Vestibular reflexes in essential tremor: abnormalities of ocular and cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials are associated with the cerebellum and brainstem involvement.

This study utilized cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials tests (cVEMP) and ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials tests (oVEMP) to investigate the vestibulocollic and vestibuloocular reflex arcs and to evaluate cerebellar and brainstem involvement) in essential tremor (ET). Eighteen cases with ET and 16 age- and gender-matched healthy control subjects (HCS) were included in the present study. Otoscopic and neurologic examinations were performed on all participants, and both cervical and ocular VEMP tests were performed. Pathological cVEMP results were increased in the ET group (64.7%) compared to the HCS (41,2%; p > 0.05). The latencies of P1 and N1 waves were shorter in the ET group than in HCS (p = 0.01 and p = 0.001). Pathological oVEMP responses were significantly higher in the ET group (72.2%) compared to the HCS (37.5%; p = 0.01). There was no statistically significant difference in oVEMP N1-P1 latencies between groups (p > 0.05). Because the ET group had high pathological responses to the oVEMP, but not the cVEMP, the upper brainstem pathways may be more affected by ET.

Speech auditory brainstem response in audiological practice: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Speech-ABR is an auditory brainstem response that evaluates the integrity of the temporal and spectral coding of speech in the upper levels of the brainstem. It reflects the acoustic properties of the stimulus used and consists of seven major waves. Waves V and A represent the onset of the response; wave C transition region; D, E, and F waves periodic region (frequency following response); and wave O reflects the offset of the response. PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical availability of the speech-ABR procedure through a literature review. METHODS: Literature search was conducted in Pubmed, Google Scholar, Scopus and Science Direct databases. Clinical studies of the last 15 years have been included in this review and 60 articles have been reviewed. RESULTS: As a result of the articles reviewed, it was seen that most of the studies on speech ABR were conducted with children and young people and generally focused on latency analysis measurements. Most used stimulus is the /da/ syllable. CONCLUSIONS: Speech ABR can objectively measure the auditory cues important for speech recognition and has many clinical applications. It can be used as a biomarker for auditory processing disorders, learning disorders, dyslexia, otitis media, hearing loss, language disorders and phonological disorders. S-ABR is an effective procedure that can be used in speech and language evaluations in people with hearing aids or cochlear implant. It may also be of benefit to the aging auditory system's ability to encode temporal cues.

Evidence of central involvement in essential tremor: a detailed study of auditory pathway physiology.

Essential tremor (ET) is a common tremor disorder that is likely neurodegenerative. The pathophysiology of ET involves the cerebellum and its connections in the brainstem and thalamus. Hearing dysfunction has been shown to be a non-motor finding in ET patients. A limited number of studies have suggested that cochlear pathology is the cause, but studies have not evaluated the integrity of the primary auditory pathway in ET. The main aim of this study is to investigate the integrity of the auditory pathway via auditory brainstem response (ABR) and auditory middle latency response (AMLR), thereby allowing us to evaluate the auditory pathway from the 8th cranial nerve to the cerebral cortex. Sixteen ET patients and sixteen age- and gender-matched controls (64 ears) were evaluated. In the ABR study, we detected prolongation of wave V peak latencies (ms) in ET (p = 0.02). In the AMLR study, P0 (p = 0.03), Pa (p = 0.008), Na (p = 0.03), and Nb (p = 0.01) waves differed between the two groups. Eleven ET patients and four control subjects had abnormal electrophysiological findings (ABR or AMLR or both) (68.8% vs. 25%, p = 0.01). Tremor duration was greater in ET patients with abnormal electrophysiological findings (p = 0.01). Finally, we observed prolongation of latencies after the ABR III wave, indicating that abnormalities exist within the superior olivary complex. For the first time, our research provides evidence that ET-related pathology is present at the subcortical and cortical levels of the auditory pathway.

Relationship Between Motion Sickness Susceptibility and Vestibular Test Results.

