2.2). Conclusion Poor HRQoL is strongly associated with the severity of self-reported visual impairment among people aged ≥65 years. PMID:24955821

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.

Screening for Vision Problems, Including Usher's Syndrome, among Hearing Impaired Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Fillman, Robyn D.; And Others

1987-01-01

A screening program for vision problems and Usher's Syndrome (a common cause of deaf-blindness) among 210 hearing-impaired students found 44 percent had significant vision problems and 1 percent had Usher's Syndrome. The program involved an interagency network of school, health care, and support personnel and utilized a dilated ophathalmological…

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

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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…

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.

Detection threshold for sound distortion resulting from noise reduction in normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listeners.

Science.gov (United States)

Brons, Inge; Dreschler, Wouter A; Houben, Rolph

2014-09-01

Hearing-aid noise reduction should reduce background noise, but not disturb the target speech. This objective is difficult because noise reduction suffers from a trade-off between the amount of noise removed and signal distortion. It is unknown if this important trade-off differs between normal-hearing (NH) and hearing-impaired (HI) listeners. This study separated the negative effect of noise reduction (distortion) from the positive effect (reduction of noise) to allow the measurement of the detection threshold for noise-reduction (NR) distortion. Twelve NH subjects and 12 subjects with mild to moderate sensorineural hearing loss participated in this study. The detection thresholds for distortion were determined using an adaptive procedure with a three-interval, two-alternative forced-choice paradigm. Different levels of distortion were obtained by changing the maximum amount of noise reduction. Participants were also asked to indicate their preferred NR strength. The detection threshold for overall distortion was higher for HI subjects than for NH subjects, suggesting that stronger noise reduction can be applied for HI listeners without affecting the perceived sound quality. However, the preferred NR strength of HI listeners was closer to their individual detection threshold for distortion than in NH listeners. This implies that HI listeners tolerate fewer audible distortions than NH listeners.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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)

Sensorineural Hearing Loss after Magnetic Resonance Imaging

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Abolfazl Mollasadeghi

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI devices produce noise, which may affect patient’s or operators’ hearing. Some cases of hearing impairment after MRI procedure have been reported with different patterns (temporary or permanent, unilateral or bilateral, with or without other symptoms like tinnitus. In this report, a case of bilateral sensorineural hearing loss in an otherwise healthy patient underwent brain MRI was described. The patient’s hearing loss was accompanied with tinnitus and was not improved after 3 months of followup.

A potential source of hearing impairment; headphones

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tabraiz, S.; Asif, M.B.; Iftekhar, S.; Ishtiaq, T.

2014-01-01

Technological expansions have been observed in recent years for portable devices with hi-fi audio playback capability such as MP4 players, multimedia phones and hand-held game consoles. Usually these devices are used with headphones; therefore the noise levels of different headphones are of particular relevance. Despite of its several benefits, noise levels can be quite high and may cause hearing impairment. In this research, different headphones were selected to check noise levels at varying volumes. It was found in majority of cases that noise levels ranged from 75dB to 85 dB; surpassing the NEQ's and OSHA standard values. (author)

Better together: reduced compliance after sequential versus simultaneous bilateral hearing aids fitting.

Science.gov (United States)

Lavie, Limor; Banai, Karen; Attias, Joseph; Karni, Avi

2014-03-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of sequential versus simultaneous bilateral hearing aids fitting on patient compliance. Thirty-six older adults with hearing impairment participated in this study. Twelve were fitted with bilateral hearing aids simultaneously. The remaining participants were fitted sequentially: One hearing aid (to the left or to the right ear) was used initially; 1 month later, the other ear was also fitted with a hearing aid for bilateral use. Self-reports on usefulness and compliance were elicited after the first and second months of hearing aid use. In addition, the number of hours the hearing aids were used was extracted from the data loggings of each device. Simultaneous fitting resulted in high levels of compliance and consistent usage throughout the study period. Sequential fitting resulted in abrupt reduction in compliance and hours of use once the second hearing aid was added, both in the clinical scoring and in the data loggings. Simultaneous fitting of bilateral hearing aids results in better compliance compared with sequential fitting. The addition of a second hearing aid after a relatively short period of monaural use may lead to inconsistent use of both hearing aids.

