by Cochlear Guest Author

3 practical Science Spotlights for optimal care

June 18, 2021

1. New Active Osseointegrated Steady-State Implant System

The aim of this international, multicenter study was to demonstrate clinical performance, safety and benefit of the Cochlear™ Osia® System, an active osseointegrated steady-state transcutaneous bone conduction hearing implant system that uses piezoelectric technology.

2. Speech Understanding and Quality-of-Life Outcomes After Cochlear Implantation

The purpose of this study was to measure speech understanding in quiet, speech understanding in noise, and health utility using a cochlear implant and hearing aid (bimodal hearing) in 96 subjects versus their pre-operative condition of two hearing aids (HAs).

3. Speech perception and QoL effectiveness CI in a group of adults 65 years or older

The purpose of this study was to to explore speech perception and quality-of-life (QoL) effectiveness of cochlear implants (CI) in a group of adults 65 years or older compared with an optimized bilateral hearing aid (HA) condition, and to examine the improvement on the AzBio Sentence Test for Medicare beneficiaries who meet the expanded criteria of a score of 41% – 60% in the best-aided condition.

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Author

Cochlear Guest Author

In an effort to keep our content fresh and reflective of a diverse industry, Cochlear Americas features a mix of employees and professional partners to contribute to Cochlear ProNews as Guest Authors.

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Journal Club: Musical training improves the ability to understand speech-in-noise in older adults

October 30, 2019

By Justin Piraino, Au.D, Sr. Manager Data Strategy and Analytics, Cochlear Americas

In today’s busy clinical environment, clinicians who value research-based practice often struggle to keep up with current literature. To help, we’re excited to offer a new ProNews Blog monthly feature – Journal Club! Each month, rotating guest authors will present a current journal article summary.

This month’s Journal Club explores a recent Canadian study published in the Neurobiology of Aging, Musical training improves the ability to understand speech-in-noise in older adults.As an audiologist and individual with hearing loss (hearing aid and cochlear implant user), any way to improve the ability to hear in noise for patients or myself is certainly worth my attention. This research can encourage patients who aren’t feeling successful with their hearing loss treatment to engage in rehabilitation exercises.

What did the study investigate?

This study looked at the causal impact of music lessons on older adults. The researchers were interested to determine whether the causal relationship between short-term musical training and performance on auditory test improved hearing and therefore could be suggested to improve hearing in non-musicians.

Why is this important?

These findings support the idea that musical training provides a causal benefit to hearing abilities. Importantly, these findings suggest that musical training could be used as a foundation to develop auditory rehabilitation programs for older adults.

How did they do it?

Below summarizes the key elements of study design and demographics:

A three-arm, single-blind longitudinal training study with random assignment
34 individuals aged between 55 and 75
Participants were randomized into three groups using a stratified covariate-adaptive procedure. The groups include:
- Piano training group (Music)
- Video game training group (Video)
- No-contact control group (No-contact)

Participants took part in three testing sessions:
- The pre-training session (Pre) took place before the intervention, the mid-training session (Mid) took place three months after the start of the intervention and the post-training session (Post) took place six months after the onset of the intervention. During the Pre, Mid and Post sessions, participants completed a series of auditory and cognitive assessments.

Results

Based on the study, six months of self-directed music lessons improved the ability to understand speech in background noise in older adults.

This improvement was related to an increased positivity over frontal-left electrodes from 200 to 1000 ms after the onset of a word. These results suggest that musical training can be used to improve the ability to understand speech-in-noise in older adults by improving how older adults process speech and deploy their attentional resources to speech stimuli.

Discussion

The most critical finding from this study is that music lessons improved the ability to understand speech in noise for older adults.

First, it demonstrates that musical training may have a causal role in improving hearing abilities in older adults. This provides support for previous cross-sectional work demonstrating that older musicians have an advantage in understanding speech in noise compared with older non-musicians¹.

Second, it highlights that the brain remains plastic in older adults and is susceptible to modification based on one’s life experiences. In the current context, this is critical as hearing difficulties in older adults are nearly universal², and one of the most commonly reported hearing difficulties is understanding speech in noisy environments.

