Aural rehabilitation is defined as a comprehensive service which includes hearing aid fitting, hearing aid orientation, auditory training, and informational/educational counseling for people with hearing loss in order to reduce deficits of auditory function, difficulty in communication, and limited social activity, and ultimately to enhance their quality of life. Although it is well known that auditory training among a large scope of the aural rehabilitation is critical to improve residual hearing of hearing-impaired adults and/or older adults, there are some limitations to conduct it in the clinic in terms of time consuming and individual difference. In this review paper, we introduce two of the most popular web-based auditory training programs, namely Listening and Communication Enhancement And customized learning: Exercises for Aural Rehabilitation. The paper analyzes their purpose, contents, effect (or benefit) of auditory training, and clinical application, while arguing their pros and cons. In conclusion, we discuss a necessary of developing auditory training platforms for the hearing-impaired adults and older adults, and then of forging systematic web-based auditory training tools with a low-cost and high efficiency because aging population is rapidly increasing in Korea.
Adult ; Aging ; Correction of Hearing Impairment* ; Counseling ; Education* ; Exercise* ; Hearing ; Hearing Aids ; Hearing Loss ; Humans ; Individuality ; Korea ; Learning* ; Quality of Life

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to analyze the current status and problems of hearing screening tests for newborns in low-income families in the southeastern Korea. METHODS: This study analyzed data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare's project on the early detection of hearing loss in newborns in low-income families in the southeastern Korea (2011-2015). RESULTS: The referral rate was 1.33, 1.69, and 1.27% in Daegu, Gyeongbuk, and Ulsan, respectively. The confirmatory test rate was 36.09, 23.38, and 52.94% in Daegu, Gyeongbuk, and Ulsan, respectively. The incidence of hearing loss (adjusted) was 0.41, 0.62, and 0.41% in Daegu, Gyeongbuk, and Ulsan, respectively. After confirming hearing loss, newborns with hearing handicaps were mostly lost to follow-up, and rehabilitation methods, such as hearing aids or cochlear implants, were not used. The screening tests were performed within 1 month of birth, and the confirmatory tests were generally performed within 3 months of birth. However, more than 3 months passed before the confirmatory tests were performed in infants with risk factors for hearing loss in Gyeongbuk and Ulsan. CONCLUSIONS: Hearing screening tests were conducted in newborns from low-income families in southeastern Korea who received a coupon for free testing, but the newborns that were referred after the screening tests were not promptly linked to the hospitals where confirmatory tests were performed. Furthermore, hearing rehabilitation was not consistently performed after hearing loss was confirmed. To successful early hearing loss detection and intervention, a systematic tracking system of hearing loss children is needed.
Child ; Cochlear Implants ; Correction of Hearing Impairment ; Daegu ; Gyeongsangbuk-do ; Hearing Aids ; Hearing Loss ; Hearing Tests ; Hearing* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn* ; Korea* ; Lost to Follow-Up ; Mass Screening* ; Parturition ; Referral and Consultation ; Rehabilitation ; Risk Factors ; Ulsan

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to analyze the current status and problems of hearing screening tests for newborns in low-income families in the southeastern Korea.METHODS: This study analyzed data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare's project on the early detection of hearing loss in newborns in low-income families in the southeastern Korea (2011-2015).RESULTS: The referral rate was 1.33, 1.69, and 1.27% in Daegu, Gyeongbuk, and Ulsan, respectively. The confirmatory test rate was 36.09, 23.38, and 52.94% in Daegu, Gyeongbuk, and Ulsan, respectively. The incidence of hearing loss (adjusted) was 0.41, 0.62, and 0.41% in Daegu, Gyeongbuk, and Ulsan, respectively. After confirming hearing loss, newborns with hearing handicaps were mostly lost to follow-up, and rehabilitation methods, such as hearing aids or cochlear implants, were not used. The screening tests were performed within 1 month of birth, and the confirmatory tests were generally performed within 3 months of birth. However, more than 3 months passed before the confirmatory tests were performed in infants with risk factors for hearing loss in Gyeongbuk and Ulsan.CONCLUSIONS: Hearing screening tests were conducted in newborns from low-income families in southeastern Korea who received a coupon for free testing, but the newborns that were referred after the screening tests were not promptly linked to the hospitals where confirmatory tests were performed. Furthermore, hearing rehabilitation was not consistently performed after hearing loss was confirmed. To successful early hearing loss detection and intervention, a systematic tracking system of hearing loss children is needed.
Child ; Cochlear Implants ; Correction of Hearing Impairment ; Daegu ; Gyeongsangbuk-do ; Hearing Aids ; Hearing Loss ; Hearing Tests ; Hearing ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Korea ; Lost to Follow-Up ; Mass Screening ; Parturition ; Referral and Consultation ; Rehabilitation ; Risk Factors ; Ulsan

