Frontiers in Audiology and Otology最新文献

{"title":"Evaluation of outcomes in a clinical trial: comparing self-fit hearing aids and hearing aids fit with best practices","authors":"Anusha Yellamsetty, Rebecca M. Lewis","doi":"10.3389/fauot.2024.1397604","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fauot.2024.1397604","url":null,"abstract":"The study aimed to determine whether a self-fitting algorithm for hearing aids could produce outcomes comparable to those achieved with professionally fitted hearing aids. Involving up to 40 subjects aged 18 to 80, the research compared two fittings: one conducted by a professionally trained audiologist Best Practice Fit (BP-FIT) and one using a self-fitting software (SELF-FIT). Subjects completed both fittings, with Real Ear Measures and Quick Speech In Noise (QuickSIN) measures taken before field use of either fitting. The subjects were randomly assigned to start with either SELF-FIT or BP-FIT, remaining unaware of their condition throughout the trial. After 2 weeks of hearing aid use in each condition, subjects provided subjective reports of perceived benefit (via the APHAB survey) and had their hearing aids reprogrammed for the remaining condition. The study assessed the efficacy through objective (REM), behavioral (QuickSIN), and subjective (APHAB) measures. In summary, the study findings reveal that the SELF-FIT hearing aid system performed similar to the BP-FIT across multiple domains. This includes objective measures of self-fitting hearing aid output assessed through REM, with a difference of <5 dB SPL between fitting conditions, behavioral evaluation of speech understanding in background noise via QuickSIN, with a difference of <2.7 dB SNR between fitting conditions, and subjective assessment of efficacy as reported by the user via APHAB, with a difference of <10% between fitting conditions.","PeriodicalId":483207,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Audiology and Otology","volume":"32 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141653607","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Best practice in audiology: context matters","authors":"Vera-Genevey Hlayisi, V. Ramkumar, Lucretia Petersen, Barnabas Vangerwua","doi":"10.3389/fauot.2024.1419219","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fauot.2024.1419219","url":null,"abstract":"Historically, modern audiology evolved from the United States of America (USA) after the Second World War, where hearing rehabilitation programs were established across the country. Since then, audiology practice and the profession as a whole has expanded from the west to the far east and global south with considerable contextual variations. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to increase conversation and engagement on definitions and the drawbacks of a single lens approach to the use of best practice guidelines in Audiology. It is important to develop a more expansive lens as influenced by different contexts such as Africa, Asia, and South America that will in turn help facilitate a multidimensional approach to audiology practice and what is considered “best practice.”","PeriodicalId":483207,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Audiology and Otology","volume":"6 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141665364","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Test-retest reliability of remote home-based audiometry in differing ambient noise conditions","authors":"Iordanis Thoidis, Amaury Hazan, Ad Snik, Jonatan Rivilla, Kamil Budzyński, Num Méndez, Jacques Kinsbergen","doi":"10.3389/fauot.2024.1371037","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fauot.2024.1371037","url":null,"abstract":"Home-based remote audiometry has been emerging due to the increasing accessibility of mobile technology and the need for healthcare solutions that are available worldwide. However, the challenges presented by uncontrolled conditions, such as noisy environments, could compromise the reliability of the hearing assessment.In this study, we evaluate the reliability of the Jacoti Hearing Center (JHC) smartphone application in differing ambient noise environments. Hearing test data were synchronized from the JHC application to the Jacoti earCloud database (JEC). We collected, de-identified, and analyzed real-world, home-based audiometric test data spanning from 2015 to 2023, extracted from the JEC database. A set of exclusion criteria was defined to perform data cleaning, ensuring the removal of incomplete and unreliable data, as well as, data from users who had completed a large number of tests. The final dataset comprised 9,421 test and retest threshold pairs from 1,115 users. Hearing tests conducted under relatively quiet and noisy conditions were categorized based on threshold-to-noise ratio.The test-retest reliability of the JHC application demonstrated an average absolute difference of 4.7 dB within the range from 20 to 75 dB, ranging from 3.7 dB to 6.2 dB across frequencies. A strong positive correlation of 0.85 was found between test and retest thresholds. Moreover, the pure tone average differences were within 5 dB for 84.6% of the audiograms. No clinically significant effects of ambient noise