Play of the preschool age deaf child

This paper discusses the importance of play for the preschool aged hearing impaired child.

School counselors in the mainstream setting: a tool for working with students with hearing impairments in the public school environment

This study looks at public school counselors who work with hearing impaired students and the counselor���s awareness of specific issues of problems of these students.

The effects of earmuffs and hearing impairment on word discrimination in noise

This paper discusses a study to determine selection of hearing protective devices to ensure optimum speech discrimination.

Subjective versus objective measures of daily listening environments

This study examined hearing impaired listeners��� subjective perceptions of listening environments through a listening questionnaire and compared these results to objective measures mimicked by the questionnaire in the datalogging device SAM (Sound Activity Meter). Results indicate audiologists should not rely on patient reports of ���typical��� listening environments for hearing aid selection as significant discrepancies were present between several of the subjective and objective measures.

Perception of speech through a 500 Hz low-pass filter: sensory aids and communication strategies

This paper reviews a study to investigate how a hearing impaired person can learn to discriminate speech distorted by a low pass filter in a sensory aid.

The effect of talker age and gender on speech perception of pediatric cochlear implant users

Most clinically-employed speech materials for testing hearing impaired individuals are recordings made by adult male talkers. The author examined the possible effect of talker age and gender on the speech perception of children through the use of 1) two speech perception tests, each with four talker types (adult males, adult females, 10-12 year olds, 5-7 year olds), and 2) two groups of pediatric listeners: normal-hearing (NH) and cochlear implant users (CI).

An evaluation of private speech

This literature review examines the use of private speech among typically developing and hearing impaired children. This paper supports the view that private speech provides a self-regulatory function and guides behavior and problem-solving.

The effects of mass loading the ossicles with a floating mass transducer on middle ear transfer function

Hypothesis: The aim of this study was to measure the mass loading effect of an active middle-ear implant (the Vibrant Soundbridge) in cadaver temporal bones. Background: Implantable middle ear hearing devices such as Vibrant Soundbridge have been used as an alternative to conventional hearing aids for the rehabilitation of sensorineural hearing loss. Other than the obvious disadvantage of requiring implantation middle ear surgery, it also applies a direct weight on the ossicular chain which, in turn, may have an impact on residual hearing. Previous studies have shown that applying a mass directly on the ossicular chain has a damping effect on its response to sound. However, little has been done to investigate the magnitude and the frequency characteristics of the mass loading effect in devices such as the Vibrant Soundbridge. Methods: Five fresh cadaver temporal bones were used. The stapes displacement was measured using laser Doppler vibrometry before and after the placement of a Vibrant Sound-bridge floating mass transducer. The effects of mass and attachment site were compared with the unloaded response. Measurements were obtained at frequencies between 0.1 and 10 kHz and at acoustic input levels of 100 dB sound pressure level. Each temporal bone acted as its own control. Results: Placement of the floating mass transducer caused a reduction of the stapes displacement. There were variations between the bones. The change of the stapes displacement varied from 0 dB to 28 dB. The effect was more prominent at frequencies above 1,000 Hz. Placing the floating mass transducer close to the incudostapedial joint reduced the mass loading effect. Conclusion: The floating mass transducer produces a measurable reduction of the stapes displacement in the temporal bone model. The effect is more prominent at high frequencies.

Structural design of an escort type rehabilitation robot for post-stroke therapies of upper-limb

This paper describes a structural design technique for rehabilitation robot intended for upper-limb post-stroke therapy. First, a novel approach to a rehabilitation robot is proposed and the features of the robot are explained. Second, the direct kinematics and the inverse kinematics of the proposed robot structure are derived. Finally, a mechanical design procedure is explained that achieves a compromise between the required motion range and assuring the workspace safety. The suitability of a portable escort type structure for upper limb rehabilitation of both acute and chronic stroke is discussed

Movement time for motion-impaired users assisted by force-feedback: effects of movement amplitude, target width and gravity well width

This paper presents a study investigating how the performance of motion-impaired computer users in point and click tasks varies with target distance (A), target width (W), and force-feedback gravity well width (GWW). Six motion-impaired users performed point and click tasks across a range of values for A, W, and GWW. Times were observed to increase with A, and to decrease with W. Times also improved with GWW, and, with the addition of a gravity well, a greater improvement was observed for smaller targets than for bigger ones. It was found that Fitts Law gave a good description of behaviour for each value of GWW, and that gravity wells reduced the effect of task difficulty on performance. A model based on Fitts Law is proposed, which incorporates the effect of GWW on movement time. The model accounts for 88.8% of the variance in the observed data.

Impact of captions on deaf and hearing perception of multimedia video clips

We investigate the impact of captions on deaf and hearing perception of multimedia video clips. We measure perception using a parameter called Quality of Perception (QoP), which encompasses not only a user's satisfaction with multimedia clips, but also his/her ability to perceive, synthesise and analyse the informational content of such presentations. By studying perceptual diversity, it is our aim to identify trends that will help future implementation of adaptive multimedia technologies. Results show that although hearing level has a significant affect on information assimilation, the effect of captions is not significant on the objective level of information assimilated. Deaf participants predict that captions significantly improve their level of information assimilation, although no significant objective improvement was measured. The level of enjoyment is unaffected by a participant���s level of hearing or use of captions.

