Journal of Clinical Medicine

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13 pages, 1165 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Magnitude of Contralateral Suppression of Otoacoustic Emissions Is Ear- and Age-Dependent

by Hung Thai-Van, Evelyne Veuillet, Marie-Thérèse Le Normand, Maxime Damien, Charles-Alexandre Joly and Pierre Reynard

J. Clin. Med. 2023, 12(13), 4553; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12134553 - 7 Jul 2023

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Abstract

The maturation of the uncrossed medial olivocochlear (UMOC) efferent remains poorly documented to date. The UMOC efferent system allows listeners to not only detect but also to process, recognize, and discriminate auditory stimuli. Its fibers can be explored non-invasively by recording the effect [...] Read more.

The maturation of the uncrossed medial olivocochlear (UMOC) efferent remains poorly documented to date. The UMOC efferent system allows listeners to not only detect but also to process, recognize, and discriminate auditory stimuli. Its fibers can be explored non-invasively by recording the effect of contralateral acoustic stimulation (CAS), resulting in a decrease in the amplitude of transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE). The objective of the present cross-sectional study was to investigate how the effectiveness of this system varies with age in healthy subjects aged 8 years to adulthood. For this purpose, 120 right-handed native French-speaking subjects (57 females and 63 males) were divided into five age groups of 24 subjects each: 8y–10y, 10y–11y6m, 11y6m–13y, 13y–17y, and ≥18y. TEOAE amplitudes with and without CAS were recorded. The equivalent attenuation (EA) was calculated, corresponding to the change in TEOAE amplitude equivalent to the effect generated by CAS. General linear models were performed to control for the effect of ear, sex, and age on EA. No sex effect was found. A stronger EA was consistently found regardless of age group in the right ear compared to the left. In contrast to the right ear, for which, on average, EA remained constant across age groups, an increasingly weaker TEOAE suppression effect with age was found in the left ear, reinforcing the asymmetrical functioning of the UMOC efferent system in favor of the right ear in adulthood. Further studies are needed to investigate the lateralization of the UMOC efferent system and its changes over time in cases of atypical or reversed cortical asymmetries, especially in subjects with specific learning disorders. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Clinical and Translational Research in Auditory Processing Disorder)

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14 pages, 1347 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessing Auditory Processing in Children with Listening Difficulties: A Pilot Study

by Shaghayegh Omidvar, Fauve Duquette-Laplante, Caryn Bursch, Benoît Jutras and Amineh Koravand

J. Clin. Med. 2023, 12(3), 897; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12030897 - 23 Jan 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2241

Abstract

Background: Auditory processing disorders (APD) may be one of the problems experienced by children with listening difficulties (LiD). The combination of auditory behavioural and electrophysiological tests could help to provide a better understanding of the abilities/disabilities of children with LiD. The current study [...] Read more.

Background: Auditory processing disorders (APD) may be one of the problems experienced by children with listening difficulties (LiD). The combination of auditory behavioural and electrophysiological tests could help to provide a better understanding of the abilities/disabilities of children with LiD. The current study aimed to quantify the auditory processing abilities and function in children with LiD. Methods: Twenty children, ten with LiD (age = 8.46; SD = 1.39) and ten typically developing (TD) (age = 9.45; SD = 1.57) participated in this study. All children were evaluated with auditory processing tests as well as with attention and phonemic synthesis tasks. Electrophysiological measures were also conducted with click and speech auditory brainstem responses (ABR). Results: Children with LiD performed significantly worse than TD children for most behavioural tasks, indicating shortcomings in functional auditory processing. Moreover, the click-ABR wave I amplitude was smaller, and the speech-ABR waves D and E latencies were longer for the LiD children compared to the results of TD children. No significant difference was found when evaluating neural correlates between groups. Conclusions: Combining behavioural testing with click-ABR and speech-ABR can highlight functional and neurophysiological deficiencies in children with learning and listening issues, especially at the brainstem level. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Clinical and Translational Research in Auditory Processing Disorder)

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12 pages, 2015 KiB

Open AccessArticle

by Pierre Reynard, Charles-Alexandre Joly, Maxime Damien, Marie-Thérèse Le Normand, Evelyne Veuillet and Hung Thai-Van

J. Clin. Med. 2023, 12(2), 666; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12020666 - 14 Jan 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2434

Abstract

Dichotic listening is the high-level auditory process which enables the perception of different verbal stimuli delivered simultaneously to the right and left ears (binaural integration), as well as the perception of a verbal stimulus presented to one ear while ignoring a different stimulus [...] Read more.

