DESIGN: In this repeated-measures study, 20 normally hearing adults aged between 18 and 30 years were recruited. Tone bursts (500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz) were used to record PAMR thresholds at 3 different stimulus repetition rates (6.1/s, 11.1/s, and 17.1/s).
RESULTS: Statistically higher PAMR thresholds were found for the faster stimulus rate (17.1/s) compared with the slower stimulus rate (6.1/s) (p < 0.05). For all stimulus rates and frequencies, significant correlations were found between PAMR and pure-tone audiometry thresholds (r = 0.62 to 0.82).
CONCLUSIONS: Even though the stimulus rate effect was significant at most of the tested frequencies, the differences in PAMR thresholds between the rates were small (<5 dB). Nevertheless, based on the correlation results, we suggest the use of 11.1/s stimulus rate when recording PAMR thresholds.
METHOD: A total of 336 and 616 acoustic tokens were collected from six CI and 11 NH Malay children, respectively. The groups were matched for hearing age and duration of exposure to Arabic sounds. All the 28 Arabic consonants in the form of consonant-vowel /a/ were presented randomly twice via a loudspeaker at approximately 65 dB SPL. The participants were asked to repeat verbally the stimulus heard in each presentation.
RESULTS: Within the native Malay perceptual space, the two groups responded differently to the Arabic consonants. The dispersed uncategorized assimilation in the CI group was distinct in the confusion matrix (CM), as compared to the NH children. Consonants /ħ/, /tˁ/, /sˁ/ and /ʁ/ were difficult for the CI children, while the most accurate item was /k/ (84%). The CI group transmitted significantly reduced information, especially for place feature transmission, then the NH group (p
OBJECTIVE: To examine the relative contributions of auditory functioning and cognition status to speech recognition in quiet and in noise.
METHODS: We measured speech recognition in quiet and in composite noise using the Malay Hearing in noise test on 72 native Malay speakers (60-82 years) older adults with normal to mild hearing loss. Auditory function included pure tone audiogram, gaps-in-noise, and dichotic digit tests. Cognitive function was assessed using the Malay Montreal cognitive assessment.
RESULTS: Linear regression analyses using backward elimination technique revealed that had the better ear four frequency average (0.5-4kHz) (4FA), high frequency average and Malay Montreal cognitive assessment attributed to speech perception in quiet (total r2=0.499). On the other hand, high frequency average, Malay Montreal cognitive assessment and dichotic digit tests contributed significantly to speech recognition in noise (total r2=0.307). Whereas the better ear high frequency average primarily measured the speech recognition in quiet, the speech recognition in noise was mainly measured by cognitive function.
CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the fact that besides hearing sensitivity, cognition plays an important role in speech recognition ability among older adults, especially in noisy environments. Therefore, in addition to hearing aids, rehabilitation, which trains cognition, may have a role in improving speech recognition in noise ability of older adults.
OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to compare the magnitude of gender difference in speech-evoked auditory brainstem response results between monaural and binaural stimulations.
METHODS: A total of 34 healthy Asian adults aged 19-30 years participated in this comparative study. Eighteen of them were females (mean age=23.6±2.3 years) and the remaining sixteen were males (mean age=22.0±2.3 years). For each subject, speech-evoked auditory brainstem response was recorded with the synthesized syllable /da/ presented monaurally and binaurally.
RESULTS: While latencies were not affected (p>0.05), the binaural stimulation produced statistically higher speech-evoked auditory brainstem response amplitudes than the monaural stimulation (p<0.05). As revealed by large effect sizes (d>0.80), substantive gender differences were noted in most of speech-evoked auditory brainstem response peaks for both stimulation modes.
CONCLUSION: The magnitude of gender difference between the two stimulation modes revealed some distinct patterns. Based on these clinically significant results, gender-specific normative data are highly recommended when using speech-evoked auditory brainstem response for clinical and future applications. The preliminary normative data provided in the present study can serve as the reference for future studies on this test among Asian adults.
Method: Quasi-experimental and repeated-measures study designs were used in this study. Twenty-six adults with normal hearing (17 females, 9 males) participated. ABRs were acquired from the study participants at 3 intensity levels (80, 60, and 40 dB nHL), 3 frequencies (500, 1000, and 2000 Hz), 2 electrode montages (ipsilateral and vertical), and 2 stimuli (NB LS CE-Chirp and tone-burst) using 2 stopping criteria (fixed averages at 4,000 sweeps and F test at multiple points = 3.1).
Results: Wave V amplitudes were only 19%-26% larger for the vertical recordings than the ipsilateral recordings in both the ABRs obtained from the NB LS CE-Chirp and tone-burst stimuli. The mean differences in the F test at multiple points values and the residual noise levels between the ABRs obtained from the vertical and ipsilateral montages were statistically not significant. In addition, the ABR elicited from the NB LS CE-Chirp was significantly larger (up to 69%) than those from the tone-burst, except at the lower intensity level.
Conclusion: Both the ipsilateral and vertical montages can be used to record ABR to the NB LS CE-Chirp because of the small enhancement in the wave V amplitude provided by the vertical montage.