A specific deficit of auditory processing in children with Rolandic Epilepsy and their relatives

Previous research shows that children with Rolandic Epilepsy have deficits of auditory processing. We wanted to confirm the nature of this deficit and whether it aggregates in families. We compared 40 children with Rolandic Epilepsy and 32 unaffected siblings with 99 typically developing children and 71 parents of RE children with 31 healthy adults on a battery of auditory processing tests. We also examined ear advantage in children with RE, their siblings and parents using population norms and measured non-word reading performance. We found a specific deficit for competing words in patients, their siblings and their parents, suggesting that this particular impairment of auditory processing present in children with RE, is heritable and likely to be persistent. Importantly, scores on this subtest in patients and siblings were significantly correlated with non-word reading performance. We saw increased rates of atypical left ear advantage in patients and siblings but no evidence of this in parents. We present these findings as evidence of familial incidence of dichotic listening and ear advantage abnormalities in relatives of children with Rolandic Epilepsy

What do hearing healthcare professionals do to promote hearing aid use and benefit among adults? A systematic review

Objective: To conduct a systematic review of the evidence in relation to what hearing healthcare professionals do during hearing aid consultations and identifying which behaviours promote hearing aid use and benefit among adult patients. Design: Searches were performed in electronic databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycInfo, Web of Science, PubMed and Google Scholar. The Crowe Critical Appraisal Tool and Melnyk Levels of Evidence were used to assess quality and level of evidence of eligible studies. Behaviours of hearing healthcare professionals were summarised descriptively. Study Sample: 17 studies met the inclusion criteria. Results: Twelve studies described behaviours of audiologists and five studies were intervention studies. Audiologists were typically task- or technically-oriented and/or dominated the interaction during hearing aid consultations. Two intervention studies suggested that use of motivational interviewing techniques by audiologists may increase hearing aid use in patients. Conclusions: Most studies of clinicians’ behaviours were descriptive, with very little research linking clinician behaviour to patient outcomes. The present review sets the research agenda for better-controlled intervention studies to identify which clinician behaviours better promote patient hearing aid outcomes and develop an evidence base for best clinical practice

Erratum:Association of dietary factors with presence and severity of tinnitus in a middle-aged UK population (PLoS ONE (2015) 9:12 (e114711) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0114711)

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0114711.]

What are the correlates of hearing aid use for people living with dementia?

Objectives: To identify correlates of hearing aid use in people with dementia and age-related hearing loss. Methods: Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses of predictor variables from 239 participants with dementia and hearing loss in the European SENSE-Cog Randomized Controlled Trial (Cyprus, England, France, Greece, and Ireland). Results: In multivariate analysis, four variables were significantly associated with hearing aid use: greater self-perceived hearing difficulties (OR 2.61 [CI 1.04−6.55]), lower hearing acuity (OR .39 [CI .2−.56]), higher cognitive ability (OR 1.19 [CI 1.08−1.31]), and country of residence. Participants in England had significantly increased odds of use compared to Cyprus (OR .36 [CI .14−.96]), France (OR .12 [CI .04−.34]) or Ireland (OR .05 [CI .01−.56]) but not Greece (OR 1.13 [CI .42–3.00]). Conclusions: Adapting interventions to account for cognitive ability, country of residence, self-perceived hearing difficulties, and hearing acuity may support hearing aid use in people with dementia

Cigarette smoking, passive smoking, alcohol consumption, and hearing loss

The objective of this large population-based cross-sectional study was to evaluate the association between smoking, passive smoking, alcohol consumption, and hearing loss. The study sample was a subset of the UK Biobank Resource, 164,770 adults aged between 40 and 69 years who completed a speech-in-noise hearing test (the Digit Triplet Test). Hearing loss was defined as speech recognition in noise in the better ear poorer than 2 standard deviations below the mean with reference to young normally hearing listeners. In multiple logistic regression controlling for potential confounders, current smokers were more likely to have a hearing loss than non-smokers (odds ratio (OR) 1.15, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.09–1.21). Among non-smokers, those who reported passive exposure to tobacco smoke were more likely to have a hearing loss (OR 1.28, 95 %CI 1.21–1.35). For both smoking and passive smoking, there was evidence of a dose-response effect. Those who consume alcohol were less likely to have a hearing loss than lifetime teetotalers. The association was similar across three levels of consumption by volume of alcohol (lightest 25 %, OR 0.61, 95 %CI 0.57–0.65; middle 50 % OR 0.62, 95 %CI 0.58–0.66; heaviest 25 % OR 0.65, 95 %CI 0.61–0.70). The results suggest that lifestyle factors may moderate the risk of hearing loss. Alcohol consumption was associated with a protective effect. Quitting or reducing smoking and avoiding passive exposure to tobacco smoke may also help prevent or moderate age-related hearing loss

Association between hearing loss and deprivation among Welsh adults: a cross-sectional observational study

ObjectiveTo index levels of hearing loss with respect to area-level indices of deprivation in a Welsh population.DesignA cross-sectional observational study of all adults (aged >18) that attended Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University (ABMU) Health Board audiology services between 2016 and 2018. Service access, first hearing aid fitting appointment rates and hearing loss at time of first hearing aid provision were used to index population hearing loss versus area-level indices of deprivation based on patient postcode.SettingPrimary and secondary care.Participants59 493 patient entries met the inclusion criteria. Patient entries were grouped by age (18-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-60, 61-70, 71-80, >80 years) and deprivation decile.ResultsThe interaction between age group and deprivation decile predicted access rate to ABMU audiology services (b=-0.24, t(6858) = -2.86, p80 years. First hearing aid fitting rates were highest among the most deprived in the four youngest age groups (pConclusionsHearing health inequalities are prevalent among adults accessing ABMU audiology services. Our findings suggest that deprivation increases the likelihood of developing hearing loss, brings earlier onset of hearing loss and is linked to delays in getting help for hearing problems. However, it is not possible to know the true scale of these disparities without knowing the hearing health of the Welsh adult population including those who do not seek help for hearing problems

A national survey on COVID-19 second-wave lockdowns on older adults' mental wellbeing, health-seeking behaviours and social outcomes across Australia

Abstract Background The impact of severe second lockdown measures on older adults’ wellbeing is unknown. We aimed to (i) identify the impact of the second lockdown that resulted from the second wave of COVID-19 cases on older Australians’ quality of life; (ii) compare the impact of second wave lockdowns in Victoria, Australia’s second most populous State, to those in other States and Territories not in lockdown. Methods A national cross-sectional study of community-dwelling older adults completed online questionnaires for quality of life, social networks, healthcare access, and perceived impact of COVID-19 between July to September 2020. Tobit regression was used to measure the relationships of healthcare service access and social networks with quality of life of older adults in Victoria compared to those in the rest of Australia. Results A total of 2,990 respondents (mean [SD] age, 67.3 [7.0]; 66.8 % female) participated. At time of data collection, Victoria’s second COVID-19 lockdown had been in force for an average 51.7 days. Median quality of life scores were significantly higher in Victoria compared to the rest of Australia (t2,827=2.25 p = 0.025). Being female (95 % CI, -0.051–0.020), having lower educational attainment (95 % CI, -0.089–-0.018), receiving government benefits (95 % CI, -0.054–-0.024), having small social networks (95 % CI, 0.006–0.009) and self-reported physical chronic health conditions were all independent predictors of lower quality of life. Conclusions Longer-term studies are required to provide more robust evidence of the impact as restrictions lift and normal social conventions return