BACKGROUND:Parents of children with central auditory processing disorder (CAPD) face stressors related to their children's communication and learning difficulties. Currently, no research has explored how personality traits influence burnout among parents of children with CAPD. AIMS:This study investigated the relationships between parental burnout, the Big Five personality traits, and life satisfaction among parents of children with CAPD. METHODS:There were 248 parents (197 mothers, 51 fathers) of children with CAPD (Mage = 11 years) who participated. We analyzed three subgroups of parents: those whose child only had CAPD; those whose child had CAPD and speech, language, or articulation disorders; and those whose child had CAPD accompanied by other severe health conditions. Parents completed the Parental Burnout Assessment, a Big Five personality questionnaire International Personality Item Pool-Big Five Markers-20, and rated their life satisfaction on a visual analog scale. RESULTS:Parents of children with CAPD and additional health problems showed higher burnout levels than the general population. Protective factors against burnout included higher emotional stability, higher conscientiousness, and greater life satisfaction. Surprisingly, higher agreeableness and higher education predicted increased burnout. Fathers showed greater emotional distancing from their children than mothers. CONCLUSIONS:Psychological interventions should be offered to parents of children with CAPD. Priority should be given to those parents with profiles associated with higher burnout risk: low in emotional stability (and/or conscientiousness), high in agreeableness, having received higher education, having a younger child, and having a child with CAPD and other additional health challenges.

Objectives: This study aims to measure, at two time points, the relationship between self-perceived global stress and the personality traits of the mothers of children who have central auditory processing disorder (APD) and compare it with the results from mothers of typically developing (TD) children. The comparisons were made before the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as late in the pandemic. Methods: The level of stress was assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), while the Short Big Five Markers (IPIP-BFM-20) were used to assess Big Five personality traits. The study used two independent samples: one evaluated before the COVID-19 pandemic and the other late in the pandemic. Each sample consisted of 108 mothers of children with APD and 79 mothers whose children did not have APD (TD children) as controls. Results: The average global stress levels were similar in mothers of children with APD and in mothers of TD children, both before and in the late stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the late stage, both sets of mothers scored similarly on all personality dimensions, but significantly, mothers of TD children exhibited lower emotional stability compared to during the pre-pandemic period. In both groups, emotional stability predicted global stress level at both time points; however, during the pandemic, conscientiousness also became a predictor of global stress level but only in the group of mothers of TD children. Conclusions: Mothers of APD children might be more resistant to additional stressors. It would be prudent to watch mothers of APD and TD children for signs of needing psychological intervention.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the relationships between generic health-related quality of life (HRQoL), the Big Five personality traits, speech understanding, and sociodemographic factors in a group of postlingually deaf cochlear implant (CI) users. Method: The study group included 81 participants who met the inclusion criteria: profound sensorineural hearing loss, 18 years of age or more, and using at least one CI implanted after 18 years of age. Some 18% were bilateral CI users. The mean age of the participants was 60 ± 11 years. They completed the Assessment of Quality of Life (AQoL-8D) and the Short Form IPIP-BFM-20 (shortened version of the 50-item Big Five Markers Questionnaire from the International Personality Item Pool). The response rate was 57%. Results: The HRQoL was lower in the study group than in the general population. Moreover, all Big Five personality characteristics were significantly lower than the Polish norm. The personality traits of intellect/imagination, emotional stability, and extraversion contributed to higher overall HRQoL scores, particularly for most psychosocial AQoL-8D dimensions. Higher agreeableness predicted higher HRQoL in the Independent Living, Pain, Coping, and Relations dimensions, whereas higher extraversion predicted higher physical HRQoL in the Senses dimension. Better speech understanding in quiet and noisy environments correlated with better physical HRQoL. Additionally, male gender and higher education were linked to higher global HRQoL. Conversely, being female was associated with lower global psychosocial and physical HRQoL, particularly in Pain. Higher education also contributed to improved physical HRQoL. Conclusions: In general, CI users have lower physical and psychosocial HRQoL as well as in measures that depend on personality traits. In terms of physical HRQoL, speech understanding plays an important role. It might prove useful if CI candidates and users were given a Big Five personality evaluation and an HRQoL assessment based on which they might be offered counseling or psychological intervention.

