Rafidah Mazlan

Effects of Ageing and Hearing Thresholds on Speech Perception in Quiet and in Noise Perceived in Different Locations

Background and Objectives This study investigated the effect of ageing on speech perception in quiet and in noise, with noise directed from front, right and left. Subjects and Methods Sixty Malay native adults with normal or near normal hearing comprising of 20 young adults (21 to 39 years old), 20 middle aged (40 to 59 years old) and 20 older adults (60 to 74 years old) participated in this study. Their speech perception ability was measured using the Malay Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) in four test conditions; 1) in quiet (HINT Q), 2) with noise from front (HINT NF), 3) with noise from right (HINT NR), and 4) with noise from left (HINT NL). Reception thresholds for sentences (RTSs) were measured in each of the aforementioned conditions using an adaptive method. Results The results showed that, 1) genuine age-related decline was found in speech perception performance in HINT (NF), 2) hearing threshold was a major determinant differentiating speech perception performance for HINT (Q) and HINT (NL) conditions, and 3) speech perception performance for HINT (NR) was determined by both age and hearing threshold. Conclusions This study suggests that, in older adults, while hearing thresholds affect speech perception in quiet, other factors such as central auditory processing and cognitive functions might be more important determinant factors for speech perception performance in noise.

Age and Gender Effects on Wideband Absorbance in Adults With Normal Outer and Middle Ear Function

PURPOSEnThis study examined the effects of age and gender on wideband energy absorbance in adults with normal middle ear function.nnnMETHODnForty young adults (14 men, 26 women, aged 20-38 years), 31 middle-aged adults (16 men, 15 women, aged 42-64 years), and 30 older adults (20 men, 10 women, aged 65-82 years) were assessed. Energy absorbance (EA) data were collected at 30 frequencies using a prototype commercial instrument developed by Interacoustics.nnnRESULTSnResults showed that the young adult group had significantly lower EA (between 400 and 560 Hz) than the middle-aged group. However, the middle-aged group showed significantly lower EA (between 2240 and 5040 Hz) than the young adult group. In addition, the older adult group had significantly lower EA than the young adult group (between 2520 and 5040 Hz). No significant difference in EA was found at any frequency between middle-aged and older adults. Across age groups, gender differences were found with men having significantly higher EA values than women at lower frequencies, whereas women had significantly higher EA at higher frequencies.nnnCONCLUSIONSnThis study provides evidence of the influence of gender and age on EA in adults with normal outer and middle ear function. These findings support the importance of establishing age- and gender-specific EA norms for the adult population.

The Effect of Ethnicity on Wideband Absorbance of Neonates with Healthy Middle Ear Functions in Malaysia: A Preliminary Study

Background and Objectives Although ethnicity effect on wideband absorbance (WBA) findings was evident for adults, its effect on neonates has not been established yet. This study aimed to investigate the influence of ethnicity on WBA measured at 0 daPa from neonates with healthy middle ear functions. Subjects and Methods Participants were 99 normal, healthy, full-term newborn babies with chronological age between 11 and 128 hours of age (mean=46.73, standard deviation=26.36). A cross-sectional study design was used to measure WBA at 16 one-third octave frequency points from 99 neonates comprising of three ethnic groups: Malays (n=58), Chinese (n=13) and Indians (n=28). A total of 165 ears (83.3%) that passed a battery of tests involving distortion product otoacoustic emissions, 1 kHz tympanometry and acoustic stapedial reflex were further tested using WBA. Moreover, body size measurements were recorded from each participant. Results The Malays and Indians neonates showed almost identical WBA response across the frequency range while the Chinese babies showed lower absorbance values between 1.25 kHz and 5 kHz. However, the differences observed in WBA between the three ethnic groups were not statistically significant (p=0.23). Additionally, there were no statistically significant difference in birth weight, height and head circumference among the three ethnic groups. Conclusions This study showed that Malays, Chinese and Indians neonates were not significantly different in their WBA responses. In conclusion, to apply for the ethnic-specific norms is not warranted when testing neonates from population constitute of these three ethnicities.

Parenting Stress and Maternal Coherence: Mothers With Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing Children

PurposenThe aim of this study was to develop a substantive theory that explains parenting stress among mothers of deaf or hard-of-hearing (D/HH) children.nnnMethodnFifteen hearing mothers of children with severe-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss were interviewed. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, and a grounded theory approach was used to inductively analyze parental stress in mothers of D/HH children. Theory generation was achieved through triangulation of data sources and systematic organization of data into codes. The coding process identified salient themes that were constantly cross-checked and compared across data to further develop categories, properties, and tentative hypotheses.nnnResultsnIn general, two main themes emerged from the interviews: the contextual stressors and stress-reducing resources. The contextual stressors were labeled as distress over audiology-related needs, pressure to acquire new knowledge and skills, apprehension about the childs future, and demoralizing negative social attitudes. The stress-reducing resources that moderated parenting stress were identified to be the childs progress, mothers characteristics, professional support, and social support. The interaction between the identified stressors and adjustment process uncovered a central theme termed maternal coherence.nnnConclusionnThe substantive theory suggests that mothers of D/HH children can effectively manage parenting stress and increase well-being by capitalizing on relevant stress-reducing resources to achieve maternal coherence.

Effects of tonal language background on tests of temporal sequencing in children

Objective: The aims of the present study were to determine the effects of language background on the performance of the pitch pattern sequence test (PPST) and duration pattern sequence test (DPST). As temporal order sequencing may be affected by age and working memory, these factors were also studied. Design: Performance of tonal and non-tonal language speakers on PPST and DPST were compared. Study sample: Twenty-eight native Mandarin (tonal language) speakers and twenty-nine native Malay (non-tonal language) speakers between seven to nine years old participated in this study. Results: The results revealed that relative to native Malay speakers, native Mandarin speakers demonstrated better scores on the PPST in both humming and verbal labeling responses. However, a similar language effect was not apparent in the DPST. An age effect was only significant in the PPST (verbal labeling). Finally, no significant effect of working memory was found on the PPST and the DPST. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the PPST is affected by tonal language background, and highlight the importance of developing different normative values for tonal and non-tonal language speakers.

Response to the Letter to the Editor regarding "A questionnaire-based study on parental satisfaction with a universal newborn hearing screening program in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia".

Thank you for your valued comments on the article entitled ‘‘A questionnaire-based study on parental satisfaction with a universal newborn hearing screening program in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’’. In response to your comments regarding the reliability of the Malay version of PSQ-NHSP used in the present study (i.e. the), it has been validated by measuring the total internal consistency reliability and the Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for each dimension in the questionnaire. Detailed description of the findings can be found on page 4 of the article. In summary, the Malay PSQ-NHSP is a reliable tool for measuring satisfaction among Malaysian parents.