Auditory processing skills and hearing aid satisfaction in a sample of older adults.

The present study investigated the relationship between central auditory processing skills and satisfaction with hearing aids in a hearing-impaired geriatric sample of 58 adult wearers of hearing aids who were between the ages of 65 and 91 years. Analysis suggests the importance of adding central auditory tasks such as compressed speech or dichotic listening tasks to the evaluation of candidacy for hearing aids. This could lead to the better understanding of satisfaction with amplification by the geriatric population.

Perception of time-altered monosyllables in a specific group of phonologically disordered children.

Temporal auditory processing of open (e.g. pie) versus closed (e.g. pipe) syllables in a specific group of phonologically impaired children who deleted word-final consonants and normal phonologically developing children between the ages of 4 and 7 yr was investigated. The disordered group demonstrated significantly poorer discrimination at the faster but not slower rates of speech. Imitation of word-final consonants did not significantly increase in the disordered subjects when presented with time-expanded speech although certain individuals made noticeable improvements. Discussion of temporal auditory processing deficits from a neuropsychological perspective which suggests different etiologies is offered.

Body position and acoustic admittance.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of body position on the acoustic admittance of the normal middle ear mechanism. Susceptance tympanograms were obtained and their values recorded to determine the significance of any differences among five different body positions. A positive pressure shift was found to occur at the point of maximum compliance between the upright body position and the remaining four recumbent body positions. Attention should be given to the effects that differing body positions have on acoustic admittance whenever assessment of this nature is anticipated.

Acoustic immittance testing of the Eustachian tube.

The pathophysiological relationship of Eustachian tube dysfunction to middle ear effusion is widely accepted. Several techniques have been developed for utilizing the clinical measurements of acoustic immittance to assess the ventilatory status of the Eustachian tube. This article describes the array of procedures currently in use as well as a selection of procedures being developed for clinical assessment of the Eustachian tube. Most studies in this area have concentrated on measurements of normal function. Clinicians and researchers are encouraged to increase the application of these techniques in order to broaden the data base that is currently available concerning normal and pathological function.

A brief review of the use of both tympanometric pressure equalization and middle-ear function in assessing eustachian tube patency.

This paper reviews recent studies on the tympanometric assessment of Eustachian tube patency involving the traditional technique of assessing pressure equilibration plus the analysis of changes in middle-ear ability to transmit energy through its system (middle-ear function). Normative data in the literature on 89 pediatric ears and 48 adult ears are discussed. The data illustrated a significant loss of information if pressure change is measured without consideration of middle-ear function change. Recommendations for the clinic are given and the need stated for extending such work to the pathological ear.

Estimation of auditory sensitivity from the acoustic reflex with mentally deficient children.

This study applied conventional pure-tone and/or speech audiometric screening, tympanometry, and acoustic reflex threshold (ART) testing to 33 mentally deficient children (I.Q. less than 25), who nevertheless exhibited ability to respond to conventional screening. The SPAR procedure (Jerger et al, J. Speech Hear. Dis., 1974, 39, 11-22) and bivariate plotting procedures (Margolis and Fox, J. Speech Hear. Res., 1977, 20, 241-253) were used to estimate hearing loss (normal, mild-moderate, severe) from ipsilateral and/or contralateral ART's to pure-tone and to broadband noise stimuli. Both techniques were found to be useful, the bivariate plotting procedure yielding somewhat more accurate estimates of hearing loss. However, caution was suggested when using these techniques with Ss who have passed traditional audiometric screening.

Revision behaviors of normal and hearing-impaired children.

