This webinar was led by 2012 ERG scientist Richard Tyler, Ph.D., who is professor & director of audiology in the departments of otolaryngology and communication sciences and disorders at the University of Iowa. Tyler emphasized that tinnitus, the sensation of ringing in the ears that usually coincides with a hearing loss, can be measured.
Mass Spectrometry Imaging Reveals Effect of Blasts on Neurotransmitter Levels in the Chinchilla Model
To date there are no clear, definitive management recommendations for tinnitus, whether non-pharmacological or pharmacological. This is mainly due to a poor understanding of the pathomechanism (causes) of tinnitus. An imbalance in the excitation and inhibition of neurotransmitters is implicated, but more research is warranted.
Hearing Difficulties in Noise Traced to Altered Brain Dynamics Following Cochlear Neural Degeneration
The challenge is hearing in noisy environments. In humans, evidence suggests that difficulty hearing in noisy, social settings may reflect premature auditory nerve degeneration. We report finding deterioration in perception in noisy environments after inducing bilateral moderate auditory nerve degeneration in adult mice.
COVID-19 and Hearing Loss, Tinnitus, and Vertigo
Over the past year of the COVID-19 pandemic, case reports and studies have suggested a link between the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 and hearing loss and related conditions.
Evaluation of a New Method for Measuring Pediatric Hearing
In our method, a child is trained to perform a play-based task when a signal is heard. An experimenter—called an observer—watches the child’s behavior to determine when the signal was played. In contrast to clinical testing methods, the signal is randomly placed in one of two intervals for each trial by the computer program.
Deciphering a Mechanism Behind Bone Conduction Hyperacusis
The underlying mechanism of bone conduction sound transmission to the inner ear has been elusive and poorly understood because bone conduction sound transmission is complex—multiple frequency-dependent mechanisms may be involved.
Discovery of a New Type of Neuron Holds Clues About Tinnitus
The goal of this study was to take a closer look at the VCN, which may reveal new types of inhibitory neurons with functions that could be of clinical significance. By carefully examining the diversity of inhibitory neurons in the VCN using transgenic mice, super-resolution microscopy, and the latest tools to study the structure and properties of individual neurons, we discovered a novel class of inhibitory cell.
Study Suggests Smart Assistant Design Improvements for Deaf Users
In their study, Blair and Saeed Abdullah, assistant professor of information sciences and technology, conducted in-depth interviews with deaf users of smart assistants and collected survey data from individuals with mild to profound hearing loss.
Webinar Recap: New Developments in Treating Hearing Loss and Related Conditions: Digital Therapeutics
This presented focused on rehabilitation, to show how digital therapeutics can help people with hearing loss improve word discrimination, familiarity with everyday words, listening confidence, and auditory cognitive skills, including auditory processing speed, auditory word memory, and auditory attention
Remote Tinnitus Counseling
We’ve developed several tools to help the tinnitus patient, who is typically an older adult. We first ask them to complete the Tinnitus Primary Functions Questionnaire. These are 20 questions that my team and I developed and validated to help detail patient experiences. The questions cover four categories: Thoughts and Emotions, Hearing, Sleep, and Concentration.