Hearing and dementia

Hearing deficits associated with cognitive impairment have attracted much recent interest, motivated by emerging evidence that impaired hearing is a risk factor for cognitive decline. However, dementia and hearing impairment present immense challenges in their own right, and their intersection in the auditory brain remains poorly understood and difficult to assess. Here, we outline a clinically oriented, symptom-based approach to the assessment of hearing in dementias, informed by recent progress in the clinical auditory neuroscience of these diseases. We consider the significance and interpretation of hearing loss and symptoms that point to a disorder of auditory cognition in patients with dementia. We identify key auditory characteristics of some important dementias and conclude with a bedside approach to assessing and managing auditory dysfunction in dementia

An exploratory study of an undefined acquired neuromotor speech disorder within the context of the four level framework for speech sensorimotor control

In this study, the speech of a 28-year-old male with acquired brain injury and who presents with an undefined neuromotor speech disorder which cannot be categorised as either apraxia of speech or dysarthria, is described. Voice onset time, vowel duration, utterance duration and vowel formant analyses were done acoustically. A perceptual analysis and intelligibility rating were also executed. The subject was found to present with unique perceptual symptoms, intelligible speech, prolonged sound duration and distorted vowel quality. The results are interpreted within the context of the Four Level Framework of Speech Sensorimotor Control (Van der Merwe, 1997)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

suggestion of the problem and guidance in its solution