Speech Pathology and Audiology Commons^™

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. …

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 …

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 …

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) …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Validation Of A Scale To Measure Phonological And Morphological Knowledge And Skill Of Speech-Language Pathologists And Elementary Teachers, Susan S. Perry

Dissertations

Phonological and morphological skills are crucial to the process of reading. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) have received advanced trained in these basic foundations of language and could be an untapped resource in our school systems for teaching beginning reading skills. The purposes of this research were to examine SLPs’ and general education elementary (K-6) teachers’ attitudes toward SLPs taking part in reading instruction, to compare the differences in phonological and morphological knowledge and skill among SLPs and teachers, and to assess the performance of the Revised Basic Language Constructs Surveywhen administered to SLPs and teachers.

Results indicated that, although fewer …

Hear Me Out: Communication And Peer Support For Adults With Hearing Loss, Emma Furness

Senior Honors Projects

Progressive hearing loss is a natural part of aging. It can take adults an average of seven years between the time they perceive they have a hearing loss and they see an audiologist for testing, diagnosis, and treatment. Dealing with hearing loss can be extremely stressful and confusing for both the patient and the family. After receiving the diagnosis of hearing loss, the patient’s next step is to discuss all options with theaudiologist including hearing aids and assistive listening devices. Being fit with hearing aids is a great start, but patients can benefit from further education and support not always …

The Importance Of Interprofessional Education To Develop Successful Interprofessional Collaborative Teams In Healthcare, Christina Sebastiao

Senior Honors Projects

Many individuals live with chronic illnesses, various disabilities, and other complex needs that require an array of medical services from multiple disciplines within the healthcare field. To address the medical, behavioral and social needs of these patients, there has been an emphasis on providing treatment through interprofessional collaborative teams and interprofessional practice (IPP). These teams consist of multiple health professionals from various disciplines.

To ensure IPP teams are efficient and effective in the workplace, the application of interprofessional education (IPE) is key. The goal of IPE is to increase competency in interdisciplinary collaborative skills in students and future practitioners. In …

The Effects Of Gesture On Early Language Production, Gabrielle Zeyl

Senior Honors Projects

Over the last decade, baby sign language (adapted signs for simple words like milk or mom) has become a trending parenting fad. Although significant research is still lacking on the subject, there is evidence suggesting that the use of early gestures is beneficial in promoting spoken language in typically developing children. Given developmental support for early gesture, this project aims to investigate the use of manual gestures to support speech sound production for a young child with speech and language delay. This project is two-fold. Part one included an extensive literature review of existing research on baby sign, gesture and …

Effects Of Primary And Secondary Cigarette Smoke On Auditory Function: A Systematic Review, Hilary Mcmanus

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Objective: The goal of this paper was to systematically review literature in order to investigate the effects of active and passive cigarette smoke on auditory function when assessing outcome measures including pure tone audiometry, otoacoustic emissions, high-frequency audiometry, and auditory evoked potentials.

Methods: A comprehensive search using the Medline Complete database was conducted to identify relevant studies published after 2005. Inclusion criteria included the use of pure tone audiometry, high-frequency audiometry, otoacoustic emissions, and/or auditory evoked potentials to examine the effect of primary or secondary cigarette smoke. Studies involving noise exposure or other confounding factors were excluded.

Results: A total …

Screening For Hearing Loss: Physician Attitudes And Practice, Theresa N. Vitale

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Age related hearing loss (ARHL) is considered a public health hazard in large part due to the negative health outcomes with which it is associated, such as, cognitive decline, increased risk of falling, social isolation and depression. Despite the health-related costs of ARHL, physician’s rarely screen older adults for ARHL. Some of the reasons previously cited include a lack of time and resources in medical offices, a lack of reimbursement for such measures, or lack of knowledge of risk factors associated with hearing loss. The latter is problematic as improved communication among physicians and their patients is an important correlate …

Caring For Persons With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Toolkit For Audiologists, Melanie Rosenthal

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

As the symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can mimic those of hearing loss, an audiologic evaluation is often a component of the differential diagnostic process. These audiologic evaluations can be complicated by social communication deficits, as well as sensory issues demonstrated by individuals with ASD. Typical testing procedures may need to be adapted, as well as multiple appointments may be needed, to obtain sufficient audiologic information. Although there is an abundance of literature suggesting that alternative approaches (i.e. visual schedules, social stories) should be utilized in the audiologic evaluation, there has yet to be a comprehensive toolkit for audiologists …

