Looking for an objective parameter to identify early vocal dysfunctions in healthy prceived singers

The finding of minimal laryngeal dysfunctions in professional voice users is essential to prevent the onset of organic vocal pathologies. The purpose of this study is to identify an objective parameter that supports the phoniatric evaluation in detecting minimal laryngeal dysfunctions in singers. 54 professional and non-professional singers have been evaluated with laryngostroboscopy, Multi-Dimensional Voice Program (MDVP), Dysphonia Severity Index (DSI), maximum phonation time (TMF), minimum intensity of sound emission (I-min), maximum frequency (F-max), voice handicap index (VHI), singing voice handicap index (SVHI), manual phonogram and audiometric examination. The SVHI of all the “healthy” singers was on average 23.7 ± 22.5, while that of the “dysfunctional” 20.9 ± 18. No statistically significant difference was found between the SVHI scores of the total of healthy singers compared to the scores of the dysfunctional ones on the VSL (p = 0.6). The between-group comparison of the means of individual parameter values of DSI, TMF, F-max, Jitter, Shimmer, NHR, and SPI was not statistically significant (respectively p = 0.315, 0.2, 0.18, 0.09, 0.2, 0.08, 0.3). The only parameter analyzed that was statistically significant was the I-min (p < 0.05). SVHI is a valid instrument for the evaluation after a therapy but in our experience, it is not useful in distinguishing healthy from dysfunctional patients. The minimum intensity of sound emission measured with the sound level meter (I-low2) resulted a reliable parameter to identify minimal laryngeal dysfunctions and a useful tool in supporting the phoniatric diagnostic-therapeutic process in singers

Correlation between hearing aid use and cognitive impairment in the elderly

Presbycusis is the most prevalent age-related, non-reversible, sensorineural hearing loss. Evidence supporting the relationship between auditory dysfunction and cognitive degeneration has grown over the years. Because of the aging of the world population, an early identification of the disease and an audiological recovery could mitigate the rate of cognitive decline with positive consequences for quality of elderly’ social life. A group of 50 patient (70–92 years) underwent audiometric tonal examination to evaluate hearing ability. Only 50% (active group) were equipped with a bilateral hearing aid. After three years, all patients were retested. Among the active group, the Mini-Mental State Examination was administered to 7 pathological patients to assess cognitive status at the begin and at the end of the research. The results show that the active group has achieved a significantly higher minimum audibility threshold than the control group (p < 0.01) and a cognitive benefit

