Speech Pathology and Audiology Commons^™

Pull The Andon Rope On Working Memory Capacity Interventions Until We Know More, Sandra Laing Gillam, Sarai S. Holbrook, Jamie Mecham, Daylene Weller

Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education Faculty Publications

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to discuss the current state of interventions for improving working memory (WM) capacity language, and academic skills and to provide suggestions for speech language pathologists working with students who have WM capacity limitations.

Method: Meta-analyses, systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials and non-randomized comparison studies investigating the role of WM interventions for improving WM capacity language, and academic skills are reviewed. Strategies for improving WM are discussed.

Results: The use of interventions designed to improve WM capacity and other cognitive skills is currently not supported by the research. Direct working memory interventions should be …

The Past, Present And Future Of Universal Newborn Hearing Screening In Taiwan, Lin Hung-Ching, Hsiu-Wen Chang, Wen-Hui Hsieh

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

In Taiwan, the Taipei Mackay Memorial Hospital, in collaboration with the Children’s Hearing Foundation, initiated a free newborn hearing screening program using transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE) in 1998. During 2003-2013, there were four major phases of implementation and promotion of universal newborn hearing screening program (UNHS) in Taiwan initiated by the government’s Bureau of Health Promotion. These included (1) establishment of “2004 Taiwan Guidance of Newborn Hearing Screening Program” ; (2) completion of “2008 Taiwan Consensus Statement on Newborn Hearing Screening”; (3) implementation of national government-funded UNHS program in 2012; (4)“2014 Taiwan UNHS revised guidelines”. In summary, in 2016, …

Pediatric Hearing Device Management: Professional Practices For Monitoring Aided Audibility, Karen F. Munoz, Lauri Nelson, Kacy Herald

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore professional practices for monitoring aided audibility for children who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH).

Design: A cross-sectional survey design was used to identify providers’ self-reported practice patterns for monitoring aided audibility for children who use hearing aids, cochlear implants, and bone-conduction hearing aids. Three surveys were used.

Study Sample: Practicing audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and deaf educators providing services to children birth to six years of age who use hearing technology were recruited to participate. A total of 184 surveys were included in the analysis (96 hearing aid; 47 cochlear …

Understanding Dysrhythmic Speech: When Rhythm Does Not Matter And Learning Does Not Happen, Stephanie A. Borrie, Kaitlin L. Lansford, Tyson S. Barrett

Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education Faculty Publications

A positive relationship between rhythm perception and improved understanding of a naturally dysrhythmic speech signal, ataxic dysarthria, has been previously reported [Borrie, Lansford, and Barrett. (2017). J. Speech Lang. Hear. Res. 60, 3110–3117]. The current follow-on investigation suggests that this relationship depends on the nature of the dysrhythmia. When the corrupted rhythm cues are relatively predictable, affording some learnable acoustic regularity, the relationship is replicated. However, this relationship is nonexistent, along with any intelligibility improvements, when the corrupted rhythm cues are unpredictable. Findings highlight a key role for rhythm perception and distributional regularities in adaptation to dysrhythmic speech.

Judgments Of Intelligence And Likability For Young Adult Female Speakers Of American English: The Influence Of Vocal Fry And The Surrounding Acoustic-Prosodic Context, Michelle Parker

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Objective: There is little consensus about how the use of the voice quality feature, vocal fry, in the speech of college-aged American women influences listener judgements of the speaker. This study investigates how vocal fry influences the judgement of speaker intelligence and likeability in this population, while taking into account the surrounding acoustic-prosodic context, specifically speech rate and voice pitch.

Method: Speech samples were obtained from eight American English speaking females who presented with different combinations of voice pitch (low or high), speech rate (slow or fast), and vocal fry (presence or absence). Listener judgements from 463 adults (262 males; …

Interpreting Mmse Performance In Highly Proficient Bilingual Spanish-English And Asian Indian-English Speakers: Demographic Adjustments, Item Analyses, And Supplemental Measures, Lisa H. Milman, Yasmeen Faroqi-Shah, Chris D. Corcoran, Deanna M. Damele

Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education Faculty Publications

Purpose: Performance on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), among the most widely used global screens of adult cognitive status, is affected by demographic variables including age, education, and ethnicity. This study extends prior research by examining the specific effects of bilingualism on MMSE performance.

