Advances in Hearing Loss Diagnosis and Management

A special issue of Brain Sciences (ISSN 2076-3425). This special issue belongs to the section "Neuro-otology and Neuro-ophthalmology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2022) | Viewed by 11140

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Otolaryngology Department, Dijon University Hospital, Université Bourgogne-Franche Comté, F-21000 Dijon, France
Interests: otology; neurotology; surgery; hearing loss; vertigo; robotics; artificial intelligence
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With a progressive aging of the population in the Western countries, hearing loss has become a significant public health preoccupation. The impact of this disability on the quality of life, autonomy and cognitive decline has been demonstrated by multiple studies. The interaction of hearing with other functions such as vision, balance, speech, and cognitive functions underlines the complexity of audition and the consequences of its loss.

The improving comprehension of deafness in the fields of integrative physiology, molecular biology, genetics, and acoustics has led to a booming development of diagnostic, and rehabilitation techniques in the past decade. It has also opened insights in the fields of prevention and cochlear repair. Advances in the field of computer science have benefited many domains related to this problem, such as hearing aid technology, electrophysiology, imaging, surgery, and genetics.

This issue will gather reports on innovative approaches to hearing loss and its management, comprising pathophysiology, and diagnostic, therapeutic, and rehabilitative measures. This issue will highlight works which will spearhead improvements in the medical practice toward a more ecologic and individual management of hearing loss.

Dr. Alexis Bozorg Grayeli
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Hearing loss
  • Hearing rehabilitation
  • Cochlear implant
  • Diagnosis
  • Hearing aid
  • Speech therapy

Published Papers (5 papers)

