Hearing System Research Articles

Real Time Sign Language RecognitionReal Time Sign Language Recognition

Abstract: With regard to hearing and vocally impaired individualities, communication with others is a way longer struggle for them. They are unfit to speak with traditional individualities duly. They face difficulties in getting jobs and living a traditional life like others. In this paper, we are introducing a smart communication system for hearing and vocally impaired individuals and also for normal people. The overall delicacy of the system is 92.5, with both the hands involved. The main advantage of this system being proposed over the former system is that in the former system the signs can be detectedby the camera only when the hands are covered in gloves whereas in this proposed system, we have tried our swish to overcome that disadvantage handed by the former system. Keywords: Open CV, Google API, Raspberry Pi video core GPU, image pre-processing, feature extraction.

인사청문회제도 정착을 위한 개선방안에 관한 소고

In a presidential country with clear separation of powers by the Constitution, it is natural to exercise the personnel rights granted to the president to find the best person and operate efficient state affairs. The exercise of personnel rights consistent with the president's philosophy of state affairs can be seen in two main stages. It is the stage of personnel verification at the Blue House and the stage of appointment consent and personnel hearing at the National Assembly. In addition to verifying the policies and qualifications of high-ranking candidates, it is also a means of checking the executive branch of the legislature in a presidential system on the premise of strict separation of power, and further preventing the president from exercising personnel rights. However, it is natural that the confirmation hearing system for high-ranking government officials, which we are used to, should be the answer to its original purpose with a reckless operation, but the hearing was often paralyzed by political delays. Of course, the National Assembly's confirmation committee members believe that they will leave the ruling and opposition parties to thoroughly inquire into the competencies required of the candidates and investigate suspicions that the public is curious about. Aside from the truth or not, the allegation of the moral verification of high-ranking candidates is not only disparaging the morality of our society, but there is also a concern that the issue of the National Personnel Authority will be undermined. In addition, it is true that high-ranking officials who do not require a vote on the National Assembly's motion for appointment are allowed to appoint even if the hearing and report of the competent standing committee are not adopted, and there are frequent cases of appointment. Since the process from birth to the present has not been deplorable, it is expected that the net function of the system will develop into pure logic, even if there are unpredictable variables in reality to lay the foundation for dispelling negative factors.

Bone Conduction Hearing Aid

Abstract: The GSM based Soundbite hearing system allows people with hearing disability to hear the sounds via bone conduction to wear an intraoral device and a small microphone in the deaf ear to regain lost hearing. This device consists of GSM modem, PIC16F877A controller and audio amplifier unit. GSM modem will receive incoming calls and automatically answer the call via AT Commands. Then incoming voice signal is converted into low frequency vibration signal that fed through the teeth to cochlea. Unlike implantable bone conduction hearing aids, Sound Bite requires no surgery. Rather, it is the world’s first removable and non-surgical hearing solution to use the well-established principle of bone conduction to imperceptibly transmit sound via the teeth. Custom made for each person, Sound Bite is simple, removable, and totally non-invasive. This paper introduces a novel hearing aid named artificial ultrasonic bone conduction hearing device, which is different from the traditional hearing aid in two sides: 1) sound conduction manner, 2) human perceptive principles. We focus on discussing the structure of the hearing aid and the research of frequency transposition algorithm. In addition, we design algorithm experimental platform and some sample electromechanical transducers.

제도 대화에서의 질문 유형과 효과성 분석 : 국무총리 인사청문회를 중심으로

The purpose of this study is to analyze confirmation hearings for Prime Minister Nominees from the perspective of institutional conversation analysis, to identify what types of questions politicians use and their effectiveness related to the institutional context. The data consist of confirmation hearings for the 45th former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon and the 46th former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, and were transcribed and analyzed based on the transcription system suggested by Gail Jefferson. The findings show that a confirmation hearing is a highly institutionalized conversation that has legal regulations on the turn-taking system and time limit for speaking with a clear purpose of verifying the qualification of bureaucrat nominees. Questioners set topical agenda and strategically used questions in the form of polar, alternative, and close-ended with prefaced statements implying specific presuppositions to limit the nominees' answers. Questioners recognized and performed their role under the institutional context, and at the same time played the role of an intermediary relaying the answer to the listener outside the conversation situation. Questions have significance in that they are being used as an effective means to achieve the institutional purpose of the confirmation hearing system.

