Speech and Hearing Science Commons^™

Fall Risk In Community-Dwelling Adults: A Comparison Of English And Spanish-Speaking Individuals, Jesus D. Gomez

Dissertations, 2020-current

Falls are a leading cause of injury-related mortality among middle-aged and older adults. Although vestibular dysfunction, hearing loss, behavioral factors, and social determinants of health have been associated with increased fall risk, few studies have examined these relationships. Furthermore, limited research in audiology and vestibular science has investigated fall-risk vulnerability among Spanish-speaking individuals.

This study aimed to: (1) estimate the prevalence of fall risk among community-dwelling adults and compare prevalence between English-speaking and Spanish-speaking participants; (2) assess the prevalence of previously undiagnosed benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) and compare prevalence between language groups; and (3) develop predictive models of fall …

How Audiologists Are Using Adapted Cognitive Behavioral Therapy For Tinnitus Management: A Preliminary Study, Katherine M. Mueller

Dissertations, 2020-current

Audiologists interact with patients reporting bothersome tinnitus frequently, however there is no standardized protocol to follow when treating/counseling these patients. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is highly researched and has been proven to alleviate bothersome tinnitus symptoms, yet audiologists are not clinically trained in this tinnitus management. Specific forms of CBT that were analyzed in this study include Attention Shifting, Neurophysiological Education, and Progressive Muscle Relaxations. This study surveyed current audiologists to determine how they are using adapted CBT techniques (aCBTt) for tinnitus management. This questionnaire aimed to investigate a) the effect of audiologists’ practice duration on their frequency to recommend …

The Relationship Between The Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex And Vestibular Perception In Trained Dancers Using Sinusoidal Harmonic Acceleration Testing, Diana Trinidad

Dissertations, 2020-current

Early studies have found that engaging in vestibular training, such as dance, may result in enhanced VOR suppression and changes in vestibular perception (e.g., lower sensations of vertigo) attributed to top-down modulation of subcortical neuronal networks and changes in the cerebellum. Dancers use spotting techniques to help control dizziness which involve holding their gaze on a visual object at eye level as they turn. As a result of this training, dancers become habituated to vestibular stimuli leading to lower VOR responses and decreased sensations of vertigo. This study investigated the relationship between the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) and vestibular perception in …

Establishing The Feasibility Of Sustained Sinusoidal Cervical Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials In Young Adults, Ashton Fowlkes

Dissertations, 2020-current

Cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (cVEMPs) are used in clinics and research to assess the function of primarily the saccule. cVEMPs are typically stimulated with transient clicks or tone bursts through air conduction and are recorded from the sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle. The SCM is contracted by turning the head either left or right. In this study, we used sustained sinusoidal bone conducted stimuli. Using this new stimulus method allowed us to look at the possibility of a sustained cVEMP response, compared to the typically recorded transient response, as well as analyze the amplitude and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the responses. …

Magnitude Estimations Of Angular Motion: Test-Retest Reliability, Elizabeth C. Pahygiannis

Dissertations, 2020-current

Dizziness and imbalance are one of the most common complaints of people 65 years and older, as it affects 20-30% of this population and puts one at a higher risk of falling (Iwasaki & Yamasoba, 2015). Vestibular impairments are identified through measures of vestibular reflexes such as the VOR. However, the extent of impairment observed through the VOR may not correlate with the patient’s perceptions of their symptoms (Kobel et al., 2021).A large portion of patients with vestibular symptoms cannot be diagnosed with the testing that is currently available (Agrawal et al., 2009). Magnitude estimation is a psychophysics technique used …

Caring For Individuals Who Are Experiencing Homelessness: An Audiologist’S Toolkit, Jenna Marie Sparacio

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

National-level counts for individuals experiencing homelessness have been steadily on the rise. People experiencing homelessness face extraordinary barriers and challenges in accessing health care services, including hearing healthcare. Additionally, there is a high prevalence of self- reported hearing difficulties and hearing handicap among people experiencing homelessness. Hearing loss status and management is often not prioritized in healthcare settings, and treatment plans are not typically modified to best address the hearing needs of individuals who are homeless. This evidence-based toolbox for audiologists was developed to help understand and mediate healthcare barriers that people experiencing homelessness face, as well as to help …

