Robust Data-Driven Auditory Profiling Towards Precision Audiology

The sources and consequences of a sensorineural hearing loss are diverse. While several approaches have aimed at disentangling the physiological and perceptual consequences of different etiologies, hearing deficit characterization and rehabilitation have been dominated by the results from pure-tone audiometry. Here, we present a novel approach based on data-driven profiling of perceptual auditory deficits that attempts to represent auditory phenomena that are usually hidden by, or entangled with, audibility loss. We hypothesize that the hearing deficits of a given listener, both at hearing threshold and at suprathreshold sound levels, result from two independent types of “auditory distortions.” In this two-dimensional space, four distinct “auditory profiles” can be identified. To test this hypothesis, we gathered a data set consisting of a heterogeneous group of listeners that were evaluated using measures of speech intelligibility, loudness perception, binaural processing abilities, and spectrotemporal resolution. The subsequent analysis revealed that distortion type-I was associated with elevated hearing thresholds at high frequencies and reduced temporal masking release and was significantly correlated with elevated speech reception thresholds in noise. Distortion type-II was associated with low-frequency hearing loss and abnormally steep loudness functions. The auditory profiles represent four robust subpopulations of hearing-impaired listeners that exhibit different degrees of perceptual distortions. The four auditory profiles may provide a valuable basis for improved hearing rehabilitation, for example, through profile-based hearing-aid fitting.

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AMBANG PENDENGARAN RATA–RATA PADA PENDERITA DIABETES MELITUS di POLIKLINIK ENDOKRINOLOGI RSUP PROF. Dr. R. D. KANDOU MANADO

e-CliniC ◽

10.35790/ecl.3.1.2015.6510 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Febrina R. Wuwung ◽

Ora I. Palandeng ◽

Olivia C. P. Pelealu

Keyword(s):

Diabetes Mellitus ◽

Hearing Loss ◽

Pure Tone ◽

Hearing Threshold ◽

Pure Tone Audiometry ◽

The Body ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Patients With Diabetes ◽

Cross Sectional Design ◽

Diabetes Melitus

Abstract: Diabetes mellitus is a group of chronic metabolic disease which can affect nearly every organ system in the body. Complications of this disease are diverse and include retinopathy, nepropathy and neuropathy. It has a high prevalence and continued to increase. The relationship between diabetes mellitus and hearing loss have been studied. This study aimed to obtain the average of hearing threshold in patients with diabetes mellitus. This was a descriptive observational study with a cross sectional design. Total 38 diabetes mellitus patients were included in the study. Hearing threshold obtained based on air conduction pure tone audiometry average at 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz. The results showed that subjects were 65.8% females and 32.4% males. There were 9 subjects (23.6%) with normal hearing, 24 subjects (63.2%) with bilateral hearing loss, and 5 subjects (13.2%) with unilateral hearing loss. Of the 29 subjects with hearing loss, the levels were mild and moderate. None of the subjects had moderately severe, severe, or profound. Conclusion: The majority of subjects in this study had hearing loss.Keywords: diabetes mellitus, hearing threshold, pure tone audiometryAbstrak: Diabetes melitus merupakan suatu kelompok penyakit metabolik kronik yang dapat mempengaruhi hampir setiap sistem organ dalam tubuh. Komplikasi penyakit ini beragam, termasuk retinopati, nefropati dan neuropati. Prevalensinya cukup tinggi dan diperkirakan akan terus meningkat. Terdapat beberapa penelitian yang menghubungkan diabetes melitus dan gangguan pendengaran. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui ambang pendengaran rata – rata pada penderita diabetes melitus. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian deskriptif observasional dengan desain penelitian potong lintang. Sampel total ialah 38 pasien diabetes melitus. Ambang pendengaran rata – rata diperoleh berdasarkan hantaran udara audiometri nada murni rata-rata pada frekuensi 500, 1000, 2000, dan 4000 Hz. Hasil penelitian memperlihatkan bahwa subjek penelitian 65,8% perempuan dan 34,2% laki – laki. Terdapat 9 orang (23,6%) yang mempunyai pendengaran normal, 24 orang (63,2 %) mengalami gangguan pendengaran bilateral dan 5 orang (13,2%) dengan gangguan pendengaran unilateral. Dari 29 subjek penelitian dengan gangguan pendengaran mengalami gangguan pendengaran kategori ringan dan sedang. Tidak ditemukan subjek penelitian dengan gangguan pendengaran kategori sedang berat, berat atau sangat berat. Simpulan: Mayoritas subjek penelitian mengalami gangguan pendengar.Kata kunci: ambang pendengaran, audiometri nada murni, diabetes melitus