Voice Controlled Wheel Chair with Temperature Detection

This task needs ongoing voice recognition via a mobile application. The system is used to control a drivers seat with the users voice. The goal of this project is to capture the development of people who are crippled or incapacitated, as well as elderly people who cant move well. The goal of this framework is to allow specific users to pursue living their lives with little reliance upon for their growth as needed. Speech innovation is an important innovation that will provide a better way for people to communicate with a machine or equipment. Therefore the problems they face can be addressed by introducing a new acknowledgment to improve the wheelchair. This can be understood and enhanced by using the enhanced mobile gadget as a central person or contact area. In this work it is planned to combine communication to force the hearing system that governs the development of the chair and the application that may or may not deal with the rules of graphical. This business uses arduino with a Microcontroller circuit and DC engines to perform the development of a wheelchair and Ultrasonic sensors to detect the barriers between the wheelchair and the bearing system.

Real-Time Data-Driven Approach for Prediction and Correction of Electrode Array Trajectory in Cochlear Implantation

Cochlear implants provide hearing perception to people with severe to profound hearing loss. The electrode array (EA) inserted during the surgery directly stimulates the hearing nerve, bypassing the acoustic hearing system. The complications during the EA insertion in the inner ear may cause trauma leading to infection, residual hearing loss, and poor speech perception. This work aims to reduce the trauma induced during electrode array insertion process by carefully designing a sensing method, an actuation system, and data-driven control strategy to guide electrode array in scala tympani. Due to limited intra-operative feedback during the insertion process, complex bipolar electrical impedance is used as a sensing element to guide EA in real time. An automated actuation system with three degrees of freedom was used along with a complex impedance meter to record impedance of consecutive electrodes. Prediction of EA direction (medial, middle, and lateral) was carried out by an ensemble of random forest, shallow neural network, and k-nearest neighbour in an offline setting with an accuracy of 86.86%. The trained ensemble was then utilized in vitro for prediction and correction of EA direction in real time in the straight path with an accuracy of 80%. Such a real-time system also has application in other electrode implants and needle and catheter insertion guidance.

Health hazards and hearing loss risk assessment of workers exposed to noise in an automobile manufacturing enterprise

Objective: To investigate the current situation of occupational exposure to noise among noise workers in an automobile manufacturing enterprise in Tianjin, understand the impact of noise on workers＇ nervous system and hearing, and assess the risk of hearing loss among noise workers. Methods: In May 2021, 3516 workers in an automobile manufacturing enterprise were investigated by using a self-made questionnaire＂Noise Workers Questionnaire＂ and cluster sampling method. The occupational noise hygiene survey and occupational hazards detection were carried out in their workplaces. They were divided into noise exposure group and non-noise exposure group according to whether they were exposed to noise or not. The general characteristics, hearing and nervous system symptoms of the two groups of workers were compared, and the risk of hearing loss was assessed. Results: There were 758 workers in the noise exposure group, aged (26±5) years old, with a working age of 3.0 (2.0, 6.0) years exposed to noise. 2758 workers in the non-noise exposure group, aged (25±6) years old, with a working age of 2.0 (1.0, 4.0) years. There were statistically significant differences in the distribution of workers＇education level, working age and memory loss between the two groups (χ(2)=37.98, 38.70, 5.20, P<0.05). The workers in the noise exposure group showed a decreasing trend of insomnia, dreaminess, sweating and fatigue with the increase of working age (χ(2trend)=6.16, 7.99, P<0.05). The risk classification of binaural high-frequency hearing loss for workers in all noise positions until the age of 50 and 60 was negligible, the risk of occupational noise deafness was low for workers in stamping and welding noise positions until the age of 60. Conclusion: The occupational noise exposed to automobile manufacturing workers may cause certain harm to their nervous and auditory systems. Noise protection measures should be taken to reduce the risk of hearing loss and occupational noise deafness.

