Vestibular Deficits in Deaf Children

1996 ◽  
Vol 115 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter A. Selz ◽  
Marian Girardi ◽  
Horst R. Konrad ◽  
Larry F. Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Spontaneous Nystagmus ◽  
Deaf Children ◽  
Profound Hearing Loss ◽  
Hereditary Deafness ◽  
Balance System ◽  
The Status ◽  
Hearing Children ◽  
Future Evaluation

Considerable knowledge has been accumulated regarding acquired and congenital deafness in children. However, despite the intimate relationship between the auditory and vestibular systems, data are limited regarding the status of the balance system in these children. Using a test population of 15 children, aged 8 to 17 years, we performed electronystagmography testing. The test battery consisted of the eye-tracking (gaze nystagmus, spontaneous nystagmus, saccade, horizontal pursuit and optokinetic) tests, positional/positioning (Dix-Hallpike and supine) tests, and rotational chair tests. With age-matched controls, five children were tested in each of the following three categories: normal hearing, hereditary deafness, and acquired deafness. The children in the hereditary deafness category were congenitally deaf and had a family history of deafness. Those subjects in the acquired deafness category had hearing loss before the age of 2 years, after meningitis. Analysis of variance demonstrated significant differences between the two deaf groups and the control subjects in the gaze nystagmus test, saccade latencies, horizontal pursuit phase, and Dix-Hallpike and supine positionally provoked nystagmus. Also, significant differences were found in rotational chair gain and phase between the deaf and normal-hearing children. The children with acquired deafness exhibited the most profound results. In addition, there were significant differences in rotational chair gain between the acquired and congenitally deaf children. No differences were noted in horizontal pursuit gains, saccade accuracies, or saccade asymmetries. These preliminary data demonstrate that the etiologic factors responsible for congenital and acquired deafness in children may indeed affect the balance system as well. These findings of possible balance disorders in conjunction with the profound hearing loss in this patient population will have prognostic implications in the future evaluation, treatment, and rehabilitation of these patients.

scholarly journals Perception and learning of relative pitch by musicians using the vibrotactile mode

2021 ◽  
pp. 102986492110152
Author(s):  
Carl Hopkins ◽  
Saúl Maté-Cid ◽  
Robert Fulford ◽  
Gary Seiffert ◽  
Jane Ginsborg
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Success Rate ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Pitch Discrimination ◽  
Professional Musicians ◽  
Profound Hearing Loss ◽  
Relative Pitch ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Schools For The Deaf

This study investigated the perception and learning of relative pitch using vibrotactile stimuli by musicians with and without a hearing impairment. Notes from C3 to B4 were presented to the fingertip and forefoot. Pre- and post-training tests in which 420 pairs of notes were presented randomly were carried out without any feedback to participants. After the pre-training test, 16 short training sessions were carried out over six weeks with 72 pairs of notes per session and participants told whether their answers were correct. For amateur and professional musicians with normal hearing and professional musicians with a severe or profound hearing loss, larger pitch intervals were easier to identify correctly than smaller intervals. Musicians with normal hearing had a high success rate for relative pitch discrimination as shown by pre- and post-training tests, and when using the fingertips, there was no significant difference between amateur and professional musicians. After training, median scores on the tests in which stimuli were presented to the fingertip and forefoot were >70% for intervals of 3–12 semitones. Training sessions reduced the variability in the responses of amateur and professional musicians with normal hearing and improved their overall ability. There was no significant difference between the relative pitch discrimination abilities between one and 11 semitones, as shown by the pre-training test, of professional musicians with and without a severe/profound hearing loss. These findings indicate that there is potential for vibration to be used to facilitate group musical performance and music education in schools for the deaf.

scholarly journals Perception of Auditory Distance in Normal-Hearing and Moderate-to-Profound Hearing-Impaired Listeners

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 233121651988761 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilles Courtois ◽  
Vincent Grimaldi ◽  
Hervé Lissek ◽  
Philippe Estoppey ◽  
Eleftheria Georganti
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Hearing Aids ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Spatial Cues ◽  
Linear Amplification ◽  
Profound Hearing Loss ◽  
Wireless Microphone ◽  
Auditory Distance ◽  
Non Linear

