The comprehensive audiological evaluation in young violinists: the medial olivocochlear system, high frequency thresholds, and the auditory figure ground test.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to examine whether the medial olivocochlear hearing system functions, the high frequency hearing thresholds and speech discrimination in noise performance can guide us in assessing the risk of hearing loss among violinists. It is aimed to investigate possible hearing damage that is not reflected in pure tone hearing thresholds in violinists. METHODS: The participants (n = 50) who have normal hearing and the ages of 18-30 were included in this study in two groups: violinists and controls who are unrelated to music. High frequency audiometer, auditory figure ground test (AFG) for speech discrimination in noise performance, Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emission (DPOAE) and contralateral suppression on DPOAE for medial olivocochlear system function tests were applied to all participants as well as routine audiological tests. RESULTS: The high frequency hearing thresholds were obtained higher in violinists compared to the controls. In violinists, the AFG test scores and the suppression amount at 1 kHz were lower than the controls. In addition, DPOAE responses at 4-6 kHz were obtained lower in violinists (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The reason for high frequency hearing loss, decreased DPOAE response amplitudes, and poor medial olivocochlear function in violinists can be explained by the long-term exposure to high-level noise caused by the violin, one of the closest musical instruments. Routine and comprehensive audiological follow-up is crucial for musicians.

Vocal outcomes after COVID-19 infection: acoustic voice analyses, durational measurements, self-reported findings, and auditory-perceptual evaluations.

PURPOSE: The ongoing literature suggests that COVID-19 may have a potential impact on voice characteristics during the infection period. In the current study, we explored how the disease deteriorates different vocal parameters in patients who recovered from COVID-19. METHODS: A total of 80 participants, 40 patients with a prior history of COVID-19 (20 male, 20 female) with a mean age of 39.9 ± 8.8 (range, 21-53) and 40 gender and age-matched healthy individuals (mean age, 37.3 ± 8.8; range, 21-54) were included to this study. The data of acoustic voice analyses, durational measurements, patient-reported outcomes, and auditory-perceptual evaluations were compared between the study group and the control group. Correlation analyses were conducted to examine the association between the clinical characteristics of the recovering patients and measured outcomes. RESULTS: Maximum phonation time (MPT) and the scores of both Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10) and Voice-Related Quality of Life (V-RQOL) questionnaires significantly differed between the groups, which was more evident in female participants. The overall severity score of dysphonia was found to be higher in the study group than the control group (p = 0.023), but gender-based comparisons reached significance only in males (p = 0.032). VHI-10 and V-RQOL revealed significant correlations with the symptom scores of the disease. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with a prior history of COVID-19 had significantly lower MPT, increased VHI-10 scores, decreased voice-related quality of life based on the V-RQOL questionnaire, and higher overall severity scores in the auditory-perceptual evaluation. Self-reported voice complaints disclosed close relationships with the symptom scores of COVID-19 disease.

Methyl donor supplementation alters serum leptin levels and increases appetite but not body weight in cross-fostered male Syrian hamster offspring (Mesocricetus auratus).

A pregnant hamster's exposure to changes in environmental factors, such as light, temperature and nutrition, may influence behavioural and physiological changes in offspring. In this study, dietary methyl donor supplementation was employed to examine the role of maternal diet on appetite, body weight, serum leptin levels and locomotor activity in male Syrian hamster offspring. Dams were fed a standard control (SC) or methyl donor-supplemented (MDSD) diet through pregnancy and lactation. At birth, offspring were cross-fostered to dams fed an SC or MDSD diet (SC-MDSD and MDSD-SC) or remained with their birth mothers (SC-SC and MDSD-MDSD). At weaning, offspring were fed a SC or MDSD diet until 60 days of age. Food intake, serum leptin levels and locomotor activity were measured from 30-60 days of age. Offspring fed a MDSD diet post-weaning (MDSD-MDSD and SC-MDSD) consumed more than double the amount of food daily compared with offspring fed a SC diet post-weaning (SC-SC, MDSD-SC). Interestingly, there were no observed differences in body weight among all four groups. Serum leptin levels at 60 days of age were depressed in offspring fed a MDSD diet post-weaning (MDSD-MDSD and SC-MDSD). There were no observed differences in wheel running activity between the SC-SC and MDSC-SC groups. Wheel running activity was at least twice the amount in offspring fed a MDSD diet post-weaning (SC-MDSD and MDSD-MDSD). Taken together, these results indicate that the timing of methyl donor supplementation appears to be an important factor during the development of offspring.

