Cochlear Tuning in Early Aging Estimated with Three Methods.

Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) currently affects over 20 million adults in the U.S. and its prevalence is expected to increase as the population ages.

Some Considerations for the Use of the Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB) as a Hearing-Aid Outcome Measure.

The Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB) has been one of the most frequently used patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) since its inception 30 years ago. For the APHAB, single-valued 95% critical differences have been presented for the identification and interpretation of meaningful benefits in research and in the clinic. A narrative literature review of studies that used the global APHAB score as a hearing-aid outcome measure showed that the average benefit varied directly with the average unaided baseline score for each measure.

Some considerations in the use of the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly and its derivatives as hearing-aid outcome measures.

Objective: To evaluate use of the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly (HHIE), and its derivatives, as hearing-aid outcome measures.

Design: A targeted narrative literature review identified 12 studies in the primary research literature that had reported mean HHIE scores for both unaided and aided conditions. Individual unaided and aided HHIE scores from several recently completed randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of hearing aids were also analysed.

Comprehension and Use of the Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Product Information Label.

The product information label (PIL) is the consumer-focused tool required by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to transmit essential health information about candidacy to potential users of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids. The OTC hearing aid PIL has not undergone a systematic comprehensibility study, nor have consumers' viewing habits of the OTC PIL been evaluated. The goal of the present study was to use eye-tracking to determine what consumers attend to when looking at an OTC hearing aid package (which includes the PIL), and conduct an assessment of comprehension of the PIL's content in a group of consumers who either spoke English only (EO) or reported English as a second language (ESL).

A Multisite Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing the Effectiveness of Two Self-Fit Methods to the Best-Practices Method of Hearing Aid Fitting.

Trial Design: This is a randomized multisite noninferiority comparative-effectiveness clinical trial with three parallel branches comparing a best-practices audiologist-fit method to two experimental self-fit (person-fit) methods. Outcomes were measured at 6 weeks and 6 months post-fit.

Method: Participants: Five hundred eighty-four participants met the following inclusion criteria and enrolled: (a) age between 50 and 79 years; (b) never used or tried hearing aids previously; (c) can speak, read, and understand English well; (d) willing to purchase the study hearing aids for $650/pair; (e) no diagnosis of a memory or cognitive impairment; (f) 25-item Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly (HHIE) score > 4; (g) Montreal Cognitive Assessment score ≥ 23; and (h) not excluded due to specific audiometric criteria.

The Ins and Outs of Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emission Growth: A Review.

Otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) are low-level signals generated from active processes related to outer hair cell transduction in the cochlea. In current clinical applications, OAEs are typically used to detect the presence or absence of hearing loss. However, their potential extends far beyond hearing screenings.

A Variable-Stimulus Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emission Screening Method to Match Cochlear Place-Specific Properties.

Objectives: Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) are a popular screening tool for hearing loss in specific populations (e.g., newborns).

Hearing Loss and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Profiles: Data from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos.

Background:  Individual cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors (RFs) have been associated with hearing loss (HL). The relationship to aggregate risk is poorly understood and has not been explored in the Hispanic/Latino population.

Purpose:  The aim of this study was to characterize the association between aggregate CVD RF burden and hearing among Hispanics/Latinos.

Customer Archetypes in Hearing Health Care.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine if there are unique customer archetypes that can describe the motivations behind consumer buying choice (in person or online) for hearing aids in hearing health care.

Method: A consumer survey was developed from themes that arose during 11 semistructured interviews with adults who had no previous hearing aid experience. Using Qualtrics research panels, a 28-item questionnaire was distributed online to U.

Risk factors associated with occupational noise-induced hearing loss in the Hispanic community health study/study of Latinos: A cross-sectional epidemiologic investigation.

The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of occupational noise exposure and risk factors of occupational noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) in Hispanic/Latino adults included in the baseline wave of the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos collected from 2008 to 2011. Sequential multiple linear regression modeled the relationship between occupational NIHL (defined as a 3-, 4-, 6-kHz pure-tone average [PTA]) and occupation type, self-reported noise exposure, cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk score, and hearing protective device (HPD) use. The final model controlled for sex, age, and recreational noise exposure.

Measurement of swept level distortion product otoacoustic emission growth functions at multiple frequencies simultaneously.

Otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) are low-level sounds generated by the inner ear that provide a non-invasive assessment of cochlear health. Advanced applications require recording OAEs across a wide range of frequencies and stimulus levels. Detailed here is a method for efficiently measuring distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) across an expansive stimulus space.

