Hearing Loss

Hearing Loss

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2004-12-17

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 0309092965

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Millions of Americans experience some degree of hearing loss. The Social Security Administration (SSA) operates programs that provide cash disability benefits to people with permanent impairments like hearing loss, if they can show that their impairments meet stringent SSA criteria and their earnings are below an SSA threshold. The National Research Council convened an expert committee at the request of the SSA to study the issues related to disability determination for people with hearing loss. This volume is the product of that study. Hearing Loss: Determining Eligibility for Social Security Benefits reviews current knowledge about hearing loss and its measurement and treatment, and provides an evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the current processes and criteria. It recommends changes to strengthen the disability determination process and ensure its reliability and fairness. The book addresses criteria for selection of pure tone and speech tests, guidelines for test administration, testing of hearing in noise, special issues related to testing children, and the difficulty of predicting work capacity from clinical hearing test results. It should be useful to audiologists, otolaryngologists, disability advocates, and others who are concerned with people who have hearing loss.


Psychoacoustics

Psychoacoustics

Author: Jennifer J. Lentz

Publisher: Plural Publishing

Published: 2023-11-27

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 1635504392

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Psychoacoustics: Auditory Perception of Listeners with Normal Hearing and Hearing Loss, Second Edition provides an overview of the field of psychoacoustics, with a primary focus on auditory perception. The book retains its focus on applications of psychoacoustics to clinical audiology, and its modular organization, with each chapter including relevant information around a specific topic. Within each chapter, acoustics, physiology, and perception by adult listeners with normal hearing and those with hearing loss, as they relate to that topic, are presented. The influence of hearing loss on these general auditory abilities is discussed in every chapter. Components of the book also include the role of psychoacoustics in audiological assessment and treatment. The text is ideal for audiology students who intend on having a clinical career and need an understanding of both normal and impaired auditory perception. It is intended to give students sufficient information to understand how the ear achieves auditory perception, what the capabilities of the ear are, and how hearing loss influences that perception. It also provides students with a foundation for further study in the area and to apply psychoacoustic principles to diagnostic audiology and audiological rehabilitation. New to the Second Edition: * 70 new figures to clarify some points and facilitate students’ understanding of the material * New chapter that focuses exclusively on the perception by individuals wearing hearing aids and cochlear implants * New section on the perceptual consequences of sensorineural hearing loss on everyday listening added to each chapter * Revamped chapter on Psychoacoustics and Advanced Clinical Auditory Assessment now solely addresses elements within diagnostic audiology that are based on psychoacoustics, with added content on tinnitus assessment, automated (Békésy) audiometry, retrocochlear and pseudohypacusis evaluation, and the identification of dead regions * Enhanced focus on inclusivity, such as alternative versions of some demonstrations designed to be more accessible to individuals with hearing loss, and a new section on the contributions of women and BIPOC scientists to the field of psychoacoustics Key Features: * Learning objectives and summaries begin and end each chapter to convey the goals of the text and review student comprehension * Each chapter contains exercises designed to develop critical thinking about psychoacoustics * Chapters include the following: introduction, relevant acoustics, important physiological studies, perception by normal-hearing listeners, and perception by listeners who have sensorineural hearing loss * Emphasis on applied learning for more effective and efficient learning of the material Disclaimer: Please note that ancillary content such as lab exercises are not included as published in the original print version of this book.


Suprathreshold perception in normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listeners

Suprathreshold perception in normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listeners

Author: Jan Hots

Publisher: Logos Verlag Berlin GmbH

Published: 2014-08-12

Total Pages: 142

ISBN-13: 3832537589

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The perception of sound by the human auditory system is a complex process and its understanding is of major importance for many applications in our everyday life, e.g., the estimation of noise emissions, or the development of hearing aids. The mechanics of the human auditory system and the perception of sound are investigated in psychoacoustics. Psychoacoustic studies and measures help to characterize the perception of sound. The scope of this thesis is the perception of loudness and sound intensity. Loudness perception, among other aspects, depends on temporal and spectral properties of a sound. In the present thesis temporal and spectral effects of loudness as well as the changing of the perception of loudness and sound intensity in hearing-impaired listeners are investigated. Especially regarding the loudness of subcritical noise bands, the presented results are challenging for current ideas of modeling loudness perception.


