Auditory Device Research Articles

Effects of hearing aids in the balance, quality of life and fear to fall in elderly people with sensorineural hearing loss.

Summary Introduction: The aging process provokes structural modifications and functional to it greets, compromising the postural control and central processing. Studies have boarded the necessity to identify to the harmful factors of risk to aged the auditory health and security in stricken aged by auditory deficits and with alterations of balance. Objective: To evaluate the effect of auditory prosthesis in the quality of life, the balance and the fear of fall in aged with bilateral auditory loss. Method: Carried through clinical and experimental study with 56 aged ones with sensorineural auditory loss, submitted to the use of auditory prosthesis of individual sonorous amplification (AASI). The aged ones had answered to the questionnaires of quality of life Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), Falls Efficacy International Scale- (FES-I) and the test of Berg Balance Scale (BBS). After 4 months, the aged ones that they adapted to the use of the AASI had been reevaluated. Results: It had 50% of adaptation of the aged ones to the AASI. It was observed that the masculine sex had greater difficulty in adapting to the auditory device and that the variable age, degree of loss, presence of humming and vertigo had not intervened with the adaptation to auditory prosthesis. It had improvement of the quality of life in the dominance of the State General Health (EGS) and Functional Capacity (CF) and of the humming, as well as the increase of the auto-confidence after adaptation of auditory prosthesis. Conclusion: The use of auditory prosthesis provided the improvement of the domains of the quality of life, what it reflected consequently in one better auto-confidence and in the long run in the reduction of the fear of fall in aged with sensorineural auditory loss.

Visual benefit in bimodal training with highly distorted speech sound

Artificial auditory devices such as cochlear implants (CIs) and auditory brainstem implants (ABIs) have become standard means to manage profound sensorineural hearing loss. However, because of their structural limitations compared to the cochlea and the cochlear nucleus, the generated auditory sensations are still imperfect. Recipients need postoperative auditory rehabilitation. To improve these rehabilitation programs, this study evaluated the effects of bimodal (audio–visual) training under seven experimental conditions of distorted speech sound, named noise-vocoded speech sound (NVSS), which is similarly processed with a speech processor of CI/ABI. Word intelligibilities under the seven conditions of two-band noise-vocoded speech were measured for auditory (A), visual (V) and auditory–visual (AV) modalities after a few hours of bimodal (AV) training. The experiment was performed with 56 subjects with normal hearing. Performance of A and AV word recognition was significantly different under the seven auditory conditions. The V word intelligibility was not influenced by the condition of combined auditory cues. However, V word intelligibility was correlated with AV word recognition under all frequency conditions. Correlation between A and AV word intelligibilities was ambiguous. These findings suggest the importance of visual cues in AV speech perception under extremely degraded auditory conditions, and underscore the importance of the possible effectiveness of bimodal audio–visual training in postoperative rehabilitation for patients with postlingual deafness who have undergone artificial auditory device implantation.

The role of active middle-ear implants in the rehabilitation of hearing loss

The surgical implantation of auditory devices to improve or restore the sensation of hearing in affected individuals is a rapidly growing area of modern ear, nose and throat, and audiological practice. Following the enormous success of cochlear implantation and set to take an increasing role in the rehabilitation of deafness is the active middle-ear implant. They should be viewed as an alternative to conventional hearing aids for individuals who are either unable to wear hearing aids or reject them for a variety of reasons. This article discusses the different types of middle-ear implant that are currently in use and examines the significant challenges that remain to be overcome to further advance this field.

Compreendendo o idoso usuário de próteses auditivas

The main goal was to identify the factors involved in the application for and use of auditory prostheses by the elderly as well as their awareness of the Policy of Care to Auditory Health. 25 elderly people of both sexes using auditory prostheses in Vitória (Espírito Santo, Brazil) were selected. They were contacted by telephone to participate in the research by answering a questionnaire. The results demonstrated that most of the elderly people interviewed (52%) use the device all day which suggests good adaptation to the process. Thirteen elderly people reported that they contacted the prosthesis company of their own accord. The advantages involved better communication and listening to TV (64%) while the difficulties were due to noisy environments; 56% were unable to understand what was being said at lectures, in church, and on the telephone, 72% reported no improvement with the prosthesis. 88% of the elderly participants are unaware of donation policies for auditory devices and 100% are unaware of this kind of service. Research and practices in health services about auditory issues still have far to go. There is a need for a change in management with the objective of putting into action policies which define the responsibilities of the State.