Concordance of vestibular test batteries in patients with vestibular neuritis.

BACKGROUND: A growing number of vestibular function tests are utilized to differentiate and verify the diagnosis of vestibular neuritis. The aim of this study is to retrospectively investigate the consistency of the results of the objective vestibular test batteries in patients with a preliminary diagnosis of vestibular neuritis. METHODS: We reviewed a total of 37 adult patients (mean age: 39.03 ± 11.67, 19 females, 18 males) who met the inclusion criteria with a prediagnosis of vestibular neuritis from 379 patients suffering vestibular symptoms. Caloric test (CVT), video head impulse test (vHIT), and ocular and cervical VEMP tests were compared with Cohen's kappa (Κ) analysis according to the likely affected part of the vestibular nerve. RESULTS: The highest statistically significant K value was found between horizontal vHIT and ocular VEMP (K = 0.707; good grade, p < 0.05). All the tests compared with CVT were poorly in agreement (K = 0.288; 0.262; 0.256 for HvHIT, oVEMP, AvHIT, respectively, p < 0.05). DISCUSSION: VEMP and vHIT tests have prominent diagnostic value and agree with each other for detecting and differentiating the types of vestibular neuritis. Further studies should aim to include cutting-edge technologies such as functional HIT and ocular counter roll test.

Negative Effects of Noise on NICU Graduates' Cochlear Functions.

AIM: To evaluate the adverse effects of noise on hearing. Methods: Thirty-two infants that had been admitted to neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and 25 healthy controls were included in this study. Noise levels were recorded continously during the hospitalization period. Results: All healthy controls passed the hearing screening tests before discharge and on the sixth-month follow up. Hospitalized infants had lower "Distortion Product Auto Acoustic Emission Signal Noise Ratio" (DPOAE SNR) amplitudes (dB) at five frequencies (1001, 1501, 3003, 4004, 6006 Hz in both ears). DPOAE fail rates at 1001 Hz and 1501 Hz were higher than in hospitalized infants (81.8% and 50.0% vs 20.0% and 4.0%). Infants who failed the test at 1001 and 1501 Hz were exposed to noise above the recommended maximum level for longer periods of time. Conclusion: Hearing tests performed at sixth-months of life were adversely affected in NICU graduates.

Reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the vestibular rehabilitation benefit questionnaire

Background/aims: Vestibular rehabilitation has an important role in the reduction of symptoms and in the recovery of patients in peripheral vestibular pathologies. Objective and subjective vestibular assessment tools are needed to assess vestibular rehabilitation effectiveness. The aims of the study were to develop the Turkish version of the internationally used Vestibular Rehabilitation Benefit Questionnaire (VRBQ) measure and to demonstrate the reliability and validity properties of the Turkish version in patients with peripheral vestibular hypofunction (PVH). Materials and methods: 110 patients with unilateral PVH were included. For the analysis of test-retest reliability, Turkish version of VRBQ developed by translation-back translation method was applied to patients on the day of admission and the day after admission. To assess validity, patients were also evaluated with the VRBQ, Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), Vertigo Symptom Scale-Short Form (VSS-SF), Vertigo Dizziness Imbalance (VDI) Questionnaire. Results: The VRBQ showed moderate to excellent internal consistency in total score and subscales scores (VRBQ-total Cronbach's α = 0.91; dizziness α = 0.81; anxiety α = 0.68; motion-provoked dizziness α = 0.89; aypmtoms α = 0.88; health-related quality of life α = 0.87). In the test-retest reliability of VRBQ-total score was excellent (ICC = 0.94). The dizziness, the anxiety, the motion-provoked dizziness, symptoms and the health-related quality of life domains' ICC were found respectively 0.90, 0.89, 0.84, 0.90, and 0.92. The construct validity of the VRBQ was determined. The VRBQ total was correlated with all parameters (r: 0.308 to ­0.699, P < 0.05). The highest positive correlation was found between VRBQ total and DHI-functional (r: 0.680). The highest negative correlation was found between VRBQ total and VDI-total (r: ­0.699). Conclusion: The results suggest that the Turkish version of the VRBQ is reliable and valid for evaluating the vestibular rehabilitation results.

