The Occupational Safety and Health Administration estimates that each year, approximately 30 million people are occupationally exposed to hazardous noise. While many are aware of the noise exposure associated with industrial occupations, there has been little research conducted on bartenders who often work in environments that have high levels of noise. The majority of current published research on occupational noise exposure of bartenders has only evaluated noise levels on one night of business. Bartenders often work multiple days per week, which vary in the amount of patrons and entertainment provided, this variation in business leads to variation in the amount of noise to which they are exposed. The purpose of this research study was to gather occupational noise exposure data for bartenders during a workweek at a Tampa Bay bar establishment that hosts live music on weekends. Personal noise dosimeters were used to collect personal noise exposure data. Area noise level data were collected using a sound level meter. While several bar establishments were approached, one bar establishment part pated as the study site and noise data were collected for seven consecutive days (Thursday-Wednesday). Personal noise exposure data were collected for an entire 8-hour work shift for the Thursday-Sunday portion of the study, and for 6 hours for the Monday-Wednesday portion of the study. Area noise data were collected for the Thursday-Saturday portion of the study. Results of this study indicate that the highest noise exposure for either bartender occurred on Saturday (Bartender 1: 93.1 dBA; Bartender 2: 83.6 dBA) when a live band was performing in the establishment. Using the OSHA Hearing Conversation and OSHA PEL measurement methods, Bartender 1 was exposed to excessive noise levels (>85 dBA) on four (4) nights of the study, while Bartender 2 had no exposures over 85 dBA. However, using the ACGIH measurement method, Bartender 1 was exposed to excessive noise levels six (6) nights of the study, while Bartender 2 was exposed to excessive noise levels two (2) nights of the study.

Effective communication is an important concern when working with individuals with hearing loss. This concern is apparent in the long-term elder care setting, where caregivers communicate with older adult patients every day, many of whom have hearing loss. However, there is limited training available to these caregivers working with residents with hearing loss. The purpose of this project is to establish the need and context for the development of an educational program for caregivers working with these residents with hearing loss. A total of 38 caregivers employed by three elder care facilities in Tucson, Arizona were surveyed. Results from this survey demonstrated that caregiver respondents felt they are knowledgeable and comfortable working with residents with hearing loss. However, there was an apparent gap as caregivers also reported that the presence of hearing loss among residents makes their jobs more difficult and stressful. Furthermore, they reported feeling that hearing loss impacts communication with residents and negatively effects the quality of care. Based on the findings of this survey, there is a need identified for educational opportunities for caregivers working with residents with hearing loss. The findings from this survey provide a foundation for the establishment of hearing health continuing education programs for caregivers working in long term elder care facilities. Specific recommendations regarding potential content of training programs are offered based on the survey findings. Implementation of caregiver trainings may ultimately lead to improved caregiver-resident communication and positively impact the quality of life for residents with hearing loss.

Previous research regarding the utility of non-linear frequency compression in hearing aids has revealed conflicting results for speech recognition, marked by high individual variability. The aims of the study were to determine the effect of non-linear frequency compression on aided speech recognition in noise and listening effort using a dual-task test paradigm and to determine if listener variables of hearing loss slope, working memory capacity, and age predicted performance with non-linear frequency compression. 17 older adults with symmetrical sensorineural hearing loss were tested in the sound field using hearing aids. Speech recognition in noise and listening effort were measured by adapting the Revised Speech in Noise Test into recognition/recall dual-task paradigm. On average, speech recognition in noise performance significantly improved with the use of non-linear frequency compression. Individuals with steeply sloping hearing loss received more recognition benefit. Recall performance also significantly improved at the group level with non-linear frequency compression revealing reduced listening effort. Older participants within the study cohort received less recall benefit than the younger participants. Evidence supports individualized selection of non-linear frequency compression, with results suggesting benefits in speech recognition for individuals with steeply sloping hearing losses and in listening effort for younger individuals.