Anatomic Dimensions of the Bony External Auditory Canal

INTRODUCTION: With increasing numbers of the new generation regularly using high-powered sound technologies but without adequate auditory protection, it is projected that hearing loss will reach record levels in the near future. As such, the hearing aid industry has been, in the past few decades, offering gradually more miniature and lightweight hearing aid technologies. The goal is to meet the current and future demand for patients seeking treatment while preserving a dimension of portability and, if possible, aesthetics. Among the varieties of hearing aids available to patients today, in-the-canal (ITC) and completely-in-the-canal (CIC) devices have received significant attention for their cosmetic appeal.1 In addition to providing a cosmetic effect, these devices also generally provide good auditory function.2-4 Of note, the newest innovation in hearing aid devices, the invisible extended-wear deep-canal device (Lyric®, InSound Medical, Newark, CA), depends entirely on fitting and securing the device in the patient’s external auditory canal (EAC) by an exterior mold.5 Currently, to overcome anatomical variation among different patients, a number of different EAC molds are available for in-clinic test fitting. The human EAC is comprised of two parts – the cartilaginous portion, which is more lateral, and the bony portion, which is more medial. The contours of the bony EAC are reliably visualized using a temporal bone computed tomography (CT) scan.6, 7 To our knowledge, no systematic measurement of anatomic dimensions of the bony and cartilaginous EAC, let alone standardized dimensions for auditory devices that fit into the EAC, has been reported in the literature. In this study, we report a novel method for performing standardized measurements of the bony EAC, as well as average EAC dimensions for 68 patients with special attention to dimensional differences among different age groups. Knowledge of these dimensions may be helpful in guiding surgical procedures or in the design of novel in-the-ear devices (i.e., hearing aids).

The effect of increased loudness on anticipatory coarticulation of steady-state formants in a vowel-consonant-vowel context for patients with Parkinson’s disease.

The current investigation examines the effect of increased loudness on anticipatory coarticulation of the vowels [i, ɑ, u] on the preceding schwa vowel for patients with Parkinson’s disease. Four speakers, three males and one female with speech severity levels between 8% and 49%, are involved in pre-treatment, treatment, and post-treatment conditions. During treatment, participants use an auditory device which plays speech-babble into one ear while they are speaking. The speech-babble competition results in an automatic loudness increase (Lombard effect) in the talker wearing the device. Participants produced target nonsense CVC words embedded in carrier sentences at comfortable loudness levels and at an average of 3 dB above that level. The steady-state F1, F2, and F3 formant frequencies of the preceding [ə] were analyzed to determine whether increased loudness results in increased anticipatory coarticulation from the [i, ɑ, u] vowels in the CVC words, as treatment progresses. Results using steady-state formant frequency measures from this study will be compared with previous studies that used F2 trajectory measures [Tjaden and Sussman (2006); Weismer et al. (1995); Tjaden (2003)]. (Work supported by NIH 1R01DC009409-01)

BTE/CIC auditory device and modular connector system therefor

BTE/CIC auditory device and modular connector system therefor

Rectangle Piezoelectric Bimorph Bone Conduction Auditory Device

The piezoelectric bone conduction auditory device (PBCAD) with a rectangular piezoelectric bimorph as a driving components was designed based on the principle of bone conduction(BC), the audio signal converted to a vibration signal stimulate the auditory nerve via the skull to create hearing. Finite element analysis of rectangular piezoelectric vibrator means to support and optimize the structure of the program and improve equipment sound effects in the regional auditory signals of low-frequency, the experiment of rectangular PBCAD chalks up the curve of structure parameters. Experimental studies show: rectangular piezoelectric BC unit can achieve better function of bone conduction auditory device (BCAD).