Exploring The Potential Of Hearing Screening Smartphone Applications To Enhance Access To Hearing Healthcare: A Literature Review, Adam Sulaiman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In 2016, the National Academies of Sciences (NAS) published a landmark consensus report with several recommendations to enhance the availability and affordability of hearing healthcare in the United States. Among the most notable of the recommendations was the creation of a new category of FDA-approved Over-the-Counter (OTC) hearing aids. Unlike the traditional hearing aid model, which requires a comprehensive hearing test by a hearing health professional prior to purchase, OTC hearing aids would be directly available for sale to any American adult with a self-perceived mild-to-moderate degree of hearing loss. This proposal has now become reality with the passage of …

Age-Related Decline In Neural Synchrony And The Ffr, Haley Szabo

Dissertations, 2020-current

It is a known phenomenon that speech understanding in background noise declines with advancing age. Although there is ample evidence of behavioral measures declining with age, there is less physiologic evidence. This study hypothesizes that the FFR will be degraded with advancing age, consistent with poorer phase locking. This is hypothesized to be present even in people with audiograms within normal limits. A second hypothesis is that middle-aged adults will have degraded neural representation as frequency increases, compared to a younger normal hearing group which will have better high frequency neural representation than the middle-aged group. Subjects were divided into …

The Integration Of The Scholarship Of Teaching And Learning Into The Discipline Of Communication Sciences And Disorders, Jennifer Friberg, Jerry K. Hoepner, Allison M. Sauerwein, Kerry Mandulak

Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders

McKinney (2018) has argued that for the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) to advance within a discipline, the integration of SoTL must be closely examined and opportunities for growth in SoTL must be recognized and discussed. To that end, this paper reflects on the degree to which SoTL is integrated into communication sciences and disorders (CSD) by examining a variety of topics: perspectives and theories historically valued by our discipline, existing supports for SoTL at various levels (i.e., individual teacher-scholars, departments, institutions, and the CSD discipline as a whole), the application of SoTL findings in teaching and learning. Four …

Audiologists' Perspectives On Noise Induced Hearing Loss, Rachael L. Cleary

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Excessive noise has long been established in the literature as a prevalent workplace hazard. The high prevalence of occupational noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) has led to high economic costs and has produced many physical and mental health effects on workers exposed to occupational noise. Standards set by OSHA are implemented in the workplace in order to protect employees. Despite these regulations set by OSHA, millions of workers in the United States are still exposed to excessive occupational noise, with limited use of hearing protection. The high prevalence of occupational NIHL and low use of hearing protective devices (HPDs) brings into …

Temporal Modulation Transfer Functions Of Amplitude-Modulated Cervical Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials In Young Adults, Kerri Lawlor

Dissertations, 2020-current

Cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (cVEMPs) are widely used to evaluate saccular function in clinical and research applications. Typically, transient tonebursts are used to elicit cVEMPs. In this study, we used bone-conducted amplitude-modulated (AM) tones to elicit AMcVEMPs. This new approach allows the examination of phase-locked vestibular responses across a range of modulation frequencies. Currently, cVEMP temporal modulation transfer functions (TMTFs) are not well defined. The purposes of the present study were 1) to characterize the AMcVEMP TMTF in young, healthy individuals, 2) to compare AMcVEMP TMTFs across different analysis approaches, and 3) to determine the upper frequency limit of …

Patients’ Perspective Of Patient-Centered Approach Vs. Biomedical Approach, Lakynn Hillhouse

Honors Theses

Evidence-based practice in audiology may consist of a patient-centered approach or a biomedical approach when offering individuals the results of hearing evaluations. Boisvert et al. (2017) and the Institute for Defense Analysis confirmed that audiologists preferred to select one approach. The question was if an audiology patient is presented with two options of explaining the hearing health issues, which model/approach will be his or her preference?

Participants may have had unconscious biases related to race or gender that could have unknowingly impacted their perception of the videos. The results of this research will facilitate clinical understanding of individual preferences regarding …

The Effectiveness Of Near-Peer Mentoring And Clinical Laboratory Experiences In Undergraduate Student Perceptions Of Career Preparedness And The Profession Of Audiology, Ashley G. Flagge, Julie M. Estis

Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders

Students in undergraduate Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) programs with an interest in audiology often report feeling unprepared to make career and graduate school decisions due to a lack of exposure to the field. The present study examines the impact of near-peer mentoring and hands-on lab experiences on undergraduate student perceptions of career preparedness and of the profession of audiology by examining pre- and post-course survey responses and lab wrapper responses of 41 undergraduate speech and hearing science majors enrolled in an introductory audiology course. Students were paired in groups with a first-year audiology graduate mentor to walk through a …

Verification Of A Mobile Psychoacoustic Test System, Jordana C. Soares, Sangamanatha Veeranna, Vijay Parsa, Chris Allan, Winnie Ly, Minh Duong, Paula Folkeard, Sheila Moodie, Prudence Allen