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

Adaptive psychological structure in childhood hearing impairment: audiological correlations.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Psychosocial hearing disadvantage and associated factors among construction workers in Mato Grosso, Brazil.

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Santos, Andréia Cristina Munzlinger Dos; Silva, Ageo Mário Cândido da; Luccia, Gabriela Coelho Pereira de; Botelho, Clóvis; Riva, Delma Regina Della

2017-01-01

To estimate the prevalence and to analyze the factors associated with self-reported hearing handicap by construction workers in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 866 construction and heavy construction workers. Participants responded to an epidemiological survey subdivided in: identification data, sociodemographic data; lifestyle; work environment characteristics; occupational exposure factors; hearing protection measures; and hearing handicap inventory to quantify the psychosocial consequences of work-related hearing loss. The prevalence of hearing impairment among workers in the construction sector was 14.43% (n = 125). There were 311 emotional and social complaints related to hearing problems. Hearing handicap was associated with: 60 or over age group (PR = 1.94, 95%CI 1.01 - 3.71); alcohol consumption (PR = 1.94, 95%CI 1.38 - 2.73); direct exposure to noise (PR = 1.75; 95%CI 1.03 - 2.97); exposure to dust (PR = 1.59, 95%CI 1.13 - 2.24); non-use of earplugs (PR = 1.39, 95%CI 1.00 - 1.93); and non-use of neck flap cap (PR = 1.52, 95%CI 1.09 - 2.13). We observed a high prevalence of hearing impairment among workers in the construction sector associated with: individuals aged 60 years or older; alcoholism; exposure to noise and dust; non-use of earplugs; and non-use of neck flap cap. Therefore, it is necessary to implement policies aimed at preserving the hearing health of construction and heavy construction workers.

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…

Evaluation of Audiometric Test Results to Determine Hearing Impairment in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: Analysis of Data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

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Hyemin Jeong

Full Text Available This study aimed to evaluate the association between rheumatoid arthritis (RA and hearing impairment in the Korean adult population. Audiometric and laboratory test data from the 2010-2012 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES were used for analysis. The relationship between RA and hearing impairment was analyzed, adjusting for various known risk factors associated with hearing impairment. RA was defined in the questionnaire as "RA diagnosed by a physician (yes/no through a standardized interview." We defined hearing impairment according to 2 categories of frequency (low/mid and high as follows (average values in kHz: low/mid frequency, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0, and high frequency, 3.0, 4.0, and 6.0. Of the subjects, 15,158 (weighted n = 32,035,996 completed the audiometric tests. The overall weighted prevalence of RA was 1.5%. The prevalence of hearing impairment was higher in the subjects with RA than in those without RA, in both, the low/mid- and high-frequency categories (21.1% vs 7.5%, p < 0.001 and 43.3% vs. 26.2%, p < 0.001, respectively. In the multivariable logistic analysis, RA (odds ratios [OR] 1.47, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05-2.06, p = 0.025 was an independent risk factor of low/mid-frequency hearing impairment along with age (OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.12-1.13, p < 0.001, current smoking (OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.03-1.56, p = 0.026, and college graduation (OR 0.53, 95% CI 0.39-0.72, p < 0.001. In the multivariable analysis of high-frequency hearing impairment, RA did not show any association with hearing impairment. This study suggests that RA is associated with low/mid-frequency hearing impairment after adjustment for various known risk factors. Further study is needed to verify the hearing impairment in RA.

Study of the knowledge of Pediatricians and Senior Residents Relating to the Importance of Hearing Impairment and Deafness Screening Among Newborns in Isfahan city in 2012