Soft tissue placement of implantable microphone

Provided herein are systems and methods where an implantable microphone of an implantable hearing system is positioned at a location spaced from the surface of the patient's skull. More specifically, the microphone is mounted to soft tissue of the patient to at least partially isolate the microphone from skull-borne vibrations. Accordingly, by utilizing a soft tissue mount, the microphone may be made more sensitive to ambient sounds with reduced concern to amplification of non-ambient vibrations caused by skull-borne vibrations including, for example, transducer feedback, talking and/or chewing. The system will further include an auditory stimulation device that is located proximate to the skull of the patient and which is operative to stimulate an auditory component of the patient in accordance with an output signal generated by the microphone. A subcutaneously routed signal wire may extend between the implanted microphone and the auditory stimulation device.

Response-contingent auditory and visual therapy device for children with hemiplegia

Response-contingent auditory and visual therapy device for children with hemiplegia

Using Genetic Algorithms with Subjective Input from Human Subjects: Implications for Fitting Hearing Aids and Cochlear Implants

To present a comprehensive analysis of the feasibility of genetic algorithms (GA) for finding the best fit of hearing aids or cochlear implants for individual users in clinical or research settings, where the algorithm is solely driven by subjective human input. Due to varying pathology, the best settings of an auditory device differ for each user. It is also likely that listening preferences vary at the same time. The settings of a device customized for a particular user can only be evaluated by the user. When optimization algorithms are used for fitting purposes, this situation poses a difficulty for a systematic and quantitative evaluation of the suitability of the fitting parameters produced by the algorithm. In the present study, an artificial listening environment was generated by distorting speech using a noiseband vocoder. The settings produced by the GA for this listening problem could objectively be evaluated by measuring speech recognition and comparing the performance to the best vocoder condition where speech was least distorted. Nine normal-hearing subjects participated in the study. The parameters to be optimized were the number of vocoder channels, the shift between the input frequency range and the synthesis frequency range, and the compression-expansion of the input frequency range over the synthesis frequency range. The subjects listened to pairs of sentences processed with the vocoder, and entered a preference for the sentence with better intelligibility. The GA modified the solutions iteratively according to the subject preferences. The program converged when the user ranked the same set of parameters as the best in three consecutive steps. The results produced by the GA were analyzed for quality by measuring speech intelligibility, for test-retest reliability by running the GA three times with each subject, and for convergence properties. Speech recognition scores averaged across subjects were similar for the best vocoder solution and for the solutions produced by the GA. The average number of iterations was 8 and the average convergence time was 25.5 minutes. The settings produced by different GA runs for the same subject were slightly different; however, speech recognition scores measured with these settings were similar. Individual data from subjects showed that in each run, a small number of GA solutions produced poorer speech intelligibility than for the best setting. This was probably a result of the combination of the inherent randomness of the GA, the convergence criterion used in the present study, and possible errors that the users might have made during the paired comparisons. On the other hand, the effect of these errors was probably small compared to the other two factors, as a comparison between subjective preferences and objective measures showed that for many subjects the two were in good agreement. The results showed that the GA was able to produce good solutions by using listener preferences in a relatively short time. For practical applications, the program can be made more robust by running the GA twice or by not using an automatic stopping criterion, and it can be made faster by optimizing the number of the paired comparisons completed in each iteration.

In-the-canal auditory feedback device results in reduced stuttering 12-months post-fitting in a group of nine participants1

In-the-canal auditory feedback device results in reduced stuttering 12-months post-fitting in a group of nine participants1

On the Importance of Scientific Rhetoric in Stuttering: A Reply to Finn, Bothe, and Bramlett (2005)