Faculty Publications

Many hearing difficulties can be explained as a loss of audibility, a problem easily detected and treated using standard audiological procedures. Yet, hearing can be much poorer (or more impaired) than audibility predicts because of deficits in the suprathreshold mechanisms that encode the rapidly changing, spectral, temporal, and binaural aspects of the sound. The ability to evaluate these mechanisms requires well-defined stimuli and strict adherence to rigorous psychometric principles. This project reports on the comparison between a laboratory-based and a mobile system’s results for psychoacoustic assessment in adult listeners with normal hearing. A description of both systems employed is provided. …

Musicians Who Use Cochlear Implants Proposal, Leanne Bunnell

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this scoping review was to provide information about the current research related to audiological practices regarding the population of musicians who use cochlear implants technology. This scoping review included studies that investigated post implantation therapy/activities designed to assist users who were also musicians. A scoping review identifies trends and gaps in available evidence. This information can be used to inform on practices currently being used in the audiologic field and identify areas for further research. A scoping review was conducted in April 2021 to identify English-language peer-reviewed journal articles published from 2010 to March 2021. Thematic analysis …

Development Of An Aba Tool Kit For Audiologists To Increase Hearing Aid Wear Time In Individuals With Autism, Lindsay Brown

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

When working with individuals with the dual-diagnosis of hearing loss and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), audiologists are often faced with unique challenges and must adapt their approach in order to more effectively address the needs of these individuals. Currently, there is only a small body of research focused on the special considerations required for appropriately fitting and utilizing amplification for children with the dual-diagnosis of hearing loss and ASD. Subsequently, recommendations and strategies for clinicians to implement when faced with these common challenges, specifically of hearing aid compliance and appropriate hearing aid wear time, are lacking. It is important to …

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 …

Inner Ear Disorders Associated With Hearing And Vestibular Loss: A Case Series, Kelly Retzlaff

AuD Capstone Projects - Communication Sciences and Disorders

Introduction: Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL), a hearing loss of at least 30 dB at three or more consecutive frequencies within a 72-hour period, is typically idiopathic. Potential causes are thought to include viral, autoimmune, vascular, neurologic, neoplastic, or traumatic origins. Treatment consists of steroids. Poor patient follow up and compliance with rehabilitation negatively affect outcomes. Poor follow-up also results in the inadequate medical documentation of outcomes. Case Presentation: a 20-year old female presented with unilateral SSNHL with high-frequency tinnitus in the right ear. Her audiological history includes a known profound hearing loss in the left ear, as well as, …

A Method Paper For Earplug-Fitting Augmentative Procedures Tested In Groups Of More Experienced And Less Experienced Users Of Hearing Protection, Natalie Dixon, Antony Joseph

AuD Capstone Projects - Communication Sciences and Disorders

Although a long history of research has led to extensive knowledge about hearing protection devices (HPDs), there has been limited research about procedures that provide aid and verification during HPD insertion, although several studies have reported about HPD training. No standard methods have been established for training of earplug use (Takahashi, 2011).

A review of the literature revealed a need for tools that might be used to improve user ability to properly insert HPDs consistently, even in the absence of training, because training is rarely provided in the workplace. The prevailing research question was "Does the use of simple fitting …

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 …

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 …

Counseling For Patients With Hyperacusis, Mary Maraist

Communication Sciences and Disorders: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

Hyperacusis is the phenomenon of experiencing moderately loud sounds as overly loud and/or intensely annoying. Hyperacusis can also cause fear or pain in response to sound. There is no one known cause of hyperacusis, and because of the variety of ways it presents itself, the approximate prevalence is difficult to determine. Despite the ambiguity of hyperacusis, the audiologist is an important part of diagnosing and educating clients with hyperacusis. During this project we aimed to discover the challenges individuals with hyperacusis face. These include anxiety, depression and avoidance behavior, and sometimes co-occurring tinnitus and hearing loss. Another aim was to …

Assistive Devices For Communication Use With The Elderly, Corrine Koepsell, Antony Joseph

AuD Capstone Projects - Communication Sciences and Disorders

Hearing loss is one of the prevalent medical conditions in older adults. Although it has been documented that hearing loss is associated with various aspects of social and physical health, hearing assistive technologies and audiologic rehabilitation have been infrequently tapped clinical solutions. Cost and user problems in background noise are two common reasons why hearing aids are underutilized by seniors, and by younger age groups as well. Alternative tools, such as assistive listening devices, may be helpful for older listeners, even though they are used less frequently than hearing aids. To identify if assistive listening devices are satisfactory, a pilot …