Evaluation of directional microphone drift in digital hearing aids

The occurrence of directional microphone drift following hearing aid use has been infrequently examined. This study uses the front-to-side ratio to evaluate changes in directional microphone output from new behind-the-ear hearing aids and following approximately three months of hearing aid use. Results indicate no overall significant differences in the front-to-side ratio between initial and follow-up measurements.

The search of a genetic basis for noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL)

Background and aim: Knowledge about the genetic factors responsible for noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is still limited. This study investigated whether genetic factors are associated or not to susceptibility to NIHL. Subjects and methods: The family history and genotypes were studied for candidate genes in 107 individuals with NIHL, 44 with other causes of hearing impairment and 104 controls. Mutations frequently found among deaf individuals were investigated (35delG, 167delT in GJB2, Delta(GJB6- D13S1830), Delta(GJB6- D13S1854) in GJB6 and A1555G in MT-RNR1 genes); allelic and genotypic frequencies were also determined at the SNP rs877098 in DFNB1, of deletions of GSTM1 and GSTT1 and sequence variants in both MTRNR1 and MTTS1 genes, as well as mitochondrial haplogroups. Results: When those with NIHL were compared with the control group, a significant increase was detected in the number of relatives affected by hearing impairment, of the genotype corresponding to the presence of both GSTM1 and GSTT1 enzymes and of cases with mitochondrial haplogroup L1. Conclusion: The findings suggest effects of familial history of hearing loss, of GSTT1 and GSTM1 enzymes and of mitochondrial haplogroup L1 on the risk of NIHL. This study also described novel sequence variants of MTRNR1 and MTTS1 genes.

Oral Rehabilitation After Surgical Removal of Pleomorphic Adenoma

Although tumors of minor salivary glands are rare, the pleomorphic adenoma is the most common pathology among the benign neoplasm and can be found with high prevalence in the junction between hard palate and soft palate. The treatment of choice for most of maxillary tumors is surgical through either a total or partial maxillectomy. However, surgical defects caused by such type of treatment lead to both clinical and psychologic disorders for the patient. The immediate oral rehabilitation using interim palate obturator after maxillectomy provides optimization on the healing process, recovers the stomatognathic functions after surgery, and avoids psychosocial sequelae for the patients. This clinical report aimed to present the rehabilitation with immediate palate obturator of a patient who underwent a partial maxillectomy due to a hard palate pleomorphic adenoma of minor salivary glands. We report the clinical importance of the prosthetic rehabilitation and the improvements on both quality of life and stomatognathic functions of this patient. It can be concluded that the immediate rehabilitation of the patient after partial maxillectomy by using an interim palate obturator was a great option and provided clinical benefits in the immediate postoperative period, improving the patient's quality of life, allowing the patient's reinsertion into society, and reducing the surgical treatment sequelae.

Interven����o fonoaudiol��gica na s��ndrome de kabuki: relato de caso

TEMA: este trabalho teve como objetivo descrever o processo de interven����o fonoaudiol��gica em um caso de s��ndrome de Kabuki, com ��nfase na terapia de linguagem. PROCEDIMENTOS: trata-se de relato de caso de uma crian��a de seis anos e seis meses de idade, g��nero feminino, com diagn��stico de s��ndrome de Kabuki, que realizou terapia fonoaudiol��gica durante tr��s anos em uma cl��nica-escola. Foi realizada an��lise documental dos dados do prontu��rio relativos �� anamnese, avalia����o e relat��rios terap��uticos fonoaudiol��gicos, exames e avalia����es multidisciplinares. Aos tr��s anos e cinco meses, a crian��a passou por avalia����o fonoaudiol��gica e apresentou, como hist��rico, caracter��sticas t��picas da s��ndrome de Kabuki: altera����o card��aca, epis��dios de pneumonia, otite m��dia secretora recorrente, altera����es ortop��dicas e crises convulsivas. Na avalia����o fonoaudiol��gica, apresentou tempo de aten����o auditiva e visual reduzido, dificuldade de compreens��o oral, comunica����o por meio de poucos gestos e vocaliza����es e problemas de comportamento. RESULTADOS: o processo terap��utico teve como objetivo principal promover o desenvolvimento da linguagem com ��nfase na intera����o social por meio de atividades l��dicas, orienta����o familiar e escolar. Foi observada melhora na compreens��o e emiss��o oral, no contato social e manuten����o da aten����o. CONCLUS��O: este estudo permitiu divulgar o percurso de atua����o fonoaudiol��gica na s��ndrome de Kabuki, do processo diagn��stico �� terapia de linguagem. Verificou-se que a terapia foi eficaz no que se refere ��s habilidades comunicativas e de intera����o social. Esses dados podem contribuir para elucidar lacunas existentes na literatura acerca da terapia fonoaudiol��gica na s��ndrome em quest��o e subsidiar interven����es cl��nicas nesses casos.