Learning Style Preferences In Undergraduate Speech-Language Pathology And Audiology Students, Callahan Shirk

Honors Theses

Learning styles can be described as an individual’s unique way of assimilating new information based on his/her preferences and methods of acquiring knowledge. The awareness of a student’s learning style preference can be beneficial to both students and instructors. The goal of this project was aimed at identifying the learning style preferences of undergraduates in the Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology programs within the state of Mississippi. The researchers surveyed 137 participants involved in this study by utilizing the Kolb Learning Style Inventory and the VARK Questionnaire. Results from this study revealed that students enrolled as undergraduates in Speech-Language Pathology and …

Effect Of Consistent Singing On Maintenance Of Speech Intelligibility Following Lsvt®: A Retrospective Longitudinal Case Study, Rachel Ricca Beck

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Parkinson’s Disease is a common neurodegenerative disease affecting one’s ability to hone and refine volitional movement. Many with Parkinson’s report significant effects on voice and communication. Speech-language pathologists have long targeted the achievement of increased vocal volume through intensive voice therapy, with the most common program being Lee Silverman Voice Treatment® (LSVT®) (Ramig et al., 1994). While LSVT® is the most prominent type of voice therapy for individuals with Parkinson’s, other researchers have begun investigating therapeutic singing because of the similar functions it employs (e.g., increased breath support, utilization of entire vocal range).

The current project is a retrospective, longitudinal …

Inspiratory Muscle Recruitment During Swallow And A Comparison Across Airway Behaviors., Allison V. English

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

During swallow, a negative esophageal pressure is present that, along positive pressure from the tongue, which works to move the bolus through the pharynx into the esophagus. This negative esophageal pressure is thought to be produced via recruitment of chest wall inspiratory muscles (diaphragm and parasternal). This current study aimed to examine respiratory muscle recruitment across behaviors which have known inspiratory muscle activity (eupnea, augmented breath and cough) and compare to swallow. It was hypothesized that there would be no significant difference in amplitude and muscle recruitment over 75 ms between swallow and eupnea, but cough and augmented breath would …

Investigating Predictive Relationships Between Speech-Language Pathology Graduate Students' Sense Of Classroom Community, Perceived Learning, And Perceived Anxiety., Emily B. Schantz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mental health is an all-encompassing term that focuses on a person’s ability to achieve work-life balance inclusive of positive mental health and mental ill-health. Current trends suggest an overall increase in mental ill-health for undergraduate and graduate students. McMillan and Chavis’ sense of community theory provided the theoretical framework for this study. This study aimed to examine whether speech-language pathology graduate students’ sense of classroom community and perceived learning predict anxiety levels while controlling for demographic variables. Three-hundred-sixteen master’s level speech-language pathology students completed an online survey containing the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire, Perceived Learning Scale, and Classroom Community Scale. …

Alterations In Rhythmic Licking Behaviors Following Fibrosis In The Rat Mylohyoid Muscle., Brittany Fletcher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Muscle injury is a common side effect of radiation treatment for head and neck cancer. To increase understanding of muscle injury related dysfunction, we investigated the effects of oral swallowing function after cryoinjury to mylohyoid muscle in rats. The hypothesis is that injury to the mylohyoid delays the temporal licking pattern, resulting in aberrant drinking behaviors. Six rats received bilateral mylohyoid injuries by applying a 3mm cryoprobe. Licking behavior was measured by electrophysiological recordings of rhythmic tongue movements in a ten-minute drinking session taken pre-and post-injury (one-and two-weeks). Lick frequency and total licks per cluster decreased significantly one-and two-weeks post-injury …

The Effect Of Motor Responses Versus Verbal Responses On Sound Localization Accuracy In Young Children With Normal Hearing, Karen Ann Martin

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Rationale. Sound localization is the ability to pinpoint the origin of a sound source within an auditory space. This ability is essential for safety, orientation, and communication. Poor sound localization abilities, especially in young children, can have a negative impact on academics and safety. This issue is exacerbated when there is a hearing loss. Young children do not localize as well as adults until age 6 or older. Data regarding sound localization accuracy in preschoolers and young children have been sparse. Recently, with the increasing numbers of cochlear implantation (especially in children) there have been more studies investigating sound localization …