摘要:

Objective:To evaluate relations among scores for phonemes, words in isolation, and words in sentences for listeners with normal hearing and for listeners with sensorineural hearing loss.Design:Ten-word lists of consonant-vowel-consonant monosyllables with each list utilizing the same 10 vowels and 20 consonants(Boothroyd, 1968)were devised and recorded. These words also were incorporated into contextually correct sentences and recorded by the same talker. The materials were presented in quiet to 36 listeners with normal hearing and to 876 listeners (1260 ears) with sensorineural hearing loss. Formulae derived byBoothroyd and Nittrouer (1988)to relate scores for phonemes, words, and sentences were applied to the data.Results:Phoneme scoring yielded scores that were on the order of 20% higher than scores for whole words heard in isolation, and scores for words in sentences were about 20% higher than when the same words were heard singly. Relations among scores of phonemes, words in isolation, and words in sentences were very similar to those observed byBoothroyd and Nittrouer(1988). The constants derived from application of their formulae to our data were very similar to the constants Boothroyd and Nittrouer obtained for a different set of materials presented against a noise background to listeners with normal hearing. Further, the constants were similar for our group of listeners with normal hearing and our large sample of listeners with sensorineural hearing loss.Conclusions:1) These findings supportBilger's (1984)unifying assumptions that speech recognition is a single construct; therefore, scores on all speech recognition tests must be related and scores on one speech recognition test should be predictive of scores on other tests. 2) Advantages of phoneme scoring include: A) It increases the sample size of scored items for a given list of words, thereby reducing variability in test results. B) Statistical equivalence of phoneme scores for the same 30 phonemes in each of two isophonemic word lists can be evaluated quickly and easily by applying the binomial distribution model to the scores(Thornton & Raffin, 1978). C) Phoneme scores are reasonably accurate predictors of recognition of words in the contextually correct but generally low probability sentences used in this study.

ISSN:0196-0202    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1997

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Objective:The objective of the study was to determine the major factors that underlie auditory/audiological performance measures in an elderly population, with particular emphasis on finding those factors responsible for speech understanding under specific conditions of interference.Design:Audiological status and auditory performance of a group of elderly (60- to 81-yr-old) and normal-hearing young (18- to 30-yr-old) individuals was determined through a test battery. When present, the hearing loss of elderly subjects was symmetrical in the two ears and, at most, moderate. The battery included tests of speech intelligibility on the word and sentence levels, with and without the presence of interfering speech. In addition to pure-tone and speech reception thresholds, perception of spectrally or temporally distorted speech as well as auditory resolution of frequency, time, and space were tested. Two tests received special consideration: the Speech Perception In Noise Test and the Modified Rhyme Reverberation Test. Taking the overall results as well as various subsets of the results, principal component analyses were conducted to identify major factors underlying auditory performance.Results:The factors extracted by the principal component analyses present a portrayal of the auditory performance profile in which effects of interference, high-frequency hearing, and basic auditory function play a major role. Interference factors include general susceptibility to noise as well as segregation of concurrent speech sounds on the basis of temporal dissimilarities and spatial separation. Comparison of factors extracted from various subsets of tests indicate that factors underlying the decline of the"cocktail party effect" in the elderly are addressed mostly by tests specifically designed to assess speech understanding in spatially distributed babble or in a reverberant environment.Conclusions:Factor analysis of test measures obtained from a group of elderly individuals with normal hearing or mild-to-moderate hearing loss led to two main findings. First, it portrayed hearing loss as a component of different factors rather than as a factor on its own. Second, the independence of measures of speech understanding in babble or reverberation from other measures suggests that such tests should become an integral part of audiological test batteries designed to assess auditory functions in aging.

ISSN:0196-0202    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1997

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Objective:The threshold for speech is known to improve as signal(Miller, Heise, & Lichten, 1951)or response(Pollack, 1959)uncertainty is decreased. The definition of threshold as the signal level or signal to noise ratio (S/N) at which a fixed percent-correct score is obtained, therefore, becomes problematic when set size, M, is varied through the range for which threshold varies systematically (M = 2 to M = 16) because the meaning of that fixed percent changes as M is increased or decreased. The goal of the present study is to examine the effect of set size, M, on speech reception thresholds (SRTs) under two testing strategies.Design:SRTs were obtained in the presence of 80 dB SPL white noise for sets containing 2, 4, 8, and 16 words using two different procedures, one in which threshold was based on a fixed percent correct(American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 1988)and one in which threshold was defined in terms of d′ = 1.00. The subjects were 12 young women with normal hearing and little or no experience with audiologic testing procedures.Results:When threshold was based on a fixed percent correct, S/N at threshold was found to be dependent on set size (F= 3.333; df = 3, 33;p= 0.031). When threshold was defined in terms of d′ = 1.00, S/N at threshold was found to be independent of set size.Conclusions:If a smaller set size than that recommended by theAmerican Speech-Language-Hearing Association (1988)guidelines is to be used for obtaining SRTs in a clinical setting, thresholds should be based on a criterion-free measure that is independent of the size of the set of words being tested, if possible.

