For those suffering from hearing impairment, there can be a significant reduction in quality of life as a direct result of their affliction. As a primary sense, hearing impairment can affect everything from individual safety to the inner ear balance. Depending on how an individual comes to suffer from hearing impairment, an assortment of complications could further afflict patients down the lin...

Although extensive research on neural plasticity resulting from hearing deprivation has been conducted, the direct influence of compromised audition on the auditory cortex and the potential impact of long durations of incomplete sensory stimulation on the adult cortex are still not fully understood. In this study, using voxel-based morphometry, we evaluated gray matter (GM) volume changes that ...

Hearing impairment is the second most prevalent clinical feature after optic atrophy in dominant optic atrophy associated with mutations in the OPA1 gene. In this study we characterized the hearing dysfunction in OPA1-linked disorders and provided effective rehabilitative options to improve speech perception. We studied two groups of OPA1 subjects, one comprising 11 patients (seven males; age r...