Ear and Hearing最新文献

{"title":"Effects of Middle Ear Status on Rotary Chair Outcomes in Children.","authors":"Manuel Vicente, Nour El-Hidek, Jessie N Patterson, Gabrielle R Merchant, Kristen L Janky","doi":"10.1097/AUD.0000000000001644","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1097/AUD.0000000000001644","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Middle ear dysfunction is common in young children. There are varying reports on the effects of middle ear dysfunction on the vestibular system; however, it is unknown the extent to which abnormal middle ear function affects vestibular function tests, which could lead to misdiagnosis and improper medical management. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate how middle ear status affects rotary chair outcomes in young children (6 months to 6 years).</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>Twenty-one children with middle ear dysfunction (mean: 30 months, 11 males) and 36 control children with normal middle ear function (mean: 33 months, 19 males) participated. All participants completed tympanometry, wideband tympanometry, and sinusoidal harmonic acceleration rotary chair testing at 0.01, 0.04, and 0.16 Hz. The primary outcomes were rotary chair gain, phase, and symmetry.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>For rotary chair gain, there was a significant frequency by group interaction. As expected, gain increased with increases in frequency; however, there were larger gain increases in the middle ear dysfunction group for 0.04 and 0.16 Hz. There was no significant effect of middle ear dysfunction on rotary chair phase or symmetry. Although 6 subjects (29%) had rotary chair phase leads that were greater than 2 SDs from the control mean, there were no significant group-level differences in phase; there was also no effect of severity of middle ear dysfunction on any rotary chair outcomes.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Rotary chair in the presence of middle ear dysfunction is valid; however, isolated phase abnormalities can be present that are not explained by severity of middle ear dysfunction. Tympanometry and/or wideband tympanometry is recommended before rotary chair. In the event phase abnormalities are present coupled with abnormal tympanometry and/or wideband tympanometry, rotary chair testing could be repeated once the middle ear normalizes to rule out contributions from middle ear dysfunction.</p>","PeriodicalId":55172,"journal":{"name":"Ear and Hearing","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143416302","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Level-Adjusted Cochlear Frequency-to-Place Map for Estimating Tonotopic Frequency Mismatch With a Cochlear Implant.","authors":"Elad Sagi, Mario A Svirsky","doi":"10.1097/AUD.0000000000001641","DOIUrl":"10.1097/AUD.0000000000001641","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To provide a level-adjusted correction to the current standard relating anatomical cochlear place to characteristic frequency (CF) in humans, and to re-evaluate anatomical frequency mismatch in cochlear implant (CI recipients considering this correction. It is proposed that a level-adjusted place-frequency function may represent a more relevant tonotopic benchmark for CIs in comparison to the current standard.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>The present analytical study compiled data from 15 previous animal studies that reported isointensity responses from cochlear structures at different stimulation levels. Extracted outcome measures were CFs and centroid-based best frequencies at 70 dB SPL input from 47 specimens spanning a broad range of cochlear locations. A simple relationship was used to transform these measures to human estimates of characteristic and best frequencies, and nonlinear regression was applied to these estimates to determine how the standard human place-frequency function should be adjusted to reflect best frequency rather than CF. The proposed level-adjusted correction was then compared with average place-frequency positions of commonly used CI devices when programmed with clinical settings.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The present study showed that the best frequency at 70 dB SPL (BF70) tends to shift away from CF. The amount of shift was statistically significant (signed-rank test z = 5.143, p < 0.001), but the amount and direction of shift depended on cochlear location. At cochlear locations up to 600° from the base, BF70 shifted downward in frequency relative to CF by about 4 semitones on average. Beyond 600° from the base, BF70 shifted upward in frequency relative to CF by about 6 semitones on average. In terms of spread (90% prediction interval), the amount of shift between CF and BF70 varied from relatively no shift to nearly an octave of shift. With the new level-adjusted place-frequency function, the amount of anatomical frequency mismatch for devices programmed with standard-of-care settings is less extreme than originally thought and may be nonexistent for all but the most apical electrodes.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The present study validates the current standard for relating cochlear place to CF, and introduces a level-adjusted correction for how best frequency shifts away from CF at moderately loud stimulation levels. This correction may represent a more relevant tonotopic reference for CIs. To the extent that it does, its implementation may potentially enhance perceptual accommodation and speech understanding in CI users, thereby improving CI outcomes and contributing to advancements in the programming and clinical management of CIs.