Speech intelligibility and its relation to auditory temporal processing in Czech and Swiss German subjects with and without tinnitus.

PURPOSE: Previous studies have shown that levels for 50% speech intelligibility in quiet and in noise differ for different languages. Here, we aimed to find out whether these differences may relate to different auditory processing of temporal sound features in different languages, and to determine the influence of tinnitus on speech comprehension in different languages. METHODS: We measured speech intelligibility under various conditions (words in quiet, sentences in babble noise, interrupted sentences) along with tone detection thresholds in quiet [PTA] and in noise [PTAnoise], gap detection thresholds [GDT], and detection thresholds for frequency modulation [FMT], and compared them between Czech and Swiss subjects matched in mean age and PTA. RESULTS: The Swiss subjects exhibited higher speech reception thresholds in quiet, higher threshold speech-to-noise ratio, and shallower slope of performance-intensity function for the words in quiet. Importantly, the intelligibility of temporally gated speech was similar in the Czech and Swiss subjects. The PTAnoise, GDT, and FMT were similar in the two groups. The Czech subjects exhibited correlations of the speech tests with GDT and FMT, which was not the case in the Swiss group. Qualitatively, the results of comparisons between the Swiss and Czech populations were not influenced by presence of subjective tinnitus. CONCLUSION: The results support the notion of language-specific differences in speech comprehension which persists also in tinnitus subjects, and indicates different associations with the elementary measures of auditory temporal processing.

Quality of life in CRSwNP: evaluation of ACCESS and Lund-Mackay computed tomography scores versus the QoL questionnaire.

PURPOSE: Recently, a new CT scan classification of the extent of previous endoscopic sinus surgery called The Amsterdam Classification of Completness of Endoscopic Sinus Surgery (ACCESS) was published. The aim of this study was to investigate possible associations between traditionally used Lund-Mackay CT score and ACCESS score and their possible relationship to pre- and postoperative quality of life in a narrowly defined group of patients with recurrent CRSwNP. METHODS: Forty-nine patients who underwent a revision ESS for CRSwNP were enrolled in a retrospective study. CT imaging scans were evaluated, LM and ACCESS scores determined. All patients completed the validated Czech version of the SNOT-22 questionnaire before and 6 months after surgery. The correlation between the two CT scores and the QoL questionnaire was tested using Pearson's correlation tests. RESULTS: No correlation was demonstrated between LM scores and patient-based SNOT-22 scores neither preopratively nor postoperatively (r = - 0.0580; p = 0.918 and r = 0.0252; p = 0.8634, respectively. Similarly, no correlation was found between the ACCESS score and SNOT-22 before and after surgery (r = - 0.1988; p = 0.1708 and r = - 0.943; p = 0.5193, respectively). No linear relationship was demonstrated between the LM score and the ACCESS score (r = 0.075; p = 0.6053). CONCLUSIONS: The results show that even the CT score evaluating the completeness of previous procedures has no linear relationship to the quality of life preoperatively and cannot serve as a predictor for the outcomes of surgical treatment. This study also confirms that ACCESS evaluates a different aspect of the radiological finding than the traditionally used LM score.

Functional changes in the auditory cortex and associated regions caused by different acoustic stimuli in patients with presbycusis and tinnitus.

Presbycusis and tinnitus are the two most common hearing related pathologies. Although both of these conditions presumably originate in the inner ear, there are several reports concerning their central components. Interestingly, the onset of presbycusis coincides with the highest occurrence of tinnitus. The aim of this study was to identify age, hearing loss, and tinnitus related functional changes, within the auditory system and its associated structures. Seventy-eight participants were selected for the study based on their age, hearing, and tinnitus, and they were divided into six groups: young controls (Y-NH-NT), subjects with mild presbycusis (O-NH-NT) or expressed presbycusis (O-HL-NT), young subjects with tinnitus (Y-NH-T), subjects with mild presbycusis and tinnitus (O-NH-T), and subjects with expressed presbycusis and tinnitus (O-HL-T). An MRI functional study was performed with a 3T MRI system, using an event related design (different types of acoustic and visual stimulations and their combinations). The amount of activation of the auditory cortices (ACs) was dependent on the complexity of the stimuli; higher complexity resulted in a larger area of the activated cortex. Auditory stimulation produced a slightly greater activation in the elderly, with a negative effect of hearing loss (lower activation). The congruent audiovisual stimulation led to an increased activity within the default mode network, whereas incongruent stimulation led to increased activation of the visual cortex. The presence of tinnitus increased activation of the AC, specifically in the aged population, with a slight prevalence in the left AC. The occurrence of tinnitus was accompanied by increased activity within the insula and hippocampus bilaterally. Overall, we can conclude that expressed presbycusis leads to a lower activation of the AC, compared to the elderly with normal hearing; aging itself leads to increased activity in the right AC. The complexity of acoustic stimuli plays a major role in the activation of the AC, its support by visual stimulation leads to minimal changes within the AC. Tinnitus causes changes in the activity of the limbic system, as well as in the auditory AC, where it is bound to the left hemisphere.