The effect of age and hearing sensitivity at frequencies above 8 kHz on auditory stream segregation and speech perception.

The effects of age and mild hearing loss over the extended high-frequency (EHF) range from 9000 to 16 000 Hz on speech perception and auditory stream segregation were assessed using four groups: (1) young with normal hearing threshold levels (HTLs) over both the conventional and EHF range; (2) older with audiograms matched to those for group 1; (3) young with normal HTLs over the conventional frequency range and elevated HTLs over the EHF range; (4) older with audiograms matched to those for group 3. For speech in quiet, speech recognition thresholds and speech identification scores did not differ significantly across groups. For monosyllables in noise, both greater age and hearing loss over the EHF range adversely affected performance, but the effect of age was much larger than the effect of hearing status. Stream segregation was assessed using a rapid sequence of vowel stimuli differing in fundamental frequency (F0). Larger differences in F0 were required for stream segregation for the two groups with impaired hearing in the EHF range, but there was no significant effect of age. It is argued that impaired hearing in the EHF range is associated with impaired auditory function at lower frequencies, despite normal audiometric thresholds at those frequencies.

A Report on Cases with Communication Disorders at a Tertiary care Hospital in Mysore District of Karnataka, India: A Retrospective Study Across Five Years.

Communication disorders affect an individual's social, emotional and behavioural well-being. Estimating the number of clients with various causes of communication disorders can assist in the prevention, early identification, intervention, rehabilitation and counselling process. India is the second-largest populated country with diversity in terms of culture and geography. Therefore, estimating the data on number of clients presenting with communication disorders is warranted across different parts of the country. In a retrospective study, the clinical records of cases reporting to the JSS Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysore, for the last five years were reviewed. A total of 9511 cases diagnosed with communication disorders were included in the study. The percentage of male cases was higher than the females amongst all the types of communication disorders. The percentage of paediatric cases with speech and language disorders was the highest, followed by adult cases. Across the hearing disorders, the highest number of cases were from the adult age group, and the lowest number of hearing-disordered cases were noted in the paediatric age group throughout all five years. Among all the risk factors, perinatal history was the highest seen risk factor, and consanguinity was the lowest seen risk factor associated with communication disorders. The results of the present study revealed that among cases with communication disorders at the tertiary care hospital in Mysore, hearing impairment was one of the most commonly seen conditions, followed by child language disorders. The history of perinatal factors as a risk for communication disorders was noted in a maximum number of cases.