• Korean Journal of Audiology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.10-16
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• 2020

Background and Objectives:The blockage of adenosine receptors by caffeine changes the levels of neurotransmitters. These receptors are present in all parts of the body, including the auditory and vestibular systems. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of caffeine on evoked potentials using auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) and cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (cVEMPs) in a double-blind placebo-controlled study. Subjects and Methods: Forty individuals (20 females and 20 males; aged 18-25 years) were randomly assigned to two groups: the test group (consuming 3 mg/kg pure caffeine powder with little sugar and dry milk in 100 mL of water), and the placebo group (consuming only sugar and dry milk in 100 mL water as placebo). The cVEMPs and ABRs were recorded before and after caffeine or placebo intake. Results: A significant difference was observed in the absolute latencies of I and III (p<0.010), and V (p<0.001) and in the inter-peak latencies of III-V and I-V (p<0.001) of ABRs wave. In contrast, no significant difference was found in cVEMP parameters (P13 and N23 latency, threshold, P13-N23 amplitude, and amplitude ratio). The mean amplitudes of P13-N23 showed an increase after caffeine ingestion. However, this was not significant compared with the placebo group (p>0.050). Conclusions: It seems that the extent of caffeine's effects varies for differently evoked potentials. Latency reduction in ABRs indicates that caffeine improves transmission in the central brain auditory pathways. However, different effects of caffeine on auditory- and vestibular-evoked potentials could be attributed to the differences in sensitivities of the ABR and cVEMP tests.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.58-63
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• 2022

This study was conducted to examine the characteristics of pitch perception and temporal resolution through Within-/Cross-Channel Gap Detection Thresholds (WC/CC GDTs) using low-frequency pure tones (such as 264 Hz, 373 Hz and 528 Hz related to C4, C4#, and C5 musical tones. 40 young people and 20 elderly people with normal hearing participated in this study. The results of WC GDTs were approximately 2 ms ~ 4 ms threshold values regardless of frequencies in two groups. There was no statistically significant difference in WC GDTs between groups. In both groups, CC GDTs were larger than WC GDTs, and as the frequency difference increased, the CC GDTs also increased. In particular, in the comparison between groups of CC GDTs, the results of the elderly group were 8 times ~ 10 times larger than that of the young group, and there was a statistically significant difference between the groups. These data also showed a different trend of GDTs in comparison with the previous data obtained from musical stimuli.This study suggests that GDTs may influence pitch perception mechanisms and can be used as psychoacoustic evidence for nonlinear responses of auditory nervous system.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.80-91
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• 2021

Objective : The purpose of this study is to discriminate the vestibular schwannoma misdiagnosed as Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss. Methods : A 46-year-old female patient who was suffering left sudden sensorineural hearing loss(SSNHL), visited after diagnosed as Idiopathic SSNHL by previous hospital. For diagnosing the vestibular schwannoma, we conducted the Puretone audiometry, auditory brainstem response threshold test and magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) for temporal bone with enhancement. Result : Auditory Brainstem Response threshold test was abnormal and in enhanced MRI, the vestibular schwannoma in left side was detected. The patient was discharged from the hospital for tertiary hospital care. Conclusions : When the patient with SSNHL visits a hospital even if after diagnosed as Idiopathic SSNHL by previous hospital, a doctor should keep in mind the possibility of vestibular schwannoma.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.123-129
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• 2020

We aimed to investigate the differences in the efficacy of insert and circumaural earphones when performing the brainstem auditory evoked response (BAER) test with dogs. Hearing loss may occur congenitally or secondarily in dogs. The BAER test, unlike the classical ethological method, is the most reliable diagnostic tool to assess canine auditory function. Furthermore, there are certain advantages of using insert earphones rather than the standard, circumaural earphones. We subjected eight dogs to the BAER test with insert earphones and circumaural earphones. The result revealed that the latency of waves was delayed with an insert earphone. The inter-peak latency did not show any significant differences between the two transducers, and the threshold was higher when using an insert earphone. Moreover, the circumaural headphones produced a greater degree of crossover effect than the insert earphones, and this cross-over effect could affect the outcomes of the BAER test. Considering these results, we concluded that insert earphones may be more appropriate when performing the canine BAER test.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.234-240
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• 2011