The characteristics of Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) in gold miners of different ages and occupation types were examined and the incidence of tinnitus, vertigo/balance problems and nausea were determined. The results indicate that as a subject group these had symmetrical bilateral, mild hearing loss in the frequencies below 2000 Hz deteriorating to a moderate sloping hearing loss in the frequencies above 2000 Hz, and the loss did not demonstrate the expected “notch” at 4000 Hz that is usually found in NIHL. The average deterioration in the pure tone thresholds of gold miners was 3.5 dB at 500Hz; 2.75dB at 1000Hz, 15.37 dB at 2000Hz, 19.12 dB at 3000Hz; 20.87dB at 4000 Hz and 14.16dB at 6000 Hz for every ten years of age. The pattern of hearing loss varies for the different occupation types with machine operators being the most severely affected. The majority of tinnitus sufferers were in the age range 30-60 years and 57.8 % were in the under 60 years old category, while in the over 60 years the incidence was 4.8 %. The incidence of vertigo and nausea were found to be 27% in this population. The results of this study will equip the audiologist to better deal with diagnostic testing, successful hearing aid fitting and aural rehabilitation of this population. The study highlights the need for greater awareness and the imparting of detailed information to gold miners about the impact of noise on their hearing. / Dissertation (MCommunication Pathology)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology / unrestricted

In identifying the importance of early identification of hearing loss in children, very little attention has been given to how advanced FM technology may improve outcomes. Distance, noise and reverberation remain considerable challenges for individuals using hearing aids, more so in really young children. The aim of this present research was to evaluate and explore the benefits of advanced integrated FM amplification technology with pre-school hearing aided children. The research was of a longitudinal prospective design, including both quantitative and qualitative analysis of FM technology use in pre-school hearing aided participants. All participants were provided with the latest hearing aid and integrated FM amplification technology suited to their hearing loss. An initial study was conducted to validate the 'AutoConnect' feature on the FM technology provided to participants. The manufacturers of the 'AutoConnect' purport the feature removes the need for verifying FM technology 'transparency'. The results indicated the feature did work with the hearing aid and FM combinations used in this study. Three further studies were conducted. The first of these evaluated FM device use via daily diaries, datalogging and questionnaires. Five of the seven families were able to establish regular FM use in a range of environments and settings. The environments where the FM was used most frequently were the home, car, nursery, shopping and outdoors. Listening evaluation measures with FM technology demonstrated the greatest improvements were in noise and at distance. Parents rated the FM technology highly, with all parents reporting 5 out of 5 for 'easy to operate'. Significant improvements in language development were noticed for the three children whose language development was identified as 'at risk' at the start of the study. The second of the three studies qualitatively explored the views and experiences of parents and carers on their use of FM technology. Eight weekly diaries, seven completed by parents and one completed by pre-school nursery staff of one of the participants, were collected throughout the study period. Seven semi structured interviews were conducted with parents at the end of study participation. Altogether eight cases were included for analysis with seven including both diaries and interviews and one case including diary only. Thematic content analysis sought to acknowledge parents and carers as the experts and place them in the centre of knowledge generation. Six main themes were identified: access to speech, listening, communication, wellbeing, engagement/ownership and practicalities of FM use. More detailed sub-themes were generated under the main six headings. Overall the analysis highlighted the potential benefits, barriers and challenges to pre-school use of FM technology. The final study used the language environment analysis (LENA) system to compare differences in language environment with and without FM use. The findings indicated the language environment of the children in this study was comparable to their hearing peers. The acoustic environment results suggested the largest portion of children's day was spent in environments where speech was at a distance or in background noise. The thesis concludes by discussing the findings and implications of this study and highlighting areas for future research. The current study provides a unique contribution to the existing literature and together with future research can be integral to the provision of FM technology as standard for pre-school hearing aided children.

No description available.

This project describes the implementation of computer audiometry for subjective hearing tests. The paper describes the implementation of the audiometer in C + + Borland Builder. Designed audiometer consists of a standard PC with operating system Windows, a sound card and headphones. The work also includes analysis of the problems of hearing loss and its examinations, that were used in the implementation of audiometry.