Development Of An Audiologic Rehabilitation Program Model For Adult Patients Receiving Care At A Graduate Training Facility, Amanda Mcfadden, Antony Joseph

AuD Capstone Projects - Communication Sciences and Disorders

Research has shown that untreated hearing loss can negatively impact a person’s quality of life. The average person with hearing loss waits seven years from the onset of symptoms to pursue hearing aids (Hall, 2014). To decrease the negative effects of hearing loss, hearing technology, by itself, is typically not enough support for even the best users (Kelly et al., 2013). To provide supplementary support for these patients, audiologic rehabilitation (AR) is required. Audiologic rehabilitation is the modern term used to classify treatments that were previously so- called “aural rehabilitation.” Per Boothroyd (2007), aural [audiologic] rehabilitation may be defined as, …

Implementing Psychological Methods In The Management Of Trauma-Associated Tinnitus, Marc A. Fagelson

ETSU Faculty Works

Dr. Fagelson, (Professor Audiology, ETSU) will discuss the unusual challenges facing patients and providers when tinnitus severity is linked to traumatic exposure. Interactions between neural mechanisms associated with tinnitus, posttraumatic stress-disorder (PTSD), and traumatic memory will be reviewed with particular attention to the way and degree to which such interactions affect tinnitus and disorders of sound tolerance. Conference attendees will be provided theoretical models of emotional memory consolidation that underscore trauma‘s durable effects on a patient‘s emotional state, reaction to the tinnitus signal, and to potentially-triggering environmental sounds. The putative benefits of tinnitus counseling will be presented in the context …

Development And Deployment Of A Small Stereo-Hearing Testing System: Two Manuscripts, Sofia A. Ganev

Dissertations, 2014-2019

MANUSCRIPT #1 TITLE

Development of a Deployable Stereo-Hearing System

ABSTRACT

Objective: To investigate the effectiveness and efficiency of a portable stereo-hearing testing system with the intent of deployment for data collection in future studies. We quantify sound localization accuracy and speech-in-noise thresholds comparing unilateral (such as single-sided deafness) and bilateral subjects. We desired to design a small, inexpensive system that would show a large effect size between binaural and monaural subjects in a variety of stereo hearing tasks.

Methods: Subjects were tested on localization accuracy and speech understanding in noise using a laboratory-made stereo-hearing testing device. For the …

A Comprehensive Review Of The 2016 Asha Code Of Ethics, Robin L. Edge Ph.D., Ccc-Slp, Bess Sirmon-Taylor Ph.D., Ccc-Slp, Raul F. Prezas Ph.D., Ccc-Slp

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) initially implemented a Code of Ethics in 1952, and has periodically revisited the content of the document with revisions to reflect the expanding scope of practice within speech-language pathology and audiology and to clarify certain concepts. Code revision is a cyclical mandated task of the ASHA Board of Ethics conducted to assure accuracy, currency, and completeness of this most important document (Solomon-Rice & O’Rourke, 2016). The current version of the Code of Ethics (2016) was modified from the previous version (2010r), with an updated preamble, definitions of related vocabulary, and re-organized language in the principles. …

The Clinical Relevance Of Smartphone Applications In Medicine And Audiology, Elizabeth Fetscher

Communication Sciences and Disorders: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

A History Of The Audiology Program At The University Of Nebraska-Lincoln: 1920 To 2015, T. Newell Decker

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Programs for the hearing impaired have been in existence at the University of Nebraska for many years. However, there is no comprehensive history of these efforts. This work is an attempt to provide a complete picture of these programs and to detail the history and growth of the Audiology Program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. When the author came to the University in 1977 audiology was already well established at the University as well as in the State. After joining the faculty, the author served in the capacity of Coordinator of the Audiology and Hearing Science Program from 1977 until …

Build-Up Effect Of Auditory Stream Segregation Using Amplitude-Modulated Narrowband Noise, Harley J. Wheeler

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Recent psychoacoustic experiments (Böckmann-Barthel et al., 2014; Deike et al., 2012) have re-examined research regarding stream segregation and the build-up effect. Stream segregation is the ability to discern auditory objects within a stream of information, such as distinguishing one voice amongst background noise or an instrument within an orchestra. Initial works examining this topic proposed that auditory information is not immediately distinguished as various streams, but rather that differences accumulate over time, allowing listeners to segregate information following a period of build-up (i.e., the build-up effect); whereas more current findings indicate a build-up period is unnecessary for segregation. This experiment’s …