A Novel Method for Automated Estimation of Effective Parameters of Complex Auditory Brainstem Response: Adaptive Processing Based on the Correntropy Concept

Objectives: Automated Auditory Brainstem Responses (ABR) peak detection is a novel technique to facilitate the measurement of neural synchrony along the auditory pathway through the brainstem. Analyzing the location of the peaks in these signals and the time interval between them may be utilized either for analyzing the hearing process or detecting peripheral and central lesions in the human hearing system. Methods: In this paper, model-based signal processing is proposed to estimate the effective parameters of ABR signals. In this process, the biological parameters of the signal are assessed by utilizing a Finite Impulse Response (FIR) adaptive filter in which its adaptation procedure is performed based on the correntropy concept. The proposed method is applied on a set of ABR signals recorded in response to three stimuli of /da/, /ba/, and /ga/, and then its performances are compared with an existing state-of-the-art technique. Results: The results show that the proposed method can significantly increase the accuracy of estimating the parameters in stable stimulations (/da/, /ba/) for major positive and negative peaks. This improvement is more significant (up to 2-3 times) for /ba/ stimulus and especially in major positive peaks. However, in other peaks, the improvements also occurred in smaller amounts. However, for unstable stimuli (/ga/), no significant improvement was achieved. Discussion: Increasing the accuracy performance of the proposed method for detecting the stable stimuli (while its performance remains unchanged) for detecting unstable stimuli indicates its effectiveness in automated clinical analysis of ABR signals.

ISSUES OF THE TEAM OF DOCTORS INVOLVED IN ASSISTANCE AN EXTREMELY PREMATURE INFANT WITH CONGENITAL SCOLIOSIS (CLINICAL CASE)

The number of newborns who already have various malformations at birth is, according to WHO data, 2.5- 3%. Almost 1% of them are manifestations of monogenic diseases, about 0.5 % - chromosomal diseases, 1.5-2 % are caused by congenital malformations (СМ) caused by the influence of adverse factors of exogenous and endogenous origin. The frequency of СМ increases by the end of the first year of a child's life and reaches 5-7 % due to the manifestations of undiagnosed malformations of vision, hearing, nervous and endocrine systems at birth. The estimate of the incidence of congenital spinal abnormalities in the general population is 0.13-0.5 / 1000 newborns. About 10-12 % of children have scoliosis. In some children, this pathology is congenital and refers to complex neonatal pathologies of spinal malformations.The relevance and priority of issues of prevention and early treatment of congenital scoliosis are due to the development of severe deformities, disorders in the internal organs, as well as cosmetic defects.The article describes a clinical case of congenital scoliosis in a prematurely born child with another congenital pathology specific to the perinatal period, which was detected and confirmed before the end of the first week of the child's life: respiratory distress syndrome of the newborn, intraventricular hemorrhage grade III, signs of periventricular leukomalacia with discrete hemorrhages in the spinal cord, dimorphic syndrome, anemia of premature babies, metabolic disorders (hyperkalemia), prematurity is 28 weeks.The description of this clinical case raised topical questions that inevitably arose from a team of doctors who were involved in the medical care of a child with extremely low birth weight. The components of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention of the development of hereditary pathology are identified, both at the stage of pregnancy planning and in the prenatal period. The defining role in the complex of measures for the Prevention of congenital and hereditary diseases today belongs to prenatal diagnostics, which makes it possible to prevent the birth of children with severe uncontrolled malformations, socially significant fatal genes, and chromosomal diseases. When providing medical care to children with severe congenital, combined pathology, it is important to discuss the issue of providing palliative care to children.An integral part of making therapeutic decisions about the type and method of medical care for a child is to consider the will of the parents, provided that the opinion of the parents is conscious and based on the comprehensive information received about all possible actions of medical professionals, indicating not only conducive but also adverse consequences in the long term of the life of the sick newborn.

Convergences: Canon and Catholicity

Convergences: Canon and Catholicity

Cochlear Implantation: Concept, Results Outcomes and Quality of Life.

