Comparison of Perinatal, Newborn, and Audiometry Results of COVID-19 Pregnant Women.

Objective: There are studies on the perinatal outcomes of COVID-19, but the audiometric effects of the maternal immune system against COVID-19 in the newborn are not clear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between the perinatal outcomes of COVID-19 positive pregnant women and the audiological outcomes of newborns. Materials and Methods: This retrospective, single-center cohort study was conducted with 65 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) positive pregnant women and newborns and 66 normal pregnant women and newborns who were admitted between January 2020-December 2021. Pregnancy data, perinatal outcomes, and newborn hearing test results of pregnant women and newborns were recorded and compared. Results: A total of 131 patients were enrolled in the study. The number of normal pregnant women was 66 (50.4%) and the number of pregnant women who had COVID-19 disease was 65 (49.6%). In general, gestational week, age, parity, biochemical parameters, duration of hospital stay, week of delivery, fetal weight, and apgar scores were compared between pregnant women with COVID-19 and normal. White blood cell (WBC), neutrophil, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and C-reactive protein (CRP) parameters were found to be significantly higher, and lymphocyte and neutrophil/lymphocyte (N/L) ratios were significantly lower (p < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups (χ 2=0.001; p = 1,000). The normal delivery status, the normal delivery rate in patients with COVID-19 was found to be statistically significantly higher than the cesarean section delivery status (p = 0.012). In the statistical comparison between the COVID-19 and normal pregnant groups in the cesarean section group, the gestational week, delivery week, and apgar1 scores of the pregnant women with COVID-19 were found to be significantly higher. There was no statistically significant difference between the distributions of the rate of infants with hearing impairment in the comparison with hearing tests in pregnant women with COVID-19 (n=1) and normal pregnant women (n=1) (χ 2=0.001; p = 1,000). Conclusion: Although the negative effects of COVID-19 on pregnancy outcomes are rare, it was determined that there was no increased audiological risk factor, and the most important predictor of COVID-19 was lymphopenia.

Online Simulation Education for Audiometry Training.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this clinical focus article was to describe a new online simulation program for pure-tone audiometry. METHOD: Fictional but realistic patient profiles and testing environments were created to teach students about hearing screening protocols and pure-tone audiology. The diversity of the demographics of the United States is represented throughout the program. The web app was created using HTML/JS/CSS with a Flask server backend and MySQL database. RESULTS: The program allows students to learn the process of conducting a hearing screening and measuring audiometric thresholds using a web-based virtual clinical audiometer. The virtual audiometer includes standard audiometer features and allows for instruction based on standard guidelines. The diversity of the patients within the simulation program allows for discussions of diversity to be woven throughout the curriculum. CONCLUSIONS: The new simulation program is designed for use as a clinical training tool enabling undergraduate and graduate students to actively participate in hearing screening testing and pure-tone audiometry using any web browser. The program is also designed with the intent to improve pedagogical outcomes at the undergraduate and graduate level for communication sciences and disorders education for pure-tone audiometry by providing instructors with content that focuses on the diversity that is represented in the demographics of the United States.

Telemedicine for Patients With Unilateral Sudden Hearing Loss in the COVID-19 Era.

Importance: Developing a telemedicine tool to discriminate between patients who need urgent treatment for sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) from those who do not takes on special importance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Objective: To explore the feasibility of a telemedicine model to assist in the evaluation of new-onset unilateral sudden hearing loss (SHL) among patients who do not have access to medical resources, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design, Setting, and Participants: This prospective cohort investigation of a telemedicine model was conducted at a tertiary referral medical center between May 2020 and January 2021, with the interpreting physician blinded to the results of formal audiograms. The study included a consecutive sample of adult patients (aged ≥18 years) referred to the otolaryngology emergency department in our medical center with the chief complaint of new-onset unilateral SHL. Interventions: The telemedicine model comprised 2 sequential steps: a Weber test using the Hum Test and a smartphone-based vibration, and uHear app-based audiometry. Main Outcomes and Measures: Discrimination between patients with and without SSNHL by using the telemedicine model. All diagnoses subsequently confirmed by a formal audiogram. Results: Fifty-one patients with new-onset unilateral SHL participated in the study study (median age, 45 [range, 18-76] years; 28 [54.9%] men). The sensitivity and specificity of the telemedicine model for fulfilling the audiometric criteria of SSNHL (loss of ≥30 dB in ≥3 consecutive frequencies) were 100% (95% CI, 84%-100%) and 73% (95% CI, 54%-88%), respectively. The PPV was 72% (95% CI, 53%-87%), the NPV was 100% (95% CI, 85%-100%), and the accuracy was 84.3% (95% CI, 71%-93%). Although 8 participants had false-positive results, all of them had SSNHL that did not meet the full audiometric criteria. Conclusions and Relevance: The telemedicine model presented in this study for the diagnosis of SSNHL is valid and reliable. It may serve as a primary tool for the discrimination between patients in need of urgent care for SSNHL from those who are not, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Implementation of Mobile Audiometry During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the utility of portable audiometry became more apparent as elective procedures were deferred in an effort to limit exposure to health care providers. Herein, we retrospectively evaluated mobile-based audiometry in the emergency department and outpatient otology and audiology clinics. Air conduction thresholds with mobile audiometry were within 5 dB in 66% of tests (95% CI, 62.8%-69.09%) and within 10 dB in 84% of tests (95% CI, 81.4%-86.2%) as compared with conventional audiometry. No significant differences were noted between mobile-based and conventional audiometry at any frequencies, except 8 kHz (P < .05). The sensitivity and specificity for screening for hearing loss were 94.3% (95% CI, 91.9%-96.83%) and 92.3% (95% CI, 90.1%-94.4%), respectively. While automated threshold audiometry does not replace conventional audiometry, mobile audiometry is a promising screening tool when conventional audiometry is not available.

