scholarly journals Efficacy of Sound Therapy for Tinnitus Using an Enriched Acoustic Environment with Hearing-Loss Matched Broadband Noise

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 82
Author(s):  
María Cuesta ◽  
Christiam Garzón ◽  
Pedro Cobo
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Chronic Condition ◽  
Broadband Noise ◽  
Sound Stimulus ◽  
Severity Scale ◽  
Acoustic Environment ◽  
Tinnitus Severity ◽  
Baseline Severity ◽  
Sound Therapy ◽  
Tinnitus Distress

Background: Tinnitus is a rather heterogeneous chronic condition/disorder which is difficult to treat. Some tinnitus treatments combine sound therapy with counselling. The main goal of this study is to report the efficacy of a customized sound therapy combined with counselling on a cohort of 83 tinnitus patients. Methods: 119 tinnitus subjects, recruited between January 2018 and June 2021, were subjected to a treatment consisting of a combination of an initial counselling session and four-month sound therapy. The sound stimulus was a personalized broadband noise colored by the audiometry of the subjects. These stimuli were given to the patients in mp3 format to be heard 1 h per day over 4 months. The tinnitus severity of the patients was evaluated monthly through the validated Spanish version of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory. Results: Of the patients, 30% (36 of 119) withdrew from the treatment before finishing, and 96% (80 of 83) of the subjects completing the therapy attained some relief after 4 months. The overall average THI decrease of these 80 participants was 23. However, when the THI was analyzed by severity scales, it was found that patients with initial mild, moderate, severe and catastrophic handicap had an average THI decrease of 14, 20, 31 and 42 points, respectively. Thus, the average THI decrease depended on the baseline severity scale of patients. Conclusions: Consequently, the proposed treatment was demonstrated to be effective in providing clinically relevant relief in tinnitus distress patients in just 4 months.

scholarly journals Rescuing auditory temporal processing with a novel augmented acoustic environment in a mouse model of congenital SNHL

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam C. Dziorny ◽  
Luisa L. Scott ◽  
Anne E. Luebke ◽  
Joseph P. Walton
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Mouse Model ◽  
Temporal Processing ◽  
Auditory Midbrain ◽  
Auditory Temporal Processing ◽  
Acoustic Environment ◽  
Hearing Sensitivity ◽  
Sound Therapy ◽  
Augmented Acoustic Environment ◽  
Sound Sensitivity

AbstractCongenital sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) affects thousands of infants each year and results in significant delays in speech and language development. Previous studies have shown that early exposure to a simple augmented acoustic environment (AAE) can limit the effects of progressive SNHL on hearing sensitivity. However, SNHL is also accompanied by “hidden hearing loss” that is not assessed on standard audiological exams, such as reduced temporal processing acuity. To assess whether sound therapy may improve these hidden deficits, a mouse model of congenital SNHL was exposed to simple or temporally complex AAE. Peripheral function and sound sensitivity in auditory midbrain neurons improved following exposure to both types of AAE. However, only exposure to a novel, temporally complex AAE significantly improved a measure of temporal processing acuity, neural gap-in-noise detection in the auditory midbrain. These experiments suggest that targeted sound therapy may improve hearing outcomes for children suffering from congenital SNHL.

scholarly journals Customised enriched acoustic environment for sound therapy of tinnitus

Acta Acustica ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 34
Author(s):  
Pedro Cobo ◽  
María Cuesta ◽  
Carlos de la Colina
Keyword(s):  
Broadband Noise ◽  
Acoustic Environment ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Sound Therapy ◽  
Retraining Therapy ◽  
Tinnitus Treatment ◽  
Hearing Damage ◽  
Sound Treatment ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

Tinnitus is an auditory disorder very difficult to treat. Whereas up until now there is not a “cure” for tinnitus, the most extended treatment combines counselling with sound therapy. When this sound is a broadband noise in the audio frequency band, this protocol is named tinnitus retraining therapy. Even though broadband noise was proposed at the beginning as the stimulus for sound therapy, many other sounds have been subsequently proposed and used, including tones, noise bands, music, and nature sounds. Although any sound, low enough to avoid annoyance, discomfort or hearing damage, is better than silence for tinnitus treatment, it is not still clear the relationship of the success of the therapy with the properties of the sound stimuli. The aim of this article is to propose an optimal sound treatment that provides a precise and selective stimulation of the whole auditory system. The proposed sound stimulus, Enriched Acoustic Environment, consists of sequential tones or broadband noise matched to the HL curves of the patients. The acoustical characteristics of these stimuli are analyzed and their positive effects in the treatment of subjects with tinnitus are reported.