ISSN:0196-0202    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1997

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Objective:The purpose of this study was to investigate difficulties associated with tinnitus in a large sample of patients using an open-ended problem questionnaire.Design:Four hundred seventy-three unselected patients referred to the Tinnitus Clinic of the Welsh Hearing Institute (1986 through 1991) completed the Tinnitus Problem Questionnaire(Tyler & Baker, 1983). Before clinical assessment, patients were invited to list problems that they associated with their tinnitus in order of importance in an open-ended questionnaire. Their responses were coded into 45 categories. The responses of 39 patients who only described their tinnitus were excluded leaving unselected responses from 436 patients, 224 women and 212 men, whose average age was 57.1 yr. The questionnaire elicited an average 3.78 responses per patient (range 1 to 12).Results:The 30 most common difficulties attributed to tinnitus are described. There was broad agreement between the problems reported in this clinic-based study and those reported by a self-help group sample(Tyler& Baker, 1983).Conclusions:Analysis of these responses into groups based on psychological (30.1%), hearing (23.5%), health (20.7%), sleep (14.6%), and situational (11.1%) difficulties highlights the need for recognition of the global consequences of tinnitus to many patients and for a broadly based tinnitus management model.

ISSN:0196-0202    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1997

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Objective:The purpose of the study was to illustrate the effect of negative middle-ear pressure (MEP) on both the stimulus and response of transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) and the effect of compensating for negative pressure in the middle ear by pneumatically introducing pressure into the ear canal. Simulation of negative MEP by introducing positive pressure into the ear canal also was examined.Design:TEOAEs were measured over 6 mo in a subject who frequently had negative MEP out to -150 daPa. Compensation was done for MEPs of -105, -135, and -165 daPa. Simulation of negative pressure was done for these same pressures. The effect of a pressure differential across the eardrum on the stimulus spectrum was measured at 100, 200, and 300 daPa. All measurements were made on the same subject.Results:Small amounts of negative MEP significantly affected both stimulus and response spectra. The simulated negative MEP approximated actual MEP at MEPs of -105 and -135 daPa. At -165 daPa, a divergence between the two spectra occurred below 2.0 kHz. Compensation for negative MEP by pneumatically introducing pressure into the ear canal essentially returned both spectra to that seen when the MEP was close to ambient pressure, at least for frequencies above 1.5 to 2.0 kHz. At lower frequencies, compensation resulted in increased TEOAE amplitude relative to the amplitude at ambient pressure.Conclusions:Small amounts of negative MEP may affect TEOAE spectra and potentially influence the reliability of the test. For long-term monitoring of TEOAEs, MEPs either should be near ambient pressure or should be compensated for by an equivalent pressure in the ear canal.