Purpose: To investigate the relationship between self-perceived global stress and the personality traits of mothers of children with central auditory processing disorders (APD), and make a comparison with mothers of typically developing (TD) children. Design and methods: A cross-sectional study using two questionnaires - the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) and the Short Big Five Markers (IPIP-BFM-20) - to assess five personality dimensions: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and intellect/imagination. The study material included 187 mothers, of whom 108 were mothers of children with APD. The average age of the children with APD was 10 years. Results: The average level of global stress was similar in mothers of children with APD and mothers of TD children. Mothers of APD children had significantly lower scores for personality dimensions such as: emotional stability, conscientiousness, and intellect/imagination. Increased perceived stress level in mothers of children with APD was inversely correlated with extraversion, conscientiousness, and emotional stability. However, for both groups of mothers, the only significant predictor of global stress level was emotional stability. Conclusion: Mothers of children with APD, despite having similar global stress levels to other mothers, were different in terms of three personality dimensions, and these, especially lowered emotional stability, may play a negative role in coping with global self-perceived stress. Practice implications: The results of this study might be helpful in parental support interventions, including psychological therapy and counselling, and also in parental implementation interventions aimed at mothers of children with APD, especially those mothers who have high global stress and/or low emotional stability. (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc.

A child’s disability is a risk factor for its parents experiencing parental burnout (PB). Here we investigate this problem in hearing mothers of deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children. We look at the psychological dimension of the mothers’ personality in terms of the Big Five model, satisfaction with life (SWL), and posttraumatic growth (PTG). The study takes account of the sociodemographics of the mothers and their children and other factors related to the child’s deafness and their type of hearing assistance. The study was conducted through letters sent to 559 hearing mothers of which 29% responded. Responding mothers completed several questionnaires: the Parental Burnout Measure (PBM-12), International Personality Item Pool–Big Five Markers-20 (IPIP-BFM-20), Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI), and a general questionnaire. A VAS scale was used to assess SWL and satisfaction with the child’s rehabilitation.Results showed that the level of PB the mothers experienced was significantly lower than in mothers of children with non-deafness disabilities. SWL and emotional stability, intellect/imagination, agreeableness, extraversion, and satisfaction with the child’s rehabilitation were inversely correlated with PB, but only SWL and emotional stability were significant PB predictors. PTG in the mothers was at an average level and not correlated with PB. Similarly, the sociodemographic characteristics of mother and child and child’s deafness-related factors were not correlated with PB. Low levels of emotional stability and SWL are associated with vulnerability of the mothers to PB. Our finding of a lack of relationship between PB and PTG suggest that some mothers of deaf children may experience “illusory PTG”, which is related to avoidance-oriented coping strategies including denial coping.

This chapter presents electrophysiological and acoustic objective methods of hearing evaluation. The principles of the four methods presented in this chapter are based on auditory brainstem potentials (ABR), steady-state auditory responses (ASSR), otoacoustic emissions (OAE), and wideband immittance measures. Fundamentals and basic application of objective hearing testing methods are briefly reviewed; then, their application in the evaluation of hearing in partial deafness treatment (PDT) patients is described in detail. Attention is given to procedures ensuring adequate frequency specificity and good consistency between results of the objective and behavioral evaluation of hearing, taking into account PDT patients' specificity. Methods are illustrated with examples of practical applications in different preoperative examinations of implant candidates and postoperative hearing in PDT patients. The advantages and limitations of the presented methods are briefly summarized.

