Development of the Turkish hearing in noise test for children.

The aim of this study is to develop the Turkish version of hearing in noise test for children (HINT-C) by providing norms and correction factors for the children in different age groups. A total of 77 individuals with normal hearing - 62 children (6-12 years old) and 15 adults (18-30 years old) - were included. Twelve phonemically balanced 10-sentence lists were created from the adult version of the Turkish HINT (Study 1).

A Central Auditory Test reveals differences between drug treatment regimens in adults living with HIV.

Objective: This exploratory study examined whether central auditory tests show differences between people living with HIV (PLWH) treated with two predominant antiretroviral drug therapy (ART) regimens.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Study Sample: 253 PLWH (mean age 39.

Reference equivalent threshold sound pressure levels for the Wireless Automated Hearing Test System.

This paper presents reference equivalent threshold sound pressure levels (RETSPLs) for the Wireless Automated Hearing Test System (WAHTS), a recently commercialized device developed for use as a boothless audiometer. Two initial studies were conducted following the ISO 389-9 standard [ISO 389-9 (2009). "Acoustics-Reference zero for the calibration of audiometric equipment.

The Resting State Central Auditory Network: a Potential Marker of HIV-Related Central Nervous System Alterations.

Objective: HIV positive (HIV+) individuals with otherwise normal hearing ability show central auditory processing deficits as evidenced by worse performance in speech-in-noise perception compared with HIV negative (HIV-) controls. HIV infection and treatment are also associated with lower neurocognitive screening test scores, suggesting underlying central nervous system damage. To determine how central auditory processing deficits in HIV+ individuals relate to brain alterations in the cortex involved with auditory processing, we compared auditory network (AN) functional connectivity between HIV+ adults with or without speech-in-noise perception difficulties and age-matched HIV- controls using resting-state fMRI.

Corrigendum: Increased Right Frontal Brain Activity During the Mandarin Hearing-in-Noise Test.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2020.

Increased Right Frontal Brain Activity During the Mandarin Hearing-in-Noise Test.

Purpose: Previous studies have revealed increased frontal brain activation during speech comprehension in background noise. Few, however, used tonal languages. The normal pattern of brain activation during a challenging speech-in-nose task using a tonal language remains unclear.

The German hearing in noise test.

Objectives: The aims of this study were to develop a German Hearing In Noise Test (HINT) using the same methodology as with previous HINT tests; to develop sentence lists for measuring speech reception thresholds (SRTs); and to determine test-retest reliability and norms for measures obtained under headphones.

Design: The following steps were followed: develop and record sentences, synthesise masking noise, determine the performance-intensity (PI) function, equalise sentence difficulty in the masking noise. Form sentence lists of equal difficulty.

The Effect of Stimulus Audibility on the Relationship between Pure-Tone Average and Speech Recognition in Noise Ability.

Background: The literature presents conflicting reports on the relationship between pure-tone threshold average and speech recognition in noise ability.

Purpose: The purpose of this retrospective study and meta-analysis was to determine the effect of stimulus audibility on the relationship between speech recognition in noise ability and bilateral pure-tone average (BPTA).

Research Design: Pure-tone threshold and Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) data from two data sets were evaluated.

Development of hearing standards for Ontario's Constable Selection System.

Develop valid and defensible hearing standards for Ontario constables to ensure safe and efficient operations. Research involved three steps: (1) identification of hearing critical (HC) tasks, (2) characterisation of real-world noise environments where these tasks are performed (3) and establishment of screening criteria and protocols for determining fitness for duty. Three panels of subject matter experts (SMEs) from different Ontario police services participated in Steps 1 and 3.

Evidence-Based Occupational Hearing Screening I: Modeling the Effects of Real-World Noise Environments on the Likelihood of Effective Speech Communication.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to (1) identify essential hearing-critical job tasks for public safety and law enforcement personnel; (2) determine the locations and real-world noise environments where these tasks are performed; (3) characterize each noise environment in terms of its impact on the likelihood of effective speech communication, considering the effects of different levels of vocal effort, communication distances, and repetition; and (4) use this characterization to define an objective normative reference for evaluating the ability of individuals to perform essential hearing-critical job tasks in noisy real-world environments.

Design: Data from five occupational hearing studies performed over a 17-year period for various public safety agencies were analyzed. In each study, job task analyses by job content experts identified essential hearing-critical tasks and the real-world noise environments where these tasks are performed.

Evidence-based occupational hearing screening II: validation of a screening methodology using measures of functional hearing ability.

Objective: Validate use of the Extended Speech Intelligibility Index (ESII) for prediction of speech intelligibility in non-stationary real-world noise environments. Define a means of using these predictions for objective occupational hearing screening for hearing-critical public safety and law enforcement jobs.

Design: Analyses of predicted and measured speech intelligibility in recordings of real-world noise environments were performed in two studies using speech recognition thresholds (SRTs) and intelligibility measures.

An Argument for Self-Report as a Reference Standard in Audiology.

Background: The primary components of a diagnostic accuracy study are an index test, the target condition (or disorder), and a reference standard. According to the Standards for Reporting Diagnostic Accuracy statement, the reference standard should be the best method available to independently determine if the results of an index test are correct. Pure-tone thresholds have been used as the "gold standard" for the validation of some tests used in audiology.

Speech in Noise Perception as a Marker of Cognitive Impairment in HIV Infection.

Objectives: Human immunodeficiency virus positive (HIV+) individuals report hearing difficulties, but standard audiological tests show no, or small, changes in peripheral hearing ability. The hearing complaints may reflect central nervous system (CNS) auditory processing deficits, rather than middle or inner ear problems, and may result from CNS damage due to HIV infection or treatment. If central auditory task performance and cognitive deficits in HIV+ individuals are shown to be related, then central auditory tests might serve as a "window" into CNS function in these patients.

