Project description:When hearing fails, cochlear implants (CIs) provide open speech perception to most of the currently half a million CI users. CIs bypass the defective sensory organ and stimulate the auditory nerve electrically. The major bottleneck of current CIs is the poor coding of spectral information, which results from wide current spread from each electrode contact. As light can be more conveniently confined, optical stimulation of the auditory nerve presents a promising perspective for a fundamental advance of CIs. Moreover, given the improved frequency resolution of optical excitation and its versatility for arbitrary stimulation patterns the approach also bears potential for auditory research. Here, we review the current state of the art focusing on the emerging concept of optogenetic stimulation of the auditory pathway. Developing optogenetic stimulation for auditory research and future CIs requires efforts toward viral gene transfer to the neurons, design and characterization of appropriate optogenetic actuators, as well as engineering of multichannel optical implants.
Project description:Despite the growing use of cochlear implants in deaf patients, there is a lack of data on their knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) toward cochlear implants. This study aimed to investigate the KAP toward cochlear implants among deaf patients who received cochlear implants. A web-based cross-sectional study was conducted between August 2022 and December 2022 among deaf patients who had received cochlear implants. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect demographic characteristics and KAP scores. A total of 526 participants were enrolled; 54.18% were female, 65.40% were above 60 years old, and 61.03% were surveyed at less than 3 years after implantation. The mean knowledge, attitude, and practice scores were 8.15 ± 2.18 (possible range: 0-10), 43.63 ± 6.98 (possible range: 12-60), and 41.11 ± 7.42 (possible range: 11-55), respectively, indicating good knowledge, moderate attitude and practice. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that attitude [odd ratio (OR) = 1.24, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.18-1.29, P < 0.001] and unemployment (OR = 0.33, 95% CI 0.17-0.63, P = 0.001) were independently associated with practice. Path analysis showed that knowledge directly influenced attitude (β = 0.93, 95% CI 0.61-1.19, P < 0.001), attitude directly influenced practice (β = 0.53, 95% CI 0.46-0.61, P < 0.001), and knowledge directly (β = 0.77, 95% CI 0.53-1.01, P < 0.001) and indirectly (β = 0.50, 95% CI 0.34-0.66, P < 0.001) influenced practice. Deaf patients who received cochlear implants showed good knowledge, moderate attitude and practice toward cochlear implants. Knowledge should be strengthened to improve attitude and practice toward cochlear implants, which could translate into realistic expectations toward cochlear implants devices and proper care and maintenance.
Project description:OBJECTIVES: (1) To report the speech perception and intelligibility results of Mandarin-speaking patients with large vestibular aqueduct syndrome (LVAS) after cochlear implantation (CI); (2) to compare their performance with a group of CI users without LVAS; (3) to understand the effects of age at implantation and duration of implant use on the CI outcomes. The obtained data may be used to guide decisions about CI candidacy and surgical timing. METHODS: Forty-two patients with LVAS participating in this study were divided into two groups: the early group received CI before 5 years of age and the late group after 5. Open-set speech perception tests (on Mandarin tones, words and sentences) were administered one year after implantation and at the most recent follow-up visit. Categories of auditory perception (CAP) and Speech Intelligibility Rating (SIR) scale scores were also obtained. RESULTS: The patients with LVAS with more than 5 years of implant use (18 cases) achieved a mean score higher than 80% on the most recent speech perception tests and reached the highest level on the CAP/SIR scales. The early group developed speech perception and intelligibility steadily over time, while the late group had a rapid improvement during the first year after implantation. The two groups, regardless of their age at implantation, reached a similar performance level at the most recent follow-up visit. CONCLUSION: High levels of speech performance are reached after 5 years of implant use in patients with LVAS. These patients do not necessarily need to wait until their hearing thresholds are higher than 90 dB HL or PB word score lower than 40% to receive CI. They can do it "earlier" when their speech perception and/or speech intelligibility do not reach the performance level suggested in this study.