Accordingly, the results of this study demonstrate that music-based auditory rehabilitation is likely to be successful in older adults in improving their hearing abilities.

Learn more about musical rehabilitation implications by accessing the publication here and stay tuned for next month’s edition of Journal Club!

References

Parbery-Clark, A., Anderson, S., Hittner, E., Kraus, N., 2012. Musical experience offsets age-related delays in neural timing. Neurobiol. Aging 33, 1483.e1-4.
Gates, G.A., Mills, J.H., 2005. Presbycusis. Lancet 366, 1111e1120.

*All figures and tables are from the reviewed article.

5 resources on CI standard of care to help you join the industry conversation

June 4, 2021

International Consensus Paper

The world’s first international consensus on cochlear implant treatment for adults was published in JAMA Otolaryngology.¹ The paper was authored by 31 hearing experts assisted by cochlear implant user and professional advocacy organizations. The publication is a major step forward in clarifying when cochlear implants (CI’s) are a treatment option for adults and a timely call to policymakers, insurance funding bodies as well as health professionals to better understand the importance of providing access to CI treatment for those who could benefit.

Newly published: First-ever global consensus on use of cochlear implants in adults

Read about the first global consensus on the use of cochlear implants for the management of bilateral moderate to profound or moderate sloping to profound hearing loss in adults was published online on August 27, 2020 in JAMA Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery.

2. Journal Club – Standard of Care: International Consensus Paper

Check out this International Consensus Paper article review written by Dr. Brian Kaplan, Senior Vice President of Clinical Strategy & Innovation at Cochlear.

60/60 Guideline

Zwolan et al recommends that patients be considered for a cochlear implant candidacy evaluation (CICE) if they obtain a score less than or equal to 60% correct on an unaided monosyllabic word test in the better ear and if they demonstrate a PTA greater than or equal to 60 dB HL.² The group is hopeful that this simple guideline will result in an increase in the number of patients who are referred for a traditional cochlear implant candidacy evaluation.

3. AudiologyOnline course: Standard of Care: International Consensus and Candidacy Evaluation for Cochlear Implant Use in Adults: An Audiological Perspective

This course focuses on the methodology and findings from a recent international systematic review and consensus process, establishing a standard of care for the treatment of adult patients with unilateral cochlear implant for bilateral severe, profound, or moderate sloping to profound sensorineural hearing loss. It also includes a review of “Terry Zwolan et al Development of a 60/60 Guideline for Referring Adults for a Traditional Cochlear Implant Candidacy Evaluation. Otology & Neurotology: April 20, 2020.”

4. Journal Club: Development of a 60/60 Guideline for Referring Adults for a Traditional Cochlear Implant Candidacy Evaluation

Read this journal club article discussing the new 60/60 Guideline and its importance.

5. New considerations for recommending a cochlear implant evaluation

Traditionally, cochlear implants have been considered a treatment option only for those who have lost all of their hearing. Read how the new 60/60 Guideline may change that.

Join this webinar series to learn more!

Craig A. Buchman, et al., Unilateral Cochlear Implants for Severe, Profound, or Moderate Sloping to Profound Bilateral Sensorineural Hearing Loss. A Systematic Review and Consensus Statements. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. doi:10.1001/ jamaoto.2020.0998 Published online August 27, 2020 ** Commentary and suggested implications is the work of the authors of the summary. EURO-CIU GLOBAL GUIDELINES ON STANDARDS OF CARE FOR ADULT COCHLEAR IMPLANTATION, Sue Archbold, Brian Lamb and Leo De Raeve.
Zwolan, Teresa A.; Schvartz-Leyzac, Kara C.; Pleasant, Terrence Development of a 60/60 Guideline for Referring Adults for a Traditional Cochlear Implant Candidacy Evaluation, Otology & Neurotology: April 20, 2020 – Volume Publish Ahead of Print – Issue – doi: 10.1097/MAO.0000000000002664