Jennifer Henderson Sabes

Variables predicting outcomes on listening and communication enhancement (LACE TM )

Results from a large study of adults who completed a randomized crossover study of listening and communication enhancement (LACETM) training were analysed to observe trends. The objective of this study was to determine predictors for greatest improvement following this four-week adaptive auditory training and aural rehabilitation program. Subjects with the poorest scores on the baseline tests, particularly those with the greatest degree of hearing loss, poorest scores on measures of degraded and competing speech, and those with the highest hearing handicap scores, were more likely to have greater improvement overall. However, there was considerable variability among the subjects, and some subjects’ positive subjective reports belie smaller overall measured gains. Information collected from both the testing and the counseling of the patient should be taken into consideration when determining whether to proceed with LACE™ training.

Technologic Advances in Aural Rehabilitation: Applications and Innovative Methods of Service Delivery

The level of interest in aural rehabilitation has increased recently, both in clinical use and in research presentations and publications. Advances in aural rehabilitation have seen previous techniques such as speech tracking and analytic auditory training reappear in computerized forms. These new delivery methods allow for a consistent, cost-effective, and convenient training program. Several computerized aural rehabilitation programs for hearing aid wearers and cochlear implant recipients have recently been developed and were reported on at the 2006 State of the Science Conference of the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Hearing Enhancement at Gallaudet University. This article reviews these programs and outlines the similarities and differences in their design. Another promising area of aural rehabilitation research is the use of pharmaceuticals in the rehabilitation process. The results from a study of the effect of d-amphetamine in conjunction with intensive aural rehabilitation with cochlear implant patients are also described.

An overview of common procedures for the management of tinnitus patients

management procedures most frequently used by non-physician hearing healthcare providers (HHPs). Subjective tinnitus is a symptom associated with practically every known otologic disorder. Evidence suggests that when there is a peripheral attenuation of acoustic stimulation (as would be caused by hearing loss) there is also an increase in central auditory nervous system activity at numerous anatomical sites, including the dorsal cochlear nucleus, inferior colliculus, and auditory cortex.1,2 This has been verified via neuroimaging.3 Further support for a central model of tinnitus is that patients whose symptoms are presumably caused by cochlear damage from noise exposure may still “hear” tinnitus following the surgical destruction of the auditory nerve.

Impact of chemotherapy-induced neurotoxicities on adult cancer survivors’ symptom burden and quality of life

PurposeLimited information is available on the impact of chemotherapy (CTX)-induced neurotoxicity on adult survivors’ symptom experience and quality of life (QOL). Purposes were to describe occurrence of hearing loss and tinnitus and evaluate for differences in phenotypic characteristics and measures of sensation, balance, perceived stress, symptom burden, and QOL between survivors who received neurotoxic CTX and did (i.e., neurotoxicity group) and did not (i.e., no neurotoxicity group) develop neurotoxicity. Neurotoxicity was defined as the presence of chemotherapy-induced neuropathy (CIN), hearing loss, and tinnitus. Survivors in the no neurotoxicity group had none of these conditions.MethodsSurvivors (n = 609) completed questionnaires that evaluated hearing loss, tinnitus, stress, symptoms, and QOL. Objective measures of sensation and balance were evaluated.ResultsOf the 609 survivors evaluated, 68.6% did and 31.4% did not have CIN. Of the survivors without CIN, 42.4% reported either hearing loss and/or tinnitus and 48.1% of the survivors with CIN reported some form of ototoxicity. Compared to the no neurotoxicity group (n = 110), survivors in the neurotoxicity group (n = 85) were older, were less likely to be employed, had a higher comorbidity burden, and a higher symptom burden, higher levels of perceived stress, and poorer QOL (all p < .05).ConclusionsFindings suggest that CIN, hearing loss, and tinnitus are relatively common conditions in survivors who received neurotoxic CTX.Implications for cancer survivorsSurvivors need to be evaluated for these neurotoxicities and receive appropriate interventions. Referrals to audiologists and physical therapists are warranted to improve survivors’ hearing ability, functional status, and QOL.

Automated smartphone audiometry: Validation of a word recognition test app

Develop and validate an automated smartphone word recognition test.