Project description:BackgroundCochlear implants (CIs) are auditory prostheses designed to support spoken communication in persons with severe to profound hearing loss. Many post-lingually deaf adult CI users achieve good speech recognition in quiet; unfortunately, CI technology conveys a degraded representation of pitch and timbre, essential components of music. Not surprisingly, most CI users achieve significantly poorer perception and enjoyment of music compared with normal hearing listeners. Anecdotal evidence indicates that this impacts music engagement, particularly singing and playing instruments requiring ongoing tuning to external pitches or producing intervallic ratios. Interestingly, a small cohort of adult CI users has shown remarkable success in recovering or developing musical skills, but their success is poorly understood. Greater understanding of their efforts and attitudes may suggest potential rehabilitative approaches for other CI users.PurposeThis article documented personal characteristics and experiences perceived to contribute to high level musicianship. Research questions included: (1) What forms of practice/experience have most contributed to (re)establishing satisfying music making? (2) What situations or musical tasks are most frustrating or challenging? (3) What attitudes, motivational factors, or forms of support help CI users persist in working toward improved music engagement?MethodsQualitative and patient-engaged research methodologies were used. Our study involved a unique collaboration of six CI users engaged in high levels of musicianship and a researcher whose scholarship focuses on music and CIs. The CI recipients conveyed their experiences and attitudes regarding music and CIs through open-ended narratives. These narratives were analyzed using an integrative approach of inductive and deductive coding methods. The codes and themes that emerged through inductive methods were then organized within the Dynamic Problem Solving Model for Management of Music Listening Environments (Gfeller et al., 2019a).OutcomesThis paper provides reflections of six CI users who successfully engage in active music making, including on-going tuning to external pitches and ensemble participation. Their perspectives emphasize the importance of pre-CI music instruction, extensive practice and immersion in music listening and playing, persistence and self-efficacy, and problem solving skills that optimize music engagement, and suggest possible strategies useful to other CI users interested in improving music experiences.
Project description:Although bilateral cochlear implant users receive input to both ears, they nonetheless have relatively poor localization abilities in the horizontal plane. This is likely because of the two binaural cues, they have good sensitivity to interaural differences of level (inter-aural level differences, or ILDs), but not those of time (inter-aural time differences; ITDs). Here, localization performance is assessed in six bilateral cochlear implant patients when instantaneous ITDs are measured and converted to ILDs, a strategy that results in larger-than-typical ILDs. The added ILDs are corrective, in that they are derived from individual listener performance across both frequency and azimuth, so that they are small where a listener performs well, and increase as performance deviates from ideal. Results show significantly improved localization performance as a result of this strategy, with two of the six listeners achieving levels of performance typically observed in NH listeners.
Project description:Cochlear implant patients have difficulty in noisy environments, in part, because of channel interaction. Interleaving the signal by sending every other channel to the opposite ear has the potential to reduce channel interaction by increasing the space between channels in each ear. Interleaving still potentially provides the same amount of spectral information when the two ears are combined. Although this method has been successful in other populations such as hearing aid users, interleaving with cochlear implant patients has not yielded consistent benefits. This may be because perceptual misalignment between the two ears, and the spacing between stimulation locations must be taken into account before interleaving.Eight bilateral cochlear implant users were tested. After perceptually aligning the two ears, 12-channel maps were made that spanned the entire aligned portions of the array. Interleaved maps were created by removing every other channel from each ear. Participants' spectral resolution and localization abilities were measured with perceptually aligned processing strategies both with and without interleaving.There was a significant improvement in spectral resolution with interleaving. However, there was no significant effect of interleaving on localization abilities.The results indicate that interleaving can improve cochlear implant users' spectral resolution. However, it may be necessary to perceptually align the two ears and/or use relatively large spacing between stimulation locations.