The auditory system allows the estimation of the distance to sound-emitting objects using multiple spatial cues. In virtual acoustics over headphones, a prerequisite to render auditory distance impression is sound externalization, which denotes the perception of synthesized stimuli outside of the head. Prior studies have found that listeners with mild-to-moderate hearing loss are able to perceive auditory distance and are sensitive to externalization. However, this ability may be degraded by certain factors, such as non-linear amplification in hearing aids or the use of a remote wireless microphone. In this study, 10 normal-hearing and 20 moderate-to-profound hearing-impaired listeners were instructed to estimate the distance of stimuli processed with different methods yielding various perceived auditory distances in the vicinity of the listeners. Two different configurations of non-linear amplification were implemented, and a novel feature aiming to restore a sense of distance in wireless microphone systems was tested. The results showed that the hearing-impaired listeners, even those with a profound hearing loss, were able to discriminate nearby and far sounds that were equalized in level. Their perception of auditory distance was however more contracted than in normal-hearing listeners. Non-linear amplification was found to distort the original spatial cues, but no adverse effect on the ratings of auditory distance was evident. Finally, it was shown that the novel feature was successful in allowing the hearing-impaired participants to perceive externalized sounds with wireless microphone systems.

Clinical Value of Measurement of Internal Auditory Canal in Pediatric Cochlear Implantation

2019 ◽  
Vol 128 (6_suppl) ◽  
pp. 61S-68S
Author(s):  
Hantai Kim ◽  
Dong Young Kim ◽  
Eun Ju Ha ◽  
Hun Yi Park
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Cochlear Implantation ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Internal Auditory Canal ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Clinical Value ◽  
Cutoff Values ◽  
Auditory Performance ◽  
Bilateral Sensorineural Hearing Loss ◽  
Hearing Children

Objectives: The aims of this study were to clarify the clinical value of the bony cochlear nerve canal (BCNC) and internal auditory canal (IAC) in children with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss (b-SNHL) and to reveal the correlation between these parameters and outcomes after cochlear implantation (CI). Methods: Ninety-four ears with b-SNHL that received CI and 100 ears with normal hearing were enrolled. Parameters of IAC and pre- and post-CI categories of auditory performance scores were analyzed. Results: The width of the BCNC and the width, height, and length of the IAC were shorter in the b-SNHL group. BCNC and IAC width were associated with b-SNHL. The calculated cutoff values for BCNC and IAC width were 2.055 mm in the BCNC and 4.245 mm in the IAC, setting the sensitivity to 90%. Patients with narrow BCNCs and IACs had significantly worse post-CI auditory performance. Conclusions: BCNC and IAC widths were narrower in children with b-SNHL than in normal-hearing children. Narrow BCNC and IAC width had a negative impact on post-CI outcomes. The proposed cutoff values for BCNC and IAC width were meaningful when predicting the auditory outcome after CI, especially considering both.

Evaluation of Hearing and Balance Functions of Patients with Sickle Cell Anemia

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elif Tugba Sarac ◽  
Bilgehan Boke ◽  
Semsettin Okuyucu
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Sickle Cell ◽  
Sickle Cell Anemia ◽  
Pure Tone ◽  
Mixed Type ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Spontaneous Nystagmus ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Hearing Thresholds ◽  
Significant Difference