were observed on thresholds determined between 20 and 75 dB HL.Our results demonstrate that the JHC application can provide reliable audiometric data for hearing loss, even in non-ideal acoustic conditions. This highlights the potential of home-based audiometric assessment, reinforcing the idea that, with continuous noise monitoring and noise-aware control of the testing procedure, remote audiometry can be reliable.","PeriodicalId":483207,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Audiology and Otology","volume":"4 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140374637","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Successful hearing preservation and improved subjective sound quality with the flexible 28-mm electrode array","authors":"M. Calvino, Isabel Sánchez-Cuadrado, Elena Muñoz, Javier Gavilán, Luis Lassaletta","doi":"10.3389/fauot.2024.1357306","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fauot.2024.1357306","url":null,"abstract":"Flexible electrode arrays have shown to be an effective solution to ensure atraumatic insertion. However, flexible full-length electrodes are not suited for patients with smaller cochleae. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate short-term and medium-term hearing preservation (HP) in patients with low-frequency residual hearing (LFRH) who were implanted with a flexible 28-mm electrode array and who did not meet the indication criteria for electric-acoustic stimulation (EAS).HP was determined based on the pure-tone audiogram of the implanted ear. A bisyllable sentence test was used to assess speech perception in quiet and in noise. The hearing implant sound quality index (HISQUI19) evaluated self-reported hearing quality. The tests were conducted pre- and post-operatively, at first fitting, and at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after first fitting.At 12 months post first fitting, 2 patients had complete HP; 4 patients had partial HP. Speech perception scores improved in all patients of the study. The mean scores on the bisyllable sentence test in noise significantly increased from 30% pre-operatively to 62% 6 months post first-fitting and to 68% 12 months post first-fitting. The mean score of the HISQUI19 improved from 40.56 (poor) pre-operatively to 72.56 (moderate) 1 month post first-fitting and to 90.29 (good) 12 months post first-fitting.The 28-mm flexible electrode array facilitates atraumatic surgery and HP and results in improved speech perception and subjective sound quality scores.","PeriodicalId":483207,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Audiology and Otology","volume":"51 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140252090","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Over-the-counter hearing aids: implementations and opportunities","authors":"King Chung, Fan-Gang Zeng","doi":"10.3389/fauot.2024.1347437","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fauot.2024.1347437","url":null,"abstract":"After decades of effort by shareholders, including government agencies, patient advocacy groups, and professional organizations, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) established a new medical device category for over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids on October 17, 2022. This FDA regulation allows adults aged 18 years or older with perceived mild-to-moderate hearing loss to purchase OTC hearing aids without a prescription or even a hearing test. The goal is to increase hearing aid accessibility, potentially leading to improved hearing and a better quality of life. In our analysis of the FDA Establishment Registration & Device Listing database, we found that the current OTC hearing aid market is still dominated by traditional hearing aid manufacturers, with limited disruptor from major consumer electronics and startup companies. Our technological analyses showed that the relatively high-level output specification without gain limitation allows sufficient amplification even for people with severe-to-profound hearing loss. Additionally, borrowing from the cochlear implant mapping strategy, we propose novel amplification algorithms for fitting OTC hearing aids without an audiogram. We argue that smartphones and true-wireless-stereo earbuds can functionally serve as OTC hearing aids, further increasing accessibility and affordability while reducing the stigma associated with hearing aids, especially in low- and mid-income countries. By treating more people at a younger age with less hearing loss than traditional prescription hearing aids, OTC hearing aids can potentially have a significant impact beyond hearing care, such as delaying or preventing cognitive decline in the elderly.","PeriodicalId":483207,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Audiology and Otology","volume":"68 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140251916","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impact of a combination sound therapy on tinnitus distress: an exploratory one-year longitudinal study","authors":"Dina Lelic, S. Caporali, Daniel Parker, Jakob Nielsen, Laura Winther Balling","doi":"10.3389/fauot.2024.1322596","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fauot.2024.1322596","url":null,"abstract":"Combination