Higher Word Recognition Scores Research Articles

Comparison of Cortical Auditory Evoked Potential Findings in Presbycusis with Low and High Word Recognition Score.

Deteriorated speech understanding is a common complaint in elderly people, and behavioral tests are used for routine clinical assessment of this problem. Cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEPs) are frequently used for assessing speech detection and discrimination abilities of the elderly, and give promise for differential diagnosis of speech understanding problems. The aim of the study was to compare the P1, N1, and P2 CAEP latencies and amplitudes in presbycusis with low and high word recognition score (WRS). A cross-sectional study design was used for the study. Two groups were formed from the patients with presbycusis based on their scores on the speech recognition test. Fifty-seven elderly volunteers participated in the study. The first group composed of 27 participants with high WRS, the other group composed of 30 participants with low WRS. The CAEP waves were recorded from these participants using speech signals. Latencies and amplitudes of P1-N1-P2 waves of the two groups were compared with the t-test statistic. There were significant prolongation of P1 and N1 latencies in presbycusis with low WRS when compared with presbycusis with a relatively high word score (p < 0.05). According to the result of the research, P1 and N1 latencies of presbycusis with low WRS were longer than the participants with high WRS. Factors affecting peripheral auditory system, such as stimulus sensation level, might be responsible for P1 and N1 latency prolongation of the low WRS group.

The Bonebridge in Adults with Mixed and Conductive Hearing Loss: Audiological and Quality of Life Outcomes

Background: Considering that hearing loss has a significant impact on social functioning, everyday activity and a person’s emotional state, one of the most important goals of hearing rehabilitation with bone conduction devices is improvement in a patient’s quality of life. Objectives: To measure self-assessed quality of life in patients implanted with the Bonebridge, a bone conduction device. Method: Prospective, observational, longitudinal study with one treatment group. Twenty-one patients with mixed or conductive hearing loss were included, and each individual served as its own control. The Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB) was used to measure patient-reported quality of life before intervention and at 3 and 6 months after activation of the device. At the same time frames, pure-tone audiometry and speech understanding in quiet and in noise were tested. Results: Hearing-specific quality of life increased significantly after intervention and remained stable up to 6 months. Both word recognition in quiet and speech reception threshold in noise were significantly better after 6 months compared to before surgery. Outcomes of aided speech understanding were independent of initial bone conduction thresholds and equally high (word recognition score >75%) across the device’s indication range. Conclusions: The Bonebridge provides not only significant audiological benefit in both speech understanding in quiet and in noise, but also increases self-perceived quality of life in patients suffering from mixed and conductive hearing loss. Together with a very low rate and minor nature of adverse events, it is the state-of-the-art solution for hearing rehabilitation in patients with mixed or conductive hearing loss up to a bone conduction threshold of 45 dB HL.

Comparison of Cortical Auditory Evoked Potential Findings in Presbycusis with Low and High Word Recognition Score

Background: Deteriorated speech understanding is a common complaint in elderly people, and behavioraltests are used for routine clinical assessment of this problem. Cortical auditory evoked potentials(CAEPs) are frequently used for assessing speech detection and discrimination abilities of the elderly,and give promise for differential diagnosis of speech understanding problems.&lt;br /&gt;Purpose: The aim of the study was to compare the P1, N1, and P2 CAEP latencies and amplitudes inpresbycusis with low and high word recognition score (WRS).&lt;br /&gt;Research Design: A cross-sectional study design was used for the study. Two groups were formed fromthe patients with presbycusis based on their scores on the speech recognition test.&lt;br /&gt;Study Sample: Fifty-seven elderly volunteers participated in the study. The first group composed of 27participants with high WRS, the other group composed of 30 participants with low WRS.&lt;br /&gt;Data Collection and Analysis: The CAEP waves were recorded from these participants using speech signals.Latencies and amplitudes of P1-N1-P2 waves of the two groups were compared with the t-test statistic.&lt;br /&gt;Results: There were significant prolongation of P1 and N1 latencies in presbycusis with low WRS whencompared with presbycusis with a relatively high word score (p &lt; 0.05).&lt;br /&gt;Conclusion: According to the result of the research, P1 and N1 latencies of presbycusis with low WRSwere longer than the participants with high WRS. Factors affecting peripheral auditory system, such asstimulus sensation level, might be responsible for P1 and N1 latency prolongation of the low WRS group.&lt;br /&gt;

Comparison of Cortical Auditory Evoked Potential Findings in Presbycusis with Low and High Word-Recognition Score