Evaluation of medial olivocochlear efferent system and hearing loss in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome

Background/aim: Autoimmune diseases are a remarkable issue for researchers due to their adverse effects on the auditory system, but for primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) there is little research on the comprehensive audiological findings in literature. The main objective of this study was to investigate the medial olivocochlear efferent functions of subjects with pSS and to examine the audiological findings. Materials and methods: The study included 36 subjects with pSS and 36 healthy subjects. All the subjects underwent testing including pure tone, speech, and high frequency audiometry; tympanometry and acoustic reflexes; distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE); and suppression of DPOAE. Results: The hearing thresholds of the pSS group were higher than those of the control at all frequencies (P < 0.001). Minimal to mild sensorineural hearing loss was observed in 52.77% of all the subjects with pSS. Additionally, all of the subjects had type A curve tympanograms, but the static compliances of the pSS group were lower and the acoustic reflex thresholds were higher than in the control (P < 0.001). In suppression levels of DPOAE, no statistically significant difference was found between the groups (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The study indicates that because of obtaining normal suppression levels in DPOAE, the medial olivocochlear efferent system is functional in pSS. However, there is a need for more tests, including auditory brainstem response, to evaluate the afferent auditory system in pSS.

Newborn hearing screening outcomes during the first decade of the program in a reference hospital from Turkey.

In this study, the authors report the results of a three-stage newborn hearing screening (NHS) program for well babies at the Gazi University Hospital (GUH) in Ankara between 2003 and 2013. GUH-NHS was performed by automated transient evoked otoacoustic emission (a-TEOAE) at the first and second steps and by automated brainstem audiometry (a-ABR) at the third step. The data were analysed to assess not only rate of congenital permanent hearing loss (CPHL), but also the effectiveness of the program during the years. A total of 18,470 well babies were tested. The data showed that coverage ratio for the GUH-born babies was increased and more outside-born babies (OBB) were admitted by time (means 84.31 and 11.28 %, respectively). Mean CPHL was found to be 0.26 %. Mean referral rate was decreased to 0.81 % by a-ABR from 2.16 % by a-TEOAE. Mean of missed cases in any stage of GUH-NHS was 4.88 %. It was seen that neither CPHL nor referral rate, but only ratio of missed ones presented increase in parallel to increment in OBB. This paper first presents that clinically acceptable screening procedures developed in GUH by time, and secondly higher rate of CPHL in Turkey than in the Western countries, and benefits of third stage screening by a-ABR because it prevented referral of 251 children (1.29 %) to the clinical tests. We think that this number is reasonably important regarding not only economical point of view, but also waiting lists in the audiology departments in a developing country, in which audiological service is still limited.

Methods and preliminary outcomes of pediatric auditory brainstem implantation.

OBJECTIVE: The objective was to provide information about methods used and preliminary outcomes for pediatric ABI (auditory brainstem implant). STUDY DESIGN: An analysis of outcome was performed in children who received an ABI. METHODS: Twelve children received a MED-EL ABI system. Progress in audition and language was monitored through parental reports, questionnaires, profiles, and closed-set tests. RESULTS: The median number of active electrodes was 9 of 12. Seven of 12 users consistently respond to sound, and 5 of 12 do not. Highest performers can recognize words in small sets and have begun to use some words. CONCLUSION: Auditory brainstem implants appear to be beneficial for some pediatric patients who cannot benefit from traditional cochlear implant surgery. Benefits in the short-term can be recognition of environmental sounds, recognition of some words and very commonly used phrases, and the beginning use of words. Although some of our ABI users demonstrate no response to sound, they do want to wear their sound processors all waking hours. The cause of lack of response may be related to the second intervention, which might have led to displacement of the electrode array, or presence of additional handicaps or syndromes. However, the results are less than optimal. The relatively short postoperative follow-up duration is a considered weakness of this study.

