• The Journal of Korea Assosiation for Disability and Oral Health
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.18-24
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• 2005

The purposes of this study were 1) to investigate the oral health problem of the disabled according to the handicapped types, 2) to collect the empirical data for developing and establishing the oral health policies for the handicapped, and 3) to find out the major obstacles against the dental services and oral health promotion. The handicapped subjects were collected by designed cluster sampling and interviewed with structured questionnaire in order to measure the oral health knowledge and behaviors. The subjects were attending the special schools and private or public welfare institutions for crippled disorder, encephalopathy disorder, mental retardation, visual disturbance, hearing defect, and developmental disorder. Oral examination was conducted by 13 trained dentists. 1,476 of handicapped people were finally surveyed. The results were as follows; The experiences of visiting dental office during the last one year in 18~64 year-old disabled people were 48.86% in crippled disorder, 52.50% in mental retardation, 58.24% in visual disturbance, 39.29% in hearing defect, respectively. To improve this challenging situation, we should find out the obstacles against the dental service and oral hygiene maintenance by the types of handicap, and develop the oral health policies which could support and advocate the Korean disabled.

• Speech Sciences
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.229-247
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• 2000

The purpose of this study is to examine the improvement effect of articulation of the fricative consonant /s/(ㅅ), when applying the Articulation Modification Program (AMP) to hearing disordered students. Three hearing disordered students were selected for this study by the consonant picture and Korean Articulation Sentence tests. They have no defect in their emotion, behavior and sight. This program applied the multiple baseline design across subjects to examine the improvement effect of articulation of fricative consonant /s/(ㅅ). Also I designed th$\sim$s program with an advanced pre-test and post-test in order to research the improvement difference of articulation by articulation position and language unit. It was executed 32 sessions over three months, four sessions a week, one session taking forty minutes. The results according to the study subject are as follow; First, as result of AMP, articulation of all students was developed after applying this program. Second, as result of AMP, articulation in fore-word was one-hundred percent efficiency and articulation in middle-word was 97.7% efficiency by position. Third, as result of AMP, articulation in the word reached 98.7% efficiency, in phrase 97.7% efficiency, in the sentence 97.7% efficiency and in the story was 98.3% efficiency by language unit.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.37-45
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• 2019

Purpose : The aim of this study was to investigate the differences in sociodemographic characteristics, instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), and healthcare needs among disabled persons with and without language disorder. Methods : Using raw data from the National Survey of the Disabled Person (2017), this study compared 6,320 disabled persons without language disorder and 229 disabled person with language disorder among 6,549 persons with disabilities. The dependent variables included sociodemographic characteristics, IADL, and healthcare needs. Results : People with language disorder were younger (p<.001), illiterate (p<.001), and had higher family income (p=.003) than people without language disorder. In addition, people with language disorder had a higher disability grade than people without language disorder (p<.001), and the percentages of brain