</p>","PeriodicalId":55172,"journal":{"name":"Ear and Hearing","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143392578","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Self-Fitting Hearing Aids: Effects of Starting Response and Field Experience.","authors":"Arthur Boothroyd, Dhiman Sengupta, Shaelyn Painter, Elena Shur, Harinath Garudadri, Carol Mackersie","doi":"10.1097/AUD.0000000000001642","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1097/AUD.0000000000001642","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To determine the effects of changing from a prescribed to a generic starting response on self-fitting outcome and behavior before and after a brief field experience.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>Twenty adult hearing-aid users with mild-to-moderate hearing loss used a smartphone interface to adjust level and spectral tilt of the output of a wearable master hearing aid while listening to prerecorded speech, presented at 65 dB SPL, in quiet. A prescribed starting response was based on the participant's own audiogram. A generic starting response was based on an audiogram for a typical mild-to-moderate hearing loss and was the same for all participants. Initial self-fittings from the two starting responses took place in the lab. After a brief field experience, involving conversation, self-hearing, and ambient noise, with readjustment as needed, self-fittings from the two starting responses were repeated in the lab. Starting responses, self-fitted responses, and adjustment steps were logged in the master hearing aid for subsequent evaluation of real-ear output spectra and for assessment of self-fitting behavior.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Neither starting response nor field experience had a significant effect on mean self-fitted output in the lab (p = 0.506 and 0.149, respectively). However, the SD of individual starting-response effects on high-frequency self-fitted output fell by around 50% after the field experience (p = 0.006). The effect of starting response on self-fitting behavior was limited to number of adjustment steps, which was higher for the generic start (p = 0.014). The effect of field experience on self-fitting behavior was limited to a 50% reduction in self-fitting time (p < 0.001). This reduction was attributable mainly to less time spent listening after each adjustment step (p = 0.019).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The findings support the conclusion that, for a population with mild-to-moderate hearing loss, a generic starting response can be a viable option for over-the-counter self-fitting hearing aids. They highlight, however, the need for practice and experience with novel self-fitting hearing aids and the fact that self-fitting may not be suitable for all.</p>","PeriodicalId":55172,"journal":{"name":"Ear and Hearing","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143392580","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhancing Speech Perception in Noise Through Home-Based Competing Talker Training.","authors":"Mira Van Wilderode, Nathan Van Humbeeck, Ralf T Krampe, Astrid van Wieringen","doi":"10.1097/AUD.0000000000001631","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1097/AUD.0000000000001631","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a competing talker training paradigm (2TT-Flemish). The primary objectives were the assessment of on-task learning and the transfer to untrained tasks.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>A total of 60 participants (54-84 years, mean age = 69.4) with speech-in-noise problems participated in the study. The study used a randomized controlled design with three groups: an immediate training group, a delayed training group, and an active control group. The immediate training group trained from the very beginning, while delayed training started after 4 weeks. The active control group listened to audiobooks for the first 4 weeks. All participants underwent 4 weeks of competing talker training. Outcome measures included speech perception in noise, analytical tasks (modulation detection and phoneme perception in noise), and inhibitory control. In addition, a listening-posture dual task assessed whether training freed up cognitive resources for a concurrently performed task. Finally, we assessed whether training induced self-reported benefits regarding hearing, listening effort, communication strategies, emotional consequences, knowledge, and acceptance of hearing loss. Outcome measures were assessed every 4 weeks over a 12-week period. The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of competing talker training in a stratified randomized controlled trial.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Overall compliance to the training was good and increased with age. We observed on-task improvements during the 4 weeks of training in all groups. Results showed generalization toward speech-in-noise perception, persisting for at least 4 weeks after the end of training. No transfer toward more analytical tasks or inhibitory control was observed. Initial dual-task costs in postural control were reliably reduced after competing talker training suggesting a link between improved listening skills and cognitive resource allocation in multitask settings. Our results show that listeners report better knowledge about their hearing after training.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>After training with the 2TT-Flemish, results showed on-task improvements and generalization toward speech-in-noise. Improvements did not generalize toward basic analytical tasks. Results suggest that competing talker training enables listeners to free up cognitive resources, which can be used for another concurrent task.