ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Cochlear implant speech processors compress a wide acoustical dynamic range of sounds into a smaller electrical dynamic range. Some patients show wider electrical dynamic ranges than others and most of them have good speech perception performance. The knowledge of the average psycho-acoustical dynamic range in adults will help the audiologist program children who do not give reliable responses. AIM: This study was conducted to analyse the dynamic ranges of experienced Nucleus 22 cochlear implant users with good speech-perception and patients with poor speech-perception performances. METHOD: Thirty-one maps of adult subjects with Nucleus 22 cochlear implants using the SPEAK processing strategy, in bipolar stimulation were analysed. By the time of this study, all of them had used a cochlear implant for over a year. They were divided into two groups: group 1, composed of those with good speech perception for sentences (better than 80%), and group 2, composed of those with speech perception results for sentences worse than 70%. RESULTS: Results showed that both dynamic ranges were wide in the two groups (average 50 units). CONCLUSION: Although dynamic ranges vary among subjects and electrodes, a lower variability was observed within the group of patients with better speech perception.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of hearing loss after concomitant radiochemotherapy in patients enrolled in a larynx preservation protocol. DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: Consecutive patients treated in a tertiary cancer center hospital between 2001 and 2002. PATIENTS: Eligible subjects included patients prospectively enrolled in an organ preservation protocol based on concomitant radiotherapy and chemotherapy (cisplatin and paclitaxel). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Descriptive analysis of the results of audiologic evaluations, including pure-tone audiometry and immitance audiometry, which were performed prior to and 8 months after treatment. Change in hearing sensitivity was computed relative to baseline measures. Criteria to indicate hearing decrease after the treatment were defined as either a 20-dB decrease at any single test frequency or a 10-dB decrease at any 2 adjacent test frequencies. RESULTS: A total of 11 patients were analyzed. Four patients (36%) had hearing loss after the treatment. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the prevalence of hearing loss after radiochemotherapy in larynx preservation protocols is high (36%); however, it was usually mild and asymptomatic.
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic/therapeutic use , Antineoplastic Agents/therapeutic use , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/drug therapy , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/radiotherapy , Cisplatin/therapeutic use , Hearing Loss, Sensorineural/etiology , Hypopharyngeal Neoplasms/drug therapy , Hypopharyngeal Neoplasms/radiotherapy , Laryngeal Neoplasms/drug therapy , Laryngeal Neoplasms/radiotherapy , Paclitaxel/therapeutic use , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Antineoplastic Agents/adverse effects , Audiometry, Pure-Tone , Auditory Threshold , Cisplatin/adverse effects , Combined Modality Therapy , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Prospective Studies , Radiotherapy/adverse effects , Radiotherapy DosageABSTRACT
Introduçäo: Com o progresso tecnológico dos implantes cocleares, cada vez mais pacientes com audiçäo residual útil säo candidatos em potencial ao implante (Hodges et al., 1997). Apesar disso, näo se sabe ao certo se a introduçäo dos eletrodos poderia destruir as estruturas auditivas envolvidas nessa audiçäo residual. Objetivo: O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar a conservaçäo da audiçäo residual em pacientes usuários de implante coclear multicanal, comparando a audiometria pré e pós-operatória desses indivíduos. Forma de estudo: Clínico prospectivo randomizado. Material e método: Foram estudados 09 pacientes adultos com disacusia sensorioneural bilateral severa a profunda, usuários de Implante coclear Nucleus 22 e 1 paciente usuário de Implante Combi 40+. Resultado: No grupo estudado a conservaçäo auditiva ocorreu em 50 por cento dos indivíduos, quando considerado o critério de conservaçäo de duas ou mais frequências médias (da fala) e em 80 por cento, se for considerada audiçäo também em frequências graves. Conclusäo: A média de queda dos limiares tonais antes e após a cirurgia foi de 4 dB na orelha implantada e 0 dB na orelha contralateral