An Introduction to the Psychology of Hearing

An Introduction to the Psychology of Hearing

Author: Brian C. J. Moore

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 458

ISBN-13: 1780520387

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This sixth edition has been thoroughly updated, with more than 200 references to articles & books published since 1996. The book describes the relationships between the characteristics of the sounds that enter the ear & the sensations that they produce.


Cochlear Hearing Loss

Cochlear Hearing Loss

Author: Brian C. J. Moore

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2007-09-27

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13: 9780470518182

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Since the first edition was published in 1998, considerable advances have been made in the fields of pitch perception and speech perception. In addition, there have been major changes in the way that hearing aids work, and the features they offer. This book will provide an understanding of the changes in perception that take place when a person has cochlear hearing loss so the reader understands not only what does happen, but why it happens. It interrelates physiological and perceptual data and presents both this and basic concepts in an integrated manner. The goal is to convey an understanding of the perceptual changes associated with cochlear hearing loss, of the difficulties faced by the hearing-impaired person, and the limitations of current hearing aids.


Noise and the Brain

Noise and the Brain

Author: Jos J. Eggermont

Publisher: Academic Press

Published: 2013-09-12

Total Pages: 393

ISBN-13: 0123914310

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In our industrialized world, we are surrounded by occupational, recreational, and environmental noise. Very loud noise damages the inner-ear receptors and results in hearing loss, subsequent problems with communication in the presence of background noise, and, potentially, social isolation. There is much less public knowledge about the noise exposure that produces only temporary hearing loss but that in the long term results in hearing problems due to the damage of high-threshold auditory nerve fibers. Early exposures of this kind, such as in neonatal intensive care units, manifest themselves at a later age, sometimes as hearing loss but more often as an auditory processing disorder. There is even less awareness about changes in the auditory brain caused by repetitive daily exposure to the same type of low-level occupational or musical sound. This low-level, but continuous, environmental noise exposure is well known to affect speech understanding, produce non-auditory problems ranging from annoyance and depression to hypertension, and to cause cognitive difficulties. Additionally, internal noise, such as tinnitus, has effects on the brain similar to low-level external noise.Noise and the Brain discusses and provides a synthesis of hte underlying brain mechanisms as well as potential ways to prvent or alleviate these aberrant brain changes caused by noise exposure. - Authored by one of the preeminent leaders in the field of hearing research - Emphasizes direct and indirect changes in brain function as a result of noise exposure - Provides a comprehensive and evidence-based approach - Addresses both developmental and adult plasticity - Includes coverage of epidemiology, etiology, and genetics of hearing problems; effects of non-damaging sound on both the developing and adult brain; non-auditory effects of noise; noise and the aging brain; and more


The Role of Aided Signal-to-noise Ratio in Aided Speech Perception in Noise

The Role of Aided Signal-to-noise Ratio in Aided Speech Perception in Noise

Author: Christi W. Miller

Publisher:

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 120

ISBN-13:

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Despite advances in hearing aid technology and careful fitting processes, outcomes vary widely among hearing aid users, particularly in background noise. Predicting benefit with hearing aids is not easy to do, as many variables contributing to outcomes are not known. The general aim of this research is to explore a previously undefined variable in outcomes, the signal-to-noise ratio. The level of speech compared to the level of background noise (i.e., signal-to-noise ratio; SNR) has been linked to speech perception and quality of brain responses at the input stage of processing. However, hearing aid processing is likely to modify the SNR, therefore delivering an altered SNR version to the listener. This study first aims to quantify the amount of change in SNR made by hearing aid processing, and second, to use the SNR changes at the output of the hearing aid to predict changes in speech perception. Two groups were studied, normal and impaired hearing listeners. Our hypothesis is that speech perception is dependent in part on the SNR at the output of the hearing aid, since this is the signal entering the listener's auditory system. To test this hypothesis, we quantified the SNR at the output of the hearing aid using acoustic measures of the hearing aid output. We then correlated the changes in output SNR to changes in speech perception scores, measured in a background of noise. The results showed that hearing aids for both groups of listeners were changing the SNR from input to output by a small, but statistically significant, amount (mean change: -0.25 dB). However, the change in SNR was not predictive of changes in speech perception for either group. We discuss the limitations and generalizations of these results, as well as future directions for research.