</p>","PeriodicalId":55172,"journal":{"name":"Ear and Hearing","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143384155","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Language Complexities for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Individuals in Their Pursuit of a Career in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine: Perspectives From an LSL/ASL User.","authors":"Henry J Adler","doi":"10.1097/AUD.0000000000001637","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1097/AUD.0000000000001637","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A research scientist with 35 years of experience in the field of hearing research, the author writes that his own experiences have provided a perspective that may be valuable for both future d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing (D/HH) individuals and their peers with typical hearing in their pursuit of a career in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine (STEMM). The author first describes the role of Hearing Inclusive-Association for Research in Otolaryngology in enhancing inclusivity and accessibility for D/HH scientists in the field of Hearing Research. Second, the challenges faced by D/HH scientists arise from the difficulties of working with peers with typical hearing, resulting in less inclusivity and accessibility for the D/HH scientists. The next section deals with solutions to these challenges, including American Sign Language interpreters, websites that give advice on inclusivity and accessibility, and technological advances such as assistive listening devices and smartphones with a capacity for auto captioning. The solutions, however, are fraught with issues such as limited budgets and misperception. Fourth, the author argues that the experiences necessary for a career in STEMM may require a higher-than-expected degree of collaboration with peers with typical hearing outside the laboratory. Finally, studies on successful D/HH scientists in STEMM fields should include experiences of obtaining successful research funding.</p>","PeriodicalId":55172,"journal":{"name":"Ear and Hearing","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-02-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143191084","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Improving the Predictive Strength of Better-Ear Four-Frequency Pure-Tone Average With the Addition of the Tinnitus and Hearing Survey-Hearing Subscale.","authors":"Gregory M Ellis, Rebecca Bieber, Alyssa Davidson, LaGuinn Sherlock, Michele Spencer, Douglas Brungart","doi":"10.1097/AUD.0000000000001633","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1097/AUD.0000000000001633","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Objectives: &lt;/strong&gt;The objective of this project was to quantify the relative efficacy of a four-frequency pure-tone average in the better ear (PTA4), the Hearing subscale of the Tinnitus and Hearing Survey (THS-H), and a combination of the two in predicting speech-in-noise performance, hearing aid recommendation, and hearing aid use among United States service members (SMs).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Design: &lt;/strong&gt;A two-analysis retrospective study was performed. The first analysis examined the degree to which better-ear PTA4 alone, THS-H alone, and better-ear PTA4 in conjunction with THS-H predicted performance on a speech-in-noise test, the modified rhyme test. Three binomial mixed-effects models were fitted using better-ear PTA4 alone, THS-H alone, and both measures as primary predictors of interest. Age and sex were included as covariates in all models. The models were compared to one another using Chi-square goodness-of-fit tests and the best-fitting model was examined. Data from 5988 SMs were analyzed in the first analysis. The second analysis examined the degree to which better-ear PTA4 alone, THS-H alone, and better-ear PTA4 in conjunction with THS-H predicted two hearing aid-related outcomes: recommendation for hearing aids by a clinician and hearing aid use. Three receiver operating characteristic curves were fit for each question for better-ear PTA4 alone, THS-H alone, and better-ear PTA4 + THS-H. The area under the curve was bootstrapped to generate confidence intervals to compare the three measures. Data from 8001 SMs were analyzed in the second analysis.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Results: &lt;/strong&gt;In the first analysis, all three models explained more variance than chance; however, the better-ear PTA4 + THS-H model was a significantly better fit than either the better-ear PTA4 alone or the THS-H alone models. Significant main effects of better-ear PTA4 and THS-H indicated that proportion correct decreased as better-ear PTA4 and THS-H increased. A significant interaction was observed such that proportion correct decreased more rapidly if both better-ear PTA4 and THS-H were increasing in tandem. In the second analysis, better-ear PTA4 + THS-H showed good predictive discrimination of a prior hearing aid recommendation. For predicting hearing aid use, better-ear PTA4 was the only predictor with an area under the curve bootstrapped confidence interval that overlapped 0.50, indicating better-ear PTA4 alone is a chance predictor for hearing aid use. Both THS-H alone and better-ear PTA4 + THS-H predicted hearing aid use better than chance, but had poor discrimination overall.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusions: &lt;/strong&gt;Adding the THS-H to the better-ear PTA4 improves predictions of speech intelligibility in noise, has good predictive strength for hearing aid recommendations, and predicts hearing aid use better than chance. This study provides evidence for using surveys in conjunction with objective data when evaluating hearing ability and recommending int","PeriodicalId":55172,"journal":{"name":"Ear and Hearing","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143069877","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Machine-Learning Predictions of Cochlear Implant Functional Outcomes: A Systematic Review.","authors":"Jonathan T Mo, Davis S Chong, Cynthia Sun, Nikita Mohapatra, Nicole T Jiam","doi":"10.1097/AUD.0000000000001638","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1097/AUD.0000000000001638","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Objectives: &lt;/strong&gt;Cochlear implant (CI) user functional outcomes are challenging to predict because of the variability in individual anatomy, neural health, CI device characteristics, and linguistic and listening experience. Machine learning (ML) techniques are uniquely poised for this predictive challenge because they can analyze nonlinear interactions using large amounts of multidimensional data. The objective of this article is to systematically review the literature regarding ML models that predict functional CI outcomes, defined as sound perception and production. We analyze the potential strengths and weaknesses of various ML models, identify important features for favorable outcomes, and suggest potential future directions of ML applications for CI-related clinical and research purposes.