ISSN:0196-0202    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1997

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Objective:The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the potential role of transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) for screening for hearing impairment and middle ear disorders in school-age children. Because TEOAEs are present in ears with normal cochlear and middle ear function and typically are absent or reduced in ears with cochlear and/or middle ear disorders of even mild degree, TEOAE screening could serve as a first-stage screening to separate from the general population of school-age children those at greater risk for hearing impairment and/or middle ear disorder. There were two secondary objectives. First, the relationship between TEOAE measurement variables and measures of middle ear immittance in ears declared clinically normal was investigated. Second, the performance of TEOAEs in screening was compared with the performance of the puretone hearing and tympanometric screening protocol commonly used in the schools.Design:Sixty-six children (ages 5 to 10 yr) participated. TEOAEs, pure-tone hearing screening, acoustic immittance (single-frequency and multi-frequency tympanometry), and an otoscopic exam by a pediatrician, who previously had been "validated" for identification of middle ear effusion, were done on each child under typical school hearing screening conditions. Performance of the TEOAE screening was determined based on the pediatrician's determination of middle ear status and the pure-tone hearing screening as the gold standards.Results:Of the 66 subjects, 61 completed the study. Fifty-six children passed the hearing and otoscopic screenings bilaterally, and five children did not pass either or both the hearing screenings or otoscopic examination in at least one ear. A variety of TEOAE criteria were examined with respect to their ability to identify ears with either hearing impairment and/or middle ear disease. Several different otoacoustic emission criteria performed well according to our diagnostic criteria. Correlations between TEOAE variables and immittance measures of middle ear function were all low. In addition, tympanometric data were used to compare the TEOAE screening with the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's (ASHA) recommended protocol for the same ears. The ASHA protocol, as recommended, did not do as well as the TEOAE screening. Using slightly modified criteria, the ASHA protocol did as well as TEOAEs.Conclusion:There were some screening criteria based on TEOAE measurement that produced good sensitivity and specificity. A TEOAE screening for hearing impairment and middle ear disease performed as well as or better than the ASHA-recommended protocol, which requires a minimum of two different tests, even when the ASHA protocol was modified to optimize performance. The results suggest that the TEOAE test has the potential to be incorporated successfully into hearing screening programs for school-age children and may have advantages over current screening protocols. Finally, no relationship between TEOAEs and middle ear function, as measured using single-frequency and multifrequency tympanometry, could be determined in ears with normal hearing and normal middle ear function.

ISSN:0196-0202    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1997

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Objective:The purpose of this study was to evaluate the postoperative performance of 12 children who demonstrated some open-set speech recognition skills before receiving a Nucleus multichannel cochlear implant with a view toward expanding the selection criteria for cochlear implant candidacy to include children who derive minimal benefit from amplification.Design:Pre- and postoperative performance of two groups of children were compared. Group 1 consisted of 12 children who demonstrated some open-set speech recognition skills before receiving a Nucleus multichannel cochlear implant (Borderline group). Group 2 consisted of 12 children who demonstrated no open-set speech recognition skills before implantation with a Nucleus device (Traditional group). In all children, candidacy was determined based on preimplant binaural aided performance. For most subjects, the poorer ear was selected for implantation. Mean pre- and postoperative speech recognition scores of the Borderline subjects were compared to determine the benefit provided by their cochlear implants. Secondly, matched-pair analyses were used to compare the mean speech recognition scores obtained by the Borderline and Traditional subjects.Results:The scores of the Borderline group improved significantly on five of six speech recognition measures when 6 mo postoperative scores obtained with the implant were compared with preoperative test scores obtained with hearing aids. By the 12 mo postoperative interval, the scores of the Borderline group had improved significantly (p< 0.05) on all six measures. In contrast, scores obtained by the Traditional group had improved significantly on three of six measures at both the 6 and 12 mo postoperative intervals. Comparison of postoperative test scores revealed that the Borderline group scored significantly higher than the Traditional group on three of six measures at the 6 mo test interval and on six of six measures at the 12 mo test interval (p< 0.05).Conclusions:The findings of this study indicate that both groups derive significant benefit from their cochlear implants. Although the mean preoperative audiograms for the implanted ears did not differ significantly for the two groups of subjects, members of the Borderline group exhibited significantly better speech recognition skills than the Traditional group during the first year after implantation. These findings suggest that the increased auditory experience of the Borderline subjects positively influenced their performance with a cochlear implant. The authors advocate that the selection criteria used to determine pediatric cochlear implant candidacy be broadened to include consideration of children who demonstrate minimal open-set speech recognition skills.

ISSN:0196-0202    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1997

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Objective:This study compares the musical perception of 17 adult recipients of the Nucleus cochlear implant using two different format extraction processing strategies (F0F1F2 and MPEAK).Design:Over a 12 mo period, participants were alternately switched between two strategies every 3 mo. Performance was evaluated using three measures of rhythmic and sequential pitch perception.Results:Three individuals performed significantly better with the MPEAK strategy on one particular rhythm task, 11 participants performed better with the MPEAK strategy on another rhythm task, and no significant differences were found between the two strategies on a sequential pitch pattern task.Conclusions:Neither strategy seems clearly superior for perception of either sequential pitch or rhythmic patterns.

ISSN:0196-0202    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1997

数据来源: OVID

ISSN:0196-0202    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1997

数据来源: OVID

ISSN:0196-0202    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1997

数据来源: OVID