Adults with unilateral congenital ear canal atresia – sound localization ability and recognition of speech in competing speech in unaided condition

Siegbahn, Malin; Berglin, Cecilia Engmér; Hultcrantz, Malou; Asp, Filip

doi:10.1080/00016489.2021.1921843

Cited by 6 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Although a thinner cortex of the left than the right HG in UCA was observed, the thickness of the left HG was not associated with PTA. The present study did not present speech perception data, although speech discrimination in noise is worse in unilateral atresia than in NH (5,38). Together, this may indicate that the level of hearing loss is not the primary problem, but rather the central processing of more complex sounds.…”

Section: E346contrasting

confidence: 71%

Asymmetry in Cortical Thickness of the Heschl’s Gyrus in Unilateral Ear Canal Atresia

Siegbahn,

Jörgens,

Asp

et al. 2024

Otol Neurotol

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Hypothesis Unilateral congenital conductive hearing impairment in ear canal atresia leads to atrophy of the gray matter of the contralateral primary auditory cortex or changes in asymmetry pattern if left untreated in childhood. Background Unilateral ear canal atresia with associated severe conductive hearing loss results in deteriorated sound localization and difficulties in understanding of speech in a noisy environment. Cortical atrophy in the Heschl’s gyrus has been reported in acquired sensorineural hearing loss but has not been studied in unilateral conductive hearing loss. Methods We obtained T1w and T2w FLAIR MRI data from 17 subjects with unilateral congenital ear canal atresia and 17 matched controls. Gray matter volume and thickness were measured in the Heschl's gyrus using Freesurfer. Results In unilateral congenital ear canal atresia, Heschl's gyrus exhibited cortical thickness asymmetry (right thicker than left, corrected p = 0.0012, mean difference 0.25 mm), while controls had symmetric findings. Gray matter volume and total thickness did not differ from controls with normal hearing. Conclusion We observed cortical thickness asymmetry in congenital unilateral ear canal atresia but no evidence of contralateral cortex atrophy. Further research is needed to understand the implications of this asymmetry on central auditory processing deficits.

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Section: E346contrasting

confidence: 71%

Asymmetry in Cortical Thickness of the Heschl’s Gyrus in Unilateral Ear Canal Atresia

Siegbahn,

Jörgens,

Asp

et al. 2024

Otol Neurotol

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“…For cochlear implant subjects, a bilateral advantage was demonstrated in speech recognition in a complex noisy environment ( Mosnier et al, 2009 ). Moreover, individuals with congenital unilateral ear canal atresia show impaired speech recognition in the presence of competing speech ( Siegbahn et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The speech discrimination is better binaurally than monaurally under reverberation for both normally hearing and hearing-impaired subjects ( Gelfand and Hochberg, 1976 ). Besides, unilateral hearing loss impairs the recognition of speech in competing speech ( Siegbahn et al, 2021 ), and the adult patients with bilateral cochlear implants demonstrated a bilateral advantage for speech perception in bilateral listening mode compared to unilateral listening mode in both quiet and noisy environments ( Litovsky et al, 2006 ; Mosnier et al, 2009 ). Speech perception in noise is shown to be improved after corrected congenital unilateral conductive hearing loss ( Wilmington et al, 1994 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Binaural advantages in sound temporal information processing by neurons in the rat inferior colliculus

Li,

Zhang

2023

Front. Neurosci.

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Previous studies on the advantages of binaural hearing have long been focused on sound localization and spatial stream segregation. The binaural advantages have also been observed in speech perception in reverberation. Both human speech and animal vocalizations contain temporal features that are critical for speech perception and animal communication. However, whether there are binaural advantages for sound temporal information processing in the central auditory system has not been elucidated. Gap detection threshold (GDT), the ability to detect the shortest silent interval in a sound, has been widely used to measure the auditory temporal resolution. In the present study, we determined GDTs of rat inferior collicular neurons under both monaural and binaural hearing conditions. We found that the majority of the inferior collicular neurons in adult rats exhibited binaural advantages in gap detection, i.e., better neural gap detection ability in binaural hearing conditions compared to monaural hearing condition. However, this binaural advantage in sound temporal information processing was not significant in the inferior collicular neurons of P14-21 and P22-30 rats. Additionally, we also observed age-related changes in neural temporal acuity in the rat inferior colliculus. These results demonstrate a new advantage of binaural hearing (i.e., binaural advantage in temporal processing) in the central auditory system in addition to sound localization and spatial stream segregation.

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“…In unilateral atresia, significant benefits of hearing rehabilitation include the ability to localize sound and understand speech in the presence of background noise. [8][9][10][11] Rehabilitation of hearing loss due to congenital aural atresia or a closed ear canal is challenging due to the unique anatomic constraints that preclude use of a traditional air conduction hearing aid. Trends over time have shown a shift away from atresiaplasty surgery and toward BCD implants, which typically provide more reliable hearing results with lower surgical risks.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In bilateral atresia, hearing rehabilitation is necessary to enable auditory‐verbal communication. In unilateral atresia, significant benefits of hearing rehabilitation include the ability to localize sound and understand speech in the presence of background noise 8–11 . Rehabilitation of hearing loss due to congenital aural atresia or a closed ear canal is challenging due to the unique anatomic constraints that preclude use of a traditional air conduction hearing aid.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hearing Outcomes of a New Cartilage Conduction Device vs Bone Conduction Devices

Nairn

Chen

Nishimura

et al. 2022

Otolaryngol.--head neck surg.

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Objective To compare audiometric outcomes of a new cartilage conduction hearing device (CCD) with traditional bone conduction hearing devices (BCDs). Study Design Clinical trial and crossover study design. Setting Tertiary academic center. Methods Sixteen adults (19 ears) with congenital aural atresia or overclosed ear canals who previously underwent BCD implantation were fitted with a CCD. Audiometric data were collected with use of the BCD and the CCD. Results The mean pretreatment 4-frequency pure tone average was 81 dB. The mean aided pure tone averages with the BCD and CCD were 27 and 32 dB ( P = .002), and the mean functional gains were 54 and 49 dB ( P = .002), respectively. The mean consonant-nucleus-consonant scores with the BCD were 90% (best aided) and 80% (aided ear isolated), and those with the CCD were 86% and 76%. Mean AzBio scores were 90% (quiet), 77% (+10 dB SNR [signal to noise ratio]), and 52% (+5 dB SNR) when isolating the BCD ear and 90%, 73%, and 41% when isolating the CCD ear. No difference in speech scores achieved statistical significance except the AzBio isolated to the aided ear in the +5–dB SNR condition, which favored the BCD ( P = .01). Conclusion Pure tone audiometric outcomes with the BCD show a small advantage over the CCD, with the difference driven mainly by high-frequency responses. Speech outcomes were equivalent apart from the +5–db SNR condition, which favored the BCD.

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Adults with unilateral congenital ear canal atresia – sound localization ability and recognition of speech in competing speech in unaided condition

Cited by 6 publications

References 20 publications

Asymmetry in Cortical Thickness of the Heschl’s Gyrus in Unilateral Ear Canal Atresia

Asymmetry in Cortical Thickness of the Heschl’s Gyrus in Unilateral Ear Canal Atresia

Binaural advantages in sound temporal information processing by neurons in the rat inferior colliculus

Hearing Outcomes of a New Cartilage Conduction Device vs Bone Conduction Devices

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