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HEARING EVALUATION OF NIGERIAN PRISON INMATES: A CROSS-SECTIONAL SURVEY

Kanem Journal of Medical Sciences ◽

10.36020/kjms.2020.1402.002 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 106-114

Author(s):

Abdullahi Musa Kirfi ◽

◽

Mohammed Bello Fufore ◽

Garba Mohammed Mainasara ◽

Abdulrazak Ajiya ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hearing Loss ◽

Pure Tone ◽

Hearing Threshold ◽

Pure Tone Audiometry ◽

Control Group ◽

Prison Inmates ◽

Impaired Hearing ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

The Mean ◽

The Right

Background: Prisoners, due to confinement are isolated from contact with the society and access to many of the facilities, including medical care. This study aimed to evaluate the hearing threshold of inmates of Kaduna convict prison. Method: It was a cross-sectional study of prison inmates at the Kaduna convict prison between April 2017 and February 2019. Ethical approvals were obtained from relevant bodies and all consented inmates aged 18 – 55years in the Kaduna convict prison were enrolled. Equal number of control matched for age and gender were enrolled from the communities in Kaduna North Local Government Area. Data were collated using a structured questionnaire. A diagnostic Pure Tone Audiometry was performed to assess their hearing threshold. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0 was used for analysis. Results: Four hundred and thirty inmates and equal number of control group were enrolled. The mean age for the inmates and controls were 30.2±7.5 and 30.4±8.02 years respectively. There were 383 males and 47 females in both groups. Among the 860 ears of the inmates, 238(27.7%) ears had hearing loss while in the control group, 95/ (11.1%) ears had impaired hearing. Conductive hearing loss was the commonest among the inmates 111(46.6%) while sensorineural was commoner among the controls 57(60.0%). The mean pure tone average among the inmates was 25.6±11.3dBHL and 26.1±11.2dBHL on the right and left ears respectively while in the control group, it was 18.4±7.8dBHL on the right and 17.9±7.9dBHL on the left. Conclusion: This study revealed that hearing loss was more prevalent among prison inmates than the general population. In majority of the inmates, the hearing loss was mild, conductive and mostly affecting all the frequencies.

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Validation of SHOEBOX QuickTest Hearing Loss Screening Tool in Individuals With Cognitive Impairment

Frontiers in Digital Health ◽

10.3389/fdgth.2021.724997 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 3 ◽

Author(s):

Andrew Frank ◽

Serena Goldlist ◽

Amy E. Mark Fraser ◽

Matthew Bromwich

Keyword(s):

Hearing Loss ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Screening Tool ◽

Hearing Threshold ◽

Pure Tone Audiometry ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Hearing Ability ◽

Memory Clinics ◽

Hearing Test ◽

Sensitivity Specificity

Objectives: The aim of this study was to validate a novel iPad-based rapid hearing loss screening tool (SHOEBOX QuickTest) in individuals with cognitive impairment.Design: Cross-sectional validation study.Setting: Bruyère Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada.Subjects and Methods: Twenty-five individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and mild dementia from the Bruyère Memory Program were included in this study. The study consisted of two components: (1) SHOEBOX QuickTest hearing screener and (2) a conventional hearing test (pure tone audiometry).Measurements: Hearing was assessed at 1,000, 2,000, and 4,000 Hz separately for each ear. The agreement between hearing ability groupings (good vs. reduced) from conventional hearing test and SHOEBOX QuickTest was determined. Specifically, accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, as well as alignment between conventional thresholds and hearing threshold ranges.Results: An overall accuracy of 84% was observed for SHOEBOX QuickTest, and a sensitivity and specificity of 100 and 66.7%, respectively. 72% ([95% CI], 60.0–84.1%) of conventional audiometry thresholds were within the pre-established 10 dB SHOEBOX QuickTest.Conclusion: SHOEBOX QuickTest is a valid hearing loss screening tool for individuals with cognitive impairment. Implementing this iPad-based screening tool in memory clinics could not only aid in the timely diagnosis of hearing loss, but also assist physicians in providing a better assessment of cognitive impairment by ruling out hearing loss as a confounding variable.