Method: Sixty independent community-dwelling monolingual and bilingual adults were recruited from Eastern and Western regions of the United States in this cross-sectional group study. Independent sample t-tests were used to compare two bilingual groups (Spanish-English and Asian Indian-English) with matched monolingual speakers on the MMSE, demographically adjusted MMSE scores, MMSE item scores, and a nonverbal cognitive …

The Noise Susceptibility Of Various Speech Bands, Sarah E. Yoho Leopold, Frédéric Apoux, Eric W. Healy

Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education Faculty Publications

The degrading influence of noise on various critical bands of speech was assessed. A modified version of the compound method [Apoux and Healy (2012) J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 132, 1078–1087] was employed to establish this noise susceptibility for each speech band. Noise was added to the target speech band at various signal-to-noise ratios to determine the amount of noise required to reduce the contribution of that band by 50%. It was found that noise susceptibility is not equal across the speech spectrum, as is commonly assumed and incorporated into modern indexes. Instead, the signal-to-noise ratio required to equivalently impact …

Counseling Skill Development In Audiology: Clinical Supervision Considerations, Karen F. Muñoz

Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education Faculty Publications

Audiologists play a critical role in supporting patients as they provide diagnostic information about their hearing and in the delivery of treatment services. Graduate training related to counseling, however, varies among programs in the extent students are prepared to engage effectively and intentionally with patients. Instruction is needed to provide students with a framework that supports their ability to learn and implement evidence-based counseling services. This article addresses the impact patients can experience when counseling gaps exist, shares clinical instruction strategies that can support students' acquisition of counseling skills, and discusses considerations for integration of counseling education into graduate training …

Counseling In Audiology: Aud Students’ Perspectives And Experiences, John J. Whicker, Karen F. Muñoz, Jared C. Schultz

Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education Faculty Publications

Counseling in audiology is an important aspect of service delivery. How audiologists interact with patients and foster counseling relationships to help patients and families understand and live with hearing loss can impact outcomes of audiological interventions. Currently, variability exists in how graduate training programs are teaching counseling skills, and the extent to which counseling skills development is supported in clinical experiences is unclear. This article seeks to explore the perspectives related to the importance of counseling and counseling training experiences received through clinical instruction of Au.D. students beginning their final year of study, to identify where counseling training might be …

Combining Degradations: The Effect Of Background Noise On Intelligibility Of Disordered Speech, Sarah E. Yoho Leopold, Stephanie A. Borrie

Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education Faculty Publications

The effect of background noise on intelligibility of disordered speech was assessed. Speech-shaped noise was mixed with neurologically healthy (control) and disordered (dysarthric) speech at a series of signal-to-noise ratios. In addition, bandpass filtered control and dysarthric speech conditions were assessed to determine the effect of noise on both naturally and artificially degraded speech. While significant effects of both the amount of noise and the type of speech were revealed, no interaction between the two factors was observed, in either the broadband or filtered testing conditions. Thus, it appears that there is no multiplicative effect of the presence of background …

Some Permanent Hearing Loss Is Missed When "Switched Ear" Passes Are Used To Determine Screening Results, Beverly G. Lim, Maria Perez-Abalo, Jillian Gerstenberger, Shauna Morales Flowers

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

A common practice in Universal Newborn Hearing Screen (UNHS) programs is rolling up non-simultaneous passing results in each ear (SW_EAR) from repeat automated screens into a bilateral pass. This study aims to provide evidence-based criteria for best practices regarding SW_EAR screens. From January 2010 to May 2013, infants with SW_EARs results were prospectively monitored by MEDNAX-Pediatrix’s nationwide UNHS program, which combine inpatient/outpatient screens utilizing automated auditory brainstem response (AABR). The tracked audiologic evaluations of 16,129 refer infants (2,334 due to SW_EAR) out of the total infant population screened (2,492,314) were analyzed retrospectively. A high proportion of hearing loss (354/2334, 15%) …

Measuring Nurses' Knowledge And Understanding Of Universal Newborn Hearing Screenings, Caitlyn Roberts, Alisha L. Jones

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

The present study was conducted to investigate the knowledge and understanding of Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS) in nursing professionals. A group of 15 adult, licensed nurses with varied professional experience participated in the study. Participants completed both objective and subjective measurements to evaluate their current knowledge of training procedures. A free online UNHS training program offered through the National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management (NCHAM) served as both the objective measure and training module. Participants completed pre- and post-surveys as the subjective measure of their UNHS training. Results of these surveys were compared across the participants to determine …