In order to obtain the fundamental data about the behavior of sharks by underwater audible sound, this experiment was carried out to investigate the auditory characteristics of tiger shark Scyliorhinus torazame which was caught in the coast of Jeju Island by heart rate conditioning method using pure tones coupled with a delayed electric shock. The audible range of tiger shark extended from 80Hz to 300Hz with a peak sensitivity at 80Hz including less sensitivity at 300Hz. The mean auditory thresholds of tiger shark at the frequencies of 80Hz, 100Hz, 200Hz and 300Hz were 90dB, 103dB, 94dB and 115dB, respectively. The positive response of tiger shark was not evident after the sound projection of over 300Hz. At the results, the sensitive frequency range of tiger shark is narrower than that of fish that has swim bladder. In addition, it is assumed that the most sensitive frequency in auditory thresholds of Chondrichthyes is lower than that of Osteichthyes. Critical ratios of tiger shark measured in the presence of masking noise in the spectrum level range of about 60-70dB (0dB re $1{\mu}Pa/\sqrt{Hz}$) increased from minimum 27dB to maximum 39dB at test frequencies of 80-200Hz. The noise spectrum level at the start of masking was distributed at the range of about 65dB within 80-200Hz.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.131-140
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• 2019

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to investigate the interrelationship between eye movement and auditory function through the effects of eye lateralization on transient evoked otoacoustic emissions of auditory function. Methods : 25 subjects with complete set of ears were used in this study, which composed of 12 males and 13 females with pure tone threshold of below 25 dB without otolaryngology were evaluated. Each of the patient has a visual acuity of greater than 1.0 after correction, and has no problems with eye disease, eye movement, and human parallel system. In a dark silent room, the subjects sat on a chair with their heads fixed on a headrest. The tests were performed by asking the patients to look at a fixed red light dot on a light bar in front of them. This light was directed to the front, right and left sides of the subject at an angle of 40 ° In the presence of the stimulus sound in the ipsilateral ear, the transient evoked otoacoustic emissions of the ipsilateral ear was measured at the straight, right and left fixation. In order to evaluate the transient evoked otoacoustic emissions through the efferent auditory pathway, the transient evoked otoacoustic emission values of the contralateral ear were measured at the straight, right and left fixation. These measurements were taken at frequencies of 1 kHz, 1.4 kHz, 2.0 kHz, 2.8 kHz and 4 kHz, respectively. Results : Transient evoked otoacoustic emissions caused by lateral movement of the eye showed significant changes at 1.4 KHz and 2 KHz of the afferent pathway of the ipsilateral ear. Also, significant changes were observed at 1.4 KHz and 4 KHz of the efferent pathway of the contralateral ear. Conclusion : These results indicated that there is a close relationship between eye movement and auditory cochlea. In the future, further studies considering more diverse subjects and age groups will be needed.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.108-116
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the differences in the acoustic measurements (AVQI) and the auditory-perceptual assessments (GRBAS, CAPE-V) of the normal and vocal fold nodules. For this purpose, Total 335 voice samples were analyzed acoustically and three raters performed auditory-perceptual assessments. in the results, AVQI, G, and OS scores of the normal group were lower than those of the vocal fold nodules group. The correlations between the G scale and the OS scale were highly correlated, and the correlation between the AVQI, and auditory-perceptual results (G and OS) was also high value. The threshold values for discriminating AVQI, G, and OS between the two groups were ${\leq}4.06$, ${\leq}1$, and ${\leq}26$, respectively, and the predictive diagnostic power was 0.840, 0.860, and 0.848. In conclusion, AVQI and auditory-perceptual evaluation can improve potentiality the screening of vocal fold nodules and help to determine the diagnosis and treatment plan of voice disorders.