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Bayesian Pure-Tone Audiometry Through Active Learning Under Informed Priors

Frontiers in Digital Health ◽

10.3389/fdgth.2021.723348 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 3 ◽

Author(s):

Marco Cox ◽

Bert de Vries

Keyword(s):

Mixture Model ◽

Pure Tone ◽

Information Gain ◽

Side Information ◽

Hearing Threshold ◽

Pure Tone Audiometry ◽

Threshold Estimation ◽

Data Set ◽

Hearing Thresholds ◽

Gp Model

Pure-tone audiometry—the process of estimating a person's hearing threshold from “audible” and “inaudible” responses to tones of varying frequency and intensity—is the basis for diagnosing and quantifying hearing loss. By taking a probabilistic modeling approach, both optimal tone selection (in terms of expected information gain) and hearing threshold estimation can be derived through Bayesian inference methods. The performance of probabilistic model-based audiometry methods is directly linked to the quality of the underlying model. In recent years, Gaussian process (GP) models have been shown to provide good results in this context. We present methods to improve the efficiency of GP-based audiometry procedures by improving the underlying model. Instead of a single GP, we propose to use a GP mixture model that can be conditioned on side-information about the subject. The underlying idea is that one can typically distinguish between different types of hearing thresholds, enabling a mixture model to better capture the statistical properties of hearing thresholds among a population. Instead of modeling all hearing thresholds by a single GP, a mixture model allows specific types of hearing thresholds to be modeled by independent GP models. Moreover, the mixing coefficients can be conditioned on side-information such as age and gender, capturing the correlations between age, gender, and hearing threshold. We show how a GP mixture model can be optimized for a specific target population by learning the parameters from a data set containing annotated audiograms. We also derive an optimal tone selection method based on greedy information gain maximization, as well as hearing threshold estimation through Bayesian inference. The proposed models are fitted to a data set containing roughly 176 thousand annotated audiograms collected in the Nordic countries. We compare the predictive accuracies of optimized mixture models of varying sizes with that of an optimized single-GP model. The usefulness of the optimized models is tested in audiometry simulations. Simulation results indicate that an optimized GP mixture model can significantly outperform an optimized single-GP model in terms of predictive accuracy, and leads to significant increases the efficiency of the resulting Bayesian audiometry procedure.

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Hearing and Kidney: Effects of Chronic Kidney Disease on Various Auditory Parameters – Results from a Tertiary Care Hospital in India

Journal of Medicine ◽

10.3329/jom.v21i1.44098 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 31-35

Author(s):

Deepak Jain ◽

HK Aggarwal ◽

Shailesh Bhatia ◽

Jaikrit Bhutani

Keyword(s):

Chronic Kidney Disease ◽

Hearing Loss ◽

Kidney Disease ◽

Tertiary Care ◽

Hearing Threshold ◽

Pure Tone Audiometry ◽

Care Hospital ◽

Auditory Function ◽

Auditory Evoked Response ◽

Patient Groups

Background: An association between chronic kidney disease (CKD) and hearing loss was first described in patients with Alport syndrome. Patients with CKD develop sensorineural hearing loss with the progression of the disease. Studies using BAER as an index of auditory function among patients with CKD showed evidence of various degrees of auditory dysfunction. Materials and methods: 100 adult CKD patients (stage 3 – 5 and 5D) and 50 controls were included in the study. Clinical and biochemical parameters were assessed and all the patients and controls underwent Pure Tone Audiometry (PTA) and Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response (BAER) evaluation. Results: When hearing thresholds were compared between the patients and controls PTA showed an increase in hearing threshold in all patient groups. This increase was more noticeable at higher frequencies (4 and 8 kHz). Compared with healthy controls, a highly significant delay was observed in CKD patients in both absolute and interpeak latencies in BAER in the present study. Conclusion: The present study provides a concrete evidence to the otherwise disputed relation of auditory function in CKD proving that hearing is permanently affected by ESRD at all levels of the auditory neural pathway. J MEDICINE JAN 2020; 21 (1) : 31-35

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Efficacy of Hyperbaric Oxygen on Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss and Its Correlation with Treatment Course: Prospective Clinical Research

Audiology and Neurotology ◽

10.1159/000518615 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-7

Author(s):

Chao Huang ◽

Ge Tan ◽

Jing Xiao ◽

Guihua Wang

Keyword(s):