Background: Deteriorated speech understanding is a common complaint in elderly people, and behavioraltests are used for routine clinical assessment of this problem. Cortical auditory evoked potentials(CAEPs) are frequently used for assessing speech detection and discrimination abilities of the elderly,and give promise for differential diagnosis of speech-understanding problems.&lt;br /&gt;Purpose: The aim of the study was to compare the P1, N1, and P2 CAEP latencies and amplitudes inpresbycusis with low and high word recognition score (WRS).&lt;br /&gt;Research Design: A cross-sectional study design was used for the study. Two groups were formed fromthe patients with presbycusis based on their scores on the speech-recognition test.&lt;br /&gt;Study Sample: Fifty-seven elderly volunteers participated in the study. The first group composed of 27participants with high WRS, the other group composed of 30 participants with low WRS.&lt;br /&gt;Data Collection and Analysis: The CAEP waves were recorded from these participants using speech signals.Latencies and amplitudes of P1-N1-P2 waves of the two groups were compared with the t-test statistic.&lt;br /&gt;Results: There were significant prolongation of P1 and N1 latencies in presbycusis with low WRS whencompared with presbycusis with a relatively high word score (p &lt; 0.05).&lt;br /&gt;Conclusion: According to the result of the research, P1 and N1 latencies of presbycusis with low WRSwere longer than the participants with high WRS. Factors affecting peripheral auditory system, such asstimulus sensation level, might be responsible for P1 and N1 latency prolongation of the low WRS group.&lt;br /&gt;

Influence of Floating-Mass Transducer Coupling Efficiency for Active Middle-Ear Implants on Speech Recognition.

The efficiency of vibroplasty (coupler-floating mass transducer [FMT] assembly) can be monitored by direct stimulation of the inner ear through the active middle-ear implant system and comparison of the vibroplasty in vivo threshold and the postoperative bone-conduction pure-tone threshold. The aim of this study was to compare the vibroplasty in vivo threshold with the postoperative speech recognition in patients with a high preoperative maximum word recognition score. Retrospective cohort study of German-speaking patients implanted with a vibrating ossicular prosthesis (VORP) 502 or VORP 503 and high preoperative maximum word recognition score between the years of 2011 and 2015. Multicenter study of four German centers. Twenty-three active middle-ear implant users. Rehabilitative. Bone-conduction pure-tone and vibroplasty thresholds, postoperative aided word recognition score (WRS) at 65 dB SPL (sound pressure level) and preoperative maximum WRS with Freiburg monosyllabic words. The mean postoperative aided WRS at 65 dB SPL was 82%. An increasing difference between vibroplasty thresholds and bone-conduction thresholds was associated with a higher discrepancy between the unaided maximum WRS and the postoperative aided WRS. Only if this difference was less than 20 dB, an articulation index of 0.5 (WRS = 75%) or more was achieved. Audiological outcome after vibroplasty depends on the coupling efficiency reflected by the vibroplasty threshold.

Development and achievement of hearing-aid fitting strategy based on loudness model

The purpose of this study was to develop a hearing‐aid fitting strategy (named NYMU strategy), which aimed to compensate the loudness perception of hearing‐impaired individuals as that of normal‐hearing individuals. The loudness growth curve of normal‐hearing individuals was derived by the equal loudness contour. The loudness growth curve of hearing‐impaired individuals was constructed by fitting the curve through three points, which were the uncomfortable loudness level, the most comfortable loudness level, and the pure‐tone threshold of hearing‐impaired individuals for each frequency band. The NYMU strategy primarily calculated the hearing‐aid gain for each frequency band according to the differences between the loudness growth curve of normal‐hearing individuals and that of hearing‐impaired individuals; the gain was set to guarantee the audibility of the lowest boundary of speech intensity with normal vocal effort. Furthermore, the NYMU strategy adopted an innovative approach, which adjusted the point of the most comfortable loudness level to fine‐tuning the loudness growth curve, and it resulted in the fine‐tuning gain of each band. The preliminary results reveal that the NYMU strategy provides more gain above 4,000 Hz and under 500 Hz, compared with the NAL‐NL1 strategy. In addition, three of five subjects get higher word recognition scores when they were fitted by the NYUM strategy rather than the NAL‐NL1 strategy.

Benefit From, Satisfaction With, and Cost-Effectiveness of Three Different Hearing Aid Technologies.

Clinical decision-making has become more complex as newer, more costly, hearing aid (HA) technologies become available. The expanding array of more expensive HAs demands that clinical researchers continue to justify the value of these instruments relative to the substantial increase in cost to both the provider and consumer.In the present report, 25 current conventional HA users with adult onset of sensorineural hearing loss were fitted with: (a) a one-channel linear HA; (b) a two-channel, nonlinear HA; and (c) a seven-band, two-channel digital signal processing (DSP) HA. All instruments were mini behind-the-ear units with identifying information removed from the cases. Subjects wore each HA for at least a 1-month period.A set of laboratory (Speech Perception in Noise [SPIN] test; audibility index calculated from real-ear measurements) and self-report (Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit; Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly/Adults; Knowles Hearing Aid Satisfaction Survey; preference ratings) outcome measures were used to evaluate the benefit from, satisfaction with, and cost-effectiveness of each test HA. As expected, there were statistically significant differences between unaided and aided conditions across HAs.Although the DSP instrument yielded significantly higher word recognition scores on the SPIN test, no differences were observed among the test HAs for the standardized self-report measures. In contrast, however, more than 75% of the subjects preferred the "higher end" instruments. Yet, 33% of the subjects changed their preference for the "higher end" instruments after being informed of costs. A cost-effectiveness model for evaluating the relationship between HA retail purchase price and improvements in performance/benefit is presented.