Dichotic listening is the high-level auditory process which enables the perception of different verbal stimuli delivered simultaneously to the right and left ears (binaural integration), as well as the perception of a verbal stimulus presented to one ear while ignoring a different stimulus in the other ear (binaural separation). Deficits in central auditory processing have been reported in children with learning disabilities. The present study aimed to compare dichotic listening performances in right-handed impaired readers (IR) and non-impaired readers (non-IR) according to age. For this, a cross-sectional study was conducted in 120 IR (56 males and 64 females) divided into five age groups and 120 non-IR (63 male and 57 female) matched on chronological age (8 to 9 years; 9 to 10 years; 10 to 12 years; 12 to 18 years; adult). They were tested for binaural integration and binaural separation, allowing for the calculation of dichotic aptitude (DA), ear prevalence (EP), and attentional shift index (ASI). A series of ANOVAs showed an effect of age and of the reading group for all the dichotic-related measures, except for EP. Binaural separation scores were lower in IR who also showed more intrusive responses compared to non-IR. These intrusive responses, which were more frequent on the right ear for IR, decreased with age in both groups. Overall, these results suggest that dichotic listening scores improve with age as the central auditory pathways mature. However, whatever the age, performances are lower in IR than in non-IR. This might be explained by an incomplete maturation of the auditory pathways in IR; an early start for long-term follow-up and auditory training is suggested. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Clinical and Translational Research in Auditory Processing Disorder)

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10 pages, 853 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Study on the Reference Values and Cutoff Criteria of Masking Level Difference for Children Aged 7–12 Years

by Carlos Alberto Leite Filho, Mônica de Oliveira Viana, Fátima Cristina Alves Branco-Barreiro and Silvana Maria Monte Coelho Frota

J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11(18), 5282; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11185282 - 7 Sep 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1447

Abstract

The Masking Level Difference (MLD) test is one of the main instruments for investigating binaural interaction. Studies with children aged 7–12 years still disagree about the influence of age on test performance and present discordant reference values. This study aimed to verify the [...] Read more.

The Masking Level Difference (MLD) test is one of the main instruments for investigating binaural interaction. Studies with children aged 7–12 years still disagree about the influence of age on test performance and present discordant reference values. This study aimed to verify the effect of age on the performance of children aged 7–12 years in the MLD test and to establish reference values and cutoff criteria for this age group. Fifty-nine children with normal hearing were organized in three groups according to their age: 7–8 (n = 20), 9–10 (n = 20), and 11–12 (n = 19) years. The participants completed the MLD test by Auditec^®. The Kruskal–Wallis statistical test was used to compare groups. Reference values were obtained by calculating mean, standard deviation, median, mode, and percentiles, while the cutoff criterion was obtained by subtracting two standard deviations from the mean. No statistically significant differences were observed between the groups regarding the MLD test measures. The mean MLD was 10.51 ± 1.84 dB and the cutoff point was set at 7 dB. Thus, reference values for the MLD test were established for children aged 7–12 years, who presented no effect of age on test performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Clinical and Translational Research in Auditory Processing Disorder)

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13 pages, 879 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evidence of Validity and Normative Values of a New Auditory Backward Masking Test

by Renata Filippini, Carlos Alberto Leite Filho, Gabriela Melo Santos Bonassa Barros, Frank E. Musiek and Eliane Schochat

J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11(17), 4933; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11174933 - 23 Aug 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1751

Abstract

There are still no valid, clinically feasible instruments to assess backward masking (BM), an auditory temporal processing (ATP) phenomenon. The aim of this study was to develop, standardize and present evidence of validity for a behavioral test for BM assessment. Young adults were [...] Read more.

There are still no valid, clinically feasible instruments to assess backward masking (BM), an auditory temporal processing (ATP) phenomenon. The aim of this study was to develop, standardize and present evidence of validity for a behavioral test for BM assessment. Young adults were submitted to a BM test (BMT), where they were asked to identify a 1000 Hz pure tone followed by a narrowband noise with interstimulus intervals of 0 to 400 ms and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) between −20 and −30 dB. The correct response rate and target sound detection threshold were calculated, and the results compared with those of young adults with abnormal ATP tests and older adults. Diagnostic accuracy analyses were carried out. Young adults with normal ATP obtained an average correct response rate of 89 and 87% for SNR −20 and −30 dB, respectively, with average thresholds between 10 and 15 ms and no difference between the left and right ears. Results were more consistent at SNR −20 dB, and the best diagnostic accuracy was obtained for SNR −20 dB, with good specificity, but low sensitivity. Normative values were obtained for the BMT, which proved to be clinically feasible, with preliminary evidence of validity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Clinical and Translational Research in Auditory Processing Disorder)

