Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its effects on hearing performance have been an interesting topic for researchers recently.

 Hidden hearing loss (HHL) is a newly described condition that has been associated with hearing thresholds within normal limits and poorer speech-in-noise (SIN) performance. Furthermore, HHL has been associated with an elevated or absent middle ear muscle reflex (MEMR). One of the leading factors causing HHL is exposure to noise, specifically in patients who experience temporary threshold shift. This study investigated the SIN performance and MEMR in individuals at risk for noise exposure. Additionally, this study investigated the auditory nerve response measured to different stimulation rates in order to evaluate the auditory nerve adaptation and potentially identify neural loss in individuals at risk for noise exposure.

 Williams syndrome (WS) is a genetic, multisystemic, neurodevelopmental disorder, in which studies have demonstrated the presence of auditory deficits such as conductive and sensorineural hearing loss, cochlear weakness, and subclinical signs of hearing impairment. However, few studies have assessed this population's central auditory system.

 Falls are a significant health care concern for older adults in the United States. Audiologists are health care providers who are experts in hearing and vestibular dysfunctions, two areas known to be risk factors for falls. It is not known whether audiology patients consider audiology services to be related to falls or whether they consider audiologists to be a viable resource related to fall-related health care.

This study investigates the potential correlation between in vitro fertilization (IVF) and hearing impairment in twins compared to naturally conceived twins.

Hearing loss significantly affects an individual's well-being, communication, social interaction, and quality of life. Cochlear implants serve as a viable management option. Given the variability in the impact of impairment, self-report measures are crucial for evaluating the perceived benefits of management options.

Simultaneous Multifrequency (SiMFy) is a time-saving and reliable stimulus to determine the frequency tuning of ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (oVEMP); however, the absence of 4000 Hz in SiMFy potentially makes it a less potent tool for the diagnosis of Superior semicircular canal dehiscence, a pathology with an ever-increasing prevalence. Further, SiMFy was validated using only the infra-orbital (IO) electrode montage. However, the recordings obtained using the IO montage might be susceptible to reference contamination introduced by a small separation between the recording electrodes, and also susceptible to reflex impurity due to the spatially displaced reference electrode from the inferior oblique muscle (IOM), rendering it vulnerable to picking up responses from other muscles. Nonetheless, little is known about the similarities/differences between the SiMFy-induced oVEMPs using alternate montages [belly-tendon (BT), chin-reference (CR), and sternum-reference (SR)] and the non-simultaneous multifrequency oVEMPs (NSM-oVEMPs) using the IO montage.

Background Hypertrophic olivary degeneration (HOD) is a rare disorder that typically develops in the weeks to months following a structural brainstem or cerebellar lesion in the Guillain-Mollaret triangle (GMT). Clinically, patients with HOD present with palatal myoclonus and nystagmus, which are difficult to treat and rarely resolve. Purpose The purpose of this case is to present the results of vestibular and balance assessments of a patient with bilateral HOD before and after vestibular rehabilitation. Methods This case report describes a 43-year-old trucker who presented with dizziness, blurred vision, and balance problems for more than 10 months, accompanied by new-onset tremors and ataxia for more than 6 months. The patient's characteristic clinical manifestations were palatal myoclonus and nystagmus. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed bilateral HOD after an acute pontine hemorrhage. Comprehensive vestibular and balance assessments were performed. Results Vestibular and balance assessments demonstrated nystagmus, impaired vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR), optokinetic reflex (OKR), and balance function. Following 4 months of vestibular rehabilitation, the patient's eye symptoms and balance function were improved. Conclusions The case presented here highlights the rare clinical manifestations of HOD after pontine hemorrhage. Vestibular rehabilitation training may be beneficial for the recovery of patients with HOD.

We describe a 42-year-old patient with reported "shaking" vision referred due to concerns of possible vestibular system dysfunction. The patient has known history of Usher syndrome type I, bilateral cochlear implants, and severe vision impairment.

