ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to verify the influence of speech stimulus presentation and speed on auditory recognition in cochlear implant (CI) users with poorer performance. METHODS: The cross-sectional observational study applied auditory speech perception tests to fifteen adults, using three different ways of presenting the stimulus, in the absence of competitive noise: monitored live voice (MLV); recorded speech at typical speed (RSTS); recorded speech at slow speed (RSSS). The scores were assessed using the Percent Sentence Recognition Index (PSRI). The data were inferentially analysed using the Friedman and Wilcoxon tests with a 95% confidence interval and 5% significance level (p < 0.05). RESULTS: The mean age was 41.1 years, the mean duration of CI use was 11.4 years, and the mean hearing threshold was 29.7 ± 5.9 dBHL. Test performance, as determined by the PSRI, was MLV = 42.4 ± 17.9%; RSTS = 20.3 ± 14.3%; RSSS = 40.6 ± 20.7%. There was a significant difference identified for RSTS compared to MLV and RSSS. CONCLUSION: The way the stimulus is presented and the speed at which it is presented enable greater auditory speech recognition in CI users, thus favouring comprehension when the tests are applied in the MLV and RSSS modalities.
ABSTRACT
A possibilidade de realizar o implante coclear em crianças pequenas torna necessário o uso de medidas objetivas para auxiliar a programação do processador de fala. Telemetria é a propriedade que permite, no Nucleus 24®, a obtenção do potencial de ação composto evocado do VIII par (EAP) utilizando o implante como instrumento de estimulação e gravação para o estudo das propriedades neurais remanescentes. OBJETIVO: Descrever a utilização do sistema de telemetria para a gravação do EAP, caracterizando as respostas obtidas e a sua prevalência na condição intraoperatória. FORMA DE ESTUDO: clínico com coorte transversal. MATERIAL E MÉTODO: Medidas das impedâncias dos eletrodos e do EAP em um grupo de 17 indivíduos usuários do implante Nucleus 24® durante a cirurgia. Análise das respostas de acordo com a etiologia, o tempo de duração da surdez e a posição dos eletrodos dentro da cóclea. RESULTADOS: Maior prevalência nos eletrodos apicais e limiares mais elevados nos casos de meningite e otosclerose. CONCLUSÃO: A telemetria é eficiente para a verificação da integridade dos eletrodos na condição intraoperatória e para a gravação do EAP, apresentando alta prevalência na população estudada.
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Child, Preschool , Child , Adolescent , Adult , Middle Aged , Cochlear Implants , Evoked Potentials, Auditory/physiology , Action Potentials/physiology , Deafness/physiopathology , Telemetry , Cochlear Implantation , Electric Stimulation , Electrodes , Neural Pathways , Auditory Perception/physiology , Speech Perception/physiology , Deafness/etiology , Deafness/surgeryABSTRACT
UNLABELLED: Cochlear implantation has been recommended for children under 24 months of age. The use of objective measures is needed to help speech processor programming. The electrically evoked compound potential (EAP), which can be assessed by neural response telemetry (NRT), is one of those objective measures. AIM: to determine how often the EAP can be recorded by NRT system during surgery and to describe the responses. STUDY DESIGN: Clinical with transversal cohort. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The impedances and NRT were measured in a group of 17 Nucleus 24 implant users. The responses were analyzed and compared to the etiology, hearing loss duration and electrode array position. RESULTS: The EAP was easily recorded in the apical electrodes and, in otosclerosis and meningitis cases the EAP threshold was higher than in the other etiology cases. CONCLUSIONS: The NRT can be found in 82% of the cases during surgery. The responses obtained may vary according to etiology and the position of electrodes along the cochlea.
Subject(s)
Action Potentials/physiology , Cochlear Implants , Deafness/physiopathology , Evoked Potentials, Auditory/physiology , Telemetry , Adolescent , Adult , Auditory Perception/physiology , Child , Child, Preschool , Cochlear Implantation , Deafness/etiology , Deafness/surgery , Electric Stimulation , Electrodes , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Neural Pathways , Speech Perception/physiologyABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Due to the condition known as middle ear squeeze, scuba diving has become one of the main causes of barotrauma, and the acute form of this condition has been relatively well established. However, there are few reports available on clinical or laboratory findings in divers who practise repeated diving. The objective of the present study was to assess the otological effects of repeated dives. METHOD: This was an observational study conducted on 19 recreational scuba divers, considered to be experienced divers according to the criteria established by the Professional Association of Dive Instructors (PADI). These divers undertook four dives per day on five consecutive days, and their tympanic membranes were assessed using tympanometry and otoscopy. Data were analysed using the chi(2)-test for trend. The level of statistical significance was set at p<0.05 in all analyses. RESULTS: The findings suggest that multiple scuba dives over a short period of time cause damage to the structures of the ear, as evidenced by the tympanometric and otoscopic findings, which revealed cumulative effects of pressure against the tympanic membrane and within the middle ear. This condition was not observed when surface intervals exceeded 11h. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that extending surface intervals may offer protection against middle ear barotrauma in recreational scuba diving.