Tone perception in Mandarin-speaking children with cochlear implants.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of implant age and duration of implantation on development of Mandarin tone perception in paediatric cochlear implant recipients.

Design: Retrospective cross-sectional evaluation of tone perception, as assessed with the Mandarin Early Speech Perception test at 3, 6, 12, 24, 36 and 48 months after activation.

Study Sample: A total of 143 subjects, 60 girls and 83 boys unilaterally implanted at 1-4 years of age comprised the sample.

The effect of non-native and non-regional speech testing on a multi-lingual population.

Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the speech perception of Malaysian Chinese adults using the Taiwanese Mandarin HINT (MHINT-T) and the Malay HINT (MyHINT).

Design: The MHINT-T and the MyHINT were presented in quiet and noise (front, right and left) conditions under headphones. Results for the two tests were compared with each other and with the norms for each test.

Initial classification of pediatric hearing impairment using behavioral measures of early prelingual auditory development.

Objective: Determine the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of pediatric hearing loss classification using behavioral evidence of early prelingual auditory development (EPLAD). Validate behavioral measures of EPLAD.

Design: EPLAD was assessed in a prospective sample of hearing-impaired children using the infant-toddler meaningful auditory integration scale (ITMAIS/MAIS).

The Norwegian Hearing in Noise Test for Children.

Objectives: The aims of this study were to create 12 ten-sentence lists for the Norwegian Hearing in Noise Test for children, and to use these lists to collect speech reception thresholds (SRTs) in quiet and in noise to assess speech perception in normal hearing children 5 to 13 years of age, to establish developmental trends, and to compare the results with those of adults. Data were collected in an anechoic chamber and in an audiometric test room, and the effect of slight room reverberation was estimated.

Design: The Norwegian Hearing in Noise Test for children was formed from a subset of the adult sentences.

Quantification of the effects of Mandarin dialect differences on the use of norm-referenced speech perception tests.

Objective: Determine the effects of Chinese dialects on results for the Mandarin HINT recorded with a talker speaking Standard Mandarin (Putonghua).

Design: Normally-hearing subjects with different dialect exposure histories and usage preferences were administered the Mandarin HINT, and results were compared with published norms. Additional published measures of the intelligibility and mutual intelligibility of Chinese dialects were used to identify dialects for which Putonghua is highly intelligible.

The effect of interleaved filters on normal hearing listeners' perception of binaural cues.

Objectives: Hearing-impaired individuals often have difficulty in noisy environments. Interleaved filters, where signals from neighboring frequency regions are sent to opposite ears, may benefit those individuals but may also reduce the benefits of spatial cues. This study investigated the effect of interleaved filters on the use of spatial cues.

Development of Mandarin spoken language after pediatric cochlear implantation.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate early spoken language development in young Mandarin-speaking children during the first 24 months after cochlear implantation, as measured by receptive and expressive vocabulary growth rates. Growth rates were compared with those of normally hearing children and with growth rates for English-speaking children with cochlear implants.

Method: Receptive and expressive vocabularies were measured with the simplified short form (SSF) version of the Mandarin Communicative Development Inventory (MCDI) in a sample of 112 pediatric implant recipients at baseline, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months after implantation.

The relationship between high-frequency pure-tone hearing loss, hearing in noise test (HINT) thresholds, and the articulation index.

Background: Speech recognition in noise testing has been conducted at least since the 1940s (Dickson et al, 1946). The ability to recognize speech in noise is a distinct function of the auditory system (Plomp, 1978). According to Kochkin (2002), difficulty recognizing speech in noise is the primary complaint of hearing aid users.

Characterization of speech understanding in various types of noise.

This study examined (1) the effects of noise on speech understanding and (2) whether performance in real-life noises could be predicted based on performance in steady-state speech-spectrum-shaped noise. The noise conditions included a steady-state speech-spectrum-shaped noise and six types of real-life noise. Thirty normal-hearing adults were tested using sentence materials from the Cantonese Hearing In Noise Test (CHINT).

Outcome assessment alternatives for young children during the first 12 months after pediatric hearing-aid fittings.

Objective: Perform longitudinal evaluations of young children during the first 12 months after initial hearing-aid fitting. Document evidence of early prelingual auditory development (EPLAD), identify factors that affect EPLAD, and define performance milestones that can guide best practices.

Design: Unblinded, prospective, within-subject, repeated-measures design.

Clinical assessment of early language development: a simplified short form of the Mandarin communicative development inventory.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to develop a practical mean for clinical evaluation of early pediatric language development by establishing developmental trajectories for receptive and expressive vocabulary growth in children between 6 and 32 months of age using a simple, time-efficient assessment tool.

Methods: Simplified short form versions of the Words and Gestures and Words and Sentences vocabulary inventories in the Mandarin Communicative Development Inventory [1] were developed and used to assess early language development in developmentally normal children from 6 to 32 months of age during routine health checks.

Results: Developmental trajectories characterizing the rate of receptive and expressive vocabulary growth between 6 and 32 months of age are reported.

Cochlear implant patients' localization using interaural level differences exceeds that of untrained normal hearing listeners.

Bilateral cochlear implant patients are unable to localize as well as normal hearing listeners. Although poor sensitivity to interaural time differences clearly contributes to this deficit, it is unclear whether deficits in terms of interaural level differences are also a contributing factor. In this study, localization was tested while manipulating interaural time and level cues using head-related transfer functions.