Hearing, use of hearing protection, and attitudes towards noise among young American adults.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate possible associations between college students' attitudes, risk-taking behaviour related to noisy activities, and hearing problems such as threshold shifts or self-experienced hearing symptoms. The sample included 258 students aged between 17 and 21 enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania, USA. A questionnaire measuring attitudes towards noise, use of hearing protection, and self-reported hearing symptoms was distributed among the students. After completing the questionnaire a hearing screening, including pure-tone audiometry and tympanometry, was conducted. The result revealed that 26% had thresholds poorer than the screening level of 20 dBHL. Attitudes were significantly related to self-experienced hearing symptoms, but not to threshold shifts. Attitudes and noise sensitivity was, significantly related to use of hearing protection. Hearing protection use was found in activities such as using firearms, mowing lawns, and when using noisy tools but was less reported for concerts and discotheques. It can be concluded that the young adults in this study expose themselves to hearing risks, since the use of hearing protection is in general very low.

Primary intracranial Hodgkin's disease. A case report and discussion.

We report here a case in which a frontotemporal meningeal tumor was found to be an isolated, apparently primary, deposit of nodular sclerosing Hodgkin's disease in an otherwise well man. The presentation of Hodgkin's disease as a primary, solitary intracranial lesion is rare; only 13 cases have been found in the world literature. The histological appearance of the tumor in the present case fulfills all the requirements for nodular sclerosing Hodgkin's disease according to current criteria of classification; the morphologic diagnosis is supported by appropriate immunohistochemical staining of the neoplastic cells for Leu M1 and LN2 markers, with absence of staining for the common leucocyte antigen. No recurrent local or disseminated disease has been manifest in a 14-month follow-up of the patient.

The penetration of misonidazole and desmethylmisonidazole into brain tumours and other central nervous system tissues in man.

The concentration of drug after oral administration of 1 g misonidazole to patients undergoing neurosurgery has been studied in samples taken from intracerebral tumours, normal brain, cerebrospinal fluid and brain tumour cyst fluid. A total of 31 patients yielded samples at various times 2-8 h after drug administration. Results show a considerable range of tumour/plasma percentages but from about 2-5 h after drug administration this averaged between 65-80%. Normal brain and CSF showed similar good penetration but drug entry into cyst fluid was lower (30-50%). A further study with desmethylmisonidazole given to 11 additional patients showed a similar range of tumour penetration but lower concentrations in CSF and cyst fluid (10-20%). Low values were also seen in some but not all of the normal brain tissue samples. Necrotic tumour also had much lower concentrations than macroscopically viable tissue. These results are discussed in terms of their clinical relevance to sensitiser studies on patients with brain tumours with drugs of different lipophilicities.

A case of asymptomatic passage per-rectum of a fractured redundant peritoneal catheter from a ventriculo-peritoneal shunt.

Over 30 cases of perforation of the bowel have been described by intact peritoneal catheters of ventriculo-peritoneal and some lumbo-peritoneal shunts. Because of this risk it is advocated that redundant or free fractured or disconnected peritoneal catheters should if possible be removed from the abdomen; although we could find no reports of morbidity from such free fragments. We describe a case of extrusion per-rectum of a redundant fractured peritoneal catheter which it had not been possible to retrieve after a revision procedure.

Efficacy of audiologic rehabilitation for older adults.

Two intervention procedures for the rehabilitation of elderly adults with hearing impairment were evaluated: analytic auditory training and active listening training. Seventy-eight older adults with hearing loss served as subjects. Twenty-six subjects received no training, 26 received analytic training, and 26 received active listening training. The effectiveness of the audiologic rehabilitation programs was determined via measures of speech recognition, hearing handicap perception, and psychosocial function. Active listening was found to be an effective treatment for helping individuals with hearing impairment improve their auditory-visual recognition of speech in noise and improve certain aspects of their psychosocial functioning. Support for analytic speech recognition drills alone was not demonstrated.

Screening for hearing loss in juvenile detention centers.

Results of hearing screenings for 226 incarcerated adolescents are presented. Screenings consisted of visual otoscopy check, pure-tone screening, and tympanometry. Failures were defined as excessive cerumen impeding a clear view of the tympanum, failure to respond at 25 dB HL for 1000 through 6000 Hz, or a Jerger Type B or C tympanogram. An overall failure rate of 35.5 percent was found, with 9.8 percent failing otoscopy, 7.5 percent failing tympanometry, and 25.3 percent failing pure-tone screening. Implications for medical and audiologic evaluation in the population are discussed.

Preferred Hearing Aid Response Characteristics Under Acoustic and Telecoil Coupling Conditions.