Parental Satisfaction And Objective Test Measurements Associated With Post-Partum Versus Nursery Newborn Hearing Screening, Jennifer E. Bentley, Wenyang Mao, Wendy Timpson, Jane Stewart

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC; Boston, MA) initiated a change to the newborn hearing screening program in 2013 to encourage increased parental presence at the time of screening and support a more family centered hospital environment. Newborn hearing screening program technicians were encouraged to conduct all hearing screens in the parent’s post-partum rooms instead of in the nursery. To measure the effect of this change on the families and screening measures, satisfaction surveys and retrospective data was collected over a 2 year period and compared. Newborn hearing screening program technicians and mother-baby nursing staff were surveyed to determine influence …

Are Audiologists Directly Referring Children With Hearing Loss To Early Intervention?, Natalie Loyola, Bridget Shanahan, Cailin Shanahan, Kosuke Kawai, Derek J. Stiles

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

This article describes the ways that pediatric audiologists are directing infants into Early Intervention, and the related barriers and facilitators. Over one hundred pediatric audiologists responded to an online survey including questions on how audiologists provide direct and indirect referrals to Early Intervention for those infants that are diagnosed with hearing loss. Most respondents agreed that audiologists are the best person to provide this referral, but many audiologists did not make the direct referral. Barriers to direct referral included time constraints and resistance from parents. Opportunities identified to improve referral included online referral systems and national guidelines for what qualifies …

Effectiveness Of Dexmedetomidine For Sedation In Auditory Brainstem Response Testing, Laura Sherry, Eric Levey, Carolyn Gillen, Joseph P. Pillion

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Sedation is widely used for auditory brainstem response (ABR) testing for infants or young children who are unable to sleep or remain adequately quiet for testing. Because chloral hydrate is no longer readily available, dexmedetomidine has been proposed as an alternative medicinal agent to achieve moderate levels of sedation without risk of respiratory depression. The purpose of the study was to assess the effectiveness of dexmedetomidine in terms of the completeness of the audiologic data obtained in achieving moderate levels of sedation for auditory brainstem response testing. A retrospective chart review was conducted on ninety-nine patients at Kennedy Krieger Institute. …

Implementing A Two Class System For Monitoring Risk Indicators For Delayed-Onset Hearing Loss, Jessica Renee Stich-Hennen, Gabriel Anne Bargen

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Purpose: This manuscript discusses the importance of establishing risk indicator monitoring guidelines for state Early Hearing Detection and Intervention programs.

Method: Idaho Sound Beginnings (ISB) implemented a guideline which divided risk indicators associated with delayed-onset hearing loss into two classes (Class A and Class B). From 2012-2013, the incidence of delayed-onset hearing loss in the presence of Class A and Class B risk indicators were evaluated. For Class B risk indicators, ototoxic medication exposure and family history were analyzed.

Results: Of the 10,634 infants born, 1,175 were found to have passed the newborn hearing screening and have at least one …

Information Given To Parents Of Neonatal-Intensive Care Unit Graduates On Hearing, Cydney E. Gehring, Alisha L. Jones

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Preterm infants and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) graduates are more likely to have risk factors associated with hearing loss than their full-term, healthy peers, making them more prone to experience hearing loss (Behrman & Butler, 2007). This study examined information presented to parents during and after the newborn hearing screening (NBHS). A 22 question survey was posted on NICU and preemie support websites for parents to access and participate in anonymously. Results of the survey were analyzed for respondents indicating that their child was born in the year 2007 to the present. Thirty-nine percent of responding parents were unaware …

Audiology Students’ Perception Of Hybrid Simulation Experiences: Qualitative Evaluation Of Debriefing Sessions, Ahmad A. Alanazi, Nannette Nicholson, Samuel R. Atcherson, Clifford A. Franklin, Naveen K. Nagaraj, Michael Anders, Laura Smith-Olinde

