Hearing Characteristics of Stroke Patients: Prevalence and Characteristics of Hearing Impairment and Auditory Processing Disorders in Stroke Patients.

BACKGROUND: Stroke survivors may suffer from a range of hearing impairments that may restrict their participation in postacute rehabilitation programs. Hearing impairment may have a significant impact on listening, linguistic skills, and overall communication of the affected stroke patient. However, no studies sought to systematically characterize auditory function of stroke patients in detail, to establish the different types of hearing impairments in this cohort of patients. Such information would be clinically useful in understanding and addressing the hearing needs of stroke survivors. PURPOSE: The present study aimed to characterize and classify the hearing impairments, using a detailed audiological assessment test battery, in order to determine the level of clinical need and inform appropriate rehabilitation for this patient population. RESEARCH DESIGN: A case-control study. STUDY SAMPLE: Forty-two recruited stroke patients who were discharged from a stroke unit and 40 control participants matched for age. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: All participants underwent pure-tone audiometry and immittance measurements including acoustic reflex threshold, transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions, auditory-evoked brainstem response, and a central auditory processing assessment battery, performed in a single session. Hearing impairments were classified as peripheral hearing loss (cochlear and neural type), central auditory processing disorder (CAPD), and as a combination of CAPD and peripheral hearing loss. RESULTS: Overall mean hearing thresholds were not significantly different between the control and stroke groups. The most common type of hearing impairment in stroke patients was the combination type, "peripheral and CAPD," in the 61- to 80-yr-old subgroup (in 55%), and auditory processing deficits in 18- to 60-yr-olds (in 40%), which were both significantly higher than in controls. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to examine hearing function in detail in stroke patients. Given the importance of hearing for the efficiency of communication, it is essential to identify hearing impairments and differentiate peripheral and central deficits to define an appropriate intervention plan.

Importancia de la salud auditiva / Importance of hearing health

Se realiza un estudio sobre la exposición al ruido, sus efectos nocivos y la situación actual de lesiones auditivas en la juventud por el empleo excesivo de reproductores, así como exposición a niveles altos de ruido en discotecas. Se informa de la posibilidad de lesión auditiva en los músicos, técnicos de sonido y disk jockeys. Conscientes de esta problemática la Fundación Pedro Salesa Cabo está realizando un estudio conjuntamente con la Mutua Intercomarcal y la sociedad de prevención Prevint para el estudio de este problema y sus posibles soluciones. Este estudio «Impacto sonoro de la música en sus intérpretes y técnicos» comporta la realización de diversas pruebas auditivas en las personas afectadas (AU)

A study is made on the exposure to noise, on its harmful effects and the current situation on hearing problems in young people due to the excessive use of music players and to the exposure to high levels of noise in discotheques. Information is provided about possible hearing damage in musicians, sound technicians, and disk jockeys. The Pedro Salesa Cabo Foundation is aware of this problem and is conducting an extensive study, together with Mutua Intercomarcal and the society Prevint, to evaluate the problem and its possible solutions. This study "Impacto sonoro de la música en sus intérpretes y técnicos" is supported by different audiological tests in the people affected (AU)

The effects of antioxidants in the senescent auditory cortex.

We investigated whether a 2-month dietary supplementation of antioxidants, in the form of blueberry phytochemicals, could reverse or retard the age-related decline in temporal processing speed observed in the aged rat. To this end, extracellular single unit responses to frequency modulated (FM) sweeps were recorded in the primary auditory cortex (AI) of aged rats that had been placed on either a blueberry-supplemented or control diet 2 months prior to the physiological recordings. Results showed that most cells recorded from the blueberry-fed rats responded most vigorously to fast FM sweeps, similar to that observed in young rats. In contrast, the majority of cells recorded from the control rats showed a preference for slow FM sweep rates. These results suggest that age-related changes in temporal processing speed in A1 may be reversed by dietary supplementation of blueberry phytochemicals.

Potenciales evocados auditivos. Su aplicación en neonatología / Auditory evoked potentials. Its application in neonatology

El desarrollo de una adecuada vida de relación se sustenta, entre otros aspectos, en la posibilidad de lograr buena recepción de estímulos sonoros y garantizar el desarrollo del lenguaje. La detección temprana de disfunciones acústicas habilitan para un rápido criterio terapéutico tendiente a garantizar la rehabilitación y el desarrollo auditivo. El código ling³ístico se organiza desde los primeros días de vida, cuando la madre en tanto resuelve las necesidades biológicas de su bebé. La investigación electrofisiológica del sistema auditivo en perinatología se ha enfocado sobre la base de las respuestas evocadas del tallo encefálico sin descartar la utilización de otoemisiones acústicas. Los potenciales evocados auditivos de tronco permiten aportar a una mejor y más ajustada predicción de la capacidad auditiva. Se evaluó a 20 recién nacidos de término sanos, que no superaron las 48 horas de vida, considerando cada oído por separado. El Apgar fue de 9 en el primer minuto y 10 a los 5 minutos. En los 20 casos se realizó previamente detección objetiva de audición mediante el reflejo cocleopalpebral, utilizando instrumentos sonoros. El objetivo de nuestro estudio fue establecer valores propios de referencia, considerar la metodología del procedimiento en recién nacidos y comparar los datos hallados con otros centros de electrofisiología perinatal. (AU)

Potenciales evocados auditivos. Su aplicación en neonatología / Auditory evoked potentials. Its application in neonatology

El desarrollo de una adecuada vida de relación se sustenta, entre otros aspectos, en la posibilidad de lograr buena recepción de estímulos sonoros y garantizar el desarrollo del lenguaje. La detección temprana de disfunciones acústicas habilitan para un rápido criterio terapéutico tendiente a garantizar la rehabilitación y el desarrollo auditivo. El código lingüístico se organiza desde los primeros días de vida, cuando la madre en tanto resuelve las necesidades biológicas de su bebé. La investigación electrofisiológica del sistema auditivo en perinatología se ha enfocado sobre la base de las respuestas evocadas del tallo encefálico sin descartar la utilización de otoemisiones acústicas. Los potenciales evocados auditivos de tronco permiten aportar a una mejor y más ajustada predicción de la capacidad auditiva. Se evaluó a 20 recién nacidos de término sanos, que no superaron las 48 horas de vida, considerando cada oído por separado. El Apgar fue de 9 en el primer minuto y 10 a los 5 minutos. En los 20 casos se realizó previamente detección objetiva de audición mediante el reflejo cocleopalpebral, utilizando instrumentos sonoros. El objetivo de nuestro estudio fue establecer valores propios de referencia, considerar la metodología del procedimiento en recién nacidos y comparar los datos hallados con otros centros de electrofisiología perinatal.

Triagem auditiva em bebês de 2 a 12 meses / Audiological screening in infants from 2 to 12 months

Este estudo realizado no Centro de Saúde Escola da Fundaçäo de Assistência à Infância de Santo André, teve como objetivo identificar precocemente alteraçöes auditivas. A crescente preocupaçäo com a prevençäo em Fonoaudiologia motivou a realizaçäo deste trabalho, que consistiu em três etapas: orientaçäo a profissionais da área de saúde, realizaçäo de triagem auditiva e orientaçäo aos pais. A triagem auditiva incluiu anamnese, observaçäo global da criança, apreciaçäo das respostas comportamentais a estímulos sonoros e pesquisa de reconhecimento e compreensäo de fala de acordo com a idade da criança. Foram triados 75 bebês na faixa etária de 2 a 12 meses, 35 do sexo feminino e 40 do sexo masculino. Encontramos nesta amostra 4 bebês (5 por cento) de risco para deficiência auditiva, de acordo com os critérios estabelecidos pelo Joint Committee on Infant Hearing em 1990. Dez bebês (13,3 por cento) falharam na triagem auditiva. Os resultados obtidos concordaram com os descritos por Azevedo (1991) e nos permitiram afirmar que é de grande importância a realizaçäo de triagem auditiva em Centros de Saúde

Failure of a binaural comprehension deficit to select responders to earplug use in schizophrenia.

Previous studies have suggested that on the Auditory Comprehension Test, a significant proportion of schizophrenics demonstrate a binaural comprehension deficit. To test whether wearing an earplug in their more poorly performing ear would be beneficial, we studied 34 in-patient schizophrenics and noted a binaural deficit in 12 (35%). Of these, eight patients subsequently wore an earplug in each ear for at least one week. We found no effect of the earplug on psychopathology.

The predictive validity and accuracy of a screening test for language delay and auditory perceptual disorder.

Infants (321) who had been screened for language delay and auditory perceptual problems at 9 months of age were evaluated 1 year later. Of these infants 88.6% were correctly classified as at-risk or not-at-risk of delayed linguistic development. The correlation between performance on the screen and on a language scale was 0.49. The great majority of those with receptive and expressive delay continued to show problems at 2 years of age, whereas half of those with expressive delay alone were within normal limits. No evidence was found that a history of fluctuating hearing loss contributed to the development of either language delay or auditory perceptual problems.

Evaluation of the Words with Ipsilateral Competition test.

The Words with Ipsilateral Competition test was examined for test-retest reliability, item difficulty, and list differences. Results revealed that: (a) many test words contributed little or nothing to the overall test results; (b) list 1 and list 3 were not homogeneous in terms of item difficulty; (c) test performance was influenced by list order, and (d) test-retest reliability correlations were low but significant with test-retest differences ranging from -12% to 32%. Based on the present findings, it was recommended that use of the Words with Ipsilateral Competition test be discontinued until the test is revised.