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Mehrdad Rogha

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Newborn hearing screening leads to the early detection of hearing impairment. The aim of screening is to decrease or remove the effect of hearing impairment on development of speech and language by timely diagnosis and effective treatment. A number of risk factors lead to delayed start of decreased hearing ability including: 1. Congenital infection with cytomegalovirus  (CMV virus, 2. Meningitis, 3. Mumps, 4. Positive family history, 5. Head trauma, 6. Chemotherapy, 7. Syndrome pertaining to delayed start of decreased hearing. Unfortunately, lack of attention to early diagnosis of hearing impairment is becoming a general health problem. No research has yet been carried out relating to the knowledge of pediatricians on this issue, particularly the importance of hearing impairment and hearing screening. The aim of this study was to determine the attitude to newborn hearing screening among pediatricians.   Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive-analytic study was conducted in Isfahan in 2012 among 300 pediatricians and final-year pediatric residents. An adjusted 22-question version of the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI questionnaire was used to collect data. The validity and reliability of the EHDI questionnaire was previously demonstrated by Boys Town National Research Hospital and its Farsi translated version was validated by the EDC Center at the Isfahan University of Medical Sciences.   Results: In our study, 83% of pediatricians agreed on the importance of hearing impairment screening for all infants. However 65% were not aware of special needs for hearing-impaired patients.   Conclusion:  Newborn hearing impairment and deafness screening is important, irrespective of the costs, and lack of timely diagnosis results in both individual and social consequences. The majority of physicians use textbooks to gain information about hearing screening, but recognize that this is insufficient. Although

Measurement of overall quality of life in nursing homes through self report : the role of cognitive impairment

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Gerritsen, Debby Lydia; Steverink, Nardi; Ooms, Marcel E.; de Vet, Henrica C. W.; Ribbe, Miel W.

Measuring quality of life is a necessity for adequate interventions. This paper concerns the usefulness of six self-report measures for overall quality of life for nursing home residents with various levels of cognitive impairment. It was investigated which proportion of residents from four

What Factors Are Associated with Autonomous and Controlled Motivation for Hearing Help-Seekers?

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Ridgway, Jason; Hickson, Louise; Lind, Christopher

Hearing impairment is prevalent in older adults. Motivation is important in people's choice to seek help for their hearing and whether to adopt or not adopt hearing aids. To investigate associations between sociodemographic and audiometric characteristics and autonomous and controlled motivation among a sample of hearing help-seekers. A quantitative approach was taken for this cross-sectional cohort study. A total of 253 adult first-time hearing help-seekers were recruited to the study. Participants provided sociodemographic information and completed questionnaires adapted from self-determination theory that measured autonomous motivation (motivation that originates from within the self and is aligned with personal values and beliefs) and controlled motivation (motivation that stems from external pressures such as rewards or punishment, or conflicted inner feelings such as guilt or shame). Participants with higher autonomous motivation scores were younger, wanted hearing aids more, and reported greater hearing difficulty in everyday life than those with lower scores. Participants with higher controlled motivation scores were more often referred to the service by others and wanted hearing aids more than those with lower controlled motivation scores. Controlled motivation scores were not associated with perceptions of hearing difficulty in everyday life. Relationships among motivation and sociodemographic factors highlight the importance of characterizing autonomous and controlled motivation in first-time hearing help-seekers. Attention to personal characteristics in order to understand motivational processes involved in rehabilitation decisions such as hearing aid adoption may aid in consultations. American Academy of Audiology

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…

SELF-ESTEEM OF DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING COMPARED WITH HEARING ADOLESCENTS IN SLOVENIA – THE CONTEXT OF SOCIAL AND COMMUNICATION FACTORS

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Damjana KOGOVSEK

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Objective: The study focuses on the self-esteem of deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH and hearing adolescents (HA in Slovenia. The aim of this study is a comparison of self-esteem between D/HH and HA regarding the hearing status, age, gender, and the comparison among D/HH adolescents regarding communication and education settings. It is hypothesized that deaf and hard of hearing adolescents have lower self-esteem than their hearing peers. Methods: The final sample included 130 adolescents who were split into two groups with the method of equal pairs: 65 D/HH adolescents and 65 HA, which were established on the basis of gender, age, nationality, and educational programme of schooling. The phenomenon of self-esteem was measured with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, which was translated and adapted into the Slovenian Sign Language (SSL. Results: The results show significant differrences in self-esteem between D/HH and HA adolescents. D/HH adolescents have, on average, lower self-esteem than HA. There are differences in self-esteem regarding gender and also regarding ages of 16 and of 20. D/HH adolescents who use speech or sign language in their communication have higher self-esteem than those who use mostly sign language. D/HH adolescents in mainstream schools have higher self-esteem than those included into a segregated form of schooling. Discussion: There are differences among adolescents in how they view themselves. Self-esteem can be a significant predictor of life satisfaction. Conclusion: D/HH adolescents experience lower self-esteem when compared with HA peers.

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.

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