Metody badania właściwości mechanoakustycznych ucha środkowego wykorzystujące pomiar parametrów transmisyjnych fali akustycznej były znane od wielu lat i wykorzystywane w laboratoriach badawczych m.in. do modelowania struktury ucha. Metody te zyskały praktyczną przydatność z chwilą wdrożenia zautomatyzowanych, prostych w obsłudze systemów pomiarowych dostępnych dla lekarzy i audiologów. Celem drugiej części pracy jest wprowadzenie do metod pomiarowych szerokopasmowej tympanometrii reflektancyjnej. Przedstawiono podstawy teoretyczne metody i zasady jej technicznej realizacji. Omówiono sens fizyczny i znaczenie wielkości mierzonych i ich związki z funkcjonowaniem ucha środkowego. Pokazano najważniejsze możliwości zastosowań metody w diagnostyce patologii ucha środkowego. Wybrane zagadnienia zilustrowano wynikami prac własnych autorów. Omówiono także potencjalne ograniczenia metody i wskazano dziedziny, w których można oczekiwać intensywnych badań dla rozwoju diagnostyki otologicznej wykorzystującej metody tympanometrii szerokopasmowej.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of wideband energy absorbance in diagnosing otosclerosis by comparing the differences in acoustic absorbance between otosclerotic and normal ears. Exactly 90 surgically confirmed otosclerotic ears were included in the test group. The control group consisted of 126 matched normal-hearing subjects. The Titan hearing test platform (Interacoustics) was used for absorbance and acoustic immittance tests. Energy absorbance, measured at tympanometric peak pressure, was analyzed in the range 226–8000 Hz. Differences between normal and otosclerotic ears were analyzed in quarter-octave bands. Wideband absorbance, i.e., absorbance averaged over the 226–2000 Hz band, and resonance frequency were calculated and compared between normal and otosclerotic ears. Significant differences between the absorbance of normal and otosclerotic ears were found, especially at low and middle frequencies. No significant effect of ear side or gender was observed. For average wideband absorbance and resonance frequency, less pronounced (although significant) differences were found between normal and otosclerotic ears. Measurement of peak-pressure energy absorbance, averaged over a frequency band around 650 Hz, provides a valid criterion in testing for otosclerosis. The test is highly effective, with a sensitivity and specificity of over 85% and area under receiver operating characteristic curve above 0.9. Average wideband absorbance can also be used, but its effectiveness is lower. Other immittance-related measures are considerably less effective.

Audiometria impedancyjna jest wykorzystywana w badaniach narządu słuchu od ponad 70 lat i stanowi obecnie jedno z podstawowych narzędzi obiektywnej diagnostyki ucha środkowego. W ostatnich dekadach, a zwłaszcza kilku ostatnich latach, dziedzina rozwija się dynamicznie dzięki wdrożeniu nowych narzędzi i metod pomiarowych. Stwarza to możliwość uzyskania szerszej wiedzy o mechanizmach funkcjonowania ucha środkowego. Współczesne metody audiometrii impedancyjnej nie są jednak dostatecznie znane i rozpowszechnione w środowisku lekarzy i audiologów. Powodem jest niedostateczna wiedza o metodzie, wynikająca, m.in. z małej oferty przystępnej literatury, a także z niedostatecznej reprezentacji tej dziedziny w programach kształcenia. Celem pracy jest przegląd metod stosowanych we współczesnej audiometrii impedancyjnej, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem metod nowych, wdrożonych w ostatnich latach. Omówiono podstawy teoretyczne, zilustrowano sens fizyczny badanych wielkości i scharakteryzowano metody pomiarowe. Przedstawiono zakres zastosowań klinicznych oraz perspektywy ich rozwoju. W pierwszej części pracy omówiono podstawowe pojęcia audiometrii immitancyjnej, stosowane zasady pomiaru, scharakteryzowano możliwości i ograniczenia klasycznej tympanometrii. Przedstawiono koncepcję audiometrii wieloczęstotliwościowej (wielokomponentowej) i uzyskiwany dzięki tej metodzie rozwój możliwości diagnostycznych. Pokazano szereg nowych zastosowań w diagnostyce uszkodzeń słuchu, badaniach przesiewowych i in. Scharakteryzowano także niedogodności i ograniczenia utrudniające powszechne wykorzystanie tympanometrii wieloczęstotliwościowej w praktyce.

There is a limited number of diagnostic procedures to verify the presence of large vestibular aqueduct syndrome (LVAS) in humans. The wideband absorbance (WBA) measurement technique is a non-invasive and objective tool for assessing the amount of sound energy absorbed by the tympanic membrane over a wide frequency range. We suggest that WBA could be an aid for detecting LVAS in some hearing-impaired subjects. We report use of WBA on a patient who had bilateral sensorineural hearing loss associated with LVAS and cochlear abnormalities in both ears.