Acoustic environment of admiralty inlet: Broadband noise measurements

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinshan Xu ◽  
Z Daniel Deng ◽  
Jayson J Martinez ◽  
Thomas J Carlson ◽  
Joshua R Myers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Broadband Noise ◽  
Acoustic Environment ◽  
Noise Measurements ◽  
Admiralty Inlet

Binaural Perception in Single-Sided Deaf Cochlear Implant Users with Unrestricted or Restricted Acoustic Hearing in the Non-Implanted Ear

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 187-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camille Dorbeau ◽  
John Galvin ◽  
Qian-Jie Fu ◽  
Elsa Legris ◽  
Mathieu Marx ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Tinnitus Severity ◽  
Speech Understanding In Noise ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Acoustic Hearing ◽  
Speech Cues ◽  
Contralateral Ear ◽  
Speech Reception Thresholds ◽  
One Year ◽  
Single Sided Deafness

Cochlear implantation (CI) can benefit patients with single-sided deafness (SSD) in terms of sound localization, speech understanding in noise, tinnitus severity, and quality of life (QoL). In previous studies, CI outcomes have been largely reported for SSD patients with normal “unrestricted” hearing in the contralateral ear. However, SSD patients may often have some degree of hearing loss in the contralateral ear (“restricted” acoustic hearing). In this study, we report results from a French clinical trial for CI in in SSD patients (NCT02204618). Localization, speech reception thresholds (SRTs) in noise, tinnitus severity, and QoL were evaluated in 18 SSD patients 1 year after CI. Data were analyzed for 2 subject groups according to the pure-tone average thresholds in the non-implanted ear: unrestricted acoustic hearing (UNRES; ≤25 dB HL; n = 10) and restricted acoustic hearing (RES; > 25 dB HL; n = 8). Across all subjects, localization was significantly better with the CI on than off (p = 0.005); there was no significant difference between subject groups (p = 0.301). When speech and noise were co-located (S0N0), there was no significant difference in SRTs with the CI on or off (p = 0.480); SRTs were significantly better for the UNRES than for the RES group (p = 0.005). When speech and noise were spatially separated (SCINNH), SRTs were significantly better with the CI on than off (p < 0.001). While SRTs were better for the UNRES than for the RES group (p = 0.024), the CI benefit was more than 50% greater for the RES group due to the restoration of high-frequency speech cues. Questionnaire data showed that tinnitus severity was significantly reduced (p = 0.045) and QoL was significantly improved after one year of experience with the CI (p < 0.001). Age at testing was significantly correlated with SRTs for the S0N0 condition; duration of deafness was correlated with SRTs for the SCINNH condition. There were relatively few correlations between behavioral and subjective measures, suggesting that both were valuable when assessing CI benefits for SSD patients. The present data suggest that indications for CI should be expanded to include unilaterally deaf patients who have normal hearing or mild-to-moderate hearing loss in the non-implanted ear.

scholarly journals Effect of sinusoidally amplitude modulated broadband noise stimuli on stream segregation in individuals with sensorineural hearing loss

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jawahar Antony P ◽  
Animesh Barman
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Sensorineural Hearing Loss ◽  
Amplitude Modulation ◽  
Modulation Frequency ◽  
Study Groups ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Broadband Noise ◽  
Sensorineural Hearing ◽  
Stream Segregation ◽  
Temporal Cues

Background and Aim: Auditory stream segre­gation is a phenomenon that splits sounds into different streams. The temporal cues that contri­bute for stream segregation have been previ­ously studied in normal hearing people. In peo­ple with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), the cues for temporal envelope coding is not usually affected, while the temporal fine structure cues are affected. These two temporal cues depend on the amplitude modulation frequency. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of sin­usoidal amplitude modulated (SAM) broadband noises on stream segregation in individuals with SNHL. Methods: Thirty normal hearing subjects and 30 subjects with mild to moderate bilateral SNHL participated in the study. Two experi­ments were performed; in the first experiment, the AB sequence of broadband SAM stimuli was presented, while in the second experiment, only B sequence was presented. A low (16 Hz) and a high (256 kHz) standard modulation fre­quency were used in these experiments. The subjects were asked to find the irregularities in the rhythmic sequence. Results: Both the study groups could identify the irregularities similarly in both the experi­ments. The minimum cumulative delay was sli­ghtly higher in the SNHL group. Conclusion: It is suggested that the temporal cues provided by the broadband SAM noises for low and high standard modulation frequencies were not used for stream segregation by either normal hearing subjects or those with SNHL. Keywords: Stream segregation; sinusoidal amplitude modulation; sensorineural hearing loss

scholarly journals Specific loss of neural sensitivity to interaural time difference of unmodulated noise stimuli following noise-induced hearing loss

