INTRODUCTION  The cochlear implant is a device that is intended to substitute for the function of cochlear hair cells, electrically stimulate auditory nerve fibers, and contribute to the perception of speech sounds. However, the surgical procedure alone is not enough for the user to achieve favorable results in habilitation/rehabilitation. OBJECTIVE  To characterize the patients from Manaus w...

This study investigated the characteristics of hearing loss in children with ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunted hydrocephalus. Twelve hydrocephalic children with patent VP shunts participated. The etiology of the hydrocephalus was either intraventricular hemorrhage or spina bifida. Audiometric examination included pure-tone air conduction thresholds, tympanometry, contralateral and ipsilateral a...

Cochlear fibrocytes in the lateral wall region play a critical role in the regulation of inner ear ion and fluid homeostasis, although these are non-sensory cells. Along with other non-sensory cells, fibrocytes in the spiral ligament have been reported to repopulate themselves after damage. However, the studies of regeneration of cochlear fibrocytes have been difficult because a suitable fibroc...

The inner ear receives two types of efferent feedback from the brainstem: one pathway provides gain control on outer hair cells' contribution to cochlear amplification, and the other modulates the excitability of the cochlear nerve. Although efferent feedback can protect hair cells from acoustic injury and thereby minimize noise-induced permanent threshold shifts, most prior studies focused on ...

People with hearing loss represent one of the largest disability groups worldwide, and the prevalence of hearing loss is predicted to rise with an ageing population. Substantial progress has been made towards understanding some of the biological processes involved in the development of hearing impairment as well as therapeutic ways to prevent or mitigate the hearing loss. For example, we now ha...

Superior canal dehiscence (SCD) is a defect in the bony covering of the superior semicircular canal. Patients with SCD present with a wide range of symptoms, including hearing loss, yet it is unknown whether hearing is affected by parameters such as the location of the SCD. Our previous human cadaveric temporal bone study, utilizing intracochlear pressure measurements, generally showed that an ...

BACKGROUND Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS) was introduced in Kansas in 1999. Prior to UNHS a small percentage of newborns were screened for and identified with hearing loss. PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of UNHS on a local early intervention (EI) program for young children with hearing loss. RESEARCH DESIGN This was a retrospective study based on ...

BACKGROUND One of the most significant recent advances in cochlear implantation is the implantation of patients with residual hearing. These patients have a downsloping sensorineural hearing loss with poor speech discrimination and perform poorly with standard amplification. Studies using a variety of different electrode designs have demonstrated that it is possible to implant an inner ear and ...