devices offering both amplification and sound therapy are commonly used in tinnitus management. However, there is insufficient evidence supporting the relationship between sound therapy and tinnitus outcomes. The aim of this study was to explore longitudinal effects of sound therapy on tinnitus-related distress using a combination device.Twenty participants with mild to moderate tinnitus related distress were fitted with combination devices that included three sound-therapy programs. The sound-therapy programs were selected by the participants from the available sounds offered in the combination device. The sounds comprised fractal music, nature sounds and combinations of the two. Participants were asked to wear the devices for 12 months and to complete questionnaires related to tinnitus distress at baseline and 1, 2, 4, 6, and 12 months after starting the treatment. Additionally, at 2, 4, 6, and 12 months, the device log data capturing information about amplification and sound-therapy use were collected.Tinnitus handicap inventory (THI), tinnitus functional index (TFI), tinnitus awareness and annoyance decreased following the device fitting. This improvement plateaued at 4 months. The degrees of improvement in THI, TFI and tinnitus annoyance were correlated with daily hours of sound-therapy use but not with daily hours of amplification-only or total device use.A combination sound therapy consisting of therapy sounds, amplification as needed, and counseling was associated with a reduction in tinnitus-related distress. A future randomized controlled trial should be conducted to allow for detangling the effect of sound therapy from effects of amplification, counseling, placebo, and time itself, and to investigate the predictors of sound-therapy benefit and use.","PeriodicalId":483207,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Audiology and Otology","volume":"20 21","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140263999","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A survey-based assessment of attitudes and needs regarding tinnitus healthcare among patients and healthcare professionals in Europe","authors":"K. Steinmetzger, Tabea Schiele, Benjamin Boecking, Marios Avraamides, Panagiotis D. Bamidis, Laura Basso, Christian Dobel, S. Gilou, Christos I. Ioannou, Andria Shimi, E. Vellidou, Evangelos Paraskevopoulos, Birgit Mazurek","doi":"10.3389/fauot.2024.1347283","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fauot.2024.1347283","url":null,"abstract":"Despite good agreement of national guidelines for the assessment and treatment of tinnitus, there is still substantial variation regarding tinnitus-related healthcare across Europe. In contrast to previous work, which has mainly focussed on the perspective of healthcare professionals, we here report the results of separate web-based surveys conducted with clinicians and researchers as well as tinnitus patients. These surveys were devised to obtain information about their respective attitudes and needs with respect to tinnitus healthcare, and to reveal possible interdisciplinary inconsistencies among clinicians and researchers. We mainly targeted participants from Germany, Cyprus, and Greece, the countries in which the institutions of the researchers involved in this project are based. Results showed, firstly, that the treatment satisfaction of the patients was overall more negative than that of the clinicians and researchers, and that the patients' treatment satisfaction did not depend on the number of different treatments they had received. Secondly, patients as well as clinicians and researchers indicated that they were interested in learning more about a variety of tinnitus-related topics, especially treatment strategies, with no marked differences between clinicians from different professional disciplines. This suggests similar tinnitus-specific educational needs in patients and healthcare professionals.","PeriodicalId":483207,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Audiology and Otology","volume":"58 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140444600","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Repeated sudden sensorineural hearing loss with intralabyrinthine hemorrhage in a patient with Glanzmann thrombasthenia: case report","authors":"Nobuyoshi Tsuzuki, K. Wasano, Hiroyuki Ozawa","doi":"10.3389/fauot.2024.1351382","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fauot.2024.1351382","url":null,"abstract":"Glanzmann thrombasthenia is a rare congenital bleeding disorder. Recent advances in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have made it possible to detect micro-lesions in the inner ear, such as intralabyrinthine hemorrhage, a rare disorder that causes sudden hearing loss or vertigo. We present a case of 62-year-old female with Glanzmann thrombasthenia. Over a 10-year period, the patient had experienced seven episodes of left-sided sudden hearing loss (SHL). Although each episode was treated with steroids, her left-ear hearing level gradually worsened. Head T1-weighted MRI performed 27 days after onset of the sixth SHL episode showed hyperintense lesions throughout the left inner