Cochlear implant today are an essential method of auditory rehabilitation in patients with severe to profound hearing loss. Due to the rapid development of implant technology the results have been markedly improved. Today about 80 % of patients can use the telephone and children achieve near to normal hearing and speech development. In consequence, more patients are candidates for a cochlear implant today including those with high frequency deafness and single sided deafness. However, today only 60,000 out of 1 Million CI-candidates in Germany have been implanted so far. In future multi modal universal auditory implants will provide combined electric-mechanical stimulation to make best use of the residual auditory hearing and the electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve. They allow a continuous adaptation of the stimulation strategy onto the given functional status of haircells and auditory nerve fibers especially in cases of progressive hearing loss. Brain computer interfaces will allow the automated fitting and adaptation to the acoustic scene by optimizing the signal processing for best possible auditory performance. Binaural hearing systems will improve directional hearing and speech perception in noise. Advanced implants are composed of individualized electrodes by additive manufacturing which can be inserted atraumaticly by a computer and robot assisted surgery. After insertion they automatically adept to the anatomy of the individual cochlear. These advanced implants are composed with additional integrated biological components for the preservation of residual hearing and regeneration of neural elements to improve the electrode nerve interface. This will allow to increase the number of electrical contacts as a major step towards the bionic ear. This will allow overcoming the principal limits of today's cochlear implant technology. Advanced care models will allow an easy way for the patient towards hearing preservation cochlear implantation under local anesthesia using minimal invasive high precision cochlear implant surgery. These implant systems will become a personal communicator with improved connectivity. Remote care and self-fitting will empower the patient to optimize his own hearing.

Real Time Sign Language Recognition System for Hearing and Speech Impaired People

Abstract: Sign Language is globally used by more than 70 million impaired people to communicate and is characterized by fast, highly articulate motion of hand gesture which is difficult for verbal speakers to understand. This limitation combined with the lack of knowledge about sign language by verbal speakers creates a separation where both parties are unable to effectively communicate, to overcome this limitation we propose a new method for sign language recognition using OpenCV (A python library) which is used for pre-processing images and extracting different skin toned hands from the background. In this method hand gesture are used to make signs which are detected by YOLOv5 algorithm for object detection which is the fastest algorithm till date while Convolutional-Neural-Networks (CNN) are used for training gesture and to classify the images, and further we proposed a system which translates speech into sign language so that the words of the verbal speaker can be transmitted to the deaf/mute. This automated system first detects speech using the JavaScript Web-Speech API and converts it into text because the recognized text is processed using the Natural Language Toolkit and aligns token text with the sign language library (sign language videos) videos according to well-known text and finally shows a compiled output which is displayed through avatar animation for a deaf / dumb person. The proposed system has various advantages like Portability, User-friendly Interface and Voice Module. The software is also very cost-effective which only needs a laptop camera or webcam and hand gesture, system accuracy is compared to high-quality methods and is found to be the best. Keywords: Sign language, Hand gesture, OpenCV, Python library, Image processing, YOLOv5, Object detection, Pose estimation, Machine learning

AAV-ie-K558R mediated cochlear gene therapy and hair cell regeneration

The cochlea consists of multiple types of cells, including hair cells, supporting cells and spiral ganglion neurons, and is responsible for converting mechanical forces into electric signals that enable hearing. Genetic and environmental factors can result in dysfunctions of cochlear and auditory systems. In recent years, gene therapy has emerged as a promising treatment in animal deafness models. One major challenge of the gene therapy for deafness is to effectively deliver genes to specific cells of cochleae. Here, we screened and identified an AAV-ie mutant, AAV-ie-K558R, that transduces hair cells and supporting cells in the cochleae of neonatal mice with high efficiency. AAV-ie-K558R is a safe vector with no obvious deficits in the hearing system. We found that AAV-ie-K558R can partially restore the hearing loss in Prestin KO mice and, importantly, deliver Atoh1 into cochlear supporting cells to generate hair cell-like cells. Our results demonstrate the clinical potential of AAV-ie-K558R for treating the hearing loss caused by hair cell death.