Hearing Loss ◽

Sensorineural Hearing Loss ◽

Hyperbaric Oxygen ◽

Hearing Threshold ◽

Pure Tone Audiometry ◽

Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss ◽

Sensorineural Hearing ◽

Control Group ◽

Related Factors ◽

Group B

Objectives: This study was conducted to explore the effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) in the treatment of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) and recommend the appropriate course of treatment. Methods: 102 patients (105 diseased ears) with ISSNHL were recruited from the Department of Neurology and Otorhinolaryngology, West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, between January 2018 and September 2020. Of them, 45 patients (group A) received intravenous steroid (IVS), and the remaining patients (group B) received IVS and HBO therapy (HBOT). Pure-tone audiometry (PTA) was performed twice at baseline and 10 days after treatment. Patients in group B were subdivided into group 1 (≤10 sessions) and group 2 (>11 sessions) to verify the correlation between the efficacy and course of HBOT, at the follow-up endpoint, the PTA was performed again. The multivariate logistical regression model was used to analyze the related factors of prognosis. Results: Compared with the control group, significantly larger hearing gains and better hearing recovery rate were observed in the IVS + HBOT group (p < 0.05). The time of treatment and course of HBOT were significantly correlated with the hearing threshold after treatment (p < 0.05) and had no significant relationship with tinnitus and age (p > 0.05). Conclusion: HBOT + IVS is an effective method for ISSNHL, especially for the recovery of low-frequency hearing and initial hearing levels of severe and profound. Tinnitus is the most common concomitant symptom of ISSNHL, and prolonging the course of HBOT did not significantly improve it. Initiating HBOT within 7 days for 10–25 sessions of treatment was more beneficial.

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AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY OF HEARING THRESHOLDS IN PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS

10.36106/ijar/5201823 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 49-51

Author(s):

R. Shanthimalar ◽

R. Bhuvaneswari ◽

V. Sumathi

Keyword(s):

Hearing Loss ◽

Tamil Nadu ◽

Pure Tone ◽

Hearing Threshold ◽

Pure Tone Audiometry ◽

P Value ◽

Professional Drivers ◽

Threshold Levels ◽

Hearing Thresholds ◽

The Right

Introduction: Noise has become a very important stress factor in the environment. Drivers are the most commonly affected persons due to trafc noise. The majority of drivers remain unaware about noise induced hearing loss as this is an insidious process, leading to temporary or permanent hearing impairment, but preventable. Pure Tone audiometric test is used to determine the degree of hearing loss in noise exposed individuals. Aim & Objective: To nd the hearing threshold levels for high and mid frequency sounds for both ears in Professional drivers. To evaluate the preponderance of hearing loss between right and left ear using hearing thresholds. Materials & Methods: This study was conducted in 100 Professional male drivers aged between 30-40 years who are working in Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation, Madurai. Pure tone audiometry was used to measure the high and mid frequency hearing threshold levels in both ears. Results: The mean (SD) hearing threshold for high and mid frequency sounds was signicantly higher in left ear comparative to right ear with P value < 0.05. The statistically signicant difference in hearing loss was observed between both ears. Conclusion : Our study showed statistically signicant higher hearing threshold for high and mid frequency sounds in left ear compared to right ear, that concludes left ear is more prone for hearing loss than the right ear

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Association between Ocular Pseudoexfoliation and Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Journal of Ophthalmology ◽

10.1155/2014/825936 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 2014 ◽

pp. 1-4 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Nandini Vijaya Singham ◽

Mimiwati Zahari ◽

Mohammadreza Peyman ◽

Narayanan Prepageran ◽

Visvaraja Subrayan

Keyword(s):