Children's response to communicative failure was evaluated in terms of linguistic and nonlinguistic behaviors. Six hearing-impaired and six normal-hearing children served as subjects. Each group was comprised of three children at each of brown's language stages I and III. Each child was engaged in spontaneous play and received the communicative failure cure "What?" on 20 occasions. Videorecorded responses were scored as repetitions, revisions, or no responses. Revisions were analyzed and categorized into one of nine categories according to linguistic and nonlinguistic structures. Results revealed that both groups of subjects used linguistic and nonlinguistic information in this revision behavior. However, the two groups differed in their pattern of revision behaviors. The hearing-impaired subjects, unlike the normal-hearing subjects, used less linguistic revision behaviors regardless of language development. Findings showed that the nonlinguistic as well as linguistic information may be important considerations when evaluating language with the hearing impaired.

Consonant identification in quiet and in noise with the normal and the sensorineural hearing-impaired.

This study determined the effect on consonant identification of speech-to-noise ratio; the California Consonant Test (CCT) was given to 20 normal-hearing young adults and 14 patients (mm age: 56.1 yrs) with sloping sensorineural hearing losses, SRT greater than 20 db, and DS less than 90% at MCL. The CCT was given individually at MCL in quiet and at that level in broad-band noise adjusted to yield 20, 10, 0, and -10 db S/N, consecutively. Mean percent-correct scores for the patients were 50, 44, 40, 38, and 32 in order, and were 97, 90, 73, 47, and 37 for the controls. Differences were significant between groups except for the 2 most difficult ratios. For the patients, regression analysis revealed that the slope of the line of best fit was not significantly different from zero. Confusion matrices constructed for each of the 5 noise conditions for each group revealed that at S/N of 10 db, normal Ss began consistent and systematic substitutions in manner and in place of articulation, never in voicing or nasality. This pattern was in general followed by the patients, except that substantial confusions existed also at the 2 easiest ratios.

A systematic investigation of measurement parameters of acoustic-reflex adaptation.

Acoustic-reflex adaptation was assessed in 49 normal ears. Acoustic reflexes were elicited by the use of contralateral stimulation at four frequencies and five sensation levels. The results displayed the effects of stimulus frequency and sensation level on the amount of acoustic-reflex adaptation. Suggestions are presented for clinical procedures for obtaining contralateral acoustic reflex adaptation measures.

An examination of variables involved in tympanometric assessment of eustachian tube function in adults.

Eustachian tube function was assessed tympanometrically in a group of normal adults. A pressure-swallow technique of assessing Eustachian tube ventilatory function was administered with positive and negative induced pressures in the range of +/- 200 mm to +/- 400 mm H2O. This study indicated the relative efficiency of measurement of Eustachian tube function under each of the experimental conditions. Recommendations of procedures for further clinical data collection are presented.

Fluorescent staining of hair cells with ethidium bromide.

The present study evaluated ethidium bromide, a nucleic acid-specific fluorescing stain for cochlear applications. Tissue exposed to acoustic stimulation did not exhibit the loss of fluorescence in hair cells described in studies on other fluorescing stains. The ethidium bromide fluorescence technique was, however, found to be useful in detecting subtle damage in cell nuclei even before gross structural alterations in cochlear cytoarchitecture appeared. The implications of the use to ethidium bromide staining for histologists are discussed.

Discrimination of speech intensity differences via vibrotactile stimulation.

This study investigated vibrotactile difference limen judgments for intensity using certain speech signals as stimuli. The variables under investigation were those of stimulus presentation level, direction of intensity increment or decrement within each paired-comparison stimulus complex, and the spectral composition of the speech signals. The results indicate that the level of stimulus presentation did not affect difference limen decisions among any of the sensation levels utilized. The largest most consistent effect upon difference limen judgments was in the direction of intensity change. The difference limen judgments were smaller when the second stimulus of the pair was of less intensity than the first. There was no effect upon difference limen decision as the result of stimuli having different spectral compositions.

Tympanometric assessment of eustachian tube patency in children.

Eustachian tube patency was assessed tympanometrically in a group of otologically normal children at a pediatric outpatient clinic. A pressure-swallow technique of assessing eustachian tube patency was administered. The results indicated the importance of the examination of both middle ear pressure and function changes in the evaluation of eustachian tube test results.