For more than 70 years, impedance audiometry has been used in objective diagnostics of hearing, and is presently recognized as one of basic tools for assessment of middle ear disorders. In last decades, especially during last few years, one observes a dynamic development in this field owing to the introduction of new tools and methods. The possibility of acquiring comprehensive knowledge about mechanisms of the middle ear have appeared, which gives an impetus to the development of objective diagnostics of hearing. Unfortunately, contemporary methods of immittance audiometry are not sufficiently popularized among medical practitioners and audiologists. The reason is the lack of knowledge resulting i.e. from low availability of accessible literature and inadequate representation of this domain in educational programs. The aim of this work is to present a review of methods used in contemporary immittance audiometry with special emphasis on new methods implemented in recent years. We describe theoretical fundamentals, illustrate physical sense of examined quantities, and characterize measuring methods. We also present clinical applications and perspectives for development. In the first part of the paper, we describe fundamental concepts of immittance audiometry and its measuring principles, starting from classical, low-frequency tympanometry. We characterize its possibilities and limitations. Then, we present the concept 9 Prace poglądowe Now Audiofonol, 2016; 5(3): 9–21 DOI: 10.17431/900707

BACKGROUND Pathologies that alter the impedance of the middle ear may consequently modify the DPOAE amplitude. The aim of this study was to correlate information from 2 different clinical procedures assessing middle ear status. Data from DPOAE responses (both DP-Gram and DP I/O functions) were correlated with data from multi-component tympanometry at 1000 Hz. MATERIAL AND METHODS The subjects were divided into a double-peak group (DPG) and a single-peak group (SPG) depending on 1000 Hz tympanogram pattern. Exclusion criteria (described in the Methods section) were applied to both groups and finally only 31 ears were assigned to each group. The subjects were also assessed with traditional tympanometry and behavioral audiometry. RESULTS Compared to the single-peak group, in terms of the 226 Hz tympanometry data, subjects in the DPG group presented: (i) higher values of ear canal volume; (ii) higher peak pressure, and (iii) significantly higher values of acoustic admittance. DPOAE amplitudes were lower in the DPG group only at 6006 Hz, but the difference in amplitude between the DPG and SPG groups decreased as the frequency increased. Statistical differences were observed only at 1001 Hz and a borderline difference at 1501 Hz. In terms of DPOAE I/O functions, significant differences were observed only in 4 of the 50 tested points. CONCLUSIONS The 1000-Hz tympanometric pattern significantly affects the structure of DPOAE responses only at 1001 Hz. In this context, changes in the properties of the middle ear (as detected by the 1000 Hz tympanometry) can be considered as prime candidates for the observed variability in the DP-grams and the DP I/O functions.

Background The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of methods for screening for retrocochlear pathologies based on auditory evoked brainstem responses (ABRs). The study compared the sensitivity, specificity, and effectiveness of these 3 techniques. Material/Methods The methods were: (i) standard ABR utilizing click-evoked responses, (ii) stacked ABR based on derived-band responses, and (iii) ABRs evoked by tone-pips (ABR TP). The methods were tested on patients with retrocochlear pathologies confirmed by MRI-Gd, normal-hearing subjects, and patients with cochlear hearing loss. The system and software used in the tests was NavPro AEP v.6.2.0 (BioLogic – Natus). Prior to testing, all subjects were given comprehensive audiologic and otologic examinations, including MR imaging. Sensitivity and specificity functions and predictive values of methods were determined. Results The stacked ABR method as realized in the NavPro system exhibited high sensitivity but specificity was very low, due to the high variability of stacked ABR amplitudes. The standard ABR method had good specificity, but low sensitivity in cases of small tumors (below 1 cm in diameter). Best sensitivity and specificity was obtained with the ABR TP method. Conclusions The stacked ABR method allows small acoustic tumors to be detected, but produces high percentage of false positive results. The ABR TP method offers good sensitivity and specificity, and relatively high predictive value. The best option would be to use a two-stage screening, consisting of a standard ABR in the first stage and an ABR TP test in the second.

BACKGROUND:The aim of this study was to evaluate the repeatability and variability of TEOAE characteristics in hearing screening tests performed under practical conditions on normal subjects.MATERIAL/METHODS:A group of 11 young, normal-hearing subjects aged 19-24 years was tested. They were examined otologically and audiologically prior to the tests and no ear pathologies were found. Responses were acquired with a commercially available instrument (Integrity, Vivosonic Inc.) using a standardized OAE protocol. The TEOAE tests were repeated 3 times in each subject at random intervals within 24 h. The analyzed parameters of interest were: (i) whole wave reproducibility (WWR) and; (ii) signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).RESULTS:WWR and SNR did not differ significantly among the 3 measurement sessions. In most cases the differences in WWR among measurements were around 1-2% and for SNRs they were 1-4 dB SNRs and were highest in the 1-2 kHz range. TEOAE-based tests can be useful tools for hearing screening.CONCLUSIONS:The tests can give reliable results provided that adequate procedures are used and low-noise conditions are ensured. The tests are best complemented with other examinations to widen the range of ear pathologies able to be detected.