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13 pages, 1253 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Implications for Early Diagnosis and Treatment in Schizophrenia Due to Correlation between Auditory Perceptual Deficits and Cognitive Impairment

by Nikolaos Moschopoulos, Ioannis Nimatoudis, Stergios Kaprinis, Kosmas Boutsikos, Christos Sidiras and Vasiliki Iliadou

J. Clin. Med. 2021, 10(19), 4557; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10194557 - 30 Sep 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3120

Abstract

It is indicated that auditory perception deficits are present in schizophrenia and related to formal thought disorder. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the association of auditory deficits with cognitive impairment in schizophrenia. An experimental group of 50 schizophrenia patients [...] Read more.

It is indicated that auditory perception deficits are present in schizophrenia and related to formal thought disorder. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the association of auditory deficits with cognitive impairment in schizophrenia. An experimental group of 50 schizophrenia patients completed a battery of auditory processing evaluation and a neuropsychological battery of tests. Correlations between neuropsychological battery scores and auditory processing scores were examined. Cognitive impairment was correlated with auditory processing deficits in schizophrenia patients. All neuropsychological test scores were significantly correlated with at least one auditory processing test score. Our findings support the coexistence of auditory processing disorder, severe cognitive impairment, and formal thought disorder in a subgroup of schizophrenia patients. This may have important implications in schizophrenia research, as well as in early diagnosis and nonpharmacological treatment of the disorder. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Clinical and Translational Research in Auditory Processing Disorder)

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13 pages, 1675 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Executive Function and Sensory Processing in Dichotic Listening of Young Adults with Listening Difficulties

by Aline Tocchini Pascoinelli, Eliane Schochat and Cristina Ferraz Borges Murphy

J. Clin. Med. 2021, 10(18), 4255; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10184255 - 19 Sep 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2751

Abstract

Previous studies have suggested that varying attention demands in dichotic listening (DL) tasks might be a clinically feasible method to distinguish ‘bottom-up’ from ‘top-down’ deficits in listening. This study aims to investigate DL processing in adults with listening difficulties (LD). We assessed the [...] Read more.

Previous studies have suggested that varying attention demands in dichotic listening (DL) tasks might be a clinically feasible method to distinguish ‘bottom-up’ from ‘top-down’ deficits in listening. This study aims to investigate DL processing in adults with listening difficulties (LD). We assessed the performance of a listening difficulties group (LDG) (n = 24, mean age = 24, backward digit span = 4.0) and a control group (CG) (n = 25, mean age = 29.2, backward digit span = 6.4) in DL tests involving non-forced and both right and left-forced attention. The results indicated an overall significantly worse performance of LDG compared to the CG, which was greater for forced-left condition. This same result was observed when controlling for working memory (WM) variance. Both groups presented an overall right ear advantage with no difference in terms of the magnitude of advantage. These results indicate that LD presented by the LDG might be due to a combination of sensory and cognitive deficits, with emphasis on the cognitive component. However, the WM, although impaired in the LDG group, was not the main factor in segregating both groups. The role of the additional cognitive processes such as inhibitory control in LD is discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Clinical and Translational Research in Auditory Processing Disorder)

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Review

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20 pages, 932 KiB

Open AccessReview

Towards the Clinical Application of Gene Therapy for Genetic Inner Ear Diseases

by Ghizlene Lahlou, Charlotte Calvet, Marie Giorgi, Marie-José Lecomte and Saaid Safieddine

J. Clin. Med. 2023, 12(3), 1046; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12031046 - 29 Jan 2023

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 4602

Abstract

Hearing loss, the most common human sensory defect worldwide, is a major public health problem. About 70% of congenital forms and 25% of adult-onset forms of deafness are of genetic origin. In total, 136 deafness genes have already been identified and there are [...] Read more.

Hearing loss, the most common human sensory defect worldwide, is a major public health problem. About 70% of congenital forms and 25% of adult-onset forms of deafness are of genetic origin. In total, 136 deafness genes have already been identified and there are thought to be several hundred more awaiting identification. However, there is currently no cure for sensorineural deafness. In recent years, translational research studies have shown gene therapy to be effective against inherited inner ear diseases, and the application of this technology to humans is now within reach. We provide here a comprehensive and practical overview of current advances in gene therapy for inherited deafness, with and without an associated vestibular defect. We focus on the different gene therapy approaches, considering their prospects, including the viral vector used, and the delivery route. We also discuss the clinical application of the various strategies, their strengths, weaknesses, and the challenges to be overcome. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Clinical and Translational Research in Auditory Processing Disorder)

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