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Effects Of Age And Middle Ear Resonance On The Frequency Tuning Of The Cvemp, Paris M. Atabek

Dissertations, 2020-current

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess age-related changes in the frequency tuning of the cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potential (cVEMP) and determine the optimal air conduction tone-burst stimulus frequency to elicit a cVEMP in the young, middle age, and older adult populations. Additionally, we performed wideband acoustic immittance measures to better delineate whether observed changes in frequency tuning properties of the cVEMP across the lifespan emanate from changes in the middle ear transfer function or from the otolith end organs.

Design: A cross-sectional study design included 98 healthy participants divided into 3 age groups of …

Speech Understanding And Listening Effort In Noise With A New Speech Processing Algorithm, Abigail E. Compton

Dissertations, 2020-current

This study examined the effect of a new speech processing strategy (SpeechZone2) in a commercially available hearing aid on speech understanding in noise and self-reported listening effort. Seven adult, experienced hearing aid users (2 males, 5 females; mean age = 64.6 years) with mild to severe, sloping sensorineural hearing loss participated in this study. Binaural Unitron Flex receiver in the ear style hearing aids with closed domes were used to provide the manufacturer prescribed amplification for each participant. The hearing aids were programmed with two separate memories: 1) omnidirectional microphone without SpeecZone2 processing, and 2) adaptive directionality with SpeechZone2 processing. …

The Impact Of Hair Covering Hearing Aid Microphones On Directional Performance, Sara F. Wagner

Dissertations, 2020-current

This study examined the effect of hair covering on hearing aid directional microphone performance. Nine adult, experienced hearing aid users (3 males, 6 females; mean age = 64.6 years) with mild to severe, sloping symmetrical sensorineural hearing loss were included in this study. Binaural Oticon Opn 1 receiver-in-the-ear hearing aids with closed domes were used to provide the recommended amplification for each participant. Speech Reception Threshold (dB SNR required for 50% speech understanding) was measured in all combinations of directional microphone (on/off) and hair covering (with/without) resulting in a total of four conditions. Results showed that directional microphones significantly improved …

Induction Of Nocebo Effects By Verbal Suggestions During The Caloric Test, Abbey Weist

Dissertations, 2020-current

The caloric test is the most frequently performed vestibular diagnostic test and is considered the “gold-standard” for the assessment of the peripheral vestibular system. Using a warm or cool stimulus, the caloric test alters the temperature gradient in the vestibular system resulting in nausea and dizziness. The nocebo effect is a phenomenon that can occur when negative expectations result in negative effects. No study has examined whether expectations of nausea and dizziness during the caloric test enhance the experience of unwanted symptoms. The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether a nocebo response can be elicited during the caloric …

Music And Speech Perception In Pre-Lingually Deafened Young Listeners With Cochlear Implants: A Preliminary Study Using Sung Speech, Harley J. Wheeler

Dissertations, 2020-current

Timbre and pitch cues, though definitionally and physically distinct characteristics of sound, are attributes of all sound signals. A body of literature has shown that alteration of one characteristic can influence the perception of the other; e.g., speech spoken with an atypical contour of pitch can influence a listener's accuracy in identifying the words spoken; conversely, whether a melodic contour is presented via a MIDI piano representation or as sung speech can influence the accuracy of identification of the pitches' contour. Trends for these interactions have been documented for normal hearing children and adults, as well as postlingually deafened adult …

Envelope-Following Response Amplitude And Cochlear Traveling Wave Delay, Julia E. Dawson

Dissertations, 2020-current

Potential clinical roles of the envelope following response (EFR), such as diagnostic testing and amplification verification, are promising. Despite its potential, variability in response amplitude due to various stimulus characteristics is not yet fully understood. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of cochlear traveling wave delay on EFR amplitude. EFRs were recorded on young, normal hearing individuals using amplitude-modulated tones to represent first (F1) and second formants (F2) of vowel stimuli. EFR stimuli were created with a fixed fundamental frequency and a fixed formant carrier frequency. Stimulus conditions employed a dynamic frequency approach by sweeping the …

American And British Speech Differences In Low Socioeconomic Status Homes, Jennifer Markfeld

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Background: Infants living in low socioeconomic status (SES) homes display lower developmental functioning by 12 months than mid- and high-SES infants, and speak fewer words on average as they grow older. Maternal speech is especially important for language development and has been found to be the largest predictor of SES-related differences in children’s vocabulary. Although there are documented differences between British and American infant language development, for example American infant lexicons are typically larger than age matched British infants, there is little research looking at caregiver speech across these countries in low SES groups.