ear. The patient was diagnosed with intralabyrinthine hemorrhage. When a patient with hematologic disease or who is on anticoagulant therapy presents with SHL or vertigo, T1-weighted MRI should be performed within 1 month of symptom onset to confirm intralabyrinthine hemorrhage.","PeriodicalId":483207,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Audiology and Otology","volume":"166 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140449001","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The effect of surgeon experience and insertion speed on intracochlear pressures during in-vitro cochlear implantation","authors":"William Crohan, Dayse Tȧvora-Vieira, Marcus Voola, A. Acharya, G. Rajan","doi":"10.3389/fauot.2023.1325749","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fauot.2023.1325749","url":null,"abstract":"That increased insertion speed is associated with increased intracochlear pressure variation.Preservation of residual hearing is an important goal of modern cochlear implant surgery. Many factors, including intracochlear pressure changes during insertion, are thought to be significant in the preservation of residual hearing through the reduction in intraoperative trauma to the cochlea.Participants at a cochlear implantation hearing preservation workshop open to surgeons and audiologists were invited to participate in a challenge to insert a cochlear implant electrode into an in-vitro model of a cochlea. Intracochlear pressure variation was measured as a surrogate marker for intracochlear trauma against insertion speed, method of insertion, moisturization of the electrode, and participant experience.The study demonstrated that the relative experience of a surgeon and the speed of insertion were significant for maximal intracochlear pressure variation. The more experienced participants were likely to demonstrate lower pressure variation, and a slower insertion on average produced significantly smaller pressure changes than faster insertions. No other variables were deemed significant for maximal intracochlear pressure variation.Surgeon experience and speed of implant insertions were significant factors in the reduction of intracochlear pressure variation during cochlear implantation simulations","PeriodicalId":483207,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Audiology and Otology","volume":"25 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140488097","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Development and validation of a French speech-in-noise self-test using synthetic voice in an adult population","authors":"Arnaud Génin, Jérôme Courtial, Maxime Balcon, J. Puel, Frédéric Venail, J. Ceccato","doi":"10.3389/fauot.2024.1292949","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fauot.2024.1292949","url":null,"abstract":"Speech-in-noise (SIN) audiometry is a valuable part of audiological diagnostics and clinical measurements, providing information on an individual's ability to understand in noise. To date, such tests have been developed with natural voice presented monaurally or binaurally (via diotic and dichotic presentation). The time required to develop such tests is often long. The use of synthetic voice would simplify the test creation process and self-testing would improve accessibility.Measurements were performed using an Android tablet (Samsung Galaxy Tab A7) and calibrated Bluetooth headphones (Tilde Pro C, Orosound). Normative values were first defined using natural or synthetic voice on 69 normal-hearing participants. A total of 463 participants then undertook the SIN test comprising synthetic voice and dichotic antiphasic presentation. Of these, 399 also performed the SIN test with diotic presentation.No significant differences in the speech reception threshold (SRT) were found between natural and synthetic voices for diotic presentations (p = 0.824, paired Student t-test) with normative values of −10.7 dB SNR (SD = 1.5 dB) and −10.4 dB SNR (SD = 1.4 dB), respectively. For the SoNoise test with synthetic voice and dichotic antiphasic presentation, the results showed a normative value of −17.5 dB SNR (SD = 1.5 dB), and a strong correlation (r = 0.797, p < 0.001) with the four-frequency pure-tone average (4f-PTA). Receiver operating curves (ROC) were then calculated: for a 4f-PTA of 20 dB hearing level (HL), the SRT was −14.5 dB SNR with a sensitivity of 84% and specificity of 89%. For a 4f-PTA of 30 dB HL, the SRT was −13.7 dB SNR with a sensitivity of 89% and specificity of 91%. For a 4f-PTA of 35 dB HL, the SRT was −13.0 dB SNR with a sensitivity of 88% and specificity of 93%. The normative binaural intelligibility level difference (BILD) value was 8.6 dB (SD = 2.0 dB) with normal-hearing participants. The learning effect due to the task and interface was 1.7 dB (1st to 7th test) and test duration was 3 min.The SoNoise test in its synthetic dichotic antiphasic presentation is a fast and reliable tool to diagnose hearing impairment at 20, 30, and 35 dB HL cut-offs.","PeriodicalId":483207,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Audiology and Otology","volume":"10 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139594319","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}