Monthly Archives: October 2009
Speech Processing Study Hits Funding Milestone
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently awarded a $2.18 million grant to Dr. Susan Jerger, the Ashbel Smith professor in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, to support her studies of speech processing and childhood hearing impairment. The grant marks the 25th consecutive year that Jerger’s research has received funding.
Zip-Outs, a cutting-edge line of hearing protection solutions released
StreamWorks Products Group, Inc. (SPG), renowned for developing innovative consumer products across several industries, has announced the release of Zip-Outs™ – the foremost product under its new PlugsSafety division, a cutting-edge line of hearing protection solutions. The latest in a robust collection of more than 125 unique SPG “Simply Smarter” products, Zip-Outs provides a convenient means to access ear plugs for hearing protection, enabling all users to easily meet OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and ANSI (American National Standards Institute) requirements.
from News-Medical.net
Music can increase memory and language skills
Regularly playing a musical instrument changes the anatomy and function of the brain and may be used in therapy to improve cognitive skills.
from News-Medical.net
Intervention: Headsprout Early Reading™
Headsprout Early Reading™ was found to have potentially positive effects on oral language and print knowledge.
from the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences
New Hearing Aid Options: Looking Good And Sounding Better
Advances in hearing aid design and technology mean more and better choices for consumers. The October issue of Mayo Clinic Women’s HealthSource covers the pros and cons of various styles, from those that are barely noticeable to others that resemble the latest phones and come in stylish colors.
Disappearing Vowels ‘Caught’ On Tape In US Midwest
Try to pronounce the words “caught” and “cot.” If you’re a New Yorker by birth, the two words will sound as different as their spellings. But if you grew up in California, you probably pronounce them identically.
American English is slowly changing; across the nation, the two “low-back” vowel sounds in these words are merging, region by region. Now Christina Esposito of the Macalester College has tracked the change sweeping eastwards across the Midwest into Minnesota. She will present her findings at a meeting of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) next week in San Antonio, TX.
from ScienceDaily.com
Teacher talk strains voices, especially for women
Now a new study by the National Center for Voice and Speech (NCVS) reveals how teachers use their voices at work and at home and uncovers differences between male and female teachers. Its findings will be presented at a meeting of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) next week in San Antonio, TX.
from EurekAlert.org
SRI International researcher named Fellow of the International Speech Communication Association
SRI International, an independent nonprofit research and development institute, announced today that Dr. Elizabeth Shriberg, a senior researcher in SRI’s Speech Technology and Research (STAR) Laboratory, has been named a Fellow of the International Speech Communication Association (ISCA).
from News-Medical.net
Rotational Tests of Vestibular Function
Rotational tests are aimed at producing a more natural, precise, repeatable, and broadband evaluation of the vestibular function. Currently, two types of rotation tests are in clinical use: passive whole-body rotation where the stimulus is produced by a motorized chair, and active rotation where the stimulus is produced by voluntary head movements. In both methods, the frequency response of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) is determined by measuring the eye movements and comparing the head velocity with the slow-phase eye velocity. Rotation tests offer several advantages over other vestibular function tests in patients with bilateral caloric weakness, in young children, or in patients for whom VOR changes have to be assessed over time. In most other patients, rotation tests do not offer a significant advantage because of their low sensitivity to common vestibular abnormalities.
from Seminars in Hearing
Subjective Visual Vertical Test
Vestibular , otolith organs , utricle , subjective visual vertical
from Seminars in Hearing
The Diagnosis and Management of Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is a peripheral vestibular disorder that manifests as sudden, short-lived episodes of vertigo elicited by specific head movements. BPPV is one of the most common causes of dizziness or vertigo, and almost 10% of the elderly population experiences BPPV. It is often self-limiting but can become chronic and recurrent with considerable effects on a person’s quality of life. Most cases result from the migration of free-floating canalith particles into the posterior (more commonly) or horizontal (less commonly) semicircular canals, rendering them sensitive to gravity. Diagnosis of BPPV is based on a suggestive history and physical examination, and other tests are not normally required. Repositioning maneuvers are highly efficacious in resolving BPPV. Medications are not an effective treatment option. Posterior canal occlusion surgery is highly effective and is reserved for intractable and severe cases.
from Seminars in Hearing
Vestibular-Evoked Myogenic Potentials
Cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (cVEMPs) are recorded from the sternocleidomastoid muscle using air conduction or bone conduction acoustic stimuli, skull taps, or transmastoid current. The diagnostic usefulness of the cVEMP has been examined for various peripheral and central vestibulopathies. Recent reports indicate that it is possible to record short-latency ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (oVEMPs) from surface electrodes below the eyes in response to air conduction and bone conduction stimuli. Both methods provide diagnostic information about otolith function. This article provides an overview of each method and highlights the similarities and differences. Several cases are presented to illustrate the relation between the results for cVEMPs and oVEMPs in patients with well-defined audiovestibular disorders.
from Seminars in Hearing
Acute sensorineural hearing loss and severe otalgia due to scrub typhus
Background
Scrub typhus is an acute febrile illness caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi. Case presentations: We encountered a patient with sensorineural hearing loss complicating scrub typhus, and three patients with scrub typhus who complained of otalgia, which was sudden onset, severe, paroxysmal, intermittent yet persistent pain lasting for several seconds, appeared within 1 week after the onset of fever and rashesrash. The acute sensorineural hearing loss and otalgia were resolved after antibiotic administration.
Conclusion
When patients in endemic areas present with fever and rash and have sensorineural hearing loss or otalgia without otoscopic abnormalities, clinicians should suspect scrub typhus and consider empirical antibiotic therapy.
COMPREHENSION-BASED PRACTICE
We report the results of a 2-year longitudinal comparison of grade 3 and grade 4 English-as-a-second-language learners in an experimental, comprehension-based program and those in a regular (i.e., more typical) language learning program. The goal was to examine the extent to which sustained, long-term comprehension practice in both listening and reading—in the virtual absence of any speaking—can help develop learners’ second language (L2) pronunciation. We analyzed learners’ sentences from an elicited imitation task using several accuracy and fluency measures as well as listener ratings of accentedness, comprehensibility, and fluency. We found no differences between the two programs at the end of year 1. However, at the end of year 2, there were some differences—namely, in the listener ratings of fluency and comprehensibility—that favored learners in the regular program. These findings highlight the beneficial effects of comprehension practice for the development of L2 pronunciation but also point to some potential limits of this practice.
PROSODY AND PROSODIC TRANSFER IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: CANTONESE AND JAPANESE.
Jason Litzenberga1 and Lucy Pickeringa1
