Ear and Hearing

Salt, Alec

Ear and Hearing. 31(2):155, April 2010.

doi: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e3181d43cc6

McCall, Andrew A.; Swan, Erin E. Leary; Borenstein, Jeffrey T.; Sewell, William F.; Kujawa, Sharon G.; McKenna, Michael J.

Ear and Hearing. 31(2):156-165, April 2010.

doi: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e3181c351f2

Delivery of medications to the inner ear has been an area of considerable growth over the past several decades. Systemic delivery of medication destined for treatment of the inner ear is the foundation upon which newer delivery techniques have been developed. Investigators and clinicians have begun developing and utilizing techniques to deliver therapeutic agents locally. Intracochlear devices that leverage recent advances in microsystems technology are being developed to apply medications directly into the inner ear. The historical, current, and future delivery techniques and uses for inner ear drug delivery serve as the basis for this review.

Abstract:

Sininger, Yvonne S.; Grimes, Alison; Christensen, Elizabeth

Ear and Hearing. 31(2):166-185, April 2010.

doi: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e3181c8e7b6

Early and late identified infants and toddlers with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss ranging from mild to profound were assessed at regular intervals to investigate factors that contribute to auditory based communication outcomes. Linear multiple regression modeling revealed that the age at fitting of amplification was the most important factor in predicting speech perception, speech production and language outcomes. Degree of hearing loss and cochlear implant use were also factors that contributed significantly to outcomes.

Abstract:

Gifford, René H.; Dorman, Michael F.; Shallop, Jon K.; Sydlowski, Sarah A.

Ear and Hearing. 31(2):186-194, April 2010.

doi: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e3181c6b831

Audiologic criteria for adult cochlear implant candidacy has been in place for over a decade in the U.S. To determine whether new recommendations are warranted, a retrospective review of postoperative performance was completed for 22 cochlear implant recipients demonstrating preoperative word scores of 30% or higher. Postoperative benefit ranged from 16 to 66%. Statistical analysis revealed a significant difference between preoperative aided, implant only, and bimodal performance for monosyllabic word recognition. These data suggest that a reassessment of manufacturer and Medicare candidacy criteria for adults is warranted to allow more hearing impaired individuals to take advantage of the benefit offered by cochlear implantation.

Abstract:

Zhang, Ting; Spahr, Anthony J.; Dorman, Michael F.

Ear and Hearing. 31(2):195-201, April 2010.

doi: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e3181c4758d

Our aim was to assess whether reducing the overlap in frequency representation between acoustic and electric stimulation increased speech understanding in patients with a cochlear implant in one ear and low frequency acoustic hearing in the other ear. Our results showed that eliminating or reducing stimulus overlap provided no additional benefit. Low-frequency acoustic information below 250 Hz, which in isolation allows little or no speech intelligibility, significantly improved performance for EAS patients and accounted for the majority of the speech-perception benefit when acoustic stimulation was added to electric stimulation. For this reason clinicians should attempt to aid the ear contralateral to an implant if that ear has low-frequency residual hearing.

Abstract:

Dunn, Camille C.; Noble, William; Tyler, Richard S.; Kordus, Monika; Gantz, Bruce J.; Ji, Haihong

Ear and Hearing. 31(2):296-298, April 2010.

doi: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e3181c12383

Speech perception in noise was evaluated on 30 bilateral cochlear implant subjects (CICI) and 30 unilateral (CI-Only) cochlear implant subjects. CICI performance was significantly better on words presented in noise. The results showed that it is likely that some CICI subjects can make use of selecting between one of two ears with a more favorable signal-to-noise ratio which is not possible for listeners with only one implant.

Abstract:

Ear and Hearing. 31(2):299, April 2010.

doi: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e3181ce6231

One new text is reviewed in this issue. Susan Erler describes Adult Audiologic Rehabilitation (edited by J. Montano and J. Spitzer) as a thoughtful and thorough examination of the topic with 22 chapters authored by noted experts in the field. Dr. Erler notes that even seasoned AR professionals will learn something new from this in-depth text.