Assessment of Consumer Attitudes Following Recent Changes in the US Hearing Health Care Market.

Importance: The addition of over-the-counter hearing aid (HA) options has transformed the way individuals can access hearing health care (HHC). However, although critical to their adoption and use, consumer attitudes and opinions about direct-to-consumer (DTC) models of health care are often understudied.

Objective: To assess how recent DTC market changes in HHC delivery may be associated with consumer choice and attitudes towards specific HHC models.

Optimizing distortion product otoacoustic emission recordings in normal-hearing ears by adopting cochlear place-specific stimuli.

Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) provide a window into active cochlear processes and have become a popular clinical and research tool. DPOAEs are commonly recorded using stimulus with fixed presentation levels and frequency ratio irrespective of the test frequency. However, this is inconsistent with the changing mechanical properties of the cochlear partition from the base to the apex that lend specific frequency-dependent spatial properties to the cochlear traveling wave.

Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emission Component Behavior as a Function of Primary Frequency Ratio and Primary Level.

Objectives: Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) are composed of distortion and reflection components. Much is known about the influence of the stimulus frequency ratio (f 2 /f 1 ) on the overall/composite DPOAE level. However, the influence of f 2 /f 1 on individual DPOAE components is not as well examined.

The influence of self-reported noise exposure on 2ƒ-ƒ distortion product otoacoustic emission level, fine structure, and components in a normal-hearing population.

Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) offer an outcome measure to consider for clinical detection and monitoring outer hair cell dysfunction as a result of noise exposure. This investigation detailed DPOAE characteristics and behavioral hearing thresholds up to 20 kHz to identify promising metrics for early detection of cochlear dysfunction. In a sample of normal-hearing individuals with and without self-reported noise exposure, the DPOAE and hearing threshold measures, as assessed by two questions, were examined.

Sex-Specific Prevalence, Demographic Characteristics, and Risk Factors of Tinnitus in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of any and chronic tinnitus among female and male individuals from varied Hispanic/Latino backgrounds and to estimate associations between risk factors for chronic tinnitus.

Method: Our analysis used cross-sectional baseline data collected from 2008 to 2011 from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL). Prevalence estimates and multivariable logistic regression were conducted using survey methodology.

A Time-Course-Based Estimation of the Human Medial Olivocochlear Reflex Function Using Clicks.

The auditory efferent system, especially the medial olivocochlear reflex (MOCR), is implicated in both typical auditory processing and in auditory disorders in animal models. Despite the significant strides in both basic and translational research on the MOCR, its clinical applicability remains under-utilized in humans due to the lack of a recommended clinical method. Conventional tests employ broadband noise in one ear while monitoring change in otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) in the other ear to index efferent activity.

Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emission (DPOAE) Growth in Aging Ears with Clinically Normal Behavioral Thresholds.

Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is a devastating public health issue. To successfully address ARHL using existing and future treatments, it is imperative to detect the earliest signs of age-related auditory decline and understand the mechanisms driving it. Here, we explore early signs of age-related auditory decline by characterizing cochlear function in 199 ears aged 10-65 years, all of which had clinically defined normal hearing (i.

Cost-Effectiveness of Hearing Screening in Older Adults: A Scoping Review.

Objectives: Age is the most common predictor of hearing loss; however, many older adults are not screened. Hearing screening could improve healthcare access, participation, and outcomes. Establishing whether hearing screening in older adults is cost-effective could improve the availability and utilization of screening.

History and Lingering Impact of the Arbitrary 25-dB Cutoff for Normal Hearing.

Purpose Since its inception nearly a century ago, the audiogram has become the gold standard for reporting an individual's hearing status. The interpretation of the audiogram, namely, where normal hearing ends and hearing loss begins, impacts all areas of audiology: research, clinical, and medicolegal. Where to define normal hearing was the subject of great debate during the early decades of audiology.

Factors Associated With Self-Perceived Hearing Handicap in Adults From Hispanic/Latino Background: Findings From the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos.

Objectives: We sought to determine what factors, including acculturation (language and social contact preferences), were associated with self-perceived hearing handicap among adults from Hispanic/Latino background. We utilized the Aday-Andersen behavioral model of health services utilization to frame our hypotheses that predisposing characteristics (age, sex, education, city of residence, Hispanic/Latino background, and acculturation), enabling resources (annual income and current health insurance coverage), and need (measured hearing loss and self-reported hearing loss) would be related to clinically-significant self-perceived hearing handicap as measured by the Hearing Handicap Inventory - Screening (HHI-S) version.

Design: We analyzed baseline data collected from 2008 to 2011 as part of the multisite Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos.