Virtual reality versus optokinetic stimulation in visual vertigo rehabilitation.

BACKGROUND: Visual vertigo (VV) is a condition at which there is worsening or triggering of vestibular symptoms in certain visual environments with large size (full field) repetitive or moving visual patterns as shopping malls. PURPOSE: This work was designed to study effect of virtual reality and optokinetic stimulation on rehabilitation of VV. METHOD: A total of 60 subjects divided into 2 groups that were simply randomized by the concealed envelope method: Group I consisted of 30 VV patients underwent vestibular rehabilitation using virtual reality. Group II consisted of 30 VV patients underwent vestibular rehabilitation using optokinetic stimulation. RESULTS: Significant improvement in performance in the two groups after rehabilitation with no statistically significant difference when comparing both groups. CONCLUSIONS: A combined intense rehabilitation program including OPK stimulation or VR rehabilitation combined with home-based exercises appeared to be equally effective for management of patients with VV and improving their quality of life.

Speech-evoked auditory brainstem response with ipsilateral noise in adults with unilateral hearing loss.

INTRODUCTION: Subjects with unilateral hearing loss (UHL) report difficulties in speech understanding in noise. Speech-evoked auditory brainstem response (S-ABR) provides cues for temporal and spectral encoding of speech in the brainstem. S-ABR recording in noise increases its sensitivity in evaluating the auditory processing and related disorders. OBJECTIVES: Study speech encoding at the level of brainstem when the auditory system relies on one ear and to study the effect of noise on this encoding. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: This study included two groups: control group consisted of 15 adults with normal hearing sensitivity and study group consisted of 30 adults with UHL. The study group was further subdivided into two subgroups: study subgroup A (SG A) consisted of 15 adults with right functioning ears and study subgroup B (SG B) consisted of 15 adults with left functioning ears. S-ABR in quiet and with ipsilateral noise was recorded in both the groups using complex ABR advanced auditory research module. RESULTS: In UHL, there was a statistically significant delay in the S-ABR onset and offset in noise compared to quiet. Moreover, quiet-noise (+5 SNR) correlation was significantly low compared to NH. Furthermore, pitch representation (F0 amplitude) was significantly degraded with noise. In addition, there was a statistically significant noise-induced phase shift in the transition region of speech syllable in these subjects. CONCLUSION: In monaural processing, pitch representation (F0 amplitude) and cross-phaseogram were the main affected domains. Speech phonemes of transient origin can be confused in subjects with UHL.

Auditory brain stem response and cortical evoked potentials in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

CONCLUSIONS: Delay in ABR and CAEPs wave latencies in children with type 1DM indicates that there is abnormality in the neural conduction in DM patients. The duration of DM has greater effect on auditory function than the control of DM. BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a common endocrine and metabolic disorder. Evoked potentials offer the possibility to perform a functional evaluation of neural pathways in the central nervous system. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) on auditory brain stem response (ABR) and cortical evoked potentials (CAEPs). METHOD: This study included two groups: a control group (GI), which consisted of 20 healthy children with normal peripheral hearing, and a study group (GII), which consisted of 30 children with type I DM. Basic audiological evaluation, ABR, and CAEPs were done in both groups. RESULTS: Delayed absolute latencies of ABR and CAEPs waves were found. Amplitudes showed no significant difference between both groups. Positive correlation was found between ABR wave latencies and duration of DM. No correlation was found between ABR, CAEPs, and glycated hemoglobin.

Audiovestibular function in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).

CONCLUSION: It was found that JIR children had potential sensory neural hearing loss and vestibular affection. Therefore, this study recommends: early complete audiologic evaluation of JIA child followed by regular follow-up, including TOAEs, extended high-frequency audiometry, and VNG. This follow-up is important for preliminary diagnosis and management in order to prevent the negative impact of hearing loss on a child's life. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess hearing in children with Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and compare them with a healthy control group. In addition to conventional audiometry, extended high-frequency audiometry and Transient otoacoustic emission (TOAEs) were used. This study also tried to investigate the vestibular function in JIR children by videonystagmography (VNG). PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study group comprised of 28 children with JIR and 28 healthy children. All subjects were examined audiologically using basic audiological evaluation, high-frequency audiometry, TOAEs, and VNG. RESULTS: Children with JIR had apparent normal peripheral hearing in conventional audiometry; sub-clinical sensory neural hearing loss was detected. This sub-clinical hearing loss appeared in statistically significant difference between them and normal in high-frequency audiometry and TOAEs. VNG test results showed affected tracking and second tests.