The German Music@Home: Validation of a questionnaire measuring at home musical exposure and interaction of young children.

The present study introduces the German version of the original version of the Music@Home questionnaire developed in the UK, which systematically evaluates musical engagement in the home environment of young children. Two versions are available, an Infant version for children aged three to 23 months and a Preschool version for children aged two to five and a half years. For the present study, the original Music@Home questionnaire was translated from English into German and 656 caregivers completed the questionnaire online. A confirmatory factor analysis showed moderate to high fit indices for both versions, confirming the factor structure of the original questionnaire. Also, the reliability coefficients for the subscales (Parental beliefs, Child engagement with music, Parent initiation of singing, Parent initiation of music-making for the Infant version and Parental beliefs, Child engagement with music, Parent initiation of music behavior and Breadth of musical exposure for the Preschool version) ranged from moderate to high fits. Furthermore, the test-retest analysis (N = 392) revealed high correlations for the general factor and all subscales confirming their internal reliability. Additionally, we included language questionnaires for children of two and three years of age. Results showed that higher scores on the Music@Home questionnaire were moderately associated with better language skills in two-year-olds (N = 118). In sum, the study presents the validated German Music@Home questionnaire, which shows good psychometric properties. The two versions of the questionnaire are available for use in order to assess home musical engagement of young children, which could be of interest in many areas of developmental research

Automated pure-tone threshold estimations from extrapolated distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) input/output functions

A promising approach to the prediction of pure-tone thresholds through the estimation of DPOAE thresholds by input/output functions was recently published by Boege and Janssen [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 111, 1810-1818 (2002)]. On the basis of their results, a device that enables automated measurements of these thresholds was recently developed. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the reliability of this instrument for the objective assessment of hearing loss in 101 ears with either normal hearing or with cochlear hearing loss of up to 50 dB HL. The median difference between pure-tone hearing and DPOAE thresholds was approximately 2 dB. For individual subjects, however, DPOAE thresholds differed from pure-tone thresholds by up to 40 dB. We find, therefore, that the clinical benefits of this method are probably limited

Vergleich des Video-Kopfimpulstests mit der kalorischen Prüfung in der klinischen Routine

Die Beurteilung des vestibulo-okulären Reflexes (VOR) ist zentraler Bestandteil der Untersuchung von Patienten mit Schwindelbeschwerden.Der Video-Kopfimpulstest (vKIT) als objektives diagnostisches Verfahren zur Messung des VOR etabliert sich hierbei zunehmend. Dem Test wird eine hohe Spezifität zur Feststellung eines einseitigen peripher-vestibulären Defizits zugeschrieben. Es stellt sich daher die Frage, ob der Test die wesentlich aufwändigere und für den Patienten unangenehmere kalorische Prüfung in Zukunft ersetzen kann. Wir berichten über unsere ersten Ergebnisse aus der klinischen Routineanwendung und vergleichen die Gainwerte des vKIT mit der Seitendifferenz (Canal Paresis) einer zeitgleich durchgeführten kalorischen Prüfung.Der Erstautor gibt keinen Interessenkonflikt an

An assessment of threshold shifts in nonprofessional pop/rock musicians using conventional and extended high-frequency audiometry

The clinical value of extended high-frequency audiometry for the detection of noise-induced hearing loss has not been established conclusively. The purpose of this study was to assess the relative temporary threshold shift (TTS) in two frequency regions (conventional versus extended high frequency). In this exploratory study, pure-tone thresholds from 0.5 to 14 kHz were measured in both ears of 16 nonprofessional pop/rock musicians (mean age, 35 yr; range, 27 to 49 yr), before and after a 90-minute rehearsal session. All had experienced repeated exposures to intense sound levels during at least 5 yr of their musical careers. After the rehearsal, median threshold levels were found to be significantly poorer for frequencies from 0.5 to 8 kHz (Wilcoxon signed rank test, p <or= 0.004) but were unchanged in the extended high-frequency range from 9 to 14 kHz. Decreases in the median threshold values measured before the rehearsal were present across the conventional frequency range, most notably at 6 kHz, but were not observed in the extended high-frequency range. On the basis of these results, extended high-frequency audiometry does not seem advantageous as a means of the early detection of noise-induced hearing loss

Behandlung von Schilddrüsenknoten in der HNO: Die Feinnadelpunktion als zentrale Kompetenz

Die zytologische Beurteilung von Schilddrüsenknoten liefert zusammen mit dem sonografischen Befund oft den entscheidenden Hinweis zu deren Dignität und erlaubt häufig ein Beobachten von unklaren Befunden.Zervikale Feinnadelpunktionen unter sonografischer Kontrolle sind in der HNO-Heilkunde fest etabliert und werden neben Schilddrüsenveränderungen insbesondere bei Raumforderungen der Speicheldrüsen und malignomverdächtigen zervikalen Lymphknoten angewandt. Wir beschreiben zwei gebräuchliche Techniken, die Kapillar- und die Aspirationsmethode, und diskutieren die Vor- und Nachteile dieser beiden Methoden anhand von Beispielen und Auswertungen aus unserer Klinik. Weiterhin wird die von der European Thyroid Association empfohlene zytologische Klassifikation mit den sich daraus ergebenden therapeutischen Konsequenzen wiedergegeben.In Deutschland werden Schilddrüsenoperationen deutlich häufiger als im internationalen Vergleich durchgeführt, ohne dass eine höhere Inzidenz von malignen Diagnosen dies rechtfertigen würde. Die flächendeckende Anwendung der zytologischen Diagnostik ist daher wünschenswert und erlaubt in den Händen des HNO-Arztes bzw. Kopf-Hals-Chirurgen eine umfassende Betreuung des Patienten vom Erstkontakt bis zur möglichen Operation.Der Erstautor gibt keinen Interessenkonflikt an