Amanda Dal Piva Gresele’s research while affiliated with Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina and other places

O envelhecimento é capaz de alterar várias funções, dentre elasa auditiva e a cognitiva que somados podem comprometer acompreensão de fala e prejudicar a comunicação. Com isso, opresente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar os efeitos da perda auditivae da cognição no reconhecimento de fala em escuta dicótica emindivíduos idosos. Foram avaliados 30 idosos, 19 do sexo femininoe 11 do sexo masculino, com idade entre 60 e 88 anos e médiade escolaridade de 10,4 anos, que foram divididos em dois grupos,sendo o GI composto por 17 idosos com limiares auditivos normais na média das frequências de 500 a 4000 Hz e o GII composto por 13 idosos com perda auditiva neurossensorial de até 70 dB. Todos os sujeitos realizaram anamnese, avaliação audiológica básica, escala de Depressão Geriátrica (EDG), Mini Exame do Estado Mental (MEEM) para avaliar a cognição e o Teste Dicótico de Dígitos (TDD) para avaliar o reconhecimento de fala em escuta dicótica. Os resultados revelaram que não houve diferença significante no desempenho do MEEM entre os grupos. No TDD houve diferença estatisticamente significante entre os grupos apenas na orelha esquerda. Pode-se concluir que o reconhecimento de fala em escuta dicótica sofreu influências da perda auditiva, em especial na orelha esquerda. Em relação aos aspectos cognitivos, estes não influenciaram no reconhecimento de fala em escuta dicótica.

Objetivo: avaliar a função cognitiva de idosos com perda auditiva através do Mini-Exame do Estado Mental (MEEM) e analisar os resultados encontrados de acordo com o grau da perda auditiva, idade, gênero e escolaridade. Método: foram avaliados 70 idosos com perda auditiva neurossensorial ou mista bilateral, de ambos os gêneros, sem experiência com o uso de próteses auditivas. Realizaram-se os seguintes procedimentos: audiometria tonal liminar, limiar de reconhecimento de fala, índice percentual de reconhecimento de fala, imitanciometria e aplicação do MEEM. Resultados: 38 (54%) idosos atingiram o ponto de corte – grupo passa - e 32 (46%) – grupo falha, não alcançaram a pontuação mínima no MEEM. Não ocorreu correlação significante entre o grau da perda auditiva e os grupos passa e falha. O grau da perda auditiva apresentou correlação significante com os resultados obtidos na categoria de linguagem. Entre os grupos, houve diferença estatisticamente significante nas categorias de orientação temporal, espacial, cálculo e linguagem, mas não nas de registro e memória. Ainda observou-se diferença significante entre a pontuação total no MEEM e a idade, mas o gênero não influenciou nos resultados do MEEM. Houve diferença significante entre o grau de escolaridade dos grupos passa/falha. Conclusão: o grau de perda auditiva mostrou correlação apenas com a categoria de linguagem. As categorias de registro e memória podem não ser suficientemente sensíveis para detectar qual idoso irá passar ou falhar no MEEM. Quanto maior a idade pior o desempenho geral no MEEM. O grau de escolaridade mostrou exercer influência no desempenho do MEEM.

Introduction: Postlingual adults demonstrate impressive performance in speech recognition in silence after cochlear implant (CI) surgery. However, problems in central hearing abilities remain, which complicates understanding in certain situations, such as in competitive listening and in the perception of suprasegmental aspects of speech. Objective: To assess the temporal processing abilities in postlingual adult users of CI. Methods: Cross-sectional and descriptive study, with a non-probabilistic sample for convenience. The population was divided into two groups. The study group consisted of 12 postlingual adult users of cochlear implants and the control group consisted of 12 adults with normal hearing, matched for age and gender with the control group. The Frequency Pattern Test and the Gaps in Noise test were selected to assess temporal processing. Free-field testing was applied at 50dB SL. Results: Adult users of cochlear implant attained a mean temporal threshold of 16.33ms and scored 47.7% in the pattern frequency test; the difference was statistically significant in comparison with the control group. Conclusion: It was verified that postlingual adult users of cochlear implants have significant alterations in temporal processing abilities in comparison to adults with normal hearing.

PURPOSE: to evaluate and compare the performance of elderly people with and without cochlear dead regions in speech recognition tests, in silence and in noise, using hearing aids with and without the activation of the nonlinear frequency compression algorithm. METHODS: 38 elderly people with mild to moderate hearing loss and descending configuration, distributed based on the results of the white noise masking technique, in: Group A - 24 elderly people without evidence of cochlear dead regions; Group B - 14 elderly people with evidence of cochlear dead regions. The Lists of Sentences in Portuguese test was applied, seeking the Percentage Index of Sentence Recognition in silence and in noise. The measurements were obtained using the hearing aids without and with nonlinear frequency compression. RESULTS: both Group A and Group B showed statistically significant improvement in silence with the hearing aids with the algorithm; in noise no group presented significant difference without and with frequency compression. Comparing the groups, there was no significant difference in silence without and with frequency compression. In noise without the algorithm there was significant difference, Group B being the better of the two. In noise without frequency compression there was no significant difference. CONCLUSION: in silence, both groups presented significant improvement in performance using hearing aids with frequency compression. In noise, there was no difference between the results without or with frequency compression. Comparing the groups, the measurement obtained in noise with hearing aids without the algorithm was the only one that presented a significant difference, in which the group with cochlear dead regions presented a better performance.