To refute the alleged practice of "pseudoscience" by P. Finn, A. K. Bothe, and R. E. Bramlett (2005) and to illustrate their experimental and systematic bias when evaluating the SpeechEasy, an altered auditory feedback device used in the management of stuttering. We challenged the experimental design that led to the seemingly predetermined outcome of pseudoscience rather than science: Limited preselected literature was submitted to a purposely sampled panel of judges (i.e., their own students). Each criterion deemed pseudoscientific was contested with published peer-reviewed data illustrating the importance of good rhetoric, testability, and logical outcomes from decades of scientific research. Stuttering is an involuntary disorder that is highly resistant to therapy. Altered auditory feedback is a derivation of choral speech (nature's most powerful stuttering "inhibitor") that can be synergistically combined with other methods for optimal stuttering inhibition. This approach is logical considering that in stuttering no single treatment is universally helpful. Also, caution is suggested when attempting to differentiate science from pseudoscience in stuttering treatments using the criteria employed by Finn et al. For example, evaluating behavioral therapy outcomes implements a post hoc or untestable system. Speech outcome (i.e., stuttered or fluent speech) determines success or failure of technique use, placing responsibility for failure on those who stutter.

BTE/CIC auditory device and modular connector system therefor

BTE/CIC auditory device and modular connector system therefor

BTE/CIC auditory device and modular connector system therefor

An earpiece auditory device is provided. The earpiece auditory device includes a behind-the-ear component (30). The behind-the-ear component being shaped to fit behind an ear of a user. The behind-the-ear component includes a module (33) that includes processing circuitry. The earpiece auditory device also includes a completely-in-canal component (10), the completely-in-canal component being shaped to fit into the ear canal of the user in such a manner as to touch the bony portion of the ear canal of the user. The completely-in-canal component includes an ear mold (11). The earpiece auditory device includes a connector (20) physically coupling the behind-the-ear component to the completely-in-canal component. The connector (20) includes at least one end detachably coupled to the behind-the-ear component or the completely-in-canal component.

Cochlear implant sound processing method and system

An auditory prosthesis device for selectively stimulating electrodes within an auditory prosthesis electrode array, comprising a transducer ( 2 ) for converting a complex acoustic sound into an electrical signal; signal processing means ( 13 ) responsive to an electrical signal and generating a temporal pattern of stimulation pulses to selected electrodes within the electrode array, the stimulation pulses being applied to each electrode at an electrode stimulation rate; feature extraction means ( 14 ) for deriving an estimate of at least one fundamental frequency of the electrical signal; and stimulation pulse adjustment means ( 15 ) for adjusting the stimulation pulses in accordance with the estimated fundamental frequency.

Electrophysiological measurement method and system for positioning an implantable, hearing instrument transducer

An electrophysiological measurement method and system is provided for positioning an implantable transducer of a hearing instrument relative to a middle ear component or inner ear of a patient. The method and system employ electrophysiological measurement signals obtained in response to test signals applied to an implanted transducer. In one embodiment, the electrophysiological measurements are obtained by an electrocochleography measurement device that measures the cochlear summating potential and/or action potential responsive to test signals applied to an implanted transducer. In another embodiment, an auditory brainstem response measurement device is utilized to obtain electrical potential measurement signals responsive to test signals applied to an implanted transducer.

A survey of Australian adult users of altered auditory feedback devices for stuttering: Use patterns, perceived effectiveness and satisfaction

Purpose. Small portable devices that provide delayed auditory feedback (DAF) and/or frequency altered feedback (FAF) have been developed and marketed to clinicians and people who stutter as fluency enhancing aids for use in everyday speaking situations. The literature contains many laboratory-based reports about the impact of altered auditory feedback (AAF) on the speech of people who stutter but few reports about its use in everyday speaking situations. This paper investigates use patterns and perceptions of the effectiveness and satisfaction with AAF devices.Methods. The current study surveys 14 Australian AAF users.Results. The survey responses revealed varied opinions about AAF devices and their use and effectiveness in everyday speaking situations. Opinions were somewhat related to the type of device used.Conclusions. The results of this study provide some important directions for future research. In particular there is need to investigate the effectiveness of AAF devices when used in conjunction with other traditional treatments.

Auditory treatment device

The invention relates to a hearing aid for correcting hearing impairments, comprising a metal housing which has a battery compartment and a sound exit opening. According to the invention, the housing surrounds the electronics located in the treatment device in such a way as to shield them from electromagnetic waves on all sides and the sound exit opening is sealed by an acoustically permeable, water-tight film. The housing also has an essentially cylindrical shape.

BTE/CIC auditory device and modular connector system therefor

BTE/CIC auditory device and modular connector system therefor