Temporal resolution in children: comparing normal hearing, conductive hearing loss and auditory processing disorder

A resolução temporal é essencial na percepção acústica da fala, podendo estar alterada nos distúrbios auditivos gerando prejuízos no desenvolvimento da linguagem. OBJETIVO: Comparar a resolução temporal de crianças com audição normal, perda auditiva condutiva e distúrbios do processamento auditivo. CASUÍSTICA E MÉTODO: A amostra foi de 31 crianças de 07 a 10 anos, divididas em três grupos: G1: 12 com audição normal, G2: sete com perda auditiva condutiva e G3: 12 com distúrbio do processamento auditivo. Os procedimentos de seleção foram: questionário aos responsáveis, avaliação audiológica e do processamento auditivo. O procedimento de pesquisa foi o teste de detecção de intervalos no silêncio realizado a 50 dB NS acima da média de 500, 1000 e 2000Hz na condição binaural em 500, 1000, 2000 e 4000Hz. Na análise dos dados foi utilizado o Teste de Wilcoxon, com nível de significância de 1%. RESULTADO: Observou-se que houve diferença entre os G1 e G2 e entre os G1 e G3 em todas as freqüências. Por outro lado, esta diferença não foi observada entre os G2 e G3. CONCLUSÃO A perda auditiva condutiva e o distúrbio do processamento auditivo têm influência no limiar de detecção de intervalos.Temporal resolution is essential to speech acoustic perception. It may be altered in subjects with auditory disorders, thus impairing the development of spoken and written language. AIM: The goal was to compare temporal resolution of children with normal hearing, with those bearing conductive hearing loss and auditory processing disorders. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The sample had 31 children, between 7 and 10 years of age, broken down into three groups: G1: 12 subjects with normal hearing; G2: 7 with conductive hearing loss and G3: 12 subjects with auditory processing disorders. This study was clinical and experimental. Selection procedures were: a questionnaire to be answered by the parents/guardians, audiologic and hearing processing evaluation. The study procedure was the test to detect breaks in silence at 50 dB HL above the mean values of 500, 1000 and 2000 Hz in both ears in 500, 1000, 2000 and 4000 Hz. To analyze the data we used the Wilcoxon Test with a 1% significance level. RESULTS: We noticed a difference between G1 and G2 and between G1 and G3 in all the frequencies. On the other hand, this difference was not seen between G2 and G3. CONCLUSION: conductive hearing loss and auditory processing disorders can impact break detection thresholds

Comparative study between clinical history and polysomnogram in the obstructive sleep apnea / hypopnea syndrome

Summary: Recognizing sleep-disordered breathing is on the rise every year. Manifestations, such as snoring, that were earlier considered mere inconvenients are now acquiring greater importance concerning life quality and social impact. Aim of the study: To compare the clinical history to polysomnogram (PSG) results in the Obstructive Sleep Apnea/Hypopnea Syndrome (OSAHS). Materials and Methods: 125 patients were analyzed, in a retrospective study. Specific questionnaires, avaliations of Body Mass Index and Epworth Scale were carried out. Results: Among the patients, 75 were males and 50 were females. The main symptom was snoring. 46% had normal PSG, 30% had light OSAHS, 15% moderate and 9% severe OSAHS and it was not observed a correlation between clinical data and PSG results. Concerning clinical symptoms, only insomnia has shown relevance when univariably analyzed in normal and light OSAHS patients (p<0,05) compared to patients with moderate and severe OSAHS, losing its importance when analyzed together with other factors. Conclusion: the clinical history, per se, is not sufficient to define OSAHS' diagnosis or it's severity. Keywords: apnea, epworth, polysomnogram, snorin

Effectiveness of educational programs in hearing health: a systematic review and meta-analysis

To evaluate the effectiveness of hearing health education programs aimed at preventing noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL), of recreational and occupational origin, by means of a systematic review and meta-analysis. The search strategy was carried out in on five electronic databases, as well as referrals from experts. The risk of bias was judged, and the random effects meta-analysis was performed. The certainty of the evidence was assessed. Effectiveness studies that used educational intervention in hearing health and prevention of NIHL were included. 42 studies were included. The Dangerous Decibels program was the only one that could be quantitatively analysed and showed improvement in the post-intervention period of up to one week [SMD = 0.60; CI95% = 0.38–0.82; I2 = 92.5%) and after eight weeks [SMD = 0.45; CI95% = 0.26–0.63; I2 = 81.6%) compared to the baseline. The certainty of evidence was judged as very low. The Dangerous Decibels program is effective after eight weeks of intervention. The other programs cannot be quantified. They still present uncertainty about their effectiveness. The level of certainty is still low for this assessment.</p