Objective: To calculate the accuracy, sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive values of the Siemens HearCheck™ Navigator in detecting hearing loss and to compare values of these parameters when the examination is done in a soundproof booth and in a quiet room. Methods: Design: Analytical, cross-sectional study Setting: Tertiary Public University Hospital Patients: Patients seen at the Ear Unit of a tertiary public university hospital from June 2009 to August 2010 were tested using the Siemens HearCheck™ Navigator and pure tone audiometry, inside a soundproof audiometry booth and in a quiet room with an ambient noise of 50dB, with a different investigator for each examination. Each ear was treated as a separate subject. Results obtained from the HearCheck™ Navigator were designated as observed values and were classified as “no hearing loss” for green light, and “with hearing loss” for yellow or red lights. Results were compared with pure tone air conduction averages designated as gold standard values. Normal hearing acuity (0-25 dB) was classified as no hearing loss. Pure tone air conduction averages of 26dB and above were classified as “with hearing loss” and were further stratified as mild hearing loss (26-40dB) and moderate or worse hearing loss (>41 dB). Observed and gold standard values were compared and tabulated in a 2x2 table for all levels of hearing loss, mild hearing loss, and moderate or worse hearing loss. Accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of the Siemens HearCheck™ Navigator inside a soundproof audiometry booth and in a quiet room were determined using pure tone audiometry as the gold standard. Results: 100 patients (200 ears) were tested, with a median age of 43 years old (range 15-75), and an almost equal number of male and female participants (52 males, 48 females). Accuracy rate of the Siemens HearCheck™ Navigator inside the soundproof audiometry booth and in a quiet room were 82.5% and 84% respectively for all levels of hearing loss. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were similar whether the examination was done inside the soundproof audiometry booth or in a quiet room. These values were notably higher in patients with moderate or worse hearing loss compared to patients with mild hearing loss. Conclusion The Siemens HearCheck™ Navigator shows potential as an accurate, portable, easy-to-use tool to screen for hearing loss, especially for cases of moderate or worse hearing loss, without the need for soundproof audiometry booths or special training. It is recommended that further studies be done to differentiate degrees of hearing loss, and to evaluate its usefulness in other target populations, including school children and the elderly.
Hearing Loss

Objective: To describe the audiological profile, clinical features and briefly summarize the speech and language development of a child with Kabuki syndrome (KS). KS is a rare malformation syndrome that usually presents with mental retardation and multiple congenital anomalies including ear diseases and hearing loss. Methods: Design: Case report Setting: Tertiary Public University Hospital Subject: One patient Results: A five-year-old female diagnosed with KS at age three presented with moderate to severe conductive hearing loss in the right ear with a drop at the high frequencies and moderate to severe conductive sloping hearing loss in the left ear. She also had fluctuating tympanometric findings. She was fit with binaural hearing aids. Conclusion Ear diseases and hearing loss should immediately be considered in patients diagnosed with KS. A comprehensive audiological and otolaryngological evaluation should also be performed when presented with a KS case.
Hearing Loss

A 19-year-old woman presented with an 11-month history of sudden-onset left sided hearing loss accompanied by vertigo and headache. Audiometric testing revealed profound left- sided hearing loss. A contrast-enhanced MRI of the internal auditory canal performed 5 months after symptom onset was interpreted as showing a vascular loop, probably the anterior inferior cerebellar artery, abutting and indenting on the left vestibulocochlear nerve; and a prominent and high-riding left jugular bulb. In this study, the internal auditory canals were assessed to be of normal width, with walls that were smooth and sharply defined. A cerebral CT angiogram subsequently performed did not show any abnormal findings related to the previously identified vascular loop. On the basis of these radiologic findings, the patient was advised surgery by physicians at a tertiary- care institution, presumably to address the identified vascular loop. A second opinion was sought by the patient.
Hearing Loss

No abstract available.
Hearing Loss* ; Hearing* ; Iron*

No abstract available.
Hearing ; Hearing Loss

No abstract available.
Cisplatin* ; Hearing Loss* ; Hearing*

No abstract available.
Hearing Loss* ; Hearing*

No abstract available.
Hearing Loss* ; Hearing*

BACKGROUND: Hearing loss is associated with environmental noises. Not only the strength of the noise but also the exposure time of that seems important. We investigated to find the factors associated with hearing loss in pilots. METHOD: For the anlysis of hearing loss in pilots in the air force, we performed an audiometiric test on 563 pilots from 2000 to 2001 and analysed the results. REUSLT: The type of aircraft or regiment is not associated with hearing loss. The age, tenure and total flight time are the factors associated with hearing loss, especially in the high frequency zone. The flight time in the recent six months is shown not to be associated with hearing loss which means an exposure to noise in a longer term is important. In this study, the hearing threshold increased at 6,000 Hz regardless of age. CONCLUSION: The reason may be due to the noise environment of pilots. Therefore an additional study about pilots' normal limits of hearing threshold at 6,000 Hz and clinical meanings of that is necessary.
Aircraft ; Hearing Loss* ; Hearing* ; Noise

Dear Editor, The tympanic membrane and the ossicular chain contribute roughly 28 dB in hearing gain. In chronic suppurative otitis media, loss of tympanic membrane and lysis of the ossicular chain are significant causes of hearing loss.1 Through the years, hearing impairment has been augmented using various devices such as ear trumpets, carbon hearing aids, vacuum tube and transistor hearing aids, bone anchored hearing aids, and cochlear implants.2 This case report describes how a cotton wick was used to amplify sound.
Human ; Male ; Hearing ; Hearing Loss