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Simulation-based research is still new in the audiology field and requires more research to better understand students’ perspectives on standardized patients/parents (SPs) and manikins use. There is also limited research about debriefing practices in audiology. This qualitative study used a baby simulator and SPs to evaluate audiology students’ reflection during three debriefing sessions conducted at the University of Arkansas for Medical Science (UAMS) Simulation Center. Seventeen Doctor of Audiology (AuD) students participated in the simulation event, and the data were collected using the transcripts of videotaped debriefing sessions. The qualitative content analysis of the transcripts revealed eight sub-themes: support, compassion, …

Pitch Perception In Preschool-Age Children Who Are Deaf Or Hard Of Hearing, Megan Lambert

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This research thesis will 1) provide an overview of the psychoacoustics of music perception, particularly as related to the properties of pitch perception in young children and 2) describe the methods and outcomes of an exploratory study to evaluate the efficacy of obtaining pitch perception data from preschool age children with hearing loss. Each child completed a series of three tasks, including coaching and practice, single note perception, and pitch contrasts. All of the children readily understood the single-note pitch perception task. Pitch contrast performance across participants ranged from 50% to 96% correct for the first data collection period and …

Do You Know If Your Clients Are Having Challenges Coping, Karen F. Muñoz, Hannah Mcleod, Cache Pitt, Elizabeth S. Preston, Tiffany Shelton, Michael P. Twohig

Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education Faculty Publications

Hearing loss is a common condition, yet, many adults who could benefit from amplification do not use their hearing aids, even though it could help them overcome negative consequences such as social withdrawal, loneliness, and depression. Equally concerning, hearing aid use is highly variable for young children, compromising speech and language developmental outcomes.

How clients are coping with emotional challenges may be a contributing factor to hearing aid usage, and such challenges may go undetected by audiologists. Depression and anxiety are common mental health conditions, and can interfere with effective healthcare management and treatment adherence; for example, when parents of …

A Review Of Internet Resources Related To Spoken Language Intervention For Spanish-Speaking Parents Of Children Who Are Deaf Or Hard Of Hearing, Karen F. Munoz, Lauri H. Nelson Phd, Brittan Barker

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify website information related to hearing loss, hearing technology, and spoken language development available to Spanish-speaking parents of children who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH).

Design: An exploratory, descriptive design was used to determine the presence or absence of parent education information on a variety of websites.

Study Sample: The study explored Internet resources provided by national, state, and parent support organizations in the United States.

Results: A total of 53 organization websites were identified that had information for parents of DHH children learning spoken language, eight of which were …

Infant Diagnostic Evaluation Via Teleaudiology Following Newborn Screening In Eastern North Carolina, Andrew Stuart

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Universal newborn hearing screening in North Carolina began in 2000 under the auspices of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program (NC-EHDI). Despite initial success, loss to follow-up/lost to documentation for diagnostic testing was problematic. To address this, the NC-EHDI received U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration lost to follow-up funding to in part fund a pilot “Teleaudiology Project” in 2010 to provide services for infants in eastern North Carolina. This part of the state is a traditionally underserved area. The project involved a partnership with …

How Many Babies With Hearing Loss Will Be Missed By Repeated Newborn Hearing Screening With Otoacoustic Emissions Due To Statistical Artifact?, Karl R. White, Lauri H. Nelson, Karen F. Munoz

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Objective: People who manage newborn hearing screening programs are often told that repeating OAE hearing screening more than two or three times per ear unacceptably increases the probability of false-negatives (i.e., passing babies who have permanent hearing loss). This study evaluated the accuracy of that recommendation.

Design: A 2.0 cc coupler and three human ears with hearing loss were used to estimate the number of false-negative results per 1,000 OAE screening tests. Using those results, together with the prevalence of hearing loss among newborns, we calculated the number of babies that would be missed due to repeated testing.

Results: If …

Home Visiting Programs For Families Of Children Who Are Deaf Or Hard Of Hearing: A Systematic Review, Nannette Nicholson, Patti Martin, Abby Smith, Sheila Thomas, Ahmad A. Alanazi M.Aud.

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Prelingual hearing loss greatly restricts a child’s language development, hindering his or her behavioral, cognitive and social functioning. Although technology such as hearing aids and cochlear implants are an option for providing access to sound, they fail to teach the child how to listen or attend, how to process language (whether visual or spoken), or how to produce language and communicate. Home visiting is widely recognized as a cost-effective intervention service delivery model. Home visiting programs for promoting language development in children who are diagnosed as deaf or hard of hearing have been in existence for over 50 years, yet …

Cultural Adaptation Of The Test Of Narrative Language (Tnl) Into Brazilian Portuguese, Natalia Freitas Rossi, Tâmara De Andrade Lindau, Ronald B. Gillam, Célia Maria Giacheti

Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education Faculty Publications

Purpose: To accomplish the translation and cultural adaptation of the Test of Narrative Language (TNL) into Brazilian Portuguese.