Implantable devices for aural rehabilitation are widely developed worldwide. In the manuscript, we review the implantable middle ear hearing devices currently in use, such as the Vibrant Soundbridge system (Med-El Corporation), the MAXUM system (Ototronix LLC), the fourth-generation of Carina prosthesis (Otologics LLC), and the Esteem device. Implantable hearing aids will unquestionably be the major drivers of advancement in otologic practice in early future, improving the quality of life of an increasingly aged population, which will consequently require increased levels of hearing support.
Correction of Hearing Impairment ; Ear, Middle* ; Hearing ; Hearing Aids ; Ossicular Prosthesis* ; Prostheses and Implants ; Quality of Life

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Although popular as a method for aural rehabilitation with hearing impairment, hearing aids are susceptible to inflow of foreign materials such as water, sweat, and dust, causing corrosion of the circuit board and eventual device failure. Performance of hearing aids is evaluated by assessing the applicability of hydrophobic nano-coating technique using waterproof hearing aids electronic devices. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: Performance was evaluated using a Fonix 7000 for the maximum output sound pressure level (Max OSPL 90), high frequency average full on gain (HFA FOG), total harmonic distortion and input noise level for 13 hearing aids. Nine of the 13 hearing aids were tested after nano-coating was applied to 2.5 µm of thickness. Fro the immersion test, hearing aids were subjected to 1 m of depth of water and performance was immediately measured; they were also measured after a day and also after a month. RESULTS: In the coated group, Max OSPL 90, HFA FOG were significantly reduced but the corrosion of the circuit board was not observed. The four hearing aids without nano-coating failed to work immediately after the immersion test. However, there were no changes in performance after a month of immersion in any of the aids. For the non-coated group, corrosion of the circuit board was observed after 1 month. CONCLUSION: Nano-coating is a competitive technology and an advangtage to have to ensure waterproof effect and corrosion prevention. Thus it should be recognized as essential technology to enhance performance of hearing aids.
Correction of Hearing Impairment ; Corrosion ; Dust ; Equipment Failure ; Hearing Aids* ; Hearing Loss ; Hearing Tests ; Hearing* ; Immersion ; Noise ; Pilot Projects* ; Rehabilitation ; Sweat ; Water ; Weather

Social concerns about sensorineural hearing loss have been increasing with the advent of an aging society. As most hearing loss is incurable and permanent, audiologic rehabilitation is the only option for restoring hearing. Sensorineural hearing loss includes both sensory loss of the cochlea and functional loss of the 8th cranial nerve. Because sensorineural hearing loss patients often have difficulty in understanding and locating specific sounds amidst the other ambient noise, functional amplification with hearing aids in sensorineural hearing loss is challenging work. By applying digital signal processing techniques to hearing aids, hearing rehabilitation has undergone remarkable development in recent years. Herein, the basic concepts underlying digital signal processing are reviewed briefly, followed by a short historical background of hearing aid development. The principles of hearing aid selection, counselling, frequent problems encountered in hearing aid fitting and validation are also discussed.
Aging ; Cochlea ; Correction of Hearing Impairment ; Cranial Nerves ; Hearing ; Hearing Aids* ; Hearing Loss ; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural* ; Humans ; Noise ; Rehabilitation* ; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted

Presbycusis is gradual hearing loss in both ears that commonly occurs as people age. Presbycusis is a complex phenomenon characterized by audiometric threshold shift, deterioration in speech-understanding and speech-perception difficulties in a noisy environment. Factors contributing to presbycusis include mitochondria DNA mutation, genetic disorders, hypertension, diabetes, metabolic disease and other systemic diseases in the intrinsic aspects. Extrinsic factors include noise, ototoxic medication and diet. However, presbycusis may not be related to the intrinsic and extrinsic factors separately. Presbycusis can greatly affect one's quality of life; impaired hearing restricts communication and untreated presbycusis could result in social isolation and even depression. Current amplification methods related to auditory rehabilitation can provide improved communication ability to users. Nevertheless, only a minority of elderly people with impaired hearing use hearing aids. The purpose of this review is to raise the awareness of presbycusis, to update our current understanding of presbycusis with a focus on age-related deficits in auditory and cognitive processing of speech and to explore strategies of prevention, identification, amplification, and aural rehabilitation. The ultimate goal is to improve the quality of hearing health care and the overall quality of life of older adults.
Adult ; Aged ; Communication ; Correction of Hearing Impairment ; Delivery of Health Care ; Depression ; Diet ; DNA ; Ear ; Hearing ; Hearing Aids ; Hearing Loss ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Metabolic Diseases ; Mitochondria ; Noise ; Presbycusis* ; Quality of Life ; Rehabilitation ; Social Isolation

