TY - JOUR A1 - Müller, Joachim A1 - Brill, Stefan A1 - Hagen, Rudolf A1 - Moeltner, Alexander A1 - Brockmeier, Steffi-Johanna A1 - Stark, Thomas A1 - Helbig, Silke A1 - Maurer, Jan A1 - Zahnert, Thomas A1 - Zierhofer, Clemens A1 - Nopp, Peter A1 - Anderson, Ilona T1 - Clinical Trial Results with the MED-EL Fine Structure Processing Coding Strategy in Experienced Cochlear Implant Users JF - ORL N2 - Objectives: To assess the subjective and objective performance of the new fine structure processing strategy (FSP) compared to the previous generation coding strategies CIS+ and HDCIS. Methods: Forty-six adults with a minimum of 6 months of cochlear implant experience were included. CIS+, HDCIS and FSP were compared in speech perception tests in noise, pitch scaling and questionnaires. The randomized tests were performed acutely (interval 1) and again after 3 months of FSP experience (interval 3). The subjective evaluation included questionnaire 1 at intervals 1 and 3, and questionnaire 2 at interval 2, 1 month after interval 1. Results: Comparison between FSP and CIS+ showed that FSP performed at least as well as CIS+ in all speech perception tests, and outperformed CIS+ in vowel and monosyllabic word discrimination. Comparison between FSP and HDCIS showed that both performed equally well in all speech perception tests. Pitch scaling showed that FSP performed at least as well as HDCIS. With FSP, sound quality was at least as good and often better than with HDCIS. Conclusions: Results indicate that FSP performs better than CIS+ in vowel and monosyllabic word understanding. Subjective evaluation demonstrates strong user preferences for FSP when listening to speech and music. KW - pitch KW - CIS+ KW - OPUS KW - fine structure processing KW - cochlear implant KW - coding strategy KW - speech perception KW - music Y1 - 2012 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-196396 SN - 0301-1569 SN - 1423-0275 N1 - This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively. VL - 74 IS - 4 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kurz, Anja A1 - Zanzinger, Maren A1 - Hagen, Rudolf A1 - Rak, Kirsten T1 - The impact of cochlear implant microphone settings on the binaural hearing of experienced cochlear implant users with single sided deafness JF - European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology N2 - Objective Cochlear implantation has become a well-accepted treatment option for people with single-sided deafness (SSD) and has become a clinical standard in many countries. A cochlear implant (CI) is the only device which restores binaural hearing. The effect of microphone directionality (MD) settings has been investigated in other CI indication groups, but its impact on speech perception in noise has not been established in CI users with SSD. The focus of this investigation was, therefore, to assess binaural hearing effects using different MD settings in CI users with SSD. Methods Twenty-nine experienced CI users with SSD were recruited to determine speech reception thresholds with varying target and noise sources to define binaural effects (head shadow, squelch, summation, and spatial release from masking), sound localization, and sound quality using the SSQ12 and HISQUI19 questionnaires. Outcome measures included the MD settings “natural”, “adaptive”, and “omnidirectional”. Results The 29 participants involved in the study were divided into two groups: 11 SONNET users and 18 OPUS 2/RONDO users. In both groups, a significant head shadow effect of 7.4–9.2 dB was achieved with the CI. The MD setting “adaptive” provided a significant head shadow effect of 9.2 dB, a squelch effect of 0.9 dB, and spatial release from masking of 7.6 dB in the SONNET group. No significant summation effect could be determined in either group with CI. Outcomes with the omnidirectional setting were not significantly different between groups. For both groups, localization improved significantly when the CI was activated and was best when the omnidirectional setting was used. The groups’ sound quality scores did not significantly differ. Conclusions Adaptive directional microphone settings improve speech perception and binaural hearing abilities in CI users with SSD. Binaural effect measures are valuable to quantify the benefit of CI use, especially in this indication group. KW - single-sided deafness KW - cochlear implant KW - adaptive directional microphone setting KW - questionnaire Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-231750 SN - 0937-4477 ET - corrected version ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rajeswaran, Ranjith A1 - Tavora-Vieira, Dayse A1 - Mertens, Griet A1 - Dillon, Margaret A1 - Narayan, Saranya A1 - Kameswaran, Mohan A1 - Kurz, Anja T1 - Audiological practice and COVID-19: recommendations that audiological centers can use to maintain the safety and quality of service-expert opinion JF - European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology N2 - Purpose Audiology is an essential service for some patient groups and some interventions. This article sets forth experience-based recommendations for how audiological centers can continue to safely and effectively function during COVID-19. Methods The recommendations are the result of panel discussion and are based on the clinical experience of the panelists/authors. Results The recommendations cover which patient groups and which interventions should be treated when and whether this can be performed in the clinic or remotely; how to maintain the safety of workplace via optimizing patient flow within the clinic and the sanitation of rooms and equipment; and overcoming communication challenges that COVID-19 intensifies. Conclusion For essential audiological services to continue under COVID-19, safety measures must be implemented and maintained, and treatment and communication strategies must be adapted to offset communication difficulties due to personal protective equipment (PPE) and social distancing and to bolster patient confidence. In short, it is vital that staff feel safe, that patients either feel the clinic is safe enough to visit or that remote treatment may be an option, and that clinics and patients have a broad agreement on the urgency of any needed service. We hope that these recommendations help clinics effectively accomplish these goals. KW - remote care/telehealth KW - COVID-19 KW - audiological services KW - cochlear implant KW - hearing aid KW - triage Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-266774 SN - 1434-4726 VL - 279 IS - 3 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mertens, Griet A1 - Andries, Ellen A1 - Kurz, Anja A1 - Tȧvora-Vieira, Dayse A1 - Calvino, Miryam A1 - Amann, Edda A1 - Anderson, Ilona A1 - Lorens, Artur T1 - Towards a consensus on an ICF-based classification system for horizontal sound-source localization JF - Journal of Personalized Medicine N2 - The study aimed to develop a consensus classification system for the reporting of sound localization testing results, especially in the field of cochlear implantation. Against the background of an overview of the wide variations present in localization testing procedures and reporting metrics, a novel classification system was proposed to report localization errors according to the widely accepted International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework. The obtained HEARRING_LOC_ICF scale includes the ICF graded scale: 0 (no impairment), 1 (mild impairment), 2 (moderate impairment), 3 (severe impairment), and 4 (complete impairment). Improvement of comparability of localization results across institutes, localization testing setups, and listeners was demonstrated by applying the classification system retrospectively to data obtained from cohorts of normal-hearing and cochlear implant listeners at our institutes. The application of our classification system will help to facilitate multi-center studies, as well as allowing better meta-analyses of data, resulting in improved evidence-based practice in the field. KW - sound localization KW - binaural hearing KW - cochlear implant KW - interaural level difference KW - interaural time difference KW - single-sided deafness KW - unilateral hearing loss KW - testing-method consensus KW - classification KW - ICF Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-297319 SN - 2075-4426 VL - 12 IS - 12 ER -