Dietary Supplement Comprised of β-Carotene, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and Magnesium: Failure to Prevent Music-Induced Temporary Threshold Shift

This study examined potential prevention of music-induced temporary threshold shift (TTS) in normal-hearing participants. A dietary supplement composed of β-carotene, vitamins C and E, and magnesium was assessed using a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study design. Dosing began 3 days prior to the music exposure with the final dose consumed approximately 30-min pre-exposure. Post-exposure TTS was measured, with no significant difference as a function of treatment. Distortion product otoacoustic emission amplitudes were suppressed after music exposure in both groups, with no significant difference as a function of treatment. Tinnitus was more likely to be reported by the treatment group, but there were no group differences in perceived loudness or bothersomeness. Taken together, this supplement had no effect on noise-induced changes in hearing. Recommendations for future clinical trials are discussed.

The Expression of TNFα, IL-6, IL-2 and IL-8 in the Serum of Patients with Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss: Possible Prognostic Factors of Response to Corticosteroid Treatment

Introduction: Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) remains one of the major unsolved otologic emergencies. A viral infection, a systemic inflammatory disorder, as well as physical, mental and metabolic stress can trigger an innate immune response in the inner ear resulting in ISSNHL. Proinflammatory cytokines play a central role in this cochlear immunological cascade. Objective: To examine the expression of proinflammatory cytokines in the serum of patients with ISSNHL in correlation with the therapeutic outcome of intravenous administration of corticosteroids. Method: Forty-three patients primarily diagnosed with ISSNHL underwent intravenous corticosteroid treatment for 8 days. The expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) was detected with the use of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in serum specimens on the 1st and 8th day of treatment and it was correlated with the treatment outcome. Results: TNFα reduction and IL-6 increase strongly correlate with a good therapeutic result [χ2(2) = 13.12, p = 0.001 and χ2(2) = 16.78, p = 0.0001]. IL-8 increase reflects negatively on the outcome, however, not in a statistically significant way. No association was established between IL-2 variations and the therapeutic outcome. Conclusions: TNFα and IL-6 can be used as prognostic factors for the treatment outcome, whereas the prognostic value of IL-8 requires further statistical confirmation.

Effects of Round Window Opening Size and Moisturized Electrodes on Intracochlear Pressure Related to the Insertion of a Cochlear Implant Electrode

Intracochlear pressure changes during the cochlear implant insertion are assumed to be an important contributor to hearing preservation. The aim was to observe intracochlear pressure changes by different round window opening sizes and different hydrophilic electrode conditions. The experiments were performed in a cochlear model with a micropressure sensor in the helicotrema area. Different artificial round window membrane and different moisturized electrode conditions were compared. A punctured round window causes a significantly higher and an indirect moisturized electrode condition a significantly lower intracochlear pressure change. The degree of round window opening and the hydrophilic character of an electrode during insertion affect the intracochlear pressure significantly in a model.

Validation of the U-STARR with the AB-York Crescent of Sound, a New Instrument to Evaluate Speech Intelligibility in Noise and Spatial Hearing Skills

The Advanced Bionics® (AB)-York crescent of sound is a new test setup that comprises speech intelligibility in noise and localization tests that represent everyday listening situations. One of its tests is the Sentence Test with Adaptive Randomized Roving levels (STARR) with sentences and noise both presented from straight ahead. For the Dutch population, we adopted the AB-York setup and replaced the English sentences with a validated set of Dutch sentences. The Dutch version of the STARR is called the Utrecht-STARR (U-STARR). This study primarily assesses the validity and reliability of the U-STARR compared to the Plomp test, which is the current Dutch gold standard for speech-in-noise testing. The outcome of both tests is a speech reception threshold in noise (SRTn). Secondary outcomes are the SRTn measured with sounds from spatially separated sources (SISSS) as well as sound localization capability. We tested 29 normal-hearing adults and 18 postlingually deafened adult patients with unilateral cochlear implants (CI). This study shows that the U-STARR is adequate and reliable and seems better suited for severely hearing-impaired persons than the conventional Plomp test. Further, CI patients have poor spatial listening skills, as demonstrated with the AB-York test.