METODOLOGIA PER L‟IDENTIFICAZIONE DEL RISCHIO AUDIOLOGICO IN AMBITO LAVORATIVO E DI VITA

In Italia il problema rumore è particolarmente evidente rispetto al contesto europeo; pur essendo un rischio in diminuzione rappresenta ancora la terza causa di malattia professionale denunciata all'INAIL. Nell‘ UE il 28% dei lavoratori (oltre 60 milioni di persone) afferma di essere esposto a livelli di rumore elevati tanto da rendere difficile una conversazione. Il rumore ha rappresentato per molti anni il principale rischio per la salute dei lavoratori dal punto di vista delle malattie professionali. Fino al 2008 l'ipoacusia è stata la prima malattia professionale. Le ipoacusie oggi rappresentano circa il 10% del totale delle malattie professionali denunciate. In Europa, dati della European Environmental Agency mostrano che circa il 20% della popolazione dell‘Unione è esposto a livelli di rumore ambientale diurni superiori a 65 dBA e che altri 170 milioni di persone risiedono in aree con livelli compresi fra 55 e 65 dBA. Secondo la Comunità Europea, una percentuale di popolazione dell‘UE pari almeno al 25% sperimenta un peggioramento della qualità della vita a causa dell‘annoyance, e una percentuale compresa fra il 5 ed il 15 soffre di seri disturbi del sonno, dovuti al rumore. L‘obiettivo principale dello studio è quello di stabilire, mediante la somministrazione di questionari appositamente redatti, la relazione esistente tra ipoacusia e fattori di rischio derivanti da esposizione professionale ed ambientale. 105° SIO - Congresso Nazionale Società Italiana di Otorinolaringologia e Chirurgia Cervico-Facciale 34 Lo studio ha coinvolto un gruppo di 203 pazienti che si sono sottoposti ad esame audiometrico tonale liminare. Il campione è costituito da 93 donne e 110 uomini di età compresa tra 18 e 87 anni, tutti afferenti all‘ambulatorio audiologico della Clinica Otorino del Policlinico Umberto I di Roma. I questionari sono strutturati in modo da evidenziare i diversi comportamenti e stili di vita della popolazione che concorrono ad aumentare il rischio di ipoacusia da rumore: genere, età, livello di istruzione, professione, quadro clinico, storia familiare, hobbies ecc. Le informazioni raccolte dai questionari, sono state utilizzate per la realizzazione di un data-base, elaborate statisticamente, e correlate ai rispettivi quadri audiometrici di ogni paziente. La suddivisione del campione per genere e fasce d‘età delinea un‘incidenza maggiore di uomini nel range dei 66-75 anni. Il settore professionale maggiormente rappresentato è quello degli operai per gli uomini (42%), coerente con una possibile esposizione professionale al rumore, le donne risultano in gran numero casalinghe (35%). Più della metà dei lavoratori ritiene rumorosa la propria postazione di lavoro, con incidenza maggiore tra gli uomini (62%), leggermente minore per le donne (53%). Il 13% degli uomini utilizza dispositivi di protezione individuale, mentre per le donne la percentuale è soltanto del 2 %. Meno della metà degli intervistati era stato sottoposto ad esami audiometrici relativi alla sorveglianza sanitaria. Dallo studio si evidenzia una grande incidenza tra lavoro notturno e deficit uditivo. Inoltre, sono confermati dati già ampiamente riconosciuti come fattori di rischio come diabete, stress, fumo, farmaci ototossici ecc. La raccolta e l‘analisi statistica dei dati ha consentito di formulare un indice predittivo di rischio audiologico che permette di prevenire i danni ed i costi di un‘ipoacusia trascurata traducibili in isolamento, depressione, minore competitività lavorativa e relazioni sociali e decadimento cognitivo. Inoltre, diffondere una ―educazione all‘ascolto‖ che coinvolga sullo stesso fronte tutte le figure sanitarie e tecniche nonché le istituzioni politiche rappresenta un efficace strumento di prevenzione del rischio audiologico nella popolazione

Surveys on Noise in Some Hospital Wards and Self-Reported Reactions from Staff: A Case Study

Noise in hospital wards adversely affects the physiological processes of both patients and staff and it is a potential risk for communication breakdowns and errors, causing discomfort and problems regarding the healing of patients, as well as stress, fatigue, and annoyance for staff. Several noise sources are present in the wards, such as HVAC systems, alarms, paging, speech, calls, diagnostic equipment, medical devices, and so forth. This paper describes two surveys carried out at an Italian hospital in Rome to investigate the noise in some wards and to collect self-reported assessments from staff about their working environments, even if such assessments were not required for occupational noise exposure evaluation. Self-reported staff evaluations of the working environment quality and the effects of noise on their performances should be investigated. For this purpose, in this study, questionnaires were designed and submitted to staff members. In addition, noise measurements were taken from short-, medium-, and long-term audio recordings processed to determine psychoacoustic parameters, e.g., loudness, sharpness, roughness, and fluctuation strength. Their applications in enclosed spaces can provide additional information on some features of the noise observed in hospital wards, which may influence the perceptions and relevant extra-auditory effects. Even though the results cannot be generalized, they encourage the development of a methodology for noise surveys in hospital wards, including noise measurements and “ad hoc” questionnaires to collect self-reported reactions from exposed staff members