Vibrant SoundBridge application to middle ear windows versus conventional hearing aids: a comparative study based on international outcome inventory for hearing aids.

In this study, we aimed to compare the outcomes of satisfaction of the patients who used hearing aids preceding the vibrant sound bridge (VSB) application on middle ear windows (14 oval window and 5 round window). Nineteen adult patients with conductive or mixed hearing loss were included in the study. All patients used behind the ear hearing aids on the site which was selected for VSB application. The patients used hearing aids for at least 3 months before the VSB operation. The floating mass transducer (FMT) was placed on one of the middle ear windows (oval or round) in VSB operation. The patients were evaluated with International Outcome Inventory for Hearing Aids (IOI-HA) preoperatively after at least 3 months trial of conventional hearing aid and postoperatively after 3 months use of VSB. No perioperative problem was encountered. The total score of IOI-HA was significantly higher with VSB compared with conventional hearing aids (p < 0.05). No statistically significant difference was found between the daily use, residual activity limitations, satisfaction, impact on others, quality of life between middle ear implant and hearing aid (p > 0.05). The IOI-HA scores were significantly higher with the middle ear implant than the conventional hearing aid regarding benefit and residual participation restrictions (p < 0.05). Although the scores for quality of life assessment was similar between VSB and hearing aid use, there was a superiority of VSB in terms of benefit and residual participation restrictions as well as overall IOI-HA scores as the FMT was placed on one of the middle ear windows.

The Effect of Different Sensory Perturbations on Postural Control and Fall Risk in Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo Patients.

BACKGROUND: Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) patients may experience balance problems in various environmental conditions other than positional dizziness. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the postural control abilities and the ability to use sensory inputs in BPPV patients in different conditions. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the postural control performance of middle-aged adult BPPV patients in easy and difficult balance tasks, the effect of vestibular stimulation on the maintenance of balance, and the risk of falling, by posturographic evaluation in various conditions. METHOD: A total of 26 patients diagnosed with posterior canal BPPV and 26 controls were included in the study. Sensory Organization Test (SOT), Vestibular Stimulation Test (VST), and fall risk assessment (FRA) were applied to the participants, respectively. RESULTS: Significant difference was observed in SOT medio-lateral (ML) plane in Conditions 2 and 5 (p < .05). A significant difference was observed in the vestibular score in the SOT ML plane. No significant difference was observed in VST test scores (p > .05). In the FRA test, a significant difference was observed in the energy and gain parameters in the anterio-posterior plane (p < .05). CONCLUSIONS: The current study examined postural control abilities of patients with BPPV in extensive external conditions and in both planes, using various sensory perturbations and stimulation. It was thought that while BPPV patients were in the active phase of the disease, their postural control skills in the ML plane decreased and they might be at risk of falling.

Temperament and Voice Quality in Patients With Vocal Fold Nodules.