2020 ◽  
Vol 124 (4) ◽  
pp. 1165-1182
Author(s):  
Hariprakash Haragopal ◽  
Ryan Dorkoski ◽  
Austin R. Pollard ◽  
Gareth A. Whaley ◽  
Timothy R. Wohl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Interaural Time Difference ◽  
Acoustic Trauma ◽  
Sound Level ◽  
Broadband Noise ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Auditory Midbrain ◽  
Midbrain Neurons ◽  
Perceptual Abilities ◽  
Encode Time

Sensorineural hearing loss compromises perceptual abilities that arise from hearing with two ears, yet its effects on binaural aspects of neural responses are largely unknown. We found that, following severe hearing loss because of acoustic trauma, auditory midbrain neurons specifically lost the ability to encode time differences between the arrival of a broadband noise stimulus to the two ears, whereas the encoding of sound level differences between the two ears remained uncompromised.

scholarly journals Relationship between headaches and tinnitus in a Swedish study

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandra Lugo ◽  
Niklas K. Edvall ◽  
Andra Lazar ◽  
Golbarg Mehraei ◽  
Jose-Antonio Lopez-Escamez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Characteristics ◽  
Phenotypic Characteristics ◽  
Functional Index ◽  
Multivariable Logistic Regression Model ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Tinnitus Severity ◽  
Pain Syndromes ◽  
Tinnitus Distress ◽  
As Stress ◽  
Severe Tinnitus

Abstract The heterogeneity of tinnitus is likely accounting for the lack of effective treatment approaches. Headaches have been related to tinnitus, yet little is known on how headaches impact tinnitus. We use cross-sectional data from the Swedish Tinnitus Outreach Project to i) evaluate the association between headaches and tinnitus (n = 1,984 cases and 1,661 controls) and ii) investigate the phenotypic characteristics of tinnitus subjects with tinnitus (n = 660) or without (n = 1,879) headaches. In a multivariable logistic regression model, headache was significantly associated with any tinnitus (odds ratio, OR = 2.61) and more so with tinnitus as a big problem (as measured by the tinnitus functional index, TFI ≥ 48; OR = 5.63) or severe tinnitus (using the tinnitus handicap inventory, THI ≥ 58; OR = 4.99). When focusing on subjects with tinnitus, the prevalence of headaches was 26% and reached 40% in subjects with severe tinnitus. A large number of socioeconomic, phenotypic and psychological characteristics differed between headache and non-headache subjects with any tinnitus. With increasing tinnitus severity, fewer differences were found, the major ones being vertigo, neck pain and other pain syndromes, as well as stress and anxiety. Our study suggests that headaches could contribute to tinnitus distress and potentially its severity.

scholarly journals Investigation of Tinnitus Patients in Italy: Clinical and Audiological Characteristics

2010 ◽  
Vol 2010 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Martines ◽  
Daniela Bentivegna ◽  
Fabiola Di Piazza ◽  
Enrico Martines ◽  
Vincenzo Sciacca ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Pure Tone ◽  
Hearing Threshold ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
High Frequencies ◽  
Tinnitus Severity ◽  
Hearing Status ◽  
Neural Connection ◽  
The Impact

Objective. 312 tinnitus sufferers were studied in order to analyze: the clinical characteristics of tinnitus; the presence of tinnitus-age correlation and tinnitus-hearing loss correlation; the impact of tinnitus on subjects' life and where possible the etiological/predisposing factors of tinnitus.Results. There is a slight predominance of males. The highest percentage of tinnitus results in the decades 61–70. Of the tinnitus sufferers, 197 (63.14%) have a hearing deficit (light hearing loss in 37.18% of cases). The hearing impairment results of sensorineural type in 74.62% and limited to the high frequencies in 58.50%. The tinnitus is referred as unilateral in 59.93%, a pure tone in 66.99% and 10 dB above the hearing threshold in 37.7%. It is limited to high frequencies in 72.10% of the patients with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) while the 88.37% of the patients with high-frequency SNHL have a high-pitched tinnitus ( ).Conclusion. Hearing status and age represent the principal tinnitus related factors; there is a statistically significant association between high-pitched tinnitus and high-frequency SNHL. There is no significant correlation between tinnitus severity and tinnitus loudness confirming the possibility that neural connection involved in evoking tinnitus-related negative reactions are governed by conditioned reflexes.

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