Audiological Assessment, Rehabilitation, and Spatial Hearing Considerations Associated With Visual Impairment in Adults

2003 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 76-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith T. Blumsack
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Case History ◽  
Spatial Hearing ◽  
Extensive Discussion ◽  
Hearing Research ◽  
Orientation And Mobility

The purpose of this paper is to increase awareness and interest among audiologists regarding the needs of adults who have both hearing loss and visual impairment, particularly people who are blind and travel independently. Case history, audiometric testing, and rehabilitation issues are considered, and extensive discussion of spatial hearing research as it relates to orientation and mobility is provided.

Visual Impairment and Rehabilitation Needs of Nursing Home Residents

1995 ◽  
Vol 89 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Horowitz ◽  
E. Balistreri ◽  
C. Stuen ◽  
R. Fangmeier
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Home ◽  
Nursing Homes ◽  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Visually Impaired ◽  
Low Vision ◽  
Nursing Home Residents ◽  
Staten Island ◽  
Rehabilitation Training ◽  
Orientation And Mobility ◽  
Rehabilitation Needs

This article reports on the prevalence and rehabilitation needs of visually impaired residents of nursing homes, based on optometric examinations of 136 residents of a nursing home in Staten Island, NY. The results indicate that about half the residents were at least moderately visually impaired and almost one-third were potential candidates for low vision assessments, or rehabilitation training, or orientation and mobility services.

Management of tinnitus induced by brainstem and cerebellar infarction associated with complications of cerebello-pontine angle surgery

2007 ◽  
Vol 121 (4) ◽  
pp. 393-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Brewis ◽  
D M Baguley
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Sensorineural Hearing Loss ◽  
Hearing Aid ◽  
Cerebellar Infarction ◽  
Hearing Aid Fitting ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Digital Hearing Aid ◽  
The Right ◽  
Severe Tinnitus

Following surgery in the USA in 1992 to remove a large right cerebello-pontine angle tumour, a 39-year-old woman developed severe brainstem and cerebellar infarction. This left her with severe visual impairment and ataxia. She became able to communicate by means of an adapted finger-spelling alphabet. She had total hearing loss in the right ear and a mild to moderately severe sensorineural hearing loss in the left ear, and severe tinnitus heard throughout the head. Additionally, she experienced hypersensitivity to sound above normal conversational levels, which evoked a synaesthetic feeling of coldness across her upper torso. Previous linear analogue hearing aid fitting had not been beneficial for either hearing or tinnitus. Careful fitting of a digital hearing aid, together with tinnitus counselling, inhibited the patient's tinnitus to 25 per cent of its former intensity after a six month acclimatisation period, and improved communication.

scholarly journals Auditory Training for Spatial Hearing Loss: Two Case Reports of the Older Adults Who Wear Hearing Aids

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 307-313
Author(s):  
Joon Shin ◽  
Junghwa Bahng
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Hearing Aids ◽  
Case Reports ◽  
Spatial Hearing ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Auditory Training ◽  
Hearing Ability ◽  
Speech Reception Thresholds ◽  
Release From Masking

The elderly with hearing loss have often experienced spatial hearing deficits when only wearing hearing aids. This case study aimed to investigate whether auditory training for spatial hearing loss could improve the spatial hearing ability of the elderly who wear hearing aids. Two older adults (males, aged 75 years and 78 years) who were wearing bilateral hearing aids participated. They had symmetric sensorineural hearing loss. A total of 16 auditory-training sessions (40 minutes, twice per week) for auditory training for spatial hearing ability provided. For outcome measurements, we assessed speech reception thresholds (SRTs) and spatial release from masking (SRM), using two types of noise, steady-state noise and speech-like noise at pre- and post-auditory training. Both subjects increased SRTs after the auditory training, but the SRM of only one participant improved. Also, there were no masking effects for SRM in terms of noise types. Both subjects reported that their trained hearing skills helped in communication with their families and friends. These results suggested that audiologists can consider auditory training for focusing on the spatial hearing loss for the elderly hearing aids users.

scholarly journals Cochlear implantation restores cortical processing for spatial hearing in asymmetric hearing loss