Introduction: Sickle cell anemia is a disease characterized by a wide vaso-occlusive incident from micro-vascular incident to muscularactivity. The cochlear function can also get affected by this vaso-occlusion. Objective: It is aimed at determining what kind of effects sickle cell anemia has on hearing and balance system. Methods: This study has been conducted on 46 patients with sickle cell anemia and 45 healthy individuals. For all participants, their pure tone hearing thresholds and videonystagmography (VNG) findings have been determined in 17 frequencies between 125–16.000 Hz. Results: All hearing thresholds between 125 and 16,000 Hz, pure tone averages of patients with sickle cell anemia have been found statistically significant to be higher than the corresponding values in the control group(p < 0.05). The normal hearing rate of patients with sickle cell anemia has been determined to be 71.1% conductive hearing loss (CHL) to be 4.4%, sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) to be 22.2%, and mixed type hearing loss to be 2.2% in right ear; the normal hearing rate has been determined to be 71.1%, CHL to be 2.2%, SNHL to be 22.2%, and mixed type hearing loss to be 4.4% in left ear. Statistically significant difference has not been found between head shake, spontaneous nystagmus, optokinetic, tracking test batteries, static and dynamic positional tests used in VNG, saccade accuracy and saccade peak velocity, which are saccadic test findings of 2 groups. However, saccadic latency, which is a saccadic test finding, has been determined to be longer in patients with sickle cell anemia in comparison to the control group. Conclusion: While sickle cell anemia causes hearing deficits, it does not have any effect on the central or peripheral vestibular system.

Localization and Spatial Discrimination in Children and Adolescents with Moderate Sensorineural Hearing Loss Tested without Their Hearing Aids

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 326-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvia Meuret ◽  
Alexandra Annemarie Ludwig ◽  
Dorothee Predel ◽  
Burkhard Staske ◽  
Michael Fuchs
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Sensorineural Hearing Loss ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Hearing Aids ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Sensorineural Hearing ◽  
Spatial Discrimination ◽  
Frequency Noise ◽  
Low Frequencies ◽  
Hearing Children

The present study investigated two measures of spatial acoustic perception in children and adolescents with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) tested without their hearing aids and compared it to age-matched controls. Auditory localization was quantified by means of a sound source identification task and auditory spatial discrimination acuity by measuring minimum audible angles (MAA). Both low- and high-frequency noise bursts were employed in the tests to separately address spatial auditory processing based on interaural time and intensity differences. In SNHL children, localization (hit accuracy) was significantly reduced compared to normal-hearing children and intraindividual variability (dispersion) considerably increased. Given the respective impairments, the performance based on interaural time differences (low frequencies) was still better than that based on intensity differences (high frequencies). For MAA, age-matched comparisons yielded not only increased MAA values in SNHL children, but also no decrease with increasing age compared to normal-hearing children. Deficits in MAA were most apparent in the frontal azimuth. Thus, children with SNHL do not seem to benefit from frontal positions of the sound sources as do normal-hearing children. The results give an indication that the processing of spatial cues in SNHL children is restricted, which could also imply problems regarding speech understanding in challenging hearing situations.

Oral Language Performance of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students in Mainstream Schools

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 448-458
Author(s):  
Tammy H M Lau ◽  
Kathy Y S Lee ◽  
Emily Y C Lam ◽  
Joffee H S Lam ◽  
Chris K M Yiu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Hard Of Hearing ◽  
Oral Language ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Speech Therapy ◽  
Language Outcomes ◽  
Language Performance ◽  
Profound Hearing Loss ◽  
Hearing Children

Abstract In Hong Kong, students are expected to speak fluent Cantonese, Putonghua, and English. However, the curriculum does not include Cantonese studies, as children are expected to have already acquired Cantonese by the age of school entry. This study examined the language outcomes of Cantonese-speaking deaf or hard-of-hearing children who attend primary schools within the Hong Kong educational system and considered whether the system currently meets the needs of these children. The Hong Kong Cantonese Oral Language Assessment Scale, which comprises six subtests, was used to assess 98 children with mild to profound hearing loss. A regression analysis was used to examine the influences of various variables on oral language performance in these children. Notably, 41% of the participants had achieved age-appropriate oral language skills, while 18% and 41% exhibited mild-to-moderate or severe oral language impairment, respectively. The degree of hearing loss and the use of speech therapy were identified as significant negative predictors of oral language performance. The issues of a relatively late diagnosis and device fitting, as well as the very poor oral language outcomes, strongly emphasize the need for policy makers to reconsider the existing educational approaches and support for deaf or hard-of-hearing children.

scholarly journals Influence of Implantable Hearing Aids and Neuroprosthesison Music Perception

