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Evaluation And Treatment Of Tinnitus, Renee Lokenberg

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Tinnitus is defined as an auditory stimulus that is unrelated to external stimulation. There are many theories as to what causes tinnitus, therefore, there are many treatment options for tinnitus. This paper attempts to increase the audiologist's knowledge of the etiology, as well as, the most appropriate treatment for tinnitus.

There are two types of tinnitus, objective and subjective. Subjective tinnitus is more common, although it is more difficult to treat than objective tinnitus. There are many theories as to what causes tinnitus. Several disorders that have tinnitus as a symptom, such as, Meniere's disease, acoustic neuroma, and dysfunction of …

Survey Of Auditory Brainstem Response Referral Criteria, Shannon N. Felder

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The primary objective of the project was to survey recognized “experts” in the field of neurodiagnostic audiology and practicing audiologists regarding their referral criteria and referral patterns for administering an auditory brainstem response test (ABR). For purposes of this study, “expert” was defined as any recognized audiologist with at least two or more publications and/or seminars in the field of auditory evoked potentials. Responses of experts and practicing audiologists were compared and contrasted to establish: a) if there was a standard referral pattern; b) what, if any, were the apparent critical components of referral patterns; and, c) whether or not …

Difference In Hearing Screening Failure Rates As A Function Of Ethnicity In Well Newborns Screened At Tampa General Hospital, Sybil N. Prewitt

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The difference in otoacoustic emission (OAE) hearing screening failure rates as a function of ethnic category was investigated in a population of newborns at Tampa General Hospital, Tampa, Florida. Clinical observation led to a concern that due to a higher incidence of outer and middle ear dysfunction in Hispanic newborns and children, screening could result in disparate failure rates, with a larger number of these infants requiring further testing. This result would warrant changes in current protocols, as well as screener training,and parent counseling practices.

Between January and July of 2000, 1407 newborns were tested utilizing distortion product otoacoustic emission …

The Role Of Audiology Technicians In The Va System, John Terry Berardino

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Eligibility reform in the VA and the resulting increased caseloads have brought about unacceptable wait times for new audiology appointments. Mandates to decrease wait times without increased resources have brought new demands on audiology clinics. One proposed solution is the addition of audiology technicians to VA audiology clinic practice.

The first purpose of this study was to survey the attitudes of VA audiologists and service chiefs regarding the use of technicians. The second purpose was to ask the survey respondents to assign as generally appropriate or inappropriate, job duties which might be accomplished by an audiology technician. Following a pre-survey …

Modeling Community Risk And Vulnerability To Multiple Natural Hazards: Hillsborough County, Florida, Christopher T. Emrich

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Multiple hazard risk and vulnerability are two topics that are at the forefront of hazards research that looks at the hazardousness ofplace. However, no definitive framework that encapsulates measures o f both risk and vulnerability into hazards theory has been developed. Indeed, risk and vulnerability have been used interchangeably. Consequently, populations often encounter high risk environments with little understandingofwaystolimitvulnerability. Thesituationisaggravatedbyincreasing populations and concomitant development ofhigh risk areas. Hillsborough County, Florida, is perhaps the archetype ofthis problem, having experienced rapid urban growth while giving scant attention to the hazardousness ofthe environment.

This research, therefore, looks at the hazardousness of place, focusing …

Women, Environment And Development: Sub-Saharan Africa And Latin America, Evaline Tiondi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Issues related to women, environment and development constitute a major global concern today. Women's roles as agents of change in the environment has increasingly become the focus of both research and policy concerns. Environmental resource management is directly linked to development, and this makes it crucial to examine the activities of women more closely. Women's role in the management of natural resources assumes a multidimensional nature. Unfortunately, the central and crucial role that women play is often both overlooked and unappreciated, rendering them invisible and greatly diminishing their contribution as both producers and active agents in sustainable development. One of …

We Are Not Victims: Oral Histories Of Four Mexican-American Women, Carmen Melendez Maayan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This ethnographic inquiry focuses on the lives and work off our Mexican- American women who run a center in the Mexican migrant farmworker community in which they live. Through the center, they provide vital services to their community such medical care, immigration assistance, educational and community outreach programs. Via these women's oral histories, this ethnographic work seeks to broaden our understanding of women who are fully aware of their subordinated status in the dominant society yet are not passive victims. By listening to their own voices, we learn how they overcome personal adversity and challenge cultural ideologies. In the process, …

