1/4. hearing loss after direct blunt neck trauma.OBJECTIVE: To report for the first time hearing impairment resulting from blunt neck trauma. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective chart review of clinical, pure tone, and speech audiometric findings. The first obtained within 3 months and the follow-up ones between 6 and 12 months after injury. Three representative examples are given. patients: Eighty-three patients (166 ears) who reported hearing impairment after blunt neck trauma. RESULTS: Twenty of the 166 ears (12%) had normal hearing and 137 ears (81.3%) showed an acoustic trauma-like hearing impairment. Eight ears (4.8%) had a hearing loss of at least 30 dB in the speech frequencies (500-2,000 Hz) and two ears (1.2%) had additional impairment in the higher frequencies. Only one ear (0.8%) had a conductive hearing loss. No speech discrimination score was poorer than 80%. Forty-six subjects (55.4%) reported tinnitus. CONCLUSIONS: Blunt neck trauma, like whiplash injury, may cause objectively measurable hearing impairment.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = speech discrimination, discrimination, speech (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/4. Auditory dysfunction following a gunshot wound of the pons.A patient with a gunshot wound penetrating the right side of the brainstem at the level of the pons was given a test battery to evaluate peripheral hearing function and central auditory processing abilities. A month later, the left ear had a loss of sensitivity for high frequency tones, decreased speech discrimination, and excess tone decay. Two years later these deficits had resolved. However, a central auditory impairment remained, affecting the right ear score on Binaural Fusion and left ear scores on dichotic tasks and tonal pattern sequences.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.99720519645898keywords = speech discrimination, discrimination, speech (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/4. neomycin-induced perception deafness following bladder irrigation in patients with end-stage renal disease.OBJECTIVE: To report a serious side-effect of intravesical instillations of neomycin in patients with end-stage renal disease. patients AND methods: Three patients (two men and a woman, aged 51.71 and 54 respectively) with end-stage renal disease who had undergone bladder irrigation with neomycin sulphate solution suffered complete irreversible deafness, which was assessed by audiogram. RESULTS: All three patients developed complete perception deafness after 3, 4 and 10 months, with characteristic changes in the audiogram. The severe progressive hearing loss was maximal in the high-frequency range. A high-pitched tinnitus was the first sign of impending hearing difficulty and two patients developed a spontaneous nystagmus. CONCLUSION: In view of the doubtful efficacy and, most importantly, the risk of severe disabling side-effects such as ototoxicity, we recommend the avoidance of intravesical instillation with neomycin whenever possible.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.00550691042197keywords = perception (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/4. cochlear implants in children.Children with such profound deafness that they are not helped by hearing aids are now candidates for cochlear implantation. This technology permits us to provide these children with a significant degree of useful hearing. The degree of improvement in speech perception and spoken language in pediatric cochlear implant recipients varies. However, the younger the children and the less time they have been completely deprived of auditory stimuli, the more likely they are to make significant progress. The evaluation of the deaf child for implantation is best done by a multidisciplinary team who understands the needs of hearing-impaired children and who can work with the family, the child, and classroom teachers, as well as other school professionals. The decision to proceed with cochlear implantation in a child is one that requires long-term commitment on the part of the family and the cochlear implant team.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.0024987838549028keywords = speech, perception (Clic here for more details about this article) |