Research
The age effect on auditory processing
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- Published on 06 May 2013
Studying young versus middle-aged subjects may be a more effective way of avoiding the confound of high-frequency hearing loss in elderly persons when studying age effects on auditory processing, according to researchers at the University of Alabama.
Researchers in the past have been challenged by various dimensions of auditory processing -- especially the perception of speech in the presence of background competition -- which have been shown to deteriorate with age, say the authors. “A persistent problem in the assessment of these age-related changes has beenFamily hearing history should be monitored
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- Published on 01 May 2013
Children with the risk factors of family history and craniofacial anomalies should have their hearing monitored throughout early childhood, whereas children with the risk factor of lower birth rate should not, an Australian study has concluded. The aim of the research, conducted by the University of Queensland, was to determine the risk factors most likely to predict the occurrence of postnatal hearing loss. This study involved children who were born in Queensland, Australia, between September 2004 and December 2009, who had received
Hearing loss in whales caused by human noise pollution
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- Published on 26 April 2013
Dr. David Suzuki, a renowned Canadian environmentalist and activist, says human noise pollution is causing major hearing loss and other health problems in whales. “Sonar used in naval training is a major cause of debilitating and often deadly injuries to whales and other aquatic animals,” says Suzuki. “With their sensitive hearing, marine mammals are particularly vulnerable. Sonar disrupts their ability to communicate, migrate, breathe, nurse, breed, feed, find shelter and, ultimately, survive.”
In 2010, the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. navy estimatedSpeakers of tonal languages have better musical ears
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- Published on 22 April 2013
Neural selectivity in the Cocktail Party Problem
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- Published on 12 April 2013
The inability to have a conversation in a crowded room is one of the chief complaints among those with hearing loss. Now for the first time, researchers have demonstrated how the brain can hone in on a single voice in a sea of speakers.
“There’s no way to ‘close your ear’ so that all the sounds in the environment are represented in the brain, at least at the sensory level,” says Columbia University psychiatrist Charles Schroeder, who wasVictoria Researcher to join international study to understand hearing defects
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- Published on 11 April 2013
A New Zealand researcher has been chosen to join an international team which is investigating ways to improve the diagnosis and treatment of hearing defects. Dr. Paul Teal, a lecturer in Engineering and Computer Science at Victoria University, has joined a team which will build a finite element model of the cochlea, a spiral chamber located inside the ear that turns sound vibrations into electrical signals which travel along nerves to the brain and allow us to hear.
Victoria is the only universityTeenagers: a high risk population for tinnitus
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- Published on 03 April 2013
Could teenagers be more likely to suffer from tinnitus than adults? According to a Brazilian study that assessed students in a high school of São Paulo, the answer is ‘yes’.
The research’s preliminary conclusions showed that among the 170 young persons cross-examined, 55% have noticed tinnitus in their ears over the 12 months previous to the interview. The proportion is quite high when compared withLink between rapid hearing loss and CJD
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- Published on 02 April 2013
Researchers at Henry Ford Hospital believe they have found a link between rapid hearing loss in both ears and the rare but always fatal Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, and they say patients should be tested for the disorder.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, or CJD, is often confused with so-called “mad cow disease,” and though they are in the same family of disorders, are not the same. However, both share such symptoms as impaired thinking, jerky body movements, memory loss and dementia. Once infected with CJD,Speech intonation and melodic contour perception in CI users
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- Published on 01 April 2013
Cochlear implant (CI) users have difficulty perceiving some intonation cues in speech and melodic contours because of poor frequency selectivity in the cochlear implant signal. But does perceptual accuracy for speech intonation or melodic contour differ as a function of auditory status (NH, CI), perceptual category (falling versus rising intonation/contour), pitch perception, or individual differences (e.g., age, hearing history)?
Researchers from the University of Iowa have found that children with CIs were lessAuditory Sensitivity Increases in Tinnitus Ears
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- Published on 25 March 2013
study
A joint Canadian and French study has concluded that auditory sensitivity is enhanced in tinnitus subjects compared to non-tinnitus subjects, including subjects with normal audiograms. “Increased auditory sensitivity, also called hyperacusis, is a pervasive complaint of people with tinnitus,” say the authors. “The high prevalence of hyperacusis in tinnitus subjects suggests that both symptoms have a common origin.” It has been suggested that they may result from a