Methods: The TNL is a formal instrument which assesses narrative comprehension and oral narration of children between the ages of 5-0 and 11-11 (years-months). The TNL translation and adaptation process had the following steps: (1) translation into the target language; (2) summary of the translated versions; (3) back-translation; (4) checking of the conceptual, semantics and cultural equivalence process and (5) pilot study (56 children within the test age range and from both genders).

Results: The adapted version maintained the same structure as …

Maternal Anxiety Associated With Newborn Hearing Screening, Stephen J. Tueller, Karl R. White

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

The purpose of this study was to determine if newborn hearing screening increases maternal anxiety. Mothers whose infants were screened for hearing were asked how worried they were prior to hospital discharge and again six weeks later. They were also asked if they were more concerned about their baby’s hearing than they were about other aspects of the infant’s health and behavior.

Results showed that mothers worried as much or more about many other aspects of their infants’ health and behavior as about hearing. Mothers whose infants had a false positive screening result were initially more worried about hearing than …

Readability, User-Friendliness, And Key Content Analysis Of Newborn Hearing Screening Brochures, Nannette C. Nicholson, Samuel R. Atcherson, Patti F. Martin, Mary Gunn Spragins, Lauren Schlagenhauf, Richard I. Zraick

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Readability, user-friendliness, and key content are important components of newborn screening brochure design. Health information at a sixth grade or below reading level, designed for ease of navigation, with easily identifiable “action steps” can help adults with limited literacy skills find, understand, and use health information. The purpose of this study was to quantify the readability, user-friendliness, and key content components of newborn hearing screening brochures. Five readability formulae (FRE, F–K GL, FOG, FORCAST, and SMOG) were used to estimate reading levels of English language EHDI brochures (N = 48). Twenty-three participants assessed brochures for user-friendliness. Three participants assessed …

Wic Participation As A Risk Factor For Loss To Follow-Up In The Wisconsin Ehdi System, Elizabeth L. Seeliger, Rebecca A. Martin, Andrea N. Gromoske, Anne B. Harris

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

In 2011, Wisconsin’s Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) program, Wisconsin Sound Beginnings (WSB), developed multiple strategies to reduce loss to follow-up (LTFU) for babies who did not pass their newborn hearing screening: Medical Outreach, Family Outreach, Regional Outreach and WIC Alert. WSB evaluated the outcomes of babies identified as at-risk for LTFU to determine whether WIC participation was an indicator of their risk for LTFU. Additionally, WSB evaluated whether babies who were identified as at-risk for LTFU and receiving WIC services in two WIC projects serving areas and populations with known health disparities, were at even greater risk for …

Professional Competence To Promote Resilience For Children Living In Poverty, Jenna M. Voss, Susan Lenihan

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Poverty has a tremendous impact on the educational results of all children, including those who are deaf or hard of hearing. With targeted, evidence-based interventions during the first three years of life, Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) professionals can protect children from the numerous risk factors which impede development. While EHDI professionals often serve children and families living in poverty, it remains the case that the professional preparation programs offer limited instruction and experience in how to best serve children and families living in poverty. The purpose of this study was to explore professional preparedness to serve children who …

Monitoring Indicators Of Scholarly Language (Misl): A Progress-Monitoring Instrument For Measuring Narrative Discourse Skills, Sandra Laing Gillam, Ronald B. Gillam, Jamison D. Fargo, Abbie Olszewski, Hugo Segura

Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to assess the basic psychometric properties of a progress-monitoring tool designed to measure narrative discourse skills in school-age children with language impairments (LI). A sample of 109 children with LI between the ages of 5 years 7 months and 9 years 9 months completed the Test of Narrative Language (TNL). The stories told in response to the alien picture prompt were transcribed and scored according to the TNL manual criteria and the criteria established for scoring the progress-monitoring tool, Monitoring Indicators of Scholarly Language (MISL). The MISL total score demonstrated acceptable levels of internal …