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Design: &lt;/strong&gt;We conducted a systematic literature search with Web of Science, Scopus, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, and CINAHL from the date of inception through September 2024. We included studies with ML models predicting a CI functional outcome, defined as those pertaining to sound perception and production, and excluded simulation studies and those involving patients without CIs. Using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, we extracted participant population, CI characteristics, ML model, and performance data. Sixteen studies examining 5058 pediatric and adult CI users (range: 4 to 2489) were included from an initial 1442 publications.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Results: &lt;/strong&gt;Studies predicted heterogeneous outcome measures pertaining to sound production (5 studies), sound perception (12 studies), and language (2 studies). ML models use a variety of prediction features, including demographic, audiological, imaging, and subjective measures. Some studies highlighted predictors beyond traditional CI audiometric outcomes, such as anatomical and imaging characteristics (e.g., vestibulocochlear nerve area, brain regions unaffected by auditory deprivation), health system factors (e.g., wait time to referral), and patient-reported measures (e.g., dizziness and tinnitus questionnaires). Used ML models were tree-based, kernel-based, instance-based, probabilistic, or neural networks, with validation and test methods most commonly being k-fold cross-validation and train-test split. Various statistical measures were used to evaluate model performance, however, for studies reporting accuracy, the best-performing models for each study ranged from 71.0% to 98.83%.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusions: &lt;/strong&gt;ML models demonstrate high predictive performance and illuminate factors that contribute to CI user functional outcomes. While many models showed favorable evaluation statistics, the majority were not adequately reported with regard to dataset characteristics, model creation, and validation. Furthermore, the extent of overfitting in these models is unclear and will likely result in poor generalization to new data.","PeriodicalId":55172,"journal":{"name":"Ear and Hearing","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143061483","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluating a Hearing Loop Implementation for Live Orchestral Music.","authors":"Sean McWeeny, Laurel J Trainor, Steve Armstrong, Dan Bosnyak, Hany Tawfik, Ian C Bruce","doi":"10.1097/AUD.0000000000001626","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1097/AUD.0000000000001626","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Live music creates a sense of connectedness in older adults, which can help alleviate the social isolation frequently associated with hearing loss and aging. However, most hearing-aid (HA) users are dissatisfied with the sound quality of live music and rate sound quality as important to them. Assistive listening systems are frequently independent of a user's HAs and fall short in tailoring to each individual's hearing loss. The present study thus tested whether the use of a hearing loop would improve sound quality during an orchestral concert.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>Participants with symmetrical moderate-to-severe hearing loss were assigned to use Sonova-provided HAs with a telecoil (n = 20) or their own HAs (n = 8) without a telecoil during a performance by the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra. We changed loop input to use one of three feeds every 5 minutes: a mix of microphones from the hall's standard assistive feed on the first balcony (house condition), a mix of microphones located on the stage (stage condition), or no input to the loop (no feed). After each 5-minute interval, we collected sound quality and naturalness ratings for the previous 5 minutes.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Sound quality and naturalness ratings were highly related (rRM = 0.81), though each provided unique insight. Repeated measures analysis of variance found significant differences among the loop feed conditions for sound quality and naturalness, with the no feed condition significantly outperforming the house condition on sound quality [t(18) = -3.73, adj. p = 0.005] and naturalness [t(18) = -4.15, adj. p = 0.002]. Mixed effects models allowed us to retain the richness of a repeated observation dataset and provided point estimates of the overall quality and naturalness among conditions; however, assumption violations of normality and homoskedasticity prevented further interpretation.