Telephone communication remains a major obstacle for hearing-impaired listeners. Even with the use of amplification, many hearing aid (HA) users report significant difficulty understanding telephone conversations. Although much effort has recently been focused on determining ideal HA performance for typical communication settings, less has been directed toward preferred HA responses during telephone coupling conditions. If one assumes that telecoil coupling strategies may require different HA performance characteristics because of line noise, filtering effects, coupling method, and output limitations imposed by the telephone system and receiver, then further study of listeners' preferred HA response characteristics under telecoil coupling conditions appears warranted.This study evaluated the preferred real ear aided response (REAR) for a group of hearing-impaired listeners under acoustic and telecoil conditions when coupled to a standard telephone receiver. Findings revealed that subjects preferred substantially more low-frequency gain than would be predicted using three popular prescriptive formulae. In general, a gradually rising to flat response was preferred by most of the hearing-impaired listeners. Implications for HA fitting and management will be discussed.

The effect of dehorning Brahman crossbred animals of four age groups on subsequent bodyweight gain.

The effect of dehorning Brahman crossbred cattle of four age groups on their subsequent bodyweight performance was monitored in 4 drafts of cattle between 1975 and 1980. During the 6 weeks following dehorning, bodyweight change of dehorned cattle was less (P less than 0.05) than that of horned cattle in half of the groups. There were no differences between treatments, in bodyweight gain to 12 months after dehorning, following any dehorning date or in final bodyweight, for each draft. The data suggest that age of dehorning is not critical.

An association between dentate status and hearing acuity.

Hearing improvement following dental treatment has been reported in case studies, yet few objective studies of this phenomenon have been conducted. To determine if a relationship exists between dentate status and hearing acuity, we conducted a retrospective study of elderly subjects enrolled in a health promotion clinical trial. Air-conduction pure tone average thresholds (PTA) administered to left and right ears at 500 Hz, 1000 Hz, 2000 Hz, 3000 Hz, 4000 Hz, and 6000 Hz were used to create six hearing outcome variables, and were compared between groups of subjects who either had 25 or more teeth (n = 182) or were edentulous (n = 43). Mean PTA thresholds were significantly greater (p < 0.05) in edentulous subjects for each hearing outcome variable, and differences between unadjusted group means ranged from 4.9 dB to 8.6 dB. Mean PTA thresholds adjusted for clinical factors known to affect hearing also indicated worse hearing acuity in the edentulous group. These pilot findings suggest an association between dentate status and hearing acuity.

Some factors relating to intelligence in treated children with spina bifida cystica.

The 83 survivors of a consecutive series of children with spina bifida cystica, born between 1963 and 1971 and treated non-selectively since birth, were assessed by intelligence and developmental testing. In nine of the children who had not required shunts the distribution of intelligence was within the normal range. The need for a shunt was significantly related to the presence of craniolacunae and to the sensory level of the lesion recorded at birth. Seven of the 74 shunt-treated children had suffered ventriculitis, meningitis or septicaemia, and their intelligence was significantly worse than the others. In the 67 shunt-treated children who had not suffered infection, intelligence was significantly related to the thickness of the pallium when the shunt was inserted during the first four weeks of life, and to the sensory level of the lesion recorded at birth. Intelligence was not related to the function of the shunt at time of assessment, to the number of revisions of the shunt, or to the rate of increase in head size during the first four weeks of life. It is concluded that the best indication of later intelligence can be gained at birth from the thickness of the pallium and the sensory level of the lesion.

Reported hearing protection use in young adults from Sweden and the USA: effects of attitude and gender.

The present study investigates differences between a Swedish and an American sample of young students regarding attitudes towards noise and the use of hearing protection at concerts. The study population was comprised of 179 participants from Sweden and 203 participants from the United States, who ranged in age from 17 to 21 years. Questionnaires were used to gather information on hearing symptoms and attitudes towards noise (Youth Attitude to Noise Scale). Multivariate analysis of variance revealed that attitudes towards noise differed significantly due to gender and country. Men had slightly more positive attitude towards noise than women, and men from the USA had more positive attitudes than men from Sweden. Least positive were the women from Sweden (except regarding attitudes towards the ability to concentrate in noisy environments). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to examine the influence of attitudes towards noise and country on young people's use of hearing protection at concerts. The results indicated that attitudes and country explained 50% of the variance in use of hearing protection.

Common carotid ligation for the treatment of ruptured posterior communicating aneurysms.

Sixty-four consecutive cases of ruptured posterior communicating aneurysms were investigated. Fifty-one cases were treated by abrupt ligation of the common carotid artery with no operative mortality and a small temporary operative morbidity.

Factors relating to intelligence in treated cases of spina bifida cystica.

Analysis of results on 83 survivors of spina bifida cystica showed the following: (1) in the seven children who had had central nervous system (CNS) infection, intelligence was impaired, six being severely retarded. (2) In the nine children who did not suffer CNS infection or require a shunt, intelligence was normal. The need for a shunt was related to radiological appearance (craniolacunae) and to the sensory level at birth. (3) In the 67 children who did not suffer CNS infection but did require a shunt, intelligence was related to sensory level found at birth and to thickness of the pallium measured within four weeks of birth. Their intelligence did not relate to the occipitofrontal circumference at birth, or to its increase before the insertion of the shunt. Intelligence did not relate to the function of the shunt at the time of assessment or to the number of times it had been revised.