Ergonomics and acoustics in music education

In music education, teachers and students often complain about acoustical discomfort. The facilities dedicated to study and musical training play an important role in risk assessment and have to respect standards on architectural acoustics. In particular, bad sound insulation of the classrooms, sound level emitted by musical and/or vocal instruments, high level of background noise and an unsuitable reverberation time, can compromise learning and performances and could cause pathologies (especially to auditory system and vocal apparatus) due to excessive noise levels and acoustical discomfort. The work aims to estimate the potential risk for music teachers and students in an Italian conservatory, identifying critical issues by collecting objective and subjective information. Measurement campaigns, medical evaluations, questionnaires have been performed to identify critical issues related to ergonomic discomfort. 129 workers were examined. The measurement campaign has detected that insulation values and reverberation times were often not adequate for the purpose of the classrooms. Moreover, the social survey has pointed out a high discomfort both among teachers and students The analysis of the singers’ voices in relation to the posture has allowed to identify possible solutions to remedy the pathologies related to the relationship between vocal effort and postur

Promoting Safety, Security, Awareness and Productivity in Port Plants

This paper focuses on the combined use of eXtended Reality and Simulation to improve awareness and confidence in Container Terminal Operations by tailoring a Simulation Systems. Experimentation is proposed as example of the benefits achievable by training virtually operators in this context. The complexity of Port Operations creates a quite dangerous environment where the highly competitive business sector push to increase speed of operations and flows. In additions Port Terminals involve many actors that have to work and interoperate within a multi domain environment, outdoor all around the clock along the year in an almost all- weather context. Ports are growing getting encapsulated within major city that over time turn to be megacities creating additional challenges especially in terms of Safety and Security that require to operate with high performance in a safe framework. The automation obviously is crucial to further increase operations, therefore up to know the human component is still quite critical for many ancillary activities as well as often on main and secondary ones due to the flexibility and reliability required. This aspect could suggest a big potential for Industry 4.0 and its future evolution in this field as well as a continuous struggling with the very conservative mentality of Shipping and Maritime Operations relying in Systems able to operate in the previous mentioned conditions. Indeed, Training and Education are crucial to face these challenges and make it possible to introduce new technologies, policies and approaches in the very strategic field of Port Activities. The authors propose an experimentation carried out to demonstrate the potential to move training and education on virtual interactive solutions based on MS2G paradigm (Modeling, interoperable Simulation and Serious Games) by tailoring a Simulation System on specific criticalitie

IMMERSIVE, INTEROPERABLE, INTUITIVE, INTERACTIVE VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT FOR DEVELOPING AND DELIVERING TRAINING BY SIMULATION TO OPERATORS IN DANGEROUS AREAS & ACTIVITIES

Si propone il caso del progetto I4D3A2 che mira creare soluzioni innovative attraverso l’utilizzo di Extended reality (XR) e Simulazione al fine di creare un ambiente lavorativo ad alto rischio. In particolare gli autori dell’articolo creano un ambiente virtuale immersivo e interoperabile per addestrare gli operatori ai temi della sicurezza e qui si propone una verifica di come l’aggiunta della componente sonora tridimensionale migliori la percezione dei rischi

Reducing Dangers within Industrial Plants by Extended Reality

Every now and then, it is possible to hear about world-famous accidents occurred in industrial plants. Indeed, many of these facilities are characterized by multiple risk factors, such as areas with excessive temperature or noise level, presence of dust, chemical agents or other hazardous materials. On the other hand, there are numerous and less known minor accidents and near-misses involving operators that in other circumstances could lead to more or less serious injuries. In this study authors propose addressing of the problem of safety by creation of an interactive environment representing dangerous areas, such as confined spaces, in order to improve preparation of operators. In particular, it is studied use of AI (Artificial Intelligence) in joint connection with immersive, interoperable, cyber-physical system including a wearable solution in order to increase the perception and the ability to contribute to the management and control of the process