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chadlia Karoui ◽  
Kuzma Strelnikov ◽  
Pierre Payoux ◽  
Anne-Sophie Salabert ◽  
Chris James ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Cochlear Implant ◽  
Cochlear Implantation ◽  
Spatial Hearing ◽  
Cortical Activity ◽  
Asymmetry Index ◽  
Hemispheric Dominance ◽  
Sound Localisation ◽  
Monaural Stimulation ◽  
Asymmetric Hearing Loss

In asymmetric hearing loss (AHL), the normal pattern of contralateral hemispheric dominance for monaural stimulation is modified, with a shift towards the hemisphere ipsilateral to the better ear. The extent of this shift has been shown to relate to sound localisation deficits. In this study, we examined whether cochlear implantation to treat AHL can restore the normal functional pattern of auditory cortical activity and whether this relates to improved sound localisation. We recruited 10 subjects with a cochlear implant for AHL (AHL-CI) and 10 normally-hearing controls. The participants performed a voice/non-voice discrimination task with binaural and monaural presentation of the sounds, and the cortical activity was measured using positron emission tomography (PET) brain imaging with a H215O tracer. The auditory cortical activity was found to be lower in the AHL-CI participants for all of the conditions. A cortical asymmetry index was calculated and showed that a normal contralateral dominance was restored in the AHL-CI patients for the non-implanted ear, but not for the ear with the cochlear implant. It was found that the contralateral dominance for the non-implanted ear strongly correlated with sound localisation performance (rho = 0.8, p < 0.05). We conclude that the restoration of binaural mechanisms in AHL-CI subjects reverses the abnormal lateralisation pattern induced by the deafness, and that this leads to improved spatial hearing. Our results suggest that cochlear implantation fosters the rehabilitation of binaural excitatory/inhibitory cortical interactions, which could enable the reconstruction of the auditory spatial selectivity needed for sound localisation.

scholarly journals A Case of Streptococcus Suis Meningitis With Visual Impairment and Hearing Loss Diagnosed by Metagenomic Next-generation Sequencing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haina Zhao ◽  
Lanlan Chen ◽  
Lin Zhu ◽  
Tingting Qiao ◽  
Peipei Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cerebrospinal Fluid ◽  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Next Generation Sequencing ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Vision Loss ◽  
Streptococcus Suis ◽  
Next Generation ◽  
The Right ◽  
Generation Sequencing

Abstract Background: Streptococcus suis is responsible for several kinds of zoonosis worldwide. It can cause meningitis, sepsis, osteoarthritis, endocarditis, endophthalmitis, and other diseases. Human infection typically occurs in occupational settings associated with pig husbandry or pork processing. At present, metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) is prominent testing method for achieving an early and rapid diagnosis of some infectious diseases. Case presentation: A 48-year-old Chinese man who denied exposure to pigs or pork was to admitted the hospital because he had experienced a fever for three days, visual impairment, and hearing loss for one day. After a series of examinations and laboratory tests, Streptococcus suis was detected in the aqueous humor culture as well as the vitreous humor and cerebrospinal fluid with mNGS. But bacteria were not detected in the blood or cerebrospinal fluid culture. The patient's condition improved, and he was discharged after 2 weeks of active treatment. However, at present, poor vision in the right eye, poor hearing in the right ear and recurrent vertigo remain.Conclusions: In a patient presenting with meningitis, vision loss, and/or hearing loss, Streptococcus suis infection should be strongly suspected regardless of the patient's occupation. mNGS has excellent diagnostic value to determine which was the etiological agent for infectious diseases.

Demographic Characteristics and Impairments of Louisiana Students with Usher's Syndrome

1987 ◽  
Vol 81 (3) ◽  
pp. 106-109
Author(s):  
S.C. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Retinitis Pigmentosa ◽  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Demographic Characteristics ◽  
Genetic Condition ◽  
Profound Hearing Loss ◽  
Usher’S Syndrome

Usher's syndrome is a genetic condition that is characterized by hearing loss and progressive blindness from retinitis pigmentosa. This article reports on a study of the impairments and demographic characteristics of 60 Louisiana students with Usher's syndrome that were analyzed to identify their interrelationships. The research found that although a substantial majority of the students had a manifested visual impairment and profound hearing loss, some of the students had less-than-profound hearing loss and no manifested visual impairment—a finding that corroborated the findings of previous studies. Moreover, the severity of these two impairments seems to be interrelated.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document