DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS BY THE DIRECTIONAL HEARING TEST AND THE DISTORTED SPEECH TEST

Abstract Purpose Numerous endeavors have been undertaken to preserve hearing in cochlear implant (CI) patients. Particularly, optimization of electrode array design aims at preservation of residual hearing (RH). This study examines whether a slim perimodiolar (PM) electrode array could bear the capability to preserve hearing. Methods A total of 47 patients underwent cochlear implantation receiving the PM electrode. (i) Patients with pure tone audiogram (PTA) thresholds better than 85 dB and/or hearing loss for Freiburg speech test numbers less than 60 dB and more than 50% maximum monosyllabic understanding were assigned to the RH group (n = 17), while all others belonged to the noRH group (n = 30). (ii) Another group implanted with a slim straight, lateral wall (LW) electrode was recruited for comparison. Results We compared 17 RH–30 noRH patients all receiving the PM electrode. RH in PM recipients decreased faster than in LW recipients. No significant differences were observed between both (RH v/s noRH) groups in NRT thresholds, Freiburg speech test and A§E® phonemes. Analogous satisfaction levels were indicated through the questionnaires in terms of sound quality, hearing in silence, noise and directional hearing in both groups. Conclusions The results suggest that hearing preservation is influenced not only by electrode shape but various factors. This study opens an avenue for further investigations to elucidate and enumerate the causes for progressive hearing loss.

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Tumor Diagnosis

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100053966 ◽

1982 ◽

Vol 40 ◽

pp. 262-265

Author(s):

Bruce Mackay

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Transmission Electron Microscopy ◽

Differential Diagnosis ◽

Light Microscopy ◽

Clinical Examination ◽

Ultrastructural Study ◽

Diagnostic Procedures ◽

Specific Diagnosis ◽

Transmission Electron ◽

Microscopic Diagnosis

The broadest application of transmission electron microscopy (EM) in diagnostic medicine is the identification of tumors that cannot be classified by routine light microscopy. EM is useful in the evaluation of approximately 10% of human neoplasms, but the extent of its contribution varies considerably. It may provide a specific diagnosis that can not be reached by other means, but in contrast, the information obtained from ultrastructural study of some 10% of tumors does not significantly add to that available from light microscopy. Most cases fall somewhere between these two extremes: EM may correct a light microscopic diagnosis, or serve to narrow a differential diagnosis by excluding some of the possibilities considered by light microscopy. It is particularly important to correlate the EM findings with data from light microscopy, clinical examination, and other diagnostic procedures.

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Adaptation of the Connected Speech Test: Rerecording and Passage Equivalency

American Journal of Audiology ◽

10.1044/2019_aja-19-00052 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 29 (2) ◽

pp. 259-264 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Hasan K. Saleh ◽

Paula Folkeard ◽

Ewan Macpherson ◽

Susan Scollie

Keyword(s):

Speech Perception ◽

North American ◽

First Language ◽

Intraclass Correlation ◽

Normal Hearing ◽

Connected Speech ◽

Internal Reliability ◽

Speech Test ◽

The Mean ◽

Unit Standard

Purpose The original Connected Speech Test (CST; Cox et al., 1987) is a well-regarded and often utilized speech perception test. The aim of this study was to develop a new version of the CST using a neutral North American accent and to assess the use of this updated CST on participants with normal hearing. Method A female English speaker was recruited to read the original CST passages, which were recorded as the new CST stimuli. A study was designed to assess the newly recorded CST passages' equivalence and conduct normalization. The study included 19 Western University students (11 females and eight males) with normal hearing and with English as a first language. Results Raw scores for the 48 tested passages were converted to rationalized arcsine units, and average passage scores more than 1 rationalized arcsine unit standard deviation from the mean were excluded. The internal reliability of the 32 remaining passages was assessed, and the two-way random effects intraclass correlation was .944. Conclusion The aim of our study was to create new CST stimuli with a more general North American accent in order to minimize accent effects on the speech perception scores. The study resulted in 32 passages of equivalent difficulty for listeners with normal hearing.