BACKGROUND: Vocal fold nodules are most common in women and patients with vocal fold nodules represent the largest group in voice clinics. The prevalence of vocal fold nodules is particularly high in professions where the voice is used on a regular basis. The quality of the voice is influenced by a number of factors, including temperament, stress, and emotional state. These factors can influence the physiological conditions of phonation. The objective of this study was to assess the acoustic parameters of voice in patients with vocal nodules in comparison to healthy controls, and to determine whether voice quality is influenced by emotional state and coping with stress. METHODS: A total of 32 patients admitted to the ENT Department of the University Medical School with voice disorders between March and June 2007 constituted the study group. All patients were found to have a vocal nodule on physical and stroboscopic examination. The control group consisted of 30 healthy individuals who did not report any voice disorders. All subjects underwent voice recordings in the voice laboratory. Following the completion of the voice evaluation form, an aerodynamic assessment (a, s, and s/z-time), an index of vocal impairment, the Rosenbaum's Learned Resourcefulness Scale, and the Temperament and Characteristics Inventory (Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris, San Diego Autoquestionaire), all subjects underwent further assessment. Acoustic analysis was conducted using the CSL program in Multidimensional voice program analysis and the Vocal Assessment component of Dr. Speech. RESULTS: The decrease in maximum phonation time in the study group was statistically significant. There were statistically significant differences in the parameters Mean Fundamental Frequence, Jitter, Relative Avarage Perturbation, Pitch Perturbation Quotient, Shimmer in dB, Shimmer, Amplitude Perturbation Quotient, Noise Hormonic Ratio, Soft Phonation Index from the Multidimensional voice program analysis, Jitter, Shimmer% from the voice assessment, and the perceptual rating (H, R, and B) from Dr. Speech's voice assessment analysis. The differences in the dimensions of anxious temperament and the examination of stress problem-solving strategies were significant between the study group and the control subjects. Differences in aerodynamic and acoustic parameters were found between disordered and healthy groups, as well as between individuals with different personalities. Overall, those with nodules were less likely to manage stress well than those without nodules. CONCLUSIONS: The study group and the control subjects showed significant differences in anxious temperament dimensions and stress problem-solving strategies. There were also differences in aerodynamic and acoustic parameters between the disordered and healthy groups, as well as between the groups with and without personality temperament differences. Overall, those with nodules were less likely to manage stress well than those without nodules. This finding indicates that stress management options are not effectively utilized in patients with vocal fold nodules. So, it might be a good idea to look into some kind of therapeutic approach and patient education for stress management.

Adults With Cochlear Implants: Residual Hearing, Musical Perception, and Temporal Skills.

PURPOSE: The main purpose of the study is to investigate whether the presence of residual hearing before cochlear implantation has an effect on temporal pattern recognition skills and musical perception in adults. METHOD: The study included adults with cochlear implants who were between the ages of 20 and 45 years. Adults with cochlear implants were divided into two groups: absent (n = 20) and available (n = 20) groups according to residual hearing before implantation. Frequency Pattern and Duration Pattern tests were applied to evaluate temporal pattern recognition, and the "Music-Related Quality of Life Questionnaire" was applied to evaluate musical perceptions. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in terms of cochlear-implanted hearing thresholds and speech recognition scores, musical perception, and musical activities, according to their residual hearing. On the other hand, the frequency and duration pattern recognition skills were statistically significantly better in adults with residual hearing. Also, statistically significant correlations were obtained in terms of temporal skills and musical perception subskills. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of residual hearing before cochlear implantation may affect temporal auditory processing skills. It is concluded that the integration of cochlear implants may affect temporal processing skills in adults as well as quality of life. It is recommended that experts be aware of this issue and pay attention to residual hearing.

The Challenges Encountered by Conventional Hearing Aid and/or Cochlear Implant Users During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the stress, quality of life, and access to hearing health services experienced by adults and children who use hearing aid and/or cochlear implant and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHOD: Perceived Stress Scale, Personal Wellbeing Index, and World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaires were applied online to 30 adults with hearing loss and parents of 61 children with hearing loss. Also, a survey was conducted to acquire more about the demographics of people who use cochlear implants and conventional hearing aids, as well as the difficulties they encountered during the COVID-19 period. RESULTS: Although child user families experienced more problems than adults during the COVID-19 period, the stress levels of child user families were higher than that of adult user families (p = .05). Even though there was no statistically significant difference, the families of pediatric users had lower quality of life than adult users. CONCLUSIONS: The stress/anxiety problems that arise as a result of this are coming to the forefront of both patients and their relatives. The findings indicate that creative strategies should be developed to give individuals with hearing loss efficient access to hearing health services.

Evaluation of Verbal Working Memory and Phonemic Analysis Skills in Adolescents with Cochlear Implant.