• Journal of Audiology & Otology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.163-170
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• 2021

Cortical deafness is a clinical rarity whereby a patient is unresponsive to all types of sounds despite the preserved integrity of the peripheral hearing organs. In this study, we present a patient who suddenly lost his hearing following ischaemic infarcts in both temporal lobes with no other neurological deficits. The CT confirmed damage to the primary auditory cortex (Heschl's gyrus) of both hemispheres. Initially, the patient was unresponsive to all sounds, however, he regained some of the auditory abilities during 10 months follow up. Pure tone threshold improvement from complete deafness to the level of moderate hearing loss in the right ear and severe in the left was observed in pure tone audiometry. Otoacoustic emissions, auditory brainstem responses, and acoustic reflex findings showed normal results. The middle and late latency potential results confirmed objectively the improvement of the patient's hearing, however, after 10 months still, they were somewhat compromised on both sides. In speech audiometry, there was no comprehension of spoken words neither at 3 nor at 10 months. The absent mismatch negativity confirmed above mentioned comprehension deficit. The extensive auditory electrophysiological testing presented in this study contributes to the understanding of the neural and functional changes in cortical deafness. It presents the evolution of changes after ischaemic cerebrovascular event expressed as auditory evoked potentials starting from short through middle and long latency and ending with event-related potentials and supported by neuroimaging.

• Journal of Audiology & Otology
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.133-139
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• 2020

Background and Objectives: The Gaps-In-Noise (GIN) test is a clinically effective measure of the integrity of the central auditory nervous system. The GIN procedure can be applied to a pediatric population above 7 years of age. The present study conducted the GIN test to compare the abilities of auditory temporal resolution among typically developing children, children with speech sound disorder (SSD), and children with cognitive difficulty (CD). Subjects and Methods: Children aged 8 to 11 years-(total n=30) participated in this study. There were 10 children in each of the following three groups: typically developing children, children with SSD, and children with CD. The Urimal Test of Articulation and Phonology was conducted as a clinical assessment of the children's articulation and phonology. The Korean version of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III (K-WISC-III) was administered as a screening test for general cognitive function. According to the procedure of Musiek, the pre-recorded stimuli of the GIN test were presented at 50 dB SL. The results were scored by the approximated threshold and the overall percent correct score (%). Results: All the typically developing children had normal auditory temporal resolution based on the clinical cutoff criteria of the GIN test. The children with SSD or CD had significantly reduced gap detection performance compared to age-matched typically developing children. The children's intelligence score measured by the K-WISC-III test explained 37% of the variance in the percent-correct score. Conclusions: Children with SSD or CD exhibited poorer ability to resolve rapid temporal acoustic cues over time compared to the age-matched typically developing children. The ability to detect a brief temporal gap embedded in a stimulus may be related to the general cognitive ability or phonological processing.

• Korean Journal of Audiology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.163-170
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• 2021

Cortical deafness is a clinical rarity whereby a patient is unresponsive to all types of sounds despite the preserved integrity of the peripheral hearing organs. In this study, we present a patient who suddenly lost his hearing following ischaemic infarcts in both temporal lobes with no other neurological deficits. The CT confirmed damage to the primary auditory cortex (Heschl's gyrus) of both hemispheres. Initially, the patient was unresponsive to all sounds, however, he regained some of the auditory abilities during 10 months follow up. Pure tone threshold improvement from complete deafness to the level of moderate hearing loss in the right ear and severe in the left was observed in pure tone audiometry. Otoacoustic emissions, auditory brainstem responses, and acoustic reflex findings showed normal results. The middle and late latency potential results confirmed objectively the improvement of the patient's hearing, however, after 10 months still, they were somewhat compromised on both sides. In speech audiometry, there was no comprehension of spoken words neither at 3 nor at 10 months. The absent mismatch negativity confirmed above mentioned comprehension deficit. The extensive auditory electrophysiological testing presented in this study contributes to the understanding of the neural and functional changes in cortical deafness. It presents the evolution of changes after ischaemic cerebrovascular event expressed as auditory evoked potentials starting from short through middle and long latency and ending with event-related potentials and supported by neuroimaging.