Use Of The Client Oriented Scale Of Improvement As A Clinical Outcome Measure In The Veterans Affairs National Hearing Aid Program, Robert F. Zelski

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the present health care environment, there is an increased demand for audiologists to measure the outcomes of hearing aid intervention. In addition to the more traditional objective outcome measures, many subjective outcome measures have been developed in the last 20 years. Two such subjective outcome measures are the Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB) and the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly (HHIE). These instruments consist of a series of pre-selected questions that may or may not be applicable to an individual. An alternative to the pre-selected question format is an open format design that allows the person …

Stochastic Methods For Evaluating The Potential For Wetland Rehydration In Covered-Karst Terranes, Christian David Langevin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Augmentation with reclaimed water is one method for rehydrating wetlands damaged by water-level declines. Augmentation with reclaimed water has been proposed for rehydrating a wetland in the covered-karst terrane of west-central Florida. There is concern because reclaimed water may contain harmful agents that could flow from the wetland 1.4 km to a municipal wellfield that withdraws 30,000 m³/day. Estimates of groundwater flow velocities were calculated from the results of detailed field studies at the wetland. Results indicate that groundwater flows downward in the surficial aquifer at rates of 0.1 to 0.2 m/day and horizontally in the Floridan aquifer …

Differential Expression Of Homing-Associated Cell Adhesion Molecule, Very Late Antigen-4 And L-Selectin In Hematopoietic Progenitor Cell Trafficking Between The Marrow And Blood, Caroline Brigitte Fultz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study addresses the hypothesis that the following cell adhesion molecules (CAMs): homing-associated cell adhesion molecule (HCAM), very late antigen-4 (VLA-4) and L-selectin play a role in the trafficking of hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) between the bone marrow microenvironment and the peripheral circulation. In order to ascertain differences in CAM expression based on physiologic compartment, the expression of HCAM, VLA-4 or L-selectin per CD34⁺ myeloid progenitor cell was assessed between paired samples of blood and marrow. CAM expression was flow cytometrically quantitated in paired samples obtained from patients treated with mobilizing doses of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) or from …

Analysis Of Lead In Soils Adjacent To Interstate 275 In Tampa, Florida, Mark R. Hafen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Analysis of two hundred and twenty-four soil samples collected at logarithmic intervals on perpendicular transects adjacent to Interstate Highway 275 in Tampa, Florida revealed that thirty-five percent of the samples contained health-threatening levels of lead (greater than 500 ppm), although the pattern of contamination was not predictable. Twenty-two of the thirty-two transect locations extended toward residential areas and, of these, twenty contained soil lead values dangerous to humans. This analysis also revealed that soil lead does not decrease logarithmically with distance from the highway, as shown in other studies. Soil lead at 3, 9, 27, 81, 243, 729, and 2187 …

An Examination Of Work Related Social Support In A Longitudinal Study Controlling For Negative Affectivity And Transient Mood, Brian J. O'Connell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Current research on organizational stress suggests a relationship between stressors, and psychological and psychosomatic health outcomes. The strength of this relationship varies between 0.17 and 0.35. Research has also suggested that personal relationships may moderate these correlations. One such variable is thought to be social support. This study set out to examine the relationship between social support in the workplace and organizational stressors while at the same time controlling for variables that may obscure the true nature of the relationship. Taking measurements while still seniors in college (Time one) and shortly after they were employed (Time two) allowed this control …

The Growth And Toxicity Of The Florida Red Tide Organism, Gymnodinium Breve, Marion Tilton Doig Iii

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mass mortalities of marine organisms in the Gulf of Mexico have been associated with blooms of the unarmored dinoflagellate, Gymnodinium breve. This investigation concerns the factors affecting the growth of G. breve and the properties of a toxin produced by the organism.

A modification of the Flask Test of the Provisional Algal Assay Procedure of the Joint Industry/Government Task Force on Eutrophication was used to determine the response of G. breve to various natural waters and enrichments. The growth-promoting potential of natural waters obtained from areas where outbreaks of G. breve frequently occur was greater than that of waters …