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Though HA-integrated assistive listening systems are a promising option for improving live music for people with hearing loss, a hearing loop does not seem to be crucial for orchestral music. Future directions include improving lyric understanding for music with vocals and customizing user experience via Bluetooth Low Energy Audio systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":55172,"journal":{"name":"Ear and Hearing","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143048626","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Performance of the Acoustic Change Complex Versus Psychophysical Behavioral Measures: A Systematic Review of Measurements in Adults.","authors":"Sarah Meehan, Marc P van der Schroeff, Marloes L Adank, Wichor M Bramer, Jantien L Vroegop","doi":"10.1097/AUD.0000000000001634","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1097/AUD.0000000000001634","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>The acoustic change complex (ACC) is a cortical auditory evoked potential that shows promise as an objective test of the neural capacity for speech and sound discrimination, particularly for difficult-to-test populations, for example, cognitively impaired adults. There is uncertainty, however, surrounding the performance of the ACC with behavioral measures. The objective of this study was to systematically review the literature, focusing on adult studies, to investigate the relationship between ACC responses and behavioral psychophysical measures.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>Original peer-reviewed articles conducting performance comparisons between ACCs and behavioral measures in adults were identified through systematic searches. The review was conducted using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines for reporting, and the methodological quality of the included articles was assessed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 66 studies were retrieved that conducted adult ACC measurements, of which 27 studies included performance comparisons. Meta-analysis revealed a total of 41 significant correlations between ACC responses (amplitudes, latencies, and thresholds) and behavioral measures of speech perception (2 weak, 28 moderate, and 11 strong correlations), and 12 significant moderate/strong correlations were identified with behavioral measures of frequency discrimination.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This systematic review finds that ACC responses are associated with speech perception and frequency discrimination, in addition to other types of sound discrimination. The choice of evoking stimuli, ACC outcome measure, and behavioral measure used may influence the strength and visibility of potential correlations between the objective (ACC) and behavioral measures. The performance of the ACC technique highlighted in this review suggests that this tool may serve as an alternative measure of auditory discrimination when corresponding behavioral measures prove challenging or unfeasible.</p>","PeriodicalId":55172,"journal":{"name":"Ear and Hearing","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143029444","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Benefits of Hearing Aids for Adults: A Systematic Umbrella Review.","authors":"Diana Tang, Yvonne Tran, Rebecca J Bennett, Charles Lo, Jien Nien Lee, Jessica Turner, Bamini Gopinath","doi":"10.1097/AUD.0000000000001620","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1097/AUD.0000000000001620","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This umbrella review aims to summarize the major benefits of hearing aid usage in adults by synthesizing findings from published review articles.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>A comprehensive search of databases, including MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar, was conducted. The search was limited to English-language review articles published between 1990 and 2023, focusing on hearing aid outcomes in at least 5 adults (aged ≥18 years). Two researchers independently screened titles, abstracts, and full-text articles, and conducted a quality assessment using the Joanna Briggs Checklist for Systematic Reviews and Research Syntheses. A third researcher was involved in discussions with the 2 researchers to resolve conflicts during the screening and quality assessment stages.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Eleven articles were included in this review. There were three systematic reviews with meta-analysis and eight systematic reviews without meta-analysis. The quality assessment indicated that articles scored between 6 and 11 out of a total of 11 criteria. Three articles met all quality criteria. Study participants tended to be middle-aged (≥40 years) or older adults (≥65 years). Participant gender was less clear as this was not consistently reported but appeared to favor men. This umbrella review found that speech perception, communication function, hearing handicap, and self-assessed hearing aid benefit were consistently positively associated with hearing aid use in the analysis of included studies. Hearing handicap was the most frequently reported outcome with evidence from four different studies supporting its mitigation with hearing aid use. There was insufficient evidence in terms of benefit on balance, cognitive function, depression, tinnitus, loneliness, and social isolation. There was conflicting evidence on the impact of hearing aid use on quality of life. Among eligible studies, there were no reports of negative impacts of hearing aid use.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>There are a number of potential benefits associated with hearing aid use. However, this review found that there was a clear lack of high-quality evidence and limited use of robust study design to support the benefits of hearing aids on other outcomes such as quality of life and cognition. Inconsistent use and interpretation of various outcome measures makes it difficult to produce homogenous data which is needed to make more conclusive statements about the benefits of hearing aids.</p>","PeriodicalId":55172,"journal":{"name":"Ear and Hearing","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143030433","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}