Active clinical trials for "Hearing Loss"

This study aims to understand how to manipulate the electrical stimulation from the cochlear implant to maximize hearing stimulation and minimize facial stimulation. It is know from animal data that the hearing and facial nerves have different sensitivities to things like electrical pulse shape, its pattern, and its duration. It is very unclear however if this applies to human cochlear implant patients, and what the optimal parameters are to selectively stimulate the hearing nerve in humans. The outcomes of this study will be used to more selectively program some patients with severe facial nerve cross stimulation and to inform the development of new types of implant stimulation.

Nowadays in France, there is no organized screening of the hearing loss in the elderly; however, it is a very common disease and simples tests to perform to detect it exist. Lots of studies use surveys to identify deaf people; but physicians often consider them too sensitive and less specific because lots of people were classified into " deaf " people meanwhile they have a subnormal tonal audiogram. Now, it's known that it corresponds to the "Hidden Hearing Loss" concept: it's defined as an auditive disturbance in a noisy ambiance in people with a normal tonal audiometry; corresponding to infraclinical cochlear lesions. These lesions, if detected early, can be prevented to avoid an audition degradation in time. The aim of the study is to determinate the values of sensitivity and specificity of the HHIE-S survey translated into French, so it could be used as a screening method of hearing loss in the elderly and as a prevention of cochlear damages.

Objectives: To assess a group of post-lingually children after 10 years of implantation with regard to speech perception, speech intelligibility, and academic/occupational status. Study Design: A prospective transversal study. Setting: Pediatric referral center for cochlear implantation. Patients: Ten post-lingually deafened children with Nucleus and Med-El cochlear implants. Interventions: Speech perception and speech intelligibility tests and interview. Main Outcome Measures: The main outcome measures were score of Hint sentences recognition (silence and noise), speech intelligibility scores(write-down intelligibility and rating scale scores) and academic/ occupational status.

Aim: To verify how much of the orientation provided at diagnosis and hearing aid fitting are retained by new hearing aid users and analyze whether age, degree of hearing loss, academic and socio-economics status have an influence on this

The objective of this multisite study is to evaluate the performance of the Nucleus Freedom cochlear implant system in a large population of sequentially implanted pediatric subjects.

Two major limitations of existing audiometric newborn hearing screening programs are their inability to detect forms of deafness that are not expressed at birth and the low compliance with obtaining recommended audiologic confirmation and/or follow-up. Molecular genetic tests on blood spots from all newborns will identify those at risk for the most frequent causes of late-onset hearing loss and to add these infants to the group who should receive continued audiologic monitoring.

This study will try to identify and understand the genetic factors that lead to an inner ear malformation called "enlarged vestibular aqueducts", that can be associated with hearing loss. Patients with sensorineural hearing loss with or without inner ear malformations and their parents and siblings may be eligible for this study. Participants and their immediate family members, may undergo some or all of the following tests and procedures: Medical and family history, including questions about hearing, balance and other ear-related issues, and review of medical records. Routine physical examination. Blood draw or buccal swab (brushing inside the cheek to collect cells) - Tissue is collected for DNA analysis to look for changes in genes that may be related to hearing loss. Hearing tests - The subject listens for tones emitted through a small earphone. Balance test (VEMP) to see if balance functions of the inner ear are associated with the hearing loss Electrodes will be placed behind your ear and at the base of your neck. From a reclining position, you will be asked to raise your head while clicking sounds are played into your ears. - Ultrasound tests - An inner ear malformation called EVA (enlargement of the vestibular aqueduct) indicates that a genetic disorder called Pendred syndrome may be the cause. Because thyroid abnormalities are also associated with Pendred syndrome, an ultrasound examination of the thyroid gland may be done. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans - These tests show the structure of the inner ear. For CT, the subject lies still for a short time while X-ray images are obtained. For MRI, the patient lies on a stretcher that is moved into a cylindrical machine with a strong magnetic field. The magnetic field and radio waves produce images of the inner ear. The radio waves cause loud thumping noises that can be muffled by the use of earplugs.

This study will try to identify the genetic causes of hereditary hearing loss or balance disorders. People with a hearing or balance disorder that affects more than one family member may be eligible for this study. They and their immediate family members may undergo some or all of the following procedures: Medical and family history, including questions about hearing, balance and other ear-related issues, and review of medical records. Routine physical examination. Blood draw or buccal swab (brushing inside the cheek to collect cells) - Tissue is collected for DNA analysis to look for changes in genes that may be related to hearing loss. Hearing tests - The subject listens for tones emitted through a small earphone. Balance tests to see if balance functions of the inner ear are associated with the hearing loss In one test the subject wears goggles and watches moving lights while cold or warm air is blown into the ears. A second test involves sitting in a spinning chair in a quiet, dark room. Photograph - A photograph may be taken as a record of eye shape and color, distance between the eyes, and hair color. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans - These tests show the structure of the inner ear. For CT, the subject lies still for a short time while X-ray images are obtained. For MRI, the patient lies on a stretcher that is moved into a cylindrical machine with a strong magnetic field. The magnetic field and radio waves produce images of the inner ear. The radio waves cause loud thumping noises that can be muffled by the use of earplugs.

Introduction: Surgical site infections associated with the cochlear implant can have serious consequences. Although advances in surgical techniques reduce these complications, it may be necessary to remove a device that works as a last resort as a result of ongoing infection. The removal of these devices, which are very expensive, increases the cost and takes the chance of hearing patients with this device. Therefore, it is very important to identify patients with a tendency to cochlear implant infection before surgery and to prevent these infections from occurring. Neutrophil/ lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet/ lymphocyte ratio (PLR) are indicative of systemic inflammation and have a prognostic value in relation to mortality and morbidity in many diseases. The aim of this study was to identify patients with post-operative implant infection tendency in patients to be implanted with cochlear implant and to plan treatment for possible infections before cochlear implant, to reduce cost by preventing removal of implanted cochlear implant due to infection and to prevent the patient's chance of hearing through the cochlear implant from disappearing due to infection. Methods: In this retrospective study, 13 patients with cochlear implant infection were included. Preoperative NLR was calculated by dividing the neutrophil (NEU) value by the lymphocyte (LYM) value and preoperative PLR was calculated by dividing the NEU value by the LYM value.

An evaluation and comparison of results between the 'Accuscreen New' currently in use and an 'Accuscreen New' with different settings to see if the new settings reduce unnecessary referrals for babies from newborn hearing screening. Babies will be tested with the standard and modified equipment. Referrals for diagnostic testing will be based on the standard equipment. A comparison in referrals between the standard and modified equipment will be made.