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Hearing Aid Amplification Reduces Communication Effort of People With Hearing Impairment and Their Conversation Partners

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/2020_jslhr-19-00350 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 63 (4) ◽

pp. 1299-1311 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Timothy Beechey ◽

Jörg M. Buchholz ◽

Gitte Keidser

Keyword(s):

Hearing Impairment ◽

Hearing Aid ◽

Normal Hearing ◽

Referential Communication ◽

Hearing Impaired ◽

Directional Hearing ◽

Acoustic Environment ◽

Communication Task ◽

Acoustic Environments ◽

The Impact

Objectives This study investigates the hypothesis that hearing aid amplification reduces effort within conversation for both hearing aid wearers and their communication partners. Levels of effort, in the form of speech production modifications, required to maintain successful spoken communication in a range of acoustic environments are compared to earlier reported results measured in unaided conversation conditions. Design Fifteen young adult normal-hearing participants and 15 older adult hearing-impaired participants were tested in pairs. Each pair consisted of one young normal-hearing participant and one older hearing-impaired participant. Hearing-impaired participants received directional hearing aid amplification, according to their audiogram, via a master hearing aid with gain provided according to the NAL-NL2 fitting formula. Pairs of participants were required to take part in naturalistic conversations through the use of a referential communication task. Each pair took part in five conversations, each of 5-min duration. During each conversation, participants were exposed to one of five different realistic acoustic environments presented through highly open headphones. The ordering of acoustic environments across experimental blocks was pseudorandomized. Resulting recordings of conversational speech were analyzed to determine the magnitude of speech modifications, in terms of vocal level and spectrum, produced by normal-hearing talkers as a function of both acoustic environment and the degree of high-frequency average hearing impairment of their conversation partner. Results The magnitude of spectral modifications of speech produced by normal-hearing talkers during conversations with aided hearing-impaired interlocutors was smaller than the speech modifications observed during conversations between the same pairs of participants in the absence of hearing aid amplification. Conclusions The provision of hearing aid amplification reduces the effort required to maintain communication in adverse conditions. This reduction in effort provides benefit to hearing-impaired individuals and also to the conversation partners of hearing-impaired individuals. By considering the impact of amplification on both sides of dyadic conversations, this approach contributes to an increased understanding of the likely impact of hearing impairment on everyday communication.

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The Preschool Stuttering Screen for Health Care Professionals

Perspectives on Fluency and Fluency Disorders ◽

10.1044/ffd21.2.59 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 59-62

Author(s):

Joseph Donaher ◽

Christina Deery ◽

Sarah Vogel

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Health Care ◽

Differential Diagnosis ◽

Preschool Children ◽

Health Care Professionals ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Developmental Profile

Healthcare professionals require a thorough understanding of stuttering since they frequently play an important role in the identification and differential diagnosis of stuttering for preschool children. This paper introduces The Preschool Stuttering Screen for Healthcare Professionals (PSSHP) which highlights risk factors identified in the literature as being associated with persistent stuttering. By integrating the results of the checklist with a child’s developmental profile, healthcare professionals can make better-informed, evidence-based decisions for their patients.

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Auditory Threshold Consistency in Differential Diagnosis of Aphasia in Children

Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders ◽

10.1044/jshd.2902.147 ◽

1964 ◽

Vol 29 (2) ◽

pp. 147-155 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Jerome Reichstein

Keyword(s):

Differential Diagnosis ◽

Auditory Threshold

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The Effect of Sensori-Neural Hearing Loss on Threshold-Duration Functions

Journal of Speech and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/jshr.1104.842 ◽

1968 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 842-852 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

H. N. Wright

Keyword(s):

Hearing Loss ◽

Differential Diagnosis ◽

Time Constant ◽

Present Series ◽

Auditory Disorders ◽

Threshold Duration

Previous findings on the threshold for tones as a function of their duration have suggested that such functions may be systematically affected by sensori-neural hearing losses of cochlear origin. The present series of investigations was designed to explore this relation further and to determine also whether the amount of hearing loss present has any effect upon the results which are obtained. Preliminary studies were also carried out on a conductively impaired listener to indicate whether hearing losses of this type affect the threshold-duration function. The results indicate that the threshold-duration function is systematically affected by sensori-neural hearing losses of cochlear origin. This effect is manifested by a progressive shortening of the time constant relating threshold to duration and is not uniquely related to the amount of hearing loss present. The results obtained from the conductively impaired listener suggested that this type of hearing loss has no effect on the threshold-duration function, thereby implying that such functions may contribute significantly to the differential diagnosis of auditory disorders.

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