Post-COVID-19 Impairment of the Senses of Smell, Taste, Hearing, and Balance.

Background: Various symptoms have been associated with COVID-19, but little is known about the impacts of COVID-19 on the sensory system, risk factors, and the duration of symptoms. This study assesses olfactory, gustatory, hearing, and vestibular systems after COVID-19. Methods: This cross-sectional, single-center study involved 50 patients one to six months after COVID-19 and reports their patient records and the extent, onset, and duration of olfactory, gustatory, hearing, and balance disorders using questionnaires during and after COVID-19. Sensory symptoms were objectively studied using the following clinical tests after COVID-19 Sniffin’ Sticks, taste tests, tone/speech audiometry, and video head impulse test. Results: Post-COVID-19-patients were suffering from olfactory and gustatory impairment for up to six months. According to the Dizziness Handicap Inventory, balance disorders were less noticed: Overall, about 40% of the patients during COVID-19 and nearly all patients recovered within six months. After COVID-19, clinical tests revealed that 75% were suffering from hyposomnia/anosmia, and 20% of all patients reported mild hypogeusia for up to six months. Vestibular disorders and hearing impairment rarely/did not occur. Females were significantly more affected by sensory impairments than males. Conclusions: COVID-19 particularly caused olfactory and gustatory impairment; balance disorders were present too; vestibular and auditory symptoms were negligible.

The Analysis of Mammalian Hearing Systems Supports the Hypothesis That Criticality Favors Neuronal Information Representation but Not Computation.

In the neighborhood of critical states, distinct materials exhibit the same physical behavior, expressed by common simple laws among measurable observables, hence rendering a more detailed analysis of the individual systems obsolete. It is a widespread view that critical states are fundamental to neuroscience and directly favor computation. We argue here that from an evolutionary point of view, critical points seem indeed to be a natural phenomenon. Using mammalian hearing as our example, we show, however, explicitly that criticality does not describe the proper computational process and thus is only indirectly related to the computation in neural systems.

Audiological findings in individuals diagnosed with COVID-19

PurposeIt is thought that COVID-19 may cause hearing loss, but its effects on the hearing system are not clear. This study aimed to reveal the effects of COVID-19 on the auditory system by using various audiological measurement methods in individuals diagnosed with COVID-19. MethodsThirty individuals between the ages of 18–45, who were diagnosed with COVID-19 by PCR at least one month ago, and had no pre-COVID-19 hearing loss complaints, constituted the test group. Thirty individuals aged between 18 and 30 years and who had no history of hearing loss constituted the control group. Audiological evaluations of all participants were made with pure-tone audiometry, high-frequency audiometry, transient-evoked otoacoustic emission (TEOAE), distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE), and auditory brainstem response (ABR) measurements. ResultsA significant difference was found between the groups at all high frequencies between 4 and 14 kHz (p < 0.05). TEOAE amplitudes at 1500 Hz, 2000 Hz and 4000 Hz frequencies and DPOAE amplitudes at 4003 Hz and higher frequencies were significantly lower in the test group (p < 0.05). While there was a significant difference between the I, III and V absolute latencies between the groups (p < 0.05), there was no significant difference between the I-III, III-V and I-V interpeak latencies (p > 0.05) as a result of the ABR test. ConclusionThis study showed that COVID-19 can cause cochlear damage, especially at high frequencies. More studies are needed to determine the effects of COVID-19 on the auditory system.

Transient otoacoustic emissions with contralateral suppression findings in COVID-19 patients

ObjectiveThe virus called SARS-CoV-2, which is known as the first epidemic of the twenty-first century, is known to affect the central and peripheral nervous system. In the literature, complaints of sudden hearing loss, tinnitus, and vertigo have been reported in the patients.The aim of this study is to objectively reveal the effect of the coronavirus disease 2019 on the efferent auditory system.MethodsTwenty-three participants, who had the coronavirus disease 2019, were included in the study group, while 20 healthy participants were included in the control group. The test of transient otoacoustic emissions with contralateral suppression was applied to individuals who had normal audiological and immitansmetric evaluations findings.ResultsIn audiological evaluation, a significant difference was observed between the groups in the 125–500 Hz low frequency range and 4 kHz–12.5 kHz high frequency range. In the test of TEOAE and TEOAE with contralateral suppression, a significant difference was observed between the groups at 4 kHz.ConclusionThe effect of the coronavirus disease 2019 on the peripheral hearing system has been shown. Its effect on the efferent hearing system in the high frequency region has been revealed.

