Automated hearing loss type classification based on pure tone audiometry data.

Hearing problems are commonly diagnosed with the use of tonal audiometry, which measures a patient's hearing threshold in both air and bone conduction at various frequencies. Results of audiometry tests, usually represented graphically in the form of an audiogram, need to be interpreted by a professional audiologist in order to determine the exact type of hearing loss and administer proper treatment. However, the small number of professionals in the field can severely delay proper diagnosis. The presented work proposes a neural network solution for classification of tonal audiometry data. The solution, based on the Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory architecture, has been devised and evaluated for classifying audiometry results into four classes, representing normal hearing, conductive hearing loss, mixed hearing loss, and sensorineural hearing loss. The network was trained using 15,046 test results analysed and categorised by professional audiologists. The proposed model achieves 99.33% classification accuracy on datasets outside of training. In clinical application, the model allows general practitioners to independently classify tonal audiometry results for patient referral. In addition, the proposed solution provides audiologists and otolaryngologists with access to an AI decision support system that has the potential to reduce their burden, improve diagnostic accuracy, and minimise human error.

Correlation of ENT Symptoms with Age, Sex, and Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Titer in Plasma.

Our objective is to evaluate the correlation between ENT symptom occurrence and antibody titer in convalescent plasma, as well as the influence of age and gender on ENT manifestations of COVID-19. We measured the levels of antibodies in 346 blood donors, who had PCR-confirmed previous infection and met the study inclusion criteria. We recorded otolaryngological symptoms during infection: dry cough, dyspnea, sore throat, smell/taste disturbances, vertigo, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, sudden unilateral loss of hearing, progressive loss of hearing, and tinnitus. In addition, we statistically analyzed the correlation between patients' antibody levels, symptoms, age, and gender using a chi-square test or Fisher exact test. A p-value less than 0.05 determined statistical significance. The mean age of the convalescents was 39.8 ± 9.56 SD and the median of the measured anti-SARS-CoV2 plasma antibodies was 1:368.5. The most common ENT symptoms were smell/taste disturbances (62.43%), dry cough (40.46%), sore throat (24.86%), and dyspnea (23.7%). Smell and taste disturbances were more frequent in younger patients and the marked antibody titer was lower, which was contrary to a higher antibody titer associated with dry cough, dyspnea, and dizziness. Occurrence of sore throat was not correlated with age, sex, or antibody level. There were no significant differences in otological symptoms in female patients. Gender does not affect the occurrence of ENT symptoms. The symptomatic course of SARS-CoV-2 infection is not always associated with higher levels of antibodies in the blood. The age of the infected patients, unlike gender, affects the occurrence of some ENT symptoms.