The effect of recreational noise exposure on amplitude-modulation detection, hearing sensitivity at frequencies above 8 kHz, and perception of speech in noise.

Psychoacoustic and speech perception measures were compared for a group who were exposed to noise regularly through listening to music via personal music players (PMP) and a control group without such exposure. Lifetime noise exposure, quantified using the NESI questionnaire, averaged ten times higher for the exposed group than for the control group. Audiometric thresholds were similar for the two groups over the conventional frequency range up to 8 kHz, but for higher frequencies, the exposed group had higher thresholds than the control group. Amplitude modulation detection (AMD) thresholds were measured using a 4000-Hz sinusoidal carrier presented in threshold-equalizing noise at 30, 60, and 90 dB sound pressure level (SPL) for modulation frequencies of 8, 16, 32, and 64 Hz. At 90 dB SPL but not at the lower levels, AMD thresholds were significantly higher (worse) for the exposed than for the control group, especially for low modulation frequencies. The exposed group required significantly higher signal-to-noise ratios than the control group to understand sentences in noise. Otoacoustic emissions did not differ for the two groups. It is concluded that listening to music via PMP can have subtle deleterious effects on speech perception, AM detection, and hearing sensitivity over the extended high-frequency range.

A Screening Tool to Detect Stroke Aphasia: Adaptation of Frenchay Aphasia Screening Test (FAST) to the Indian Context.

BACKGROUND: Aphasia is a common consequence of stroke. To optimize recovery, it becomes critical as there are early identification and treatment of language deficits. The rising burden of stroke aphasia and lack of screening tools in the Indian context necessitates the need for a screening tool. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to adapt and validate the Frenchay Aphasia Screening Test (FAST) to the Indian context in two widely spoken Indian languages, Telugu and Kannada, for the literate and illiterate population. METHODS: A systematic process of adaptation and culturally appropriate modifications of the original FAST were done in 116 healthy controls and 115 patients. The validity of the adapted test was established. RESULTS: The optimum cut-off values for detecting aphasia in our sample ranged from 25 to 25.5 (literate) and 13.5 to 15.5 (illiterate) with high sensitivity and specificity. There was also a significant correlation between aphasia scores for adapted FAST and the Western Aphasia Battery (WAB), establishing good convergent validity. DISCUSSION: Results of the adaptation and validation of two Indian versions of FAST, suggest that it is an easy-to-use screening measure for detecting stroke-related language disabilities. The psychometric properties of the Indian version of FAST met the standardised requirements for adaptation and validation. CONCLUSIONS: The Indian version of FAST was found to be a reliable and valid bedside screening tool for aphasia in stroke patients. We aim that this study will facilitate the use of the test across other Indian languages and a large clinical population in the future.

Acoustic and Aerodynamic Characteristics of Choral Singers.

OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to investigate and compare the acoustic and aerodynamic characteristics of choral singers and nonsingers. METHOD: Twenty choral singers and 20 nonsingers in the age range of 20-30 years with no vocal pathology participated in the study. For acoustic analysis, the voice sample was recorded and analyzed using Praat software (Phonetic Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands) version 6.0.33 and for aerodynamic evaluation, Helios 401 PC based spirometer (Recorders & Medicare System Pvt. Ltd., Panchkula, Haryana, India) was used. RESULTS: The results from acoustic analysis of female groups revealed higher F0 in singers than nonsingers; higher jitter, shimmer, and noise-to-harmonics ratio (NHR) values were obtained for nonsingers compared to singers. Results from acoustic analysis of male groups revealed significantly higher F0 in singers than nonsingers and significantly higher shimmer and NHR values for nonsingers compared to singers. Results from aerodynamic analysis for both male and female groups revealed higher vital capacity, forced vital capacity, and slow vital capacity in singers than nonsingers. CONCLUSION: The results revealed better control over phonatory and respiratory subsystems among singers compared to nonsingers, although the singers were untrained. This could be possible due to the fact that long-term singing practices involving vocal modulation and changes in the breathing pattern, better respiratory control during the expiratory phase among singers. However, as the participants of the singing group are untrained, further studies are required to compare the acoustic and the aerodynamic characteristics with trained singers.