Potenziali evocati e disordini della percezione uditiva

none2---noneProsser S.; Trevisi P.Prosser, Silvano; Trevisi, Patrizi

Sordità infantile: epidemiologia, eziologia, prevenzione.

Le ipoacusie infantili congenite preverbali rappresentano una rara evenienza (circa 1/mille nuovi nati all'anno) ma a causa delle gravi conseguenze sullo sviluppo del linguaggio devono essere identificate molto precocemente per una migliore recupero funzionale del paziente. Le considerazioni epidemiologiche ed eziologiche sulla ipoacusia congenita si riflettono sulle successive scelte in ambito protesico e riabilitativo

Deprivazione e plasticità

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Miglioramento dell’intelligibilità verbale in condizioni audiovisive - Studio su soggetti ipoacusici.

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Tactile perception of various suprasegmental characteristics of speech as compared to lipreading

none4nonePROSSER S; E. ARSLAN; TREVISI P; ZECCHINI BProsser, S; Arslan, Edoardo; Trevisi, Patrizia; Zecchini, B

Threshold estimation in adult normal and impaired hearing subjects, using Auditory Steady State Responses

Objective: To compare the estimation of hearing threshold values from behavioral and electrophysiological (ASSR) methods, in subjects with normal hearing and sensorineural hearing impairment. In particular we were interested in estimating : (a) the error margin of the ASSR estimated threshold levels with a commercial instrument (Audera) ; and (b) how the ASSR estimated hearing levels depend on the degree of hearing loss. Methods: We have tested 32 subjects (17 male and 15 female) for a total of 61 ears. From those 11 (22 ears) presented normal hearing threshold values ( 0- 19 dB HL) and 21 (39 ears) sensorineural deficits. The latter group was subdivided in three classes namely : (i) 11 subjects (16 ears) with moderate hearing loss (53.7 dB HL ±12.3); (ii) 5 subjects (11 ears) with severe hearing loss (80.6 dB HL ±12.7); and (iii) 6 subjects (12 ears) with profound hearing loss (101 dB HL ± 5.5). Results: The data show that for the normal hearing subjects the ASSR threshold is approximately around 20 dB ( 11 dB SD) for the frequencies 0.25 – 1.0 kHz. For the higher frequencies the ASSR threshold increases up to 40 dB (12.5 dB SD) at 8.0 kHz. In our hearing impaired subjects also, we observed this phenomenon. In fact the ASSR proved to reliably predict the behavioral threshold (+/- 5 dB) especially in the group or most impaired ears. Similar errors were found in the less impaired ears, and for the ASSR at high frequencies. The regression analysis confirmed that the difference between the ASSR-estimated and behavioral threshold values, significantly decreases with the amount of hearing loss. Our data evidenced that for a 10 dB increment of the behavioral threshold, the ASSR threshold increases of 7 dB. The difference between the two methods, of about 27 dB observed in normal subjects tends to cancel in the hearing loss greater then of 95-100 dB HL. Conclusion: The results of our analyses indicate that the threshold estimates are rather discordant with the behavioral thresholds. Particularly, it seems that the correction factor we have applied does not rely on factors adequately modeled (instrumentation-wise) to compensate for the effects of hearing loss on ASSR thresholds. The threshold estimation is adequately modeled for high levels of hearing loss particularly for patients needing a cochlear implant

Audiologia e Foniatria.Psicoacustica audiologia clinica otologia vestibologia foniatria.

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Speech Audiometry Tests in Noise Are Impaired in Older Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Pilot Study

OBJECTIVE: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a frequent condition in the older population; its early diagnosis might be particularly important for the prevention of dementia onset. In particular, the aim of this study is to evaluate whether speech recognition in noise might be impaired in older patients with MCI compared with normal older individuals. MATERIALS and METHODS: On the whole, 48 subjects were enrolled into the present study: 16 older patients with MCI, 16 older subjects without cognitive impairment (controls), and 16 normally hearing young individuals. All subjects underwent speech audiometry in noise in order to evaluate the effect of different types of masking: two kinds of energetic masking, stationary and fluctuating noise, and a kind of typical informative masking, consisting of continuous discourse. RESULTS: The signal-to-noise ratio (S/N), expressed in dB, needed for speech reception threshold (SRT) in noise was worse in older patients affected by MCI, compared with older controls. The presence of masking likely affected the performance of both elderly controls and MCI patients; however, elderly controls had better performance with informative masking (CoDi) than MCI patients. CONCLUSION: Speech audiometry tests in noise are impaired in MCI older patients, and this could indicate a particular decline in functions as- sociated with selective attention in these individuals. If confirmed in a larger sample of patients, these simple tests might contribute to the early identification of MCI patients

Sordità profonda e impianto cocleare: l'esperienza di Ferrara

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