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22 pages, 3170 KiB  
Article
Effect of Ipsilateral, Contralateral or Bilateral Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Patients with Lateralized Tinnitus: A Placebo-Controlled Randomized Study
by Yi Li, Yong-Cong Shen, John J. Galvin III, Ji-Sheng Liu and Duo-Duo Tao
Brain Sci. 2022, 12(6), 733; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12060733 - 02 Jun 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1754
Abstract
The relative benefit of ipsilateral, contralateral, and bilateral repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for tinnitus treatment remains unclear, especially for patients with lateralized tinnitus. In this study, we compared outcomes after 10 sessions of 1-Hz rTMS at 110% of resting motor threshold over [...] Read more.
The relative benefit of ipsilateral, contralateral, and bilateral repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for tinnitus treatment remains unclear, especially for patients with lateralized tinnitus. In this study, we compared outcomes after 10 sessions of 1-Hz rTMS at 110% of resting motor threshold over a two-week period. In total, 104 right-handed patients with lateralized subjective tinnitus were randomly divided into four groups according to rTMS treatment: Left (n = 29), Right (n = 23), Bilateral (n = 30), and Sham stimulation (n = 22). Outcomes included estimates of tinnitus severity, psychological state, and psychoacoustic measures. Patients with left- or right-sided tinnitus were similarly distributed across treatment groups. There were no significant changes in outcome measures for the Right or Sham treatment groups. For the Left and Bilateral groups, tinnitus severity was significantly lower after treatment (p < 0.05). The reduction in tinnitus severity was largest for ipsilateral treatment in the Left group. The overall response rate was 56.1% for the Left group, 46.7% for the Bilateral group, 8.3% for the Right group, and 8.3% for the Sham group. For the Left and Bilateral groups, the response rate was larger for patients with left- than right-sided tinnitus. Changes in tinnitus severity were best predicted by changes in anxiety, depression, and the loudness of the tinnitus. The results suggests that rTMS on the left temporoparietal cortex is more effective for patients with left-sided than with right-sided tinnitus. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Hearing Loss Diagnosis and Management)
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22 pages, 3026 KiB  
Article
Relationship between Behavioral and Objective Measures of Sound Intensity in Normal-Hearing Listeners and Hearing-Aid Users: A Pilot Study
by Elsa Legris, John Galvin, Yassine Mofid, Nadia Aguillon-Hernandez, Sylvie Roux, Jean-Marie Aoustin, Marie Gomot and David Bakhos
Brain Sci. 2022, 12(3), 392; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12030392 - 15 Mar 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2158
Abstract
Background: For hearing-impaired individuals, hearing aids are clinically fit according to subjective measures of threshold and loudness. The goal of this study was to evaluate objective measures of loudness perception that might benefit hearing aid fitting. Method: Seventeen adult hearing aid users and [...] Read more.
Background: For hearing-impaired individuals, hearing aids are clinically fit according to subjective measures of threshold and loudness. The goal of this study was to evaluate objective measures of loudness perception that might benefit hearing aid fitting. Method: Seventeen adult hearing aid users and 17 normal-hearing adults participated in the study. Outcome measures including categorical loudness scaling, cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEPs), and pupillometry. Stimuli were 1-kHz tone bursts presented at 40, 60, and 80 dBA. Results: Categorical loudness scaling showed that loudness significantly increased with intensity for all participants (p < 0.05). For CAEPs, high intensity was associated with greater P1, N1, and P2 peak amplitude for all listeners (p < 0.05); a significant but small effect of hearing aid amplification was observed. For all participants, pupillometry showed significant effects of high intensity on pupil dilation (p < 0.05); there was no significant effect of hearing aid amplification. A Focused Principal Component analysis revealed significant correlations between subjective loudness and some of the objective measures. Conclusion: The present data suggest that intensity had a significant impact on loudness perception, CAEPs, and pupil response. The correlations suggest that pupillometry and/or CAEPs may be useful in determining comfortable amplification for hearing aids. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Hearing Loss Diagnosis and Management)
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32 pages, 2806 KiB  
Article
Frequency Fitting Optimization Using Evolutionary Algorithm in Cochlear Implant Users with Bimodal Binaural Hearing
by Alexis Saadoun, Antoine Schein, Vincent Péan, Pierrick Legrand, Ludwig Serge Aho Glélé and Alexis Bozorg Grayeli
Brain Sci. 2022, 12(2), 253; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12020253 - 11 Feb 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2144
Abstract
Optimizing hearing in patients with a unilateral cochlear implant (CI) and contralateral acoustic hearing is a challenge. Evolutionary algorithms (EA) can explore a large set of potential solutions in a stochastic manner to approach the optimum of a minimization problem. The objective of [...] Read more.
Optimizing hearing in patients with a unilateral cochlear implant (CI) and contralateral acoustic hearing is a challenge. Evolutionary algorithms (EA) can explore a large set of potential solutions in a stochastic manner to approach the optimum of a minimization problem. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate an EA-based protocol to modify the default frequency settings of a MAP (fMAP) of the CI in patients with bimodal hearing. Methods: This monocentric prospective study included 27 adult CI users (with post-lingual deafness and contralateral functional hearing). A fitting program based on EA was developed to approach the best fMAP. Generated fMAPs were tested by speech recognition (word recognition score, WRS) in noise and free-field-like conditions. By combining these first fMAPs and adding some random changes, a total of 13 fMAPs over 3 generations were produced. Participants were evaluated before and 45 to 60 days after the fitting by WRS in noise and questionnaires on global sound quality and music perception in bimodal binaural conditions. Results: WRS in noise improved with the EA-based fitting in comparison to the default fMAP (41.67 ± 9.70% versus 64.63 ± 16.34%, respectively, p = 0.0001, signed-rank test). The global sound quality and music perception were also improved, as judged by ratings on questionnaires and scales. Finally, most patients chose to keep the new fitting definitively. Conclusions: By modifying the default fMAPs, the EA improved the speech discrimination in noise and the sound quality in bimodal binaural conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Hearing Loss Diagnosis and Management)
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16 pages, 2497 KiB  
Article
Increased Threshold and Reduced Firing Rate of Auditory Cortex Neurons after Cochlear Implant Insertion
by Elie Partouche, Victor Adenis, Dan Gnansia, Pierre Stahl and Jean-Marc Edeline
Brain Sci. 2022, 12(2), 205; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12020205 - 31 Jan 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2033
Abstract
The cochlear implant (CI) is the most successful neuroprosthesis allowing thousands of patients with profound hearing loss to recover speech understanding. Recently, cochlear implants have been proposed to subjects with residual hearing and, in these cases, shorter CIs were implanted. To be successful, [...] Read more.
The cochlear implant (CI) is the most successful neuroprosthesis allowing thousands of patients with profound hearing loss to recover speech understanding. Recently, cochlear implants have been proposed to subjects with residual hearing and, in these cases, shorter CIs were implanted. To be successful, it is crucial to preserve the patient’s remaining hearing abilities after the implantation. Here, we quantified the effects of CI insertion on the responses of auditory cortex neurons in anesthetized guinea pigs. The responses of auditory cortex neurons were determined before and after the insertion of a 300 µm diameter CI (six stimulating electrodes, length 6 mm). Immediately after CI insertion there was a 5 to 15 dB increase in the threshold for cortical neurons from the middle to the high frequencies, accompanied by a decrease in the evoked firing rate. Analyzing the characteristic frequency (CF) values revealed that in large number of cases, the CFs obtained after insertion were lower than before. These effects were not detected in the control animals. These results indicate that there is a small but immediate cortical hearing loss after CI insertion, even with short length CIs. Therefore, efforts should be made to minimize the damages during CI insertion to preserve the cortical responses to acoustic stimuli. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Hearing Loss Diagnosis and Management)
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16 pages, 1942 KiB  
Study Protocol
Functional Reorganization of the Central Auditory System in Children with Single-Sided Deafness: A Protocol Using fNIRS
by Marie-Noëlle Calmels, Yohan Gallois, Mathieu Marx, Olivier Deguine, Soumia Taoui, Emma Arnaud, Kuzma Strelnikov and Pascal Barone
Brain Sci. 2022, 12(4), 423; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12040423 - 22 Mar 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2262
Abstract
In children, single-sided deafness (SSD) affects the development of linguistic and social skills and can impede educational progress. These difficulties may relate to cortical changes that occur following SSD, such as reduced inter-hemispheric functional asymmetry and maladaptive brain plasticity. To investigate these neuronal [...] Read more.
In children, single-sided deafness (SSD) affects the development of linguistic and social skills and can impede educational progress. These difficulties may relate to cortical changes that occur following SSD, such as reduced inter-hemispheric functional asymmetry and maladaptive brain plasticity. To investigate these neuronal changes and their evolution in children, a non-invasive technique is required that is little affected by motion artifacts. Here, we present a research protocol that uses functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to evaluate the reorganization of cortical auditory asymmetry in children with SSD; it also examines how the cortical changes relate to auditory and language skills. The protocol is designed for children whose SSD has not been treated, because hearing restoration can alter both brain reorganization and behavioral performance. We propose a single-center, cross-sectional study that includes 30 children with SSD (congenital or acquired moderate-to-profound deafness) and 30 children with normal hearing (NH), all aged 5–16 years. The children undergo fNIRS during monaural and binaural stimulation, and the pattern of cortical activity is analyzed using measures of the peak amplitude and area under the curve for both oxy- and deoxyhemoglobin. These cortical measures can be compared between the two groups of children, and analyses can be run to determine whether they relate to binaural hearing (speech-in-noise and sound localization), speech perception and production, and quality of life (QoL). The results could be of relevance for developing individualized rehabilitation programs for SSD, which could reduce patients’ difficulties and prevent long-term neurofunctional and clinical consequences. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Hearing Loss Diagnosis and Management)
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