Mismatch negativity (MMN) reflects a pre-perceptual neurophysiological response that is generated subconsciously due to the interruption of a memory trace of ongoing sensory events in the environment. It has been widely used by researchers to understand complex perceptual mechanisms. Furthermore, it has been recommended as an objective tool to investigate disorders related to auditory cognition in hearing aid and cochlear implant users. Many researchers suggest that utilizing a larger acoustic difference between standard and deviant stimuli within the oddball paradigm will lead to a more robust MMN response. The purpose of the present study is to examine if increasing the abstract phonemic contrast between standard and deviant stimuli in the oddball paradigm leads to a more robust MMN response.

 Spatial orientation is an executive function which includes vital activities and auditory organization according to daily bodily movements, directionality, and environmental information. It is directly linked to the vision and hearing and used throughout life, building complex relationships with these systems, based on learning.

 The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic introduced a unique situation by consigning people to their homes, with free time for music listening, joined with increased anxiety and stress levels. The question arises whether listening habits to music have changed during the pandemic. Such a change in listening habits might pose a greater potential risk to hearing than in routine days.

 Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) has a prevalence of 58% in a traumatic brain injury (TBI) population. Research on idiopathic BPPV has demonstrated a higher prevalence of right-sided canal involvement. While many studies have investigated the epidemiology of canal involvement in BPPV in both idiopathic and traumatic BPPV (BPPV associated with a fall), there has been no assessment of trauma location as a predictor of the location of BPPV.

 Vestibular migraine is associated with vertigo, persistent swaying, tilting, and disorientation, which suggests a heightened sensitivity of the neural mechanisms subserving spatial orientation. Whether a heightened sense of motion to vestibular stimulation in vestibular migraine is associated with sensitivity to visual motion (visual dependency) or physical motion (motion sickness susceptibility) is unclear.

 There is limited evidence demonstrating the ability of audiometric bone vibrators to elicit ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (oVEMPs). The RadioEar B71 bone vibrator has insufficient power output to reliably evoke oVEMPs, which has previously left nonaudiometric and nonmedically approved devices such as the Brüel & Kjær Mini-shaker 4810 as the only feasible alternative. The newer RadioEar B81 model has a higher power output than its predecessor, but evidence for its suitability for eliciting oVEMPs has so far been mixed. This variability may be due to factors other than simply the power output, such as whether sufficient static force is applied to hold the transducer in place and transfer vibratory energy into the bone.

 The Hispanic population is growing, and Spanish is the second most spoken language in the United States. When individuals experience a hearing problem, culturally and linguistically responsive services represent an important part of person-centered care, contributing to wellbeing and intervention outcomes.

 When performing oculomotor testing during standard videonystagmography (VNG), the vestibular system is not actively stimulated. Therefore, responses are generated from the cerebellum, brainstem, and oculomotor tract. Many patients seen for vestibular testing fall outside of the standard age norms, making it difficult to determine whether an abnormal finding is due to age or oculomotor dysfunction.

 Tinnitus, hyperacusis, and difficulties listening in background noise may be associated with the loss of auditory nerve fibers known as the condition of cochlear synaptopathy. Multiple research-based tests of auditory function have been developed to identify the potential for synaptopathy in animals and humans, including assessment of the middle-ear muscle reflex (MEMR). Despite these research-based tests, there is no verified method for measuring or identifying the potential for cochlear synaptopathy using standard audiologic equipment.

 The aim of this study was to assess whether the age of patients and severity and configuration of hearing loss would impact on the correlations between auditory brainstem response (ABR) and auditory steady-state response (ASSR) results.

 The masking-level difference (MLD) can be measured via voluntary behavioral responses (voluntary behavioral MLD [vMLD]) and/or via electrophysiological cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEPs; electrophysiological MLD [eMLD]). It may be possible to enhance the ecologic validity of the MLD by using nonsense-syllable speech stimuli.

 Individual cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors (RFs) have been associated with hearing loss (HL). The relationship to aggregate risk is poorly understood and has not been explored in the Hispanic/Latino population.