Objective: There is no test parameter with high sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of motion sickness. The aim of this study was to demonstrate a correlation between vestibular function tests and motion sickness. In addition, our secondary aim is to evaluate the sensitivity of the skull vibration-induced nystagmus test (SVINT) in the diagnosis of motion sickness. Methods: A total of 44 young adults aged 19-25 who had no hearing loss, complaints of dizziness/vertigo, or any diagnosed neurological disease were included. According to the motion sickness susceptibility questionnaire-short form (MSSQ-SF), participants were divided into the motion sickness group (21±1.38 years) and control group (20.5±1.18 years). Mean MSSQ-SF score for the motion sickness group is 78.18±12.2 and for control group 19.09±17.08. Ocular and cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potential tests, SVINT, video head impulse test, and oculomotor tests were performed. Results: The only significant difference between the groups was in n1-p1 amplitudes in the left ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potential test (p=0.014). None of the other parameters differed between the two groups (p>0.05). Conclusions: There was no significant relationship between motion sickness susceptibility and the results of any vestibular function test. Performing diagnostic tests for motion sickness in an environment that creates significant sensory conflict may yield different results. This study contributes to the literature in terms of evaluating the vestibular system using a comprehensive test battery and is the first to use the SVINT test in motion sickness.

Validity and Reliability of the Turkish Version of the Emotional Communication in Hearing Questionnaire.

PURPOSE: The Emotional Communication in Hearing Questionnaire (EMO-CHeQ) is designed to evaluate awareness of vocal emotion information and perception of emotion. This study sought to translate the EMO-CHeQ into Turkish in accordance with international standards and to ascertain its validity and reliability statistically by administering it to native Turkish-speaking subjects. METHOD: This empirical study involved collecting data from participants using a scale. A total of 460 individuals, comprising 158 women and 302 men (Mage = 33.43 ± 13.14 years), participated. The data encompassed 295 subjects with normal hearing, 101 hearing aid users, and 64 cochlear implant users. Exploratory factor analysis, followed by confirmatory factor analysis, was employed to ensure construct validity. Internal consistency was assessed with Cronbach's alpha reliability analysis, and content validity was applied to examine how effectively the Turkish version of the scale fulfilled its intended purpose. RESULTS: The total Cronbach's alpha internal consistency coefficient of the scale was .949, and the explained variance was 74.385%. The Turkish version of the EMO-CHeQ demonstrated high construct validity, internal consistency, and explanatory efficacy. The scale revealed significant differences (p < .05) in emotional communication among the normal-hearing group, hearing aid users, and cochlear implant users. CONCLUSIONS: The Turkish adaptation of the EMO-CHeQ is a credible and robust tool for evaluating how individuals perceive emotion in speech. Emotion perception was found to be suboptimal among hearing aid users compared to cochlear implant users, although it was most proficient in those with normal hearing. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.24520624.

The possibility of cochlear synaptopathy in young people using a personal listening device.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association of listening to music loudly through personal listening devices with cochlear synaptopathy in young adults. METHODS: Fifty healthy young adults selected among 109 volunteers were included in the study. Participants of high risk (n=25) and low risk (n=25) groups estimated according to ETDNL (estimated total daily noise level) were evaluated using pure tone audiometry, tympanometry, matrix test, electrocochleography (EcochG) and auditory brainstem response (ABR) to evaluate the occurrence of cochlear synaptopathy. RESULTS: Audiometric thresholds between the groups were not significantly different (p>0.05). High risk group participants showed poorer performance than the low-risk group on the TurMatrix test, in non-adaptive noise with -5 SNR and -7.5 SNR, and at the 50% understanding SNR level with headphones (p<0.01). There was no difference in the adaptive free field in noise test at which 50% understanding was achieved (p>0.05). The AP amplitudes on EcochG and wave V amplitudes on ABR were significantly smaller in the high-risk group (p<0.05). There was no association between ETDNL and I/V ratio on ABR. CONCLUSION: Poorer performance in TurMatrix and other electrophysiologic tests revealed the negative effect of personal listening devices on the auditory system. Our findings support the hypothesis that personal listening devices could cause cochlear synaptopathy. Long-term studies are needed to determine the effects of binaural hearing and duration of noise exposure on the auditory system.

Rhabdomyolysis after intraoperative myelography.

This case report suggests that the nonionic contrast agents may cause myoclonic spasms and seizures like the ionic ones. A 14-year-old female with congenital scoliosis was scheduled for T2-L3 scoliosis surgery. She had no medical history of a seizure disorder. After a negative wake-up test, myelography was performed with iohexol. Myoclonic spasms, disseminated intravascular coagulopathy (DIC) and rhabdomyolysis were diagnosed postoperatively. Anaesthesiologists should be aware of the complications which may occur after the use of nonionic and water-soluble contrast agents.