Hearing Loss ◽

Sensorineural Hearing Loss ◽

Hearing Threshold ◽

Pure Tone Audiometry ◽

The Body ◽

Sensorineural Hearing ◽

Control Group ◽

Speech Comprehension ◽

Hearing Thresholds ◽

Significant Difference

Background. Our study aimed to investigate an association between ocular pseudoexfoliation (PXF) and sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and to compare them with age and sex matched controls without pseudoexfoliation.Method. This was a case-control study of 123 patients which included 68 cases with PXF (at least one eye) and 55 controls without pseudoexfoliation. Pure-tone audiometry (PTA) was done for these patients at sound frequencies taken as important for speech comprehension, that is, 250 Hertz (Hz), 500 Hz, 1000 Hz, and 2000 Hz.Results. There were 41 patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PXE) and 27 with pseudoexfoliative glaucoma (PXEG). The majority of patients with hearing loss (60%;n=51) were PXF patients and the remaining 40%(n=34)were controls. Below average hearing thresholds were significantly higher in the pseudoexfoliation group compared to the control group (P=0.01; odds ratio (OR), 3.00; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.25–7.19). However, there was no significant difference in the mean hearing threshold levels between the three groups (PXE, PXEG, and controls) in either ear (ANOVA, right ear:P=0.46and left earP=0.36).Conclusion. Our study found an association between PXF and SNHL, confirming that PXF can involve organs in the body other than the eye.

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Frequency-Discrimination Ability of Hearing-Impaired Listeners

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/jshr.2401.108 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 24 (1) ◽

pp. 108-112 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

P. M. Zurek ◽

C. Formby

Keyword(s):

Hearing Loss ◽

Hearing Impairment ◽

Frequency Modulation ◽

Hearing Threshold ◽

Low Frequency ◽

Frequency Discrimination ◽

Normal Hearing ◽

Hearing Impaired ◽

Discrimination Ability ◽

Hearing Sensitivity

Thresholds for frequency modulation were measured by an adaptive, two-alternative, forced-choice method with ten listeners: eight who showed varying degrees of sensorineural hearing impairment, and two with normal-hearing sensitivity. Results for test frequencies spaced at octave intervals between 125 and 4000 Hz showed that, relative to normal-hearing listeners, the ability of the hearing-impaired listeners to detect a sinusoidal frequency modulation: (1) is diminished above a certain level of hearing loss; and (2) is more disrupted for low-frequency tones than for high-frequency tones, given the same degree of hearing loss at the test frequency. The first finding is consistent with that of previous studies which show a general deterioration of frequency-discrimination ability associated with moderate, or worse, hearing loss. It is proposed that the second finding may be explained: 1) by differential impairment of the temporal and place mechanisms presumed to, encode pitch at the lower and higher frequencies, respectively; and/or, 2) for certain configurations of hearing loss, by the asymmetrical pattern of cochlear excitation that may lead to the underestimation, from measurements of threshold sensitivity, of hearing impairment for low-frequency tones and consequently to relatively large changes in frequency discrimination for small shifts in hearing threshold.

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Prevalance of Noise Induced Hearing Loss among Traffic Police Personnel of Kathmandu Metropolitan City

Kathmandu University Medical Journal ◽

10.3126/kumj.v9i4.6343 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 274-278 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

I Shrestha ◽

B L Shrestha ◽

M Pokharel ◽

R C M Amatya ◽

D R Karki

Keyword(s):

Hearing Loss ◽

Noise Exposure ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Hearing Threshold ◽

Pure Tone Audiometry ◽

University Hospital ◽

P Value ◽

Noise Induced Hearing Loss ◽

Traffic Police ◽

Police Personnel

Background Noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a major preventable occupational health hazard. Objective To measure permanent threshold shift in traffic police personnel due to noise exposure and to examine whether it was associated with duration of noise exposure, years of work and risk factors. Methods Cross sectional, descriptive study conducted at Dhulikhel hospital, Kathmandu University Hospital in 110 responding traffic police personnel. Detailed history and clinical examination of ear, impedence audiometry and pure tone audiometry was performed. Results Mean age group was 29.82 years; 82(74.5%) were males and 28 (25.5%) were females. Mean duration of service is 11.86 years. Twenty six (23.6%) had tinnitus and 39(35.5%) had blocked sensation in ear. Sixty five (59.1%) worked between 10-19 years. Alcohol and smoking shows positive impact on NIHL (p value =0.00). Odds ratio with 95% confidence interval were 4.481 (1.925-10.432) and 6.578 (2.306-18.764) respectively. Among 73(66.4%) noise induced hearing loss positive cases, bilateral involvement was seen in 45 (40.9%) and unilateral in 28(25.4 %) cases. Among unilateral cases most were left sided. Hearing threshold at 4 kHz increased according to age and duration of service. Conclusion Traffic police personnel are in constant risk of noise induced hearing loss. Screening for hearing loss is recommended for people exposed to noise.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/kumj.v9i4.6343 Kathmandu Univ Med J 2011;9(4):274-8

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