Understanding the communication needs of individuals with hearing loss in the workplace

The purpose of this project was to determine the specific needs of individuals with hearing impairment in the workplace. Focus groups were conducted with this population to evaluate needs. Results are depicted as specific concerns noted throughout the focus groups.

Case study: acquisition of Japanese in aural language by the four year old child whose hearing loss was detected when he was visiting in U. S. with his family

Access to thesis is restricted. Contact Archives and Rare Books. This paper reports the results of language training for a newly diagnosed hearing impaired Japanese child using methods from the CID parent-infant program.

Workers' compensation for occupational hearing loss: what we know or don't know

This papers looks at workers' compensation laws for each state to determine if there have been any updates in the laws since a 2000 survey by Dobie and Megerson. The study also examines what information is available to audiologists testing patients in workers' compensation claims.

Outcomes of conventional amplification for pediatric unilateral hearing loss

Although some children with unilateral hearing loss (UHL) are at-risk for educational difficulties and behavioral problems, research in treatment outcomes for pediatric UHL is limited. The objective of this study was to examine the benefits of a conventional hearing aid in children with mild to moderately severe UHL, using speech perception measures and subjective assessments from the child, parent, and teacher.

Sudden stratospheric warmings as noise-induced transitions

Sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs) are usually considered to be initiated by planetary wave activity. Here it is asked whether small-scale variability (e.g., related to gravity waves) can lead to SSWs given a certain amount of planetary wave activity that is by itself not sufficient to cause a SSW. A highly vertically truncated version of the Holton–Mass model of stratospheric wave–mean flow interaction, recently proposed by Ruzmaikin et al., is extended to include stochastic forcing. In the deterministic setting, this low-order model exhibits multiple stable equilibria corresponding to the undisturbed vortex and SSW state, respectively. Momentum forcing due to quasi-random gravity wave activity is introduced as an additive noise term in the zonal momentum equation. Two distinct approaches are pursued to study the stochastic system. First, the system, initialized at the undisturbed state, is numerically integrated many times to derive statistics of first passage times of the system undergoing a transition to the SSW state. Second, the Fokker–Planck equation corresponding to the stochastic system is solved numerically to derive the stationary probability density function of the system. Both approaches show that even small to moderate strengths of the stochastic gravity wave forcing can be sufficient to cause a SSW for cases for which the deterministic system would not have predicted a SSW.

Role of the Mitochondrial Mutations, m. 827A > G and the Novel m. 7462C > T, in the Origin of Hearing Loss

Samples from 30 deaf probands exhibiting features suggestive of syndromic mitochondrial deafness or from families with maternal transmission of deafness were selected for investigation of mutations in the mitochondrial genes MT-RNR1 and MT-TS1. Patients with mutation m. 1555A>G had been previously excluded from this sample. In the MT-RNR1 gene, five probands presented the m. 827A>G sequence variant, of uncertain pathogenicity. This change was also detected in 66 subjects of an unaffected control sample of 306 Brazilian individuals from various ethnic backgrounds. Given its high frequency, we consider it unlikely to have a pathogenic role on hereditary deafness. As to the MT-TS1 gene, one proband presented the previously known pathogenic m. 7472insC mutation and three probands presented a novel variant, m. 7462C>T, which was absent from the same control sample of 306 individuals. Because of its absence in control samples and association with a family history of hearing impairment, we suggest it might be a novel pathogenic mutation.

Chromosome imbalances in syndromic hearing loss

The cause of hearing impairment has not been elucidated in a large proportion of patients. We screened by 1-Mb array-based comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) 29 individuals with syndromic hearing impairment whose clinical features were not typical of known disorders. Rare chromosomal copy number changes were detected in eight patients, four de novo imbalances and four inherited from a normal parent. The de novo alterations define candidate chromosome segments likely to harbor dosage-sensitive genes related to hearing impairment, namely 1q23.3-q25.2, 2q22q23, 6p25.3 and 11q13.2-q13.4. The rare imbalances also present in normal parents might be casually associated with hearing impairment, but its role as a predisposition gene remains a possibility. Our results show that syndromic deafness is frequently associated with chromosome microimbalances (14-27%), and the use of aCGH for defining disease etiology is recommended.

