Monthly Archives: July 2011
AbcPocketPhonics: letter sounds & writing + first words
Therapists can use this app to target the following skills: literacy, phonemic awareness, letter identification, sound symbol relationships, diagraphs, letter formation, blending, decoding and spelling.
from Therapy App 411
Childhood Hearing Screening Guidelines
Open for Peer Review until August 12, 2011
from the American Academy of Audiology
Effect of primary, cross-over, zigzag neopharyngoplasty on acoustic characteristics of alaryngeal, tracheoesophageal voice
Conclusion: The cross-over neopharyngoplasty modification of hypopharyngeal closure may help avoid pharyngoesophageal spasm and assist maintenance of effective voice amplitude, fundamental frequencies, temporal measures and perceptual values.
from the Journal of Laryngology and Otology
High frequency hearing loss in the elderly: effect of age and noise exposure in an Italian group
Conclusion: The threshold differences between patients with presbycusis with and without noise exposure were limited. Larger studies are needed to assess the relative effects of ageing and noise exposure on hearing thresholds.
from the Journal of Laryngology and Otology
Influence of tinnitus sound therapy signals on the intelligibility of speech
Conclusion: The use of different tinnitus sound therapy signals can lead to significantly different effects on the intelligibility of speech. The use of natural sound recordings or combinations of tones may provide the patient with more flexibility to change the stimulation level during treatment.
from the Journal of Laryngology and Otology
Hearing speech in music
The masking effect of a piano composition, played at different speeds and in different octaves, on speech-perception thresholds was investigated in 15 normal-hearing and 14 moderately-hearing-impaired subjects. Running speech (just follow conversation, JFC) testing and use of hearing aids increased the everyday validity of the findings. A comparison was made with standard audiometric noises [International Collegium of Rehabilitative Audiology (ICRA) noise and speech spectrum-filtered noise (SPN)]. All masking sounds, music or noise, were presented at the same equivalent sound level (50 dBA). The results showed a significant effect of piano performance speed and octave (P<.01). Low octave and fast tempo had the largest effect; and high octave and slow tempo, the smallest. Music had a lower masking effect than did ICRA noise with two or six speakers at normal vocal effort (P<.01) and SPN (P<.05). Subjects with hearing loss had higher masked thresholds than the normal-hearing subjects (P<.01), but there were smaller differences between masking conditions (P<.01). It is pointed out that music offers an interesting opportunity for studying masking under realistic conditions, where spectral and temporal features can be varied independently. The results have implications for composing music with vocal parts, designing acoustic environments and creating a balance between speech perception and privacy in social settings.
from Noise & Health
Post exposure treatment with a Src-PTK inhibitor in combination with N-l-acetyl cysteine to reduce noise-induced hearing loss
Both the antioxidant, N-l-acetyl cysteine (NAC), and the Src inhibitor, KX1-004, have been used to protect the cochlea from hazardous noise. In order to extend our previous work on KX1-004 with noise exposure, the current studies were undertaken with two goals: (1) to test the effectiveness of NAC and KX1-004 in combination with one another when given in a protection paradigm, and (2) to test the NAC+KX1-004 combination in a postexposure rescue paradigm. The noise exposure for the first experiment consisted of a 4-kHz octave band of noise at 107 dB SPL for 2 hours. The combination of NAC and KX1-004 were administered either prior to the noise exposure or post exposure (rescue). The second experiment was undertaken to extend the findings of the first experiment’s rescue paradigm. The 4 kHz octave band noise was delivered at 112 dB SPL for 1 hour, with the experimental drugs delivered only in a rescue paradigm. In Experiment 1, animals treated before the 2-hour noise exposure with the combination of NAC and KX1-004 had from 12 to 17 dB less permanent threshold shift when compared to control saline treated animals. Treatment in the rescue paradigm did not produce any reductions in threshold shift from the 2-hour exposure. In the second experiment, with the 1-hour noise, rescue with KX1-004 or KX1-004 plus NAC yielded small, but significant, reductions in threshold shift. There was no additional benefit from the combination of NAC and KX1-004 over KX1-004 by itself.
from Noise & Health
Road traffic noise, annoyance and community health survey – A case study for an Indian city
The present study is aimed to investigate the impact of noise pollution on residents/community residing near roadside. The degree of annoyance was assessed by means of a questionnaire. It was found that among all noise-generating sources, road traffic was the major source of noise followed by factory/machines. A health survey reported about 52% of population was suffering by frequent irritation. 46% respondent felt hypertension, and 48.6% observed loss of sleep due to noise pollution. Common noise descriptors were also recorded at all the selected sites. It was found that the Leq values were higher (range 73-86) compared to the permissible values (65 dBA) prescribed by the Central Pollution Control Board, New Delhi. Further, regression equations were developed between various noise indices and percentage of population highly annoyed, and a strong correlation was also observed.