The 24th Biennial Symposium of the International Evoked Response Audiometry Study Group (IERASG) took place in Busan, South Korea on 10–14 May, 2015. The meeting was co-organized by Dong-A University in Busan and Seoul National University. The chair of the organizing committee was long-standing IERASG Council member, Prof. Lee-Suk Kim (Dong-A University) and the general secretary (and principal organizer of the scientific program) was Prof. Jun Ho Lee (Seoul National University). The venue was the Paradise Hotel Busan, located at Haeundae Beach, said to be Korea’s most famous and beautiful beach.

Behavioral sensitization and tolerance to repetitive exposure to addictive drugs are commonly used for the assessment of the early stages of the drug dependence progress in animals. The orchestra of tools for studying the progress of drug dependence in laboratory rodents has been considerably enriched in the 1980s by the introduction of ultrasonic vocalization (USV) detection and characterization. However, the relationship between the results of this technology and those of traditional behavioral tests is not clear. We attempted to elucidate some of the respective ambiguities by comparing the effects of an intermittent amphetamine treatment, which was aimed both at the induction of sensitization and tolerance to this drug and at testing the persistence of these effects, on the locomotor activity and 50-kHz USV responses to both the drug and the context of drug exposure in adult male rats showing diverging susceptibility for sensitization to amphetamine. Categorization of the rats into low and high responders/callers based on sensitization of their frequency-modulated 50-kHz USV responsiveness showed some correspondence with conditioned place preference effects, but not with responses to amphetamine. The study showed distinct changes in the rate and latency of the frequency-modulated 50-kHz USV responses to repetitive amphetamine treatment, which were reminiscent of classical behavioral signs of sensitization and tolerance. These results show the utility of the appetitive USV for monitoring of early phases of complex processes leading to drug dependence. However, USV, locomotor activity and conditioned place preference seem to reflect different aspects of these phenomena.

Objective: Aim of this study was to evaluate auditory cortex responses to chirp stimulation in patients with partial deafness. Auditory cortex functioning is an important factor of successful rehabilitation after cochlear implantation, particularly in partially deafened patients who have to integrate the natural acoustic hearing with the electric one. This subject has not yet been properly recognized, especially regarding the auditory cortex' tonotopic organization in such patients.Method: Material included 20 patients referred for the Partial Deafness Treatment - Electric Complement (PDT-EC according to Skarzynski's PDT Classification). fMRI was performed with 3T MAGNETOM TRIO scanner. Subjects were presented with chirps of two bandwidths: 50-950 Hz (middle frequency 500Hz) and 3000-5000Hz (middle frequency 4000 Hz) at 90dB (C) via MRI-compatible earphones. SPARSE paradigm was used.Results: Bilateral auditory cortex activation was observed in response to 500Hz frequency sounds. No significant activations were found in response to 4000 Hz for p<0.05 with FWE correction; some activations for lower threshold were found.Conclusions: Paradigm applied in this study gives stable and reproducible auditory cortex responses. fMRI can be considered as method of assessing residual hearing function in auditory cortex of partially deafened patients. Cortical activity in PDT-EC candidates reflects hearing levels determined before study; patients demonstrate residual cortex capacity in response to detected frequency.

This paper presents a review of the major technological contributions in the field of universal neonatal hearing screening, during the last decade. Dedicated sections include references to the following : 1) the role of automated auditory brainstem responses (AABR) in screening; 2) the potential role of Auditory Steady State responses (ASSR) as a substitute of AABR; 3) the assessment of hearing threshold via recordings of distortion product otoacoustic emissions and the limitations of the clinical protocols to a hearing level < than 35dB HL; 4) the integration of multiple assessment protocols in one portable device, to be used in the intervention part of the hearing screening programme.

The objective of the presented study was to develop and evaluate a P300 experimental protocol for simultaneous registration of event-related potentials (ERPs) and functional MRI (fMRI) data with continuous imaging. It may be useful for investigating attention and working memory processes in specific populations, such as children and neuropsychiatric patients.