The effect of coronavirus disease 2019 on the hearing system.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate different auditory regions with audiological tests, based on the presumption that there may be damage to the structures in the hearing system after coronavirus disease 2019. METHODS: Twenty individuals with no history of coronavirus disease 2019 and 27 individuals diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 were compared. Pure tone, speech and extended high-frequency audiometry, acoustic immitansmetry, transient evoked and distortion product otoacoustic emissions testing, and auditory brainstem response testing were conducted. RESULTS: The pure tone audiometry and extended high-frequency mean threshold values were higher in the coronavirus disease 2019 group. The transient evoked otoacoustic emissions signal-to-noise ratios were bilaterally lower at 4 kHz in individuals with a coronavirus disease 2019 history. In the auditory brainstem response test, only the interpeak latencies of waves III-V were significantly different between groups. CONCLUSION: Coronavirus disease 2019 may cause damage to the hearing system. Patients should be followed up in the long term with advanced audiological evaluation methods in order to determine the extent and level of damage.

Telemedicine in Audiology. Best practice recommendations from the French Society of Audiology (SFA) and the French Society of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (SFORL).

OBJECTIVES: Access to diagnosis and treatments for auditory disorders and related pathologies has regressed in France during the COVID-19 pandemic, posing a risk to the patient's chance of recovery. This best practice recommendations guide aims to list the existing technological solutions for the remote examination of a patient with hearing complaint, and to outline their benefits and, where applicable, their limitations. METHODS: The recommendations were developed both from the clinical experience of the medical experts who drafted the guide, and from an extensive review of the literature dealing with clinical practice recommendations for tele-audiology. Tele-audiometry solutions were identified on the basis of a search engine query carried out in April 2020, prior to verification of their availability on the European market. RESULTS: Video otoscopy solutions allow for the teletransmission of images compatible with a high-quality diagnosis, either by connecting via internet to a tele-health platform or using a smartphone or a tablet with an iOS or Android operating system. Using the same telecommunication methods, it is possible to remotely conduct a pure-tone audiometry test in accordance with standard practice, a speech-in-quiet or a speech-in-noise audiometry test, as well as objective measures of hearing. Clinical and paraclinical examinations can be accessed by the physician to be interpreted on a deferred basis (asynchronous tele-audiology). Examinations can also be conducted in real time in a patient, at any age of life, as long as a caregiver can be present during the installation of the transducers or the acoumetry. Tele-audiology solutions also find application in the remote training of future healthcare professionals involved in the management of deafness and hearing impairment. CONCLUSION: Under French law, tele-otoscopy is a medical procedure that is either a tele-expertise (asynchronous adive) or a teleconsultation act (synchronous advice). Subjective and objective evaluation of the patient's hearing functions can be done remotely provided that the listed precautions are respected.

New type of corona virus induced acute otitis media in adult.

Since late December 2019, a new type of coronavirus (CIVID-19) causing a cluster of respiratory infections was first identified in Wuhan-China. And it disseminated to all countries. Generally, COVID-19 cases have fever, cough, respiratory distress findings (dyspnoea, intercostal retraction, cyanosis etc.). In this paper, we have presented an adult otitis media case whom infected with COVID-19, but she have not any classical COVID-19 symptoms.