Introduction Adolescents with cochlear implants may have difficulty developing language and memory abilities. Objective The primary objectives of this study are (1) to evaluate the language skills and verbal working memory performance of early and late diagnosed-intervened cochlear implanted adolescents and (2) to investigate the relationship between the verbal working memory and phonemic analysis skills in adolescents with cochlear implant. Methods This study included 72 participants with cochlear implant aged between 10 and 18 years. The participants were divided into two groups; those who had first hearing aid at the age of 6 months at the latest and had a first cochlear implant in at least one ear at the latest at 24 months were included in the early group, all the others were in the late group. The phonemic analysis test, a subtest of the test of language development: Primary, 4th edition (TOLD: P-4) - Turkish version, was used to assess language-based abilities, and the meaningless word repetition (MWR) test was utilized to assess verbal working memory. Results The adolescents with cochlear implants who received early diagnosis and intervention performed statistically significantly better in phonemic analysis scores and verbal working memory tests ( p < 0.001). A statistically significant relationship was found between phonemic analysis and verbal working memory skills (Pearson, r = 0.567 and r = 0.659, p < 0.001). Conclusions Rehabilitation of phonological skills can contribute to the development of verbal working memory in adolescents with cochlear implants. There is a need for further studies on this issue with more detailed tests.

Effectiveness of pandemic influenza A/H1N1 vaccine for prevention of otitis media in children.

UNLABELLED: Our aim was to evaluate effectiveness of pandemic influenza A/H1N1 vaccine in preventing acute otitis media (AOM) and/or otitis media with effusion (OME), in a randomized, prospective and single-blind study conducted in the children aged of 6-60 months. This study was done between December 1, 2009 and April 30, 2010 during the pandemia between June 2009 and May 2010. On the healthy children, vaccinated against pandemic influenza A/H1N1 and age-matched unvaccinated controls, the rate of AOM, OME, and any otitis media (OM) attack (sum of AOM and OME attacks) confirmed by otoscopic and tympanometric examination, and their associations with risk factors were looked for. Otoscopic and tympanometric evaluation was done twice within the follow-up period of 4-8 weeks. Totally 46 vaccinated and 46 unvaccinated healthy children were enrolled. No difference in rates of AOM, OME, or OM was found between vaccinated and unvaccinated children. But logistic regression analysis revealed that unvaccinated children had 2.9-folds more risk for OME and OM, but not for AOM. Further, male gender and bottle feeding and/or using pacifier revealed significant relationships with AOM. CONCLUSION: We conclude that pandemic influenza A/H1N1 vaccine prevented OME rather than AOM attacks in children with 6-60 months of age.

Instantaneous Gain in Video Head Impulse Test: A Reliability Study.

Objective: Vestibulo-ocular reflex gain at 40, 60, and 80 ms following the head movement start is calculated as the instantaneous gain. The purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability of instantaneous gain values at 40, 60, and 80 ms with testing and retesting in healthy adults. Methods: The study was conducted with Interacoustics EyeSeeCam vHIT (Interacoustics, Denmark), and 42 healthy adults were evaluated twice at half-hour intervals (test and retest) by the same practitioner. Agreement of mean gain, gain asymmetry, and instantaneous gain was evaluated using a paired samples t-test. Results: Mean age of the participants was 33.62±11.17; 38.1% were male and 61.9% were female. In the degree of the agreement, paired sample correlation (r) between test and retest results of the horizontal semicircular canals was found to be higher than those of the vertical semicircular canals. Moreover, the highest correlation between test and retest for instantaneous gain, calculated for only horizontal semicircular canals, was found at 80 ms on each side (0.791; 0.838, right and left, respectively), while the lowest correlation between these parameters was found between the gain asymmetry values. Conclusion: The video head impulse test used in studies calculates the mean gain in approximately at 60 ms. However, the higher correlation between mean gain values at 80 ms in our findings indicates that gain calculation strategies and techniques for latencies should be discussed. Additionally, the low correlation of vertical semicircular canals for mean gain and gain asymmetry between semicircular canal pairs, which clearly shows that more standard and more reliable methods should be developed.

Assessment of auditory functions in patients with hepatic glycogen storage diseases.