History of the World Hearing Day

Background According to recent data from the World Health Organization from 2019, approximately 466 million people are living with a disabling hearing loss, most of them in low- and middle-income countries. Undiagnosed and untreated hearing disorders are proven to be a leading cause for morbidity and cost annually $750 billion. Hearing disorders and hearing loss are believed to higher their prevalence due to the fact that a wide majority of people are exposed to high noises and lack of timely and adequate hearing diagnostics and treatment of ear conditions. Methods Scientific databases – PubMed, SCOPUS and MEDLINE were used to search for the information targeted. The following keywords – World Hearing Day, history, events, prophylaxis, hearing disorders were used. Information from the official websites of the societies involved in celebrating World Hearing Day was included as well. The aim of the following article is to study the history of the event from its foundation till today, aiming to stress out its usefulness. Results and discussion Back in 1995, World Health Assembly passed a resolution WHA48.9, in which attention of the health impact of hearing loss was put – 120 million people worldwide were living with a disabling hearing difficulties. During the World Health Assembly in 2017, with the adoption of the resolution WHA70.13, hearing care and hearing loss were highlighted as a public health issue. Authors claim that most of the causes for hearing loss are preventable. World Hearing Day is an international campaign, organized annually by the Office of Prevention of Blindness and Deafness of the World Health Organization (WHO) on March, 3rd. Organizers claim that World Hearing Day is the largest global awareness event, aiming to bring society’s attention to ear and hearing disorders. It addresses hearing loss. First activities, connected with the World Hearing Day, took place in 2007, after the Beijing Declaration during the 1st International Conference on Prevention and Rehabilitation of Hearing Loss. Conclusions Legislative measures are need to be undertaken to stress even further the importance of proper hearing. In the era of COVID-19 pandemic and its proven consequences on the hearing and vestibular system, urgent measures for timely diagnostics, treatment and rehabilitation are more than ever needed.

The Antenna Base Plays a Crucial Role in Mosquito Courtship Behavior

Mosquitoes are vectors of pathogens that cause diseases like malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, chikungunya and Zika. For mosquito control it is crucial to understand their hearing system, as mosquitoes’ courting behavior is mostly auditory. Many nonlinear characteristics of the mosquito hearing organ have been observed through behavioral studies and neural measurements. These enable mosquitoes to detect and synchronize to other mosquitoes. Many hypotheses concerning the role of the flagellum and the fibrillae of the antenna in mosquito hearing have been made, and neural processes have been considered as the origin of the nonlinearities. In this study we introduce a geometric model based on the morphology of the mosquito antenna base. The model produces many of the observed nonlinear characteristics, providing evidence that the base of the antenna plays a crucial role in mosquito hearing. Even without neural processing, the antenna response to sound produces behaviorally relevant cues that can inform about the presence, location, and sex of other mosquitoes.

COVID-19 Resulting in Potential Hearing Damage of Rodents

Abstract Objectives To find out the association between the sensorineural hearing loss and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the expression of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 in hamsters and mice was detected. Design Using the public data from the National Center for Biotechnology Information and the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data, the expression of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 at the transcriptomic, DNA, and protein levels of ACE2 in the brain, inner ear, and muscle from the golden Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) and mice (Mus musculus) was assessed. Results We identified ACE2 and TMPRSS2 expressed at different levels in the inner ear and brain at DNA and transcriptomic levels of both mice and hamsters. The protein expression from the brain and inner ear showed a similar pattern, while the expression of ACE2 from the inner ear was relatively higher than that from the muscle. Conclusion Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) shows genetic potential to infect the hearing system of rodents and lead to sudden sensorineural hearing loss that can be used as a characteristic to detect asymptomatic patients of COVID-19.