from Noise & Health
The influence of military service on auditory health and the efficacy of a hearing conservation program
The influence of military service on self-assessed hearing symptoms and measured auditory function was studied as well as the efficacy of the Hearing Conservation Program (HCP) of the Swedish Armed Forces. 839 conscripts were recruited for the study at reporting to military service. They were all exposed to noise over the risk-limits from weapons and vehicles and used earmuffs and/or earplugs. Questionnaires and pure tone screening audiometry were studied at the start and the end of the military service. Retrospective information regarding audiometry at conscription before military service was included as control. The prevalence values of tinnitus were 23% before and 32% after the service and of sensitivity to noise 16% and 19% respectively. The prevalence values of hearing impairment were 6.3% at conscription, 14.5% at reporting to military service, and 24% after the training period. The incidence values of hearing decline were 3.7% during the period with no military noise exposure and 6.6% during the military service. Acoustic accident increased the risk of worsened tinnitus and sensitivity to noise four times and for a high frequency hearing decline six times. We observed elevated prevalence values of tinnitus, sensitivity to noise and hearing impairment at discharge compared to before military service. We observed an elevated risk of hearing decline during military service. Acoustic accident increased the risk of tinnitus, noise sensitivity and hearing decline. We suggest improvements regarding inclusion criteria for military service, and for education regarding the HCP.
from Noise & Health
Using the Extended Parallel Process Model to create and evaluate the effectiveness of brochures to reduce the risk for noise-induced hearing loss in college students
Brochures containing messages developed according to the Extended Parallel Process Model were deployed to increase intentions to use hearing protection for college students. These brochures were presented to one-half of a college student sample, after which a questionnaire was administered to assess perceptions of threat, efficacy, and behavioral intentions. The other half of the sample completed the questionnaire and then received brochures. Results indicated that people receiving the brochure before the questionnaire reported greater perceptions of hearing loss threat and efficacy to use ear plugs when in loud environments, however, intentions to use ear plugs were unchanged. Distribution of the brochure also resulted in greater perceptions of hearing loss threat and efficacy to use over-the-ear headphones when using devices such as MP3 players. In this case, however, intentions to use over-the-ear headphones increased. Results are discussed in terms of future research and practical applications.
from Noise & Health
‘Oh he was forgettable’: Construction of self identity through use of communicative coping behaviors in the discourse of persons with cognitive impairment
Communication involving persons with cognitive impairment (CI) associated memory issues requires particular attention in the clinical setting due to the sensitive and often difficult institutional work that must take place between the patient and his or her physician. An individual with CI is often tested for memory issues during the office visit, generating a potentially face-threatening situation. Said individual may attempt to preserve positive identity or ‘save face’ (Gumperz, 1982) by using communicative coping behaviors (CCBs). This study characterizes the use of CCBs (e.g., accounts and humor) by persons with CI in clinical interviews and provides important insight on how to improve doctor—patient communication involving people with CI. In order to describe and compare CCBs used by persons with cognitive impairment, and those used by cognitively normal individuals, verbatim, in-office transcripts from both groups were analyzed. Results showed that participants with CI used more memory accounts than cognitively normal individuals and similar amounts of humor in order to save face and construct a normal identity. These data help to inform doctors and caregivers regarding the ways in which persons with CI construct and preserve a positive sense of self-identity through communication.
from Dementia
Effects of fenestra size and piston diameter on the outcome of stapes surgery for clinical otosclerosis.
CONCLUSIONS: The diameter (0.6 or 0.8 mm) of the pistons selected for reconstruction after stapes surgery appears to have little effect on the outcome, except perhaps at 6 and 8 kHz, where the slim piston appeared to have a significant advantage. The size of the footplate fenestra is of paramount importance to the outcome. A small footplate fenestra has statistically significant advantages for hearing gain over all other sizes of fenestra (ie, total, three-quarter, or half removal of the footplate), at least for the first 10 years after surgery, at frequencies of 2 kHz and above. Total stapedectomy has given the worst results for hearing gain at frequencies above 2 kHz, and the rate of deterioration of gain over time seems to be more rapid than after small-fenestra techniques. Small fenestras are recommended as the preferred technique in all cases of surgically treatable otosclerosis.
Phenotype analysis of an Australian DFNA9 family with the 1109N COCH mutation.
CONCLUSIONS: The phenotype associated with the I109N COCH mutation is largely similar to that associated with the I109T, P51S, G87W, and G88E mutation carriers. However, subtle differences seem to exist in terms of age of onset and rate of progression.
Six-Month-Olds Comprehend Words That Refer to Parts of the Body
This finding suggests that very early comprehension has a capacity beyond specific, one-to-one, associations. Future research will need to consider how developing categorization abilities, social experiences, and parent word use influence the beginnings of word comprehension. © International Society on Infant Studies (ISIS).
from Infancy
Mother and infant coordinate heart rhythms through episodes of interaction synchrony
Animal studies demonstrated the powerful impact of maternal-infant social contact on the infant’s physiological systems, yet the online effects of social interactions on the human infant’s physiology remain poorly understood. Mothers and their 3-month old infants were observed during face-to-face interactions while cardiac output was collected from mother and child. Micro-analysis of the partners’ behavior marked episodes of gaze, affect, and vocal synchrony. Time-series analysis showed that mother and infant coordinate heart rhythms within lags of less than 1 s. Bootstrapping analysis indicated that the concordance between maternal and infant biological rhythms increased significantly during episodes of affect and vocal synchrony compared to non-synchronous moments. Humans, like other mammals, can impact the physiological processes of the attachment partner through the coordination of visuo-affective social signals.