BACKGROUND: Hepatic glycogen storage diseases are a group of diseases manifesting mainly with hypoglycemia and hepatomegaly. The patients require frequent daytime and nocturnal feedings. Hypoglycemia may cause sensorineural hearing loss and nocturnal feeding is a risk factor for the development of gastroesophageal reflux that may cause chronic otitis media and hearing loss consequently. We aimed to determine the prevalence and characteristics of hearing loss in hepatic glycogen storage diseases. METHODS: A total of 24 patients with hepatic glycogen storage disease (15 glycogen storage disease type I and 9 non type I) and 24 age/sex matched healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Pure tone audiometer, immitansmetry, acoustic reflex measurement, otoacoustic emission test (OAE) and auditory brainstem response (ABR) tests were applied to all participants. RESULTS: Hearing loss was determined in 17/24 patients (12 glycogen storage disease type I and 5 non type I) with pure tone audiometer. Interpretation of all the findings revealed a total of 8 patients had conductive and 9 had mixed hearing loss. All parameters were significantly different than the control group. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to comprehensively assess the auditory functions of patients with hepatic glycogen storage disease. Audiological findings determined a significantly increased prevalence of conductive/ mixed type hearing loss in the patient group which is a new finding in the literature. Further studies with extended patient numbers are required to enlighten the underlying pathophysiology.

Turkish stimulability treatment program for children with speech sound disorders: a preliminary study.

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to create a stimulability treatment program in Turkish language that targets Turkish consonants and vowels and to present the preliminary findings of the effectiveness of the program in a small group of Turkish children with speech sound disorder (SSD). METHOD: Twenty-two children with SSD participated in the study. The Turkish Articulation and Phonology Test (SST) was used in the assessment of children. Intelligibility ratings were completed by their caregivers through the Turkish version of Intelligibility in Context Scale (ICS), and the stimulability assessments were completed. Stimulability intervention were given for a total of 12 sessions. Comparisons were made between the pre- and post-test results of children, and the preliminary data of treatment efficacy were collected. RESULTS: The data analysis showed a significant difference in the total number of articulation errors of children between Time 1 and Time 2 (p < .0001), a statistically significant difference in auditory discrimination scores between the two measurements, (p < .05), and an increase in stimulability ratings from Time 1 to Time 2. CONCLUSION: These findings provide initial data on the positive effect of the Turkish stimulability treatment program for children with SSD. This preliminary study would contribute toward designing the main trial for an evidence-based study for the Turkish stimulability treatment program, thereby leading to better practices in SSD.

Evaluation of Efferent Auditory System and Hearing Quality in Parkinson's Disease: Is the Difficulty in Speech Understanding in Complex Listening Conditions Related to Neural Degeneration or Aging?

Purpose The effects of neurological diseases on the auditory system have been a notable issue for investigators because the auditory pathway is closely associated with neural systems. The purposes of this study are to evaluate the efferent auditory system function and hearing quality in Parkinson's disease (PD) and to compare the findings with age-matched individuals without PD to present a perspective on aging. Method The study included 35 individuals with PD (mean age of 48.50 ± 8.00 years) and 35 normal-hearing peers (mean age of 49 ± 10 years). The following tests were administered for all participants: the first section of the Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale; pure-tone audiometry, speech audiometry, tympanometry, and acoustic reflexes; and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) and contralateral suppression of DPOAEs. SPSS Version 25 was used for statistical analyses, and values of p < .05 were considered statistically significant. Results There were no statistically significant differences in the pure-tone audiometry thresholds and DPOAE responses between the individuals with PD and their normal-hearing peers (p = .732). However, statistically significant differences were found between the groups in suppression levels of DPOAEs and hearing quality (p < .05). In addition, a statistically significant and positive correlation was found between the amount of suppression at some frequencies and the Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale scores. Conclusions This study indicates that medial olivocochlear efferent system function and the hearing quality of individuals with PD were affected adversely due to the results of PD pathophysiology on the hearing system. For optimal intervention and follow-up, tasks related to hearing quality in daily life can also be added to therapies for PD.