Differences between Pressurized and Non-Pressurized Transient-Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions in Neonatal Subjects

Introduction: Recently, Interacoustics presented a new otoacoustic emission protocol where the probe pressurizes the ear cavity, thus eliminates the risk of non-assessment (REFER outcome) due to a negative middle ear pressure. This study evaluated the characteristics and the performance of this new protocol on a newborn well-baby population. Methods: One hundred sixty-three newborns (age 2.7 ± 1.1 days) for a total of 294 ears were assessed randomly. Transiently evoked otoacoustic responses were acquired by the Titan device (Interacoustics), using the default and a pressurized TEOAE protocol. The data were analyzed in terms of signal to noise ratios (S/Ns) at 5 frequencies, namely, 0.87, 1.94, 2.96, 3.97, and 4.97 kHz. To assess any possible gestational age (GE) effects on the TEOAE variables, the responses were subdivided in 4 different age subgroups. Results: There were no significant differences between the left and right ear TEOAE responses, for age (in days), GE (in weeks), weight (in grams), and S/N at all 5 frequencies. Considering the pooled 294 ears, paired t tests between the default and the pressurized TEOAE data showed significant differences across all 5 frequencies (p <0.01). The pressurized protocol generated TEOAE responses presenting larger S/Ns, and a positive additive effect of approximately 2.31 dB was observed at all tested frequencies. There were no significant GE effects on the pressurized TEOAE responses. In terms of performance, both protocols performed equally (same number of PASSes). Conclusion: The pressurized TEOAE protocol generates responses with higher S/Ns which might be useful in borderline cases where the middle ear status might cause a REFER screening outcome

The occlusal imaging and analysis system by T-scan III in tinnitus patients

Background: Several studies have demonstrated that the prevalence of temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) in tinnitus patients ranges from 7% to 95%, and it is reported in literature that idiopathic tinnitus patients should be referred to a dentist to define whether or not the tinnitus is associated with TMD. However, the possible pathophysiological relation between TMDs and tinnitus is not generally investigated in clinical practice. Methods: The patterns and forces of occlusal contacts have been studied by means of T-scan III in 47 tinnitus patients (23 suffering from idiopathic tinnitus and 24 affected by Ménière disease [MD]) and 13 healthy subjects. Results: The center of force target was offset in the opposite direction in 15/23 idiopathic tinnitus and in 7/24 MD patients (p = 0.026). No significant variation was found in the occlusal force. Conclusions: Our data suggest that a diagnostic screening method for occlusal stability in the intercuspidal position might be clinically useful in idiopathic tinnitus patients

Realizzazione della versione italiana del Dichotic Digit Test

Il Dichotic Digit Test (DDT) \ue8 un test uditivo centrale, ideato da Frank Musiek nel 1982, che valuta in poco tempo e facilmente la capacit\ue0 di integrazione binaurale. Il DDT testa la capacit\ue0 dell'ascoltatore di elaborare informazioni differenti che sono presentate contemporaneamente in ciascun orecchio, \ue8 stato tradotto in molte lingue ad eccezione dell\u2019italiano ed \ue8 somministrabile ad adulti e bambini. Il nostro obiettivo \ue8 stato quello di realizzare il DDT in italiano in modo che avesse le stesse caratteristiche del test inglese di Musiek al fine di poter integrare il DTT nei diagnostica audiologica dei processi uditivi centrali. Nella prima fase dello studio, abbiamo realizzato diverse versioni del test che sono state poi testate (test-retest) in un gruppo di 20 volontari sani di et\ue0 compresa tra i 19 e i 53 anni (et\ue0 media 24,4 \ub17,72) al fine di defininire la versione definitiva del DDT. Questa versione \ue8 stata poi applicata in un gruppo di 231 soggetti in et\ue0 scolare (6-10 anni). Il DDT \ue8 stato in grado di evidenziare in tutti i casi il noto vantaggio orecchio destro (REA), I risultati ottenuti hanno dimostrato che la versione italiana del DDT ha fornito risultati comparabili con la versione inglese di Musiek. La riproducibilit\ue0 al test-retest, valutata attraverso il coefficiente di correlazione intraclasse (ICC) calcolato come varianza intra-soggetto sulla varianza totale \ue8 risultato essere pari a 0.89. Il test \ue8 risultato valido, affidabile e riproducibile anche in et\ue0 pediatrica. Sono stati poi analizzati i fattori che condizionano le risposte al test in et\ue0 scolare