Method: This retrospective study compared 10 …

Examining The Effectiveness Of Interprofessional Collaboration For Preprofessional Speech-Language Pathology And Occupational Therapy Graduate Students, Morgan Cornwell

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This study explores the effects of an emergent writing interprofessional collaboration experience for preprofessional speech-language pathology (SLP) and occupational therapy (OT) graduate students. The preprofessionals were split into two groups (SLP only and SLP-OT pairs) and delivered emergent writing interventions to preschoolers either individually (SLP only) or collaboratively (SLP-OT pairs). The purpose of this study was to investigate how working collaboratively versus working individually to deliver the interventions to preschoolers influences the preprofessionals’ knowledge of theInterprofessional Education Collaborative’s (IPEC) core competencies and emergent writing concepts. The results showed that paired preprofessionals reported higher levels of interprofessional competency than unpaired preprofessionals. …

Participant Accuracy And Impact Of Biofeedback On A Skilled Swallowing Task, Caris Giessler

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Biofeedback is as a visual way to self-assess muscle contraction, particularly during rehabilitative exercises. Speech language pathologists and otolaryngologists have investigated the use of visual biofeedback in swallowing therapy, especially for volitional swallowing rehabilitative exercises such as the effortful swallow, which requires the patient to maximally swallow with all their strength. In contrast to the effortful swallow, “effortful skilled swallowing” is the ability to swallow with a specific and precise amount of effort, which is an emerging topic in dysphagia research. Dysphagia, also known as disordered swallowing, can be an organic congenital disorder treated via feeding tubes, or an acquired …

Do Emg Monitoring And Amplitude Normalization Reduce Cvemp Variability In A Pediatric Population?, Brenna Murray

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Untreated balance disorders can cause anxiety, social withdrawal, and even slow motor development in children, making early and accurate diagnosis crucial to patient care. One of the leading tests for the diagnosis of balance disorders is known as the cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potential (cVEMP) test. The cVEMP test is the only clinically available tool that assesses the integrity of the organ of balance known as the saccule and its afferent pathway through the inferior vestibular nerve. The test is noninvasive and easy to administer, making patient diagnosis quick and effective rendering it crucial in the assessment of vestibular function …

Cervical Vestibular-Evoked Myogenic Potentials (Cvemps): "Differentiation Of Inter-Neck Emg Symmetry Between Children And Adults", Ellen Jones

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

A cervical Vestibular-Evoked Myogenic Potential (cVEMP) is one of the few objective vestibular diagnostic tests available for pediatric populations. This test evaluates the functionality of the saccule end organ through an inhibitory reflex on the sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle that inhibits the level of electromyographic (EMG) activity (Wiener-Vacher, 2013). Because the saccule response is measured as an inhibition of EMG in the SCM, it is imperative that the SCM have a tonic contraction prior to eliciting the response and that the contraction of the SCM is equal on the right and left sides. It is generally accepted that young, healthy adults …

The Feasibility Of Standardized Cognitive Assessments For Vestibular Patients, Brynn Morales

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Vestibular dysfunction, or impairments in the inner ear and/or brain structures that process sensory information and help control balance, has a high correlation with cognitive deficits, or problems with mental processes. This relationship negatively affects daily activities and quality of life in persons that live with vestibular dysfunction. Though there is sufficient research proving the relationship, few studies have applied that information in ways to better help the population with vestibular dysfunction. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of a cognitive assessment battery (a set of correlated assessments delivered in one session) tailored to measuring performance …

Subjective Differences Between Premium And Mid-Level Digital Hearing Aids, Dakota Sharp

Dissertations, 2014-2019

This study compared perceptual differences between premium and mid-level hearing aids from a major manufacturer in normal hearing listeners. Limited literature currently exists comparing perceptual differences between premium and mid-level digital hearing aids. This information is highly important in decision-making for clinicians and patients alike. Barry et al. (2018) evaluated four major hearing aid models’ noise reduction properties and determined that one manufacturer’s premium and mid-level devices demonstrated significant differences in noise reduction gain in frequencies associated with human speech. We programmed this device for a mild sloping to moderately-severe SNHL using the manufacturer’s proprietary fitting formula and noise reduction …

Audiologists’ Preferences In Programming Cochlear Implants, Leanne Browning

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Cochlear implants have become a viable option for those with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss who gain little benefit from hearing aids and have poor word recognition ability. However, the techniques audiologists use to program these devices are not standardized (Sorkin, 2013). There is little data available which analyzes how audiologists handle clinical cochlear implant programming between the top manufacturers. These companies supply default settings in their products but is it unknown how often audiologists use these in practice in the United States.