Introduction: The main complaint of the elderly population with high-frequency sensorineural hearing loss is related to the difficulty in understanding speech both in quiet and noise environment. The nonlinear compression frequency algorithm came to solve this problem. Objective: This study aims to compare the perception and performance of elderly in relation to the activation of nonlinear compression frequency during the process of selection of hearing aids, in a quiet environment. Patients and Method: The study included 46 elderly patients with sensorineural hearing loss from mild-to-moderate degrees with descendant configuration. The test lists of sentences in Portuguese were applied aiming to get the threshold sentence recognition in quiet. Also, the questionnaire was developed for this purpose. The speech test was applied twice: using hearing aids with and without nonlinear compression frequency. After each review, the questionnaire was applied. Results: Although there was no statistical significance, most subjects (26) did not detect differences in speech understanding in quiet after the activation of nonlinear compression frequency. However, the results obtained during the search of threshold sentence recognition in quiet, revealed that the majority of subjects (24) showed a better performance in the test, after activation of the algorithm. Conclusion: The nonlinear compression frequency algorithm improved the performance of elderly in speech recognition in quiet situation, despite this advantage it was not immediately perceived by these subjects.

Purpose To evaluate and compare the performance of elderly people in speech recognition tests, in silence and in noise, using hearing aids with and without the activation of the nonlinear compression algorithm (NLFC). Methods Forty-eight subjects were evaluated, 33 male and 15 female, ranging in age from 61 to 84 years, with mild to moderate hearing loss of descending configuration. The Lists of Sentences in Portuguese (LSP) test was applied, seeking the Sentence Recognition Threshold in Silence (SRTS), the Sentence Recognition Threshold in Noise (SRTN), expressed by the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) and the Sentence Recognition Percentage Index in Silence (SRPIS) and in noise (SRPIN). All measurements were obtained twice: with the use of hearing aids without the activation of NLFC (SC) and with the activation of the NLFC (CC). Results It was found a statistically significant difference between the SRTS and PSRS obtained using hearing aids without and with CNLF, the latter being those that provided better results. In the S/N ratio and ISRN the analysis pointed no significant difference between the use of hearing aids SC and CC. Conclusion In the measurements obtained in silence, the hearing aids with NLFC CC presented statistically better results than with NLFC SC. In the measurements with competitive noise, it was not found a statistically significant difference between the results obtained with the use of hearing aids SC and CC. This suggests that elderly people with hearing loss of descending configuration could benefit from using hearing aids with NLFC, especially in silence.

Purpose: To evaluate and compare the dichotic listening abilities in non-hearing-impaired adults monolingual speakers of the Brazilian Portuguese language (CG) and simultaneous Brazilian Portuguese-German (GG) bilingual speakers or successive Brazilian Portuguese-Italian bilingual speakers (IG). Methods: This is about an observational, descriptive, transverse and quantitative research. The sample consisted of 87 subjects aged between 18 and 55 years, divided into: Control Group (CG), of 30 monolingual speakers of Brazilian Portuguese; Study Group A (SGA), of 31 simultaneous Brazilian Portuguese-German bilingual speakers; and Study Group I (SGI), of 26 successive Brazilian Portuguese-Italian speakers. The individuals were submitted to the Dichotic digits test (DDT) and to Staggered Spondaic Words (SSW). Results: The DTT results showed difference in right ear and total scores when comparing SGA to CG. Comparing the CG and the SGI, it was observed difference in right and left ears and total scores. Comparing the SGA and the SGI, no difference was observed between the groups. Results of SSW showed that both bilingual groups were significantly better in the right and left ears scores and even in total one when compared to CG. Comparing the SGA and the SGI, the SGI showed better significant scores in the right ear and total. Conclusion: Bilingual experiences seem to influence positively the ability of high predictability dichotic listening, evaluated by DDT, and the low predictability dichotic listening, evaluated by SSW test. The SSW results also showed statistically significantly better results for successive Brazilian Portuguese-Italian bilingual speakers when compared to simultaneous Brazilian Portuguese-German speakers.

To establish a profile of the patients treated in a Hearing Aids Grant Program of the Brazilian Ministry of Health, by analyzing the variables: age, sex, type and degree of hearing loss, number of aided patients, adaptation type (unilateral or bilateral), and adapted ear. This is a descriptive observational study, retrospective in a cross-sectional perspective, which included patients treated between February 2006 and July 2010, totaling 1,572 individuals; RESULTS: Their ages ranged from 3 to 100 years, mostly elderly (52.8%), with no frequency difference between the sexes. The sensorineural (73.12%) and moderate (54.7%) hearing losses were the most frequent ones, except in children, in whom the degree found was more profound (45.3%). More than 99% of the patients were aided, 258 unilaterally and 1,302 bilaterally. Mostly patients presents 60 years old or more, with no frequency difference between the sexes. The sensorioneural and moderate hearing losses were the most frequent ones, except in children. More than 99% of the patients were aided and the conducts were defined based in the audiological diagnosis and patient's needs.