Project description:BackgroundTo explore the knowledge, attitudes, and practice (KAP) toward sarcopenia among maintenance dialysis (MHD) patients in Anhui.MethodsThis multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted in November 2022 among MHD patients in the Anhui Province, China. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect their demographic characteristics and KAP toward sarcopenia.ResultsA total of 1548 questionnaires were collected, with 909 (58.72%) being valid. The average knowledge, attitude, and practice scores were 4.45 ± 4.21 (possible range: 0-12), 28.21 ± 3.71 (possible range: 8-40), and 18.04 ± 4.28 (possible range: 7-35) points, respectively. The multivariable logistic regression showed that 5.1-10 years of dialysis (OR = 0.38, 95% CI: [0.15, 0.97]) and attitude scores (OR = 1.36, 95% CI: [1.25, 1.48]) were independently associated with practice. The structural equation model showed that knowledge had a direct effect on attitudes (β = 0.38, 95% CI: [0.33, 0.44]) and practice (β = 0.18, 95% CI: [0.11, 0.24]) and had an indirect effect on practice though attitudes (β = 0.42, 95% CI: [0.35, 0.50]).ConclusionThe MHD patients in Anhui showed insufficient knowledge and moderate attitudes and practices toward sarcopenia. Proactive practice might be facilitated and achieved by improving knowledge and attitudes.
Project description:BackgroundDespite increasing evidence about the beneficial effects of bariatric surgery, little is known about physicians' attitudes toward it as a treatment of type 2 diabetes. Our objective was to investigate physicians' attitudes about referring patients with type 2 diabetes for bariatric surgery.MethodsPhysicians were identified from the Pennsylvania Integrated Clinical and Administrative Research Database and other databases. Physicians at an academic medical center (n = 142) and community-based physicians (n = 197) in the Philadelphia area in specialties likely to treat type 2 diabetes were sent a survey about their perceptions of the safety and efficacy of bariatric surgery as a treatment for obesity and type 2 diabetes.ResultsOf the physicians, 93 returned the survey, for a combined response rate of 27.4%. Respondents reported having positive impressions of bariatric surgery as a treatment for obesity and type 2 diabetes (79.6% and 67.4%, respectively). Only 20.8% of respondents indicated that they would be likely to refer their patients with type 2 diabetes with a body mass index of 30-34.9 kg/m(2) to a randomized research trial of bariatric surgery.ConclusionIn general, physicians who treat patients with type 2 diabetes had favorable impressions about bariatric surgery as a treatment for obesity and type 2 diabetes. However, only a few were willing to refer their patients with type 2 diabetes and a body mass index of 30-34.9 kg/m(2) to randomized research trials of bariatric surgery. This reluctance to refer patients represents an important barrier to the successful completion of studies of the efficacy of bariatric surgery for those with type 2 diabetes and a body mass index <35 kg/m(2).
Project description:ObjectiveDetermine associations expected and actual cochlear implant (CI) outcomes, decisional regret, and satisfaction in experienced adult CI users.Study designCross-sectional cohort study.SettingTertiary medical center.PatientsThirty-nine adult CI users meeting traditional bilateral hearing loss indications with ≥12 months CI experience.Interventions/main outcome measuresPatients completed the validated Satisfaction with Amplification in Daily Living and Decisional Regret instruments. Pre- and post-CI outcomes (CI Quality of Life [CIQOL]-Expectations; CIQOL-35 Profile; CNC words, AzBio Sentences) were obtained from a prospectively maintained clinical database.ResultsUsing established cutoff scores, 29% of patients reported a substantial degree of post-CI decisional regret. For each CIQOL domain, patients without decisional regret obtained post-CI outcome scores closer to pre-CI expectations compared with patients with decisional regret ( d = 0.34 to 0.91); similar results were observed with higher CI user satisfaction ( d = 0.17-0.83). Notably, the degree of pre- to post-CI improvement in CNC or AzBio scores did not differ between patients with and without decisional regret or with lower and higher satisfaction. Finally, greater pre-/postimprovement in CIQOL-35 Profile domain scores demonstrated far stronger associations with lower decisional regret and higher satisfaction than changes in speech recognition scores.ConclusionsPatients with better alignment of their pre-CI expectations and post-CI outcomes and greater pre-/post-CIQOL improvement had lower decisional regret and higher satisfaction. This emphasizes the importance of evidence-based pre-CI counseling regarding real-world CI benefits and caution against assuming that improvements in speech recognition are related to patient satisfaction.