Assessing self-efficacy in families of children with hearing concerns through an audiological early intervention training. Abigail Lesley, B.S., Karee Diem, B.S., and Marcy Hite, Au.D., Ph.D., Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology, College of Clinical and Rehabilitative Health Sciences, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN. For children with hearing loss, spoken language outcomes are best when children have optimal auditory access through the consistent use of appropriately fitted hearing devices and are exposed to a rich linguistic environment. Parents can play a large role in facilitating their children’s use of hearing devices and supporting their language development. The purpose of this study was to improve of parent self-efficacy, increase family knowledge on language outcomes, and increase consistent use of amplification by providing an educational workshop to families with children identified with hearing loss and/or hearing concerns. The hypothesis of this study was to see an enhancement of self-efficacy skills within parent participants to empower and grow confidence in their ability to optimize their child’s amplification use and linguistic exposure. Participants were educated on the impact of hearing loss and/or hearing concerns on language development, importance of language exposure, use and care of amplification for families that utilize hearing technology, and empowerment to establish consistent device use. Assessment of self-efficacy skills in parents were measured through a pre- and post-survey distributed to participants. Survey and study were modeled after Ambrose et al., 2020 using the Scale of Parent Involvement and Self-Efficacy-Revised (SPISE-R). It queries parents about their child’s hearing device use and their perceptions of their own beliefs, knowledge, confidence, and actions pertaining to supporting their child’s auditory access and spoken language development. Ambrose et al., 2020 found the SPISE-R to be a promising tool for use in early intervention to better understand parents’ strengths and needs pertaining to supporting their young child’s auditory access and spoken language development. A total of nine parents were in attendance of the educational workshop conducted with only three participants completing both the pre- and post-survey. An analysis using a paired samples t-test revealed no statistically significant difference between the pre- and post-survey across all categories assessed within the SPISE-R apart from one question within the ‘Confidence’ category. Parents were found to have a significantly worse score between pre- and post-survey responses in the ‘Confidence’ category for the following question “If applicable, Put and keep my child’s hearing device(s) on him/her”. The overall mean significantly decreased between the pre- and post-survey, indicating less confidence with this skill. It should be noted, limited parent responses impacted the statistical analysis performed. Although the overall findings were not statistically significant, moving forward, data findings will be used to appropriately adjust the audiological early intervention training to improve self-efficacy skills of parents.

Hearing loss is a one of the most common chronic conditions. Although it is most common to be diagnosed with hearing loss later in life due to aging, there are multiple causes of hearing loss across the lifespan. One of the main types of hearing loss is noise-induced hearing loss. Some individuals may complain of decreased hearing or word understanding in background noise but when tested, they appear to have normal hearing sensitivity in the standard audiometric frequencies (250 – 8000 Hz). This may be due to decreased hearing sensitivity in extended high frequencies, above 8000 Hz. There is growing evidence that decreased extended high frequency thresholds may be a precursor to noise-induced hearing loss. This study aimed to analyze how noise exposure affects young adult’s extended high frequency thresholds and word identification in noise as well as traditional audiological testing (pure tones, speech recognition, word discrimination in quiet, etc). Young adults (18-25 years old) were recruited through ETSU affiliated social media, ETSU faculty, and word of mouth. An online noise survey was conducted to calculate each participant’s noise exposure. An otoscopic examination was completed on each study participant. Tympanometry was performed to ensure normal middle ear immittance. If an individual did not have normal middle ear immittance they were dismissed from the study. A 12-frequency diagnostic Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions (DPOAEs) was performed to check integrity of the individual’s outer hair cells. Speech Recognition testing was completed to determine the lowest level the individual could repeat back 50% of the words correctly. Word Recognition testing was completed to determine the percentage of words the individual could hear and correctly identify at suprathreshold level. Words-in-Noise testing was completed to determine how an individual could hear and correctly identify speech when in the presence of noise. Puretone air conduction was completed at the standard audiometric frequencies: 250, 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, 6000, and 8000 Hz. If an individual had abnormal hearing sensitivity in these frequencies, they were dismissed from the study. Finally, extended high frequency testing was completed at 10,000, 12,500, 14,000, and 16,000 Hz. Data collection is still in progress and will close on March 7th, 2022. It is expected that noise exposure will be negatively correlated to extended high frequency thresholds and word understanding in noise (i.e., participants with more noise exposure will have poorer extended high frequency thresholds and poorer word understanding in noise).

No description available.