In the present study, a questionnaire based on previous European data from Vaerenberg et al. (2014) …

The Test-Retest Reliability Of Binaural-Processing Tasks At Home Versus A Clinical Environment, Logan Grace Faust

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Objective: Investigate the reliability of a custom-designed, portable, stereo-hearing testing system (as in the Ganev, 2017, Au.D. dissertation) when subjects self-administer two different stereo-hearing tasks at home. Results obtained under known and supervised conditions at a university clinic or lab versus unknown conditions at the participants’ homes were compared. Intra-subject comparison, and inter-subject trends, discerned the reliability of patient setup and self-administration of the two tasks.
Design: Ten subjects were evenly split among two conditions: five subjects each setup and self-administered the tasks first at home and then received direction in the clinic, and five received direction and did the …

Music And Speech Perception In Children Using Sung Speech: Effects Of Neurocognitive Factors, Victoria A. André

Dissertations, 2014-2019

The current study aimed to explore normal-hearing children's ability to utilize pitch and timbre cues and how these findings correlate with neurocognitive factors. Participants were recruited if they had English as their first language and no formal musical training or 3+ years of formal musical training. Twenty normal-hearing children, age 7.5-14.5 years (mean = 10.5; n=20) were recruited for the study. Nonverbal intelligence, receptive vocabulary, and auditory working memory were assessed using subtests of the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test-2, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-4, and Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing-2, respectively. Raw scores were used to analyze these neurocognitive abilities in …

Voice Quality As A Predictor Of Dysphagia, Lindsay Griffin

Dissertations, 2014-2019

The clinical swallowing evaluation (CSE) is a non-instrumental exam that informs speech-language pathologists about a patient’s cognition, readiness for instrumental evaluation, and swallowing symptoms. Because of the common neuroanatomy and physiology of the larynx during voicing and swallowing tasks, coughing or throat clearing after food and drink may indicate swallowing impairment. Also because of the shared mechanisms of the larynx, some clinicians also attribute voice changes after swallowing to dysphagia although many studies to date demonstrate conflicting results on the effectiveness of post-prandial voice assessment. The aim of this study was to assess if dysphonia and/or voice change after swallowing …

Speech Characteristics Of Conversational Speech Tasks, Ashley Cox

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Conversational speech tasks are utilized in research and clinical practice of speech and hearing sciences. Nonetheless, conversational speech is often defined and implemented differently across contexts, which poses a challenge for the interpretation and comparison of data gathered. The purpose of this pilot study is to compare speech characteristics elicited with different speech tasks that have been adopted to elicit conversational speech. Specifically, speech produced during an interview, a topic-driven free conversation, and a Diapix is compared. An interview is a task where one individual (the researcher) leads the conversation by asking the other individual questions. A topic-driven …

Auditory And Somatosensory Pre-Pulse Inhibition In Mice, Anna Louthan

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Both hearing and somatosensation are sensory responses to vibrations, and here we show a way to investigate such mechanoreceptive psychophysics alone and in combination. Pre-pulse inhibition (PPI) is a well-known, unconditioned, and reflexive technique for measuring sensory thresholds with a wide variety of stimuli and laboratory animals. In this paper, we explore interactions between auditory and somatosensory PPI in normal mice. Fifteen C57/BL6J mice were tested three times each. Ages varied between one and six months. Testing followed published procedures from our lab and others, except the pre-pulses were auditory, somatosensory (vibration of the test chamber), or both. The auditory …

Perspectives Of Caregiver-Survivor Dyads Following Tbi: A Case Series, Shayleen Brennan

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is trauma to the brain triggered by an external force that causes the brain to crash violently against the skull and disrupt normal functioning. Following a TBI, the survivor often faces challenges that compromise independence. These can include challenges in communication, cognition, and overall physical functioning. Resultantly, reliance upon the individual’s loved ones as both advocates and caregivers is essential to functional recovery. This qualitative study investigates the experiences reported between both survivors and their primary caregivers. Using a qualitative approach, exploration of the convergent and divergent perspectives between survivors and caregivers post-TBI were researched. …

Hearing Studies In Old Mice: The Effect Of Pre-Pulse Inhibition On The Acoustic Startle Response, Ashley B. Hillyard, Nicolette S. Chuss

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The purpose of this study pertains to hearing in the species Peromyscus maniculatus (deer mice) — specifically their responses to a startling sound. Approximately seven mice were tested between four and five years of age, approaching the lifespan of this species. By means of an accelerometer, which measures a reflexive, motor response, the mice were presented with an acoustic startle-eliciting stimulus (SES) — that is a loud, startling, unexpected sound. During the study, the mice were also presented with a softer, less-intense stimulus — known as a pre-pulse — slightly before the more intense sound. This pre-pulse stimulus was in …

Deaf Education: The Past, Present, And Future, Diana Burke

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Back in the 1800's, sign language was banned from schools because of the prevailing view that sign language inhibited children who are deaf from interacting with the hearing society. Today, due to the growth of technology, children who are deaf can communicate using sign language and spoken language. These children can attend mainstream schools or schools for the Deaf. This paper will focus on the history of schools for the Deaf and my observations as a student observer at the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind (VSDB). VSDB is a residential school providing students who are deaf and blind …