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torsten Rahne ◽  
Lars Böhme ◽  
Gerrit Götze
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Hearing Aids ◽  
Music Perception ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Just Noticeable Difference ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Profound Hearing Loss ◽  
Complex Sounds ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Timbre Discrimination

The identification and discrimination of timbre are essential features of music perception. One dominating parameter within the multidimensional timbre space is the spectral shape of complex sounds. As hearing loss interferes with the perception and enjoyment of music, we approach the individual timbre discrimination skills in individuals with severe to profound hearing loss using a cochlear implant (CI) and normal hearing individuals using a bone-anchored hearing aid (Baha). With a recent developed behavioral test relying on synthetically sounds forming a spectral continuum, the timbre difference was changed adaptively to measure the individual just noticeable difference (JND) in a forced-choice paradigm. To explore the differences in timbre perception abilities caused by the hearing mode, the sound stimuli were varied in their fundamental frequency, thus generating different spectra which are not completely covered by a CI or Baha system. The resulting JNDs demonstrate differences in timbre perception between normal hearing individuals, Baha users, and CI users. Beside the physiological reasons, also technical limitations appear as the main contributing factors.

scholarly journals Imitation of Nonwords by Deaf Children after Cochlear Implantation: Preliminary Findings

2002 ◽  
Vol 111 (5_suppl) ◽  
pp. 91-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miranda Cleary ◽  
Caitlin Dillon ◽  
David B. Pisoni
Keyword(s):  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Deaf Children ◽  
Nonword Repetition ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Perceptual Judgments ◽  
Wide Variability ◽  
Component Processes ◽  
Linguistic Analyses ◽  
Hearing Children ◽  
Repetition Task

Fourteen prelingually deafened pediatric users of the Nucleus-22 cochlear implant were asked to imitate auditorily presented nonwords. The children's utterances were recorded, digitized, and broadly transcribed. The target patterns and the children's imitations were then played back to normal-hearing adult listeners in order to obtain perceptual judgments of repetition accuracy. The results revealed wide variability in the children's ability to repeat the novel sound sequences. Individual differences in the component processes of encoding, memory, and speech production were strongly reflected in the nonword repetition scores. Duration of deafness before implantation also appeared to be a factor associated with imitation performance. Linguistic analyses of the initial consonants in the nonwords revealed that coronal stops were imitated best, followed by the coronal fricative /s/, and then the labial and velar stops. Labial fricatives were poorly imitated. The theoretical significance of the nonword repetition task as it has been used in past studies of working memory and vocabulary development in normal-hearing children is discussed.

scholarly journals Academic Outcomes for School-Aged Children With Severe–Profound Hearing Loss and Early Unilateral and Bilateral Cochlear Implants

2015 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 1017-1032 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Z. Sarant ◽  
David C. Harris ◽  
Lisa A. Bennet
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Cochlear Implants ◽  
Family Environment ◽  
Oral Language ◽  
Academic Outcomes ◽  
Standardized Test ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Written Language ◽  
Profound Hearing Loss

Purpose This study sought to (a) determine whether academic outcomes for children who received early cochlear implants (CIs) are age appropriate, (b) determine whether bilateral CI use significantly improves academic outcomes, and (c) identify other factors that are predictive of these outcomes. Method Forty-four 8-year-old children with severe–profound hearing loss participated in this study. Their academic development in mathematics, oral language, reading, and written language was assessed using a standardized test of academic achievement. Results (a) Across all academic areas, the proportion of children in the average or above-average ranges was lower than expected for children with normal hearing. The strongest area of performance was written language, and the weakest was mathematics. (b) Children using bilateral CIs achieved significantly higher scores for oral language, math, and written language, after controlling for predictive factors, than did children using unilateral CIs. Younger ages at second CI predicted the largest improvements. (c) High levels of parental involvement and greater time spent by children reading significantly predicted academic success, although other factors were identified. Conclusions Average academic outcomes for these children were below those of children with normal hearing. Having bilateral CIs at younger ages predicted the best outcomes. Family environment was also important to children's academic performance.

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