Hearing loss in patients with diabetes mellitus

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Conductive hearing loss in children with bronchopulmonary dysplasia: A longitudinal follow-up study in children aged between 6 and 24 months

Aims: To determine the occurrence of isolated and recurrent episodes of conductive hearing loss (CHL) during the first two years of life in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants with and without bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD).Study design, subjects and outcome measures: In a longitudinal clinical study. 187 children were evaluated at 6, 9, 12,15 18 and 24 months of age by visual reinforcement audiometry, tympanometry and auditory brain response system.Results: of the children with BPD, 54.5% presented with episodes of CHL, as opposed to 34.7% of the children without BPD. This difference was found to be statistically significant. The recurrent or persistent episodes were more frequent among children with BPD (25.7%) than among those without BPD (8.3%). The independent variables that contributed to this finding were small for gestational age and a 5 min Apgar score.Conclusions: Recurrent CHL episodes are more frequent among VLBW infants with BPD than among VLBW infants without BPD. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cimetidine Reduces Alveolar Bone Loss in Induced Periodontitis in Rat Molars

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

P300 in individuals with sensorineural hearing loss

INTRODUCTION: Behavioral and electrophysiological auditory evaluations contribute to the understanding of the auditory system and of the process of intervention. OBJECTIVE: To study P300 in subjects with severe or profound sensorineural hearing loss. METHODS: This was a descriptive cross-sectional prospective study. It included 29 individuals of both genders with severe or profound sensorineural hearing loss without other type of disorders, aged 11 to 42 years; all were assessed by behavioral audiological evaluation and auditory evoked potentials. RESULTS: A recording of the P3 wave was obtained in 17 individuals, with a mean latency of 326.97 ms and mean amplitude of 3.76 V. There were significant differences in latency in relation to age and in amplitude according to degree of hearing loss. There was a statistically significant association of the P300 results with the degrees of hearing loss (p = 0.04), with the predominant auditory communication channels (p < 0.0001), and with time of hearing loss. CONCLUSIONS: P300 can be recorded in individuals with severe and profound congenital sensorineural hearing loss; it may contribute to the understanding of cortical development and is a good predictor of the early intervention outcome.

Disabling hearing loss prevalence in Juiz de Fora, Brazil

Data on the prevalence of disabling hearing loss (DHL) in Brazil is scarce, which impacts healthcare professionals' knowledge on the extent of the problem. Objectives: This study aimed at estimating DHL prevalence in the municipality of Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, to identify individual-related variables and find risk areas. Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive sectional population study held from January to October of 2009. We randomly selected 349 households with 1,050 individuals who with ages ranging between 4 days and 95 years. The data collection instruments were: WHO structured questionnaire, ENT examination and laboratory tests. Chi-square and Poisson regression models were used for analyses. Results: DHL prevalence was estimated at 5.2% (95% CI = 3.1 to 7.3) which was classified as moderate in 3.9% (95% CI = 0.001 to 0.134), severe in 0.9% (95% CI = 0.001 to 0.107) and profound in 0.4% (95% CI = 0.001 to 0.095). We found correlation between DHL and tinnitus; age over 60 years and low educational level. Conclusions: Our data obtained pointed to the need to create hearing health programs targeted to specific risk groups, promoting quality of life for hearing impaired patients.

Comparison of screening methods for conductive hearing loss identification in children: low-cost proposal

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of two screening methods (imitanciometry screening and questionnaire) to identify children at risk for conductive hearing loss, comparing this data with complete audiologic evaluation. Methods Of 507 children aged between three and six, 111 completed all procedures. The observational methods used were: imitanciometry screening, a questionnaire to identify risk factors for hearing loss and complete audiologic evaluation. Results obtained in the first two instruments were compared with results from complete audiologic evaluation (gold standard). From these comparisons, sensitivity and specificity, accuracy, positive and negative predictive values, and odds ratio were determined for the two screening methods and for the combination of both methods. Results The two methods applied in series (questionnaire and after imitanciometry screening) showed a greater odds ratio and better correlation between sensitivity and proportion of false-positives (ROC curve). Conclusion Combining the two tests in series improved screening accuracy. This combination was the best tool for identifying children at risk for conductive hearing loss.

Self-reported hearing loss among elderly individuals in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil: prevalence and associated factors (SABE Study, 2006)

This article describes the prevalence of self-reported hearing loss in an elderly population in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and associated factors, based on a cross-sectional descriptive and quantitative study. The sample consisted of individuals over 65 years of age selected from census tracts in two stages, with replacement and probability proportional to the population 75 years of age or older. Statistical analysis used Stata 10 with weighted data, Rao-Scott test, and backward stepwise Poisson regression. 1,115 elders were interviewed. Prevalence of self-reported hearing loss was 30.4%, and higher levels were associated with age over 75 years, male gender, self-reported musculoskeletal conditions, dizziness, visual impairment, and difficulty using the telephone. Increased knowledge of factors associated with hearing loss would support public policies on hearing. The high prevalence found in this study underlines the importance of addressing this issue among the elderly.