Sensorineural hearing loss is one of the most common chronic clinical disorders that we can easily encounter. The etiology of sensorineural hearing loss is multifactorial: congenital, idiopathic, traumatic, noise-induced, head injury induced, infectious disease, drug induced, degenerative, immune disorder, vestibular schwannoma and Meniere's disease. Many people are living with the discomfort of hearing loss because fundamental treatment is has not yet been found. Also due to the progress of medical science, human life span has been extended. As the result, the number of patients suffering from hearing loss has increased. But the present situation does not measure up to the demand for recovery of hearing loss. Hearing loss has a great influence on the quality of life. To overcome this situation, neural prostheses such as the cochlear implant and auditory brainstem implant are helpful for the rehabilitation of total deaf patients. Recently, due to the advancement of studies related to hair cell regeneration and the field of gene therapy on the inner ear has made big progress during the last few years. The purpose of this study is to describe the latest known causes and rehabilitation of sensorineural hearing loss.
Auditory Brain Stem Implants ; Cochlear Implants ; Communicable Diseases ; Correction of Hearing Impairment ; Craniocerebral Trauma ; Ear, Inner ; Genetic Therapy ; Hair ; Hearing Loss ; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural* ; Hearing* ; Humans ; Immune System Diseases ; Meniere Disease ; Neural Prostheses ; Neuroma, Acoustic ; Quality of Life ; Regeneration ; Rehabilitation*

As people age, structural as well as neural degeneration occurs throughout the auditory system. Many older adults experience difficulty in understanding speech especially in adverse listening conditions although they can hear speech sounds. According to a report of the Committee on Hearing and Bioacoustics and Biomechanics of the National Research Council, peripheral, central-auditory, and cognitive systems have long been considered major factors affecting the understanding of speech. The present study aims to review 1) age-related changes in the peripheral, central-auditory, and cognitive systems, 2) the resulting decline in the understanding of speech, and 3) the clinical implication for audiologic rehabilitation of older adults. Once the factors affecting the understanding of speech in older adults are identified and the characteristics of age-related speech understanding difficulties are examined, clinical management could be developed for prevention and treatment. Future research about problems related to the understanding of speech in older adults will help to improve the quality of life in the elderly.
Adult ; Aged ; Aging* ; Cognition ; Correction of Hearing Impairment ; Hearing ; Humans ; National Academy of Sciences (U.S.) ; Phonetics ; Quality of Life

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate surgical interventions and hearing rehabilitation in patients with chronic middle ear disease of only hearing ears. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Thirty-one patients with chronic middle ear disease of only hearing ears were enrolled in this retrospective study. Patients were classified into three groups according to the hearing level: groups A [pure tone audiometry (PTA)<40], B (40< or =PTA<70), and C (PTA> or =70). We evaluated hearing results and patterns of auditory rehabilitation. RESULTS: The main consideration for a surgical procedure was the presence of recurrent otorrhea and structural destruction. The reasons for surgical intervention in only hearing ears were otorrhea caused by chronic otitis media (68%), cholesteatoma (29%), and cholesterol granuloma (3%). The causes of contralateral deaf ears were chronic otitis media (81%) and sensorineural hearing loss (19%). Although there was hearing deterioration in some patients with severe hearing loss (PTA> or =70), all patients achieved dry ears after surgery and functional hearing using auditory rehabilitation. Hearing aids were used in most patients with moderate to moderately severe hearing loss and cochlear implants were used for auditory rehabilitation in patients with severe to profound hearing loss. CONCLUSIONS: Proper evaluation and indications for surgery in only hearing ears are important for successful eradication of inflammation and hearing preservation. Surgical interventions can achieve dry ear and enable further auditory rehabilitations using hearing aids and cochlear implantation.
Audiometry ; Cholesteatoma ; Cholesterol ; Cochlear Implantation ; Cochlear Implants ; Correction of Hearing Impairment ; Deafness ; Ear* ; Ear, Middle* ; Granuloma ; Hearing Aids ; Hearing Loss ; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural ; Hearing* ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Otitis Media ; Rehabilitation* ; Retrospective Studies