Pupillometry As A Test Of Infant Word Recognition, Amy Vinyard

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Pupillometry holds great promise as a tool for infant language research but has not yet been used to probe word recognition. The goal of the described study was to design a functioning method that can later be used to test the possibility of using pupil dilation as a gauge of word recognition in 11-month-olds. To do this, we used the methods of an existing study (The Role of Accentual Pattern in Early Lexical Representation, Vihman, Nakai, DePaolis, & Hallé 2004) with modifications. Our method ran a one-sided head turn preference paradigm with the addition of an eye tracker for pupil …

Establishing Effective Amplitude Criterion For Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation, Lindsey Michele Schwenger

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

My honors project will document and reflect on my experiences as a member of a research team that is studying transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) as a treatment for dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing, which affects a vast, diverse group of individuals. There is substantial need for more efficient and effective rehabilitation strategies used to restore abilities and reduce the risks associated with dysphagia. Recent studies have addressed these risks by exploring tDCS as a treatment for central nervous system damage caused by stroke, traumatic brain injury, and Parkinson's disease. Research has recently been conducted to test its effectiveness, but has …

Behavioral Audiometry Testing In Drosophila Melanogaster, Amanda Cascio

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The genetic make up of Drosophila melanogaster aligns closely enough to humans for them to function as models for the study of hearing loss and disorders (Albert & Göpfert, 2015; Duyk et al., 1997). The purpose of this project was to design a computer automated program capable of quickly assessing the hearing of flies based on their suppression of courtship behaviors in the presence of an audible stimulus. We were unable to document the male courtship song due to low frequency noise present in our sound attenuating booth. We continued the experiment using a spectrum of fly noise unassociated with …

Comparing Two Naturalistic Pragmatic Assessments: The Celf-5 Pragmatic Activities And The Yale In Vivo Pragmatic Protocol (Yipp), Rebecca Reid

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Pragmatics, or the social use of language, is a dimension of communication skills that is very difficult to assess due to its dependence on cultural norms, situational context, and speaker differences. Of the current methods for evaluating pragmatic language skills in children, the literature most frequently recommends naturalistic assessment because it allows the clinician to most closely simulate a real-life interaction. Despite these recommendations, limited information exists to guide clinicians in making decisions about which activities yield the most representative pragmatic language sample. This preliminary study compared two naturalistic pragmatic assessments, the Pragmatic Activities from the Clinical Evaluation of Language …

A Step Towards Differentiating Language Difference From Disorder, Sarah Scribano

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

English learners (ELs) composed 10% of the American school-age population in the 2014 – 2015 school year. However, only a small percentage of speech language pathologists (SLPs) report feeling well qualified to address the cultural and linguistic needs of ELs. This can be attributed to a number of factors, including inadequate clinical markers, a shortage of developmental data for ELs, and a lack of cultural consideration in standardized assessments. Due to these barriers, SLPs struggle to differentiate between language differences and language disorders and are at risk for over-identifying or under-identifying language impairment (LI) in ELs. Research suggests that a …

Augmented Reality For At-Home Speech Intervention, Emily Vayo

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Augmented Reality (AR) is a technology that allows users to view graphics, videos, or other applications in their environment in real time using mobile devices, such as a smartphone or tablet. It provides an interactive way to combine technology and learning. Although AR has potential applications in the field of Communication Sciences and Disorders, few studies have investigated its reliability in speech intervention. This project explores whether parents are receptive to implementing AR technology into speech intervention and addresses one way to make intervention more engaging. The project looked at parental attitudes toward AR in integrating speech intervention goals at …

Conversational Speech Characteristics During Entrainment, Pamela Molnar

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This study examined the acoustic characteristics of conversational speech associated with entrainment, which is the tendency for communicative behaviors of individuals engaged in a given communication context to become alike (Borrie & Liss, 2014). The study adopted a within-speaker approach to evaluate changes in speech production characteristics relative to the given individual, defined as the repeated speaker. Across experiment sessions, the repeated speaker interacted with different communication partners, who were defined as the non-repeated speakers. In each session, the repeated speaker and one non-repeated speaker engaged in a series of tasks in the following order: conversation, interactive picture description task, …

Pupillometry As A Test Of Infant Word Recognition, Kierra Lynch

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

By 11 months of age, infants recognize commonly occurring word forms in their environment. The Head Turn Preference Paradigm (HTPP) is the one method of measuring infant word form recognition. The HTPP uses looking times as judged by a head turn of the infant towards or away from a speaker. This method is thus subject to infant attention, which can make it difficult to get accurate results when infants are not paying attention due to external factors (for example, teething). Pupillometry is a non-invasive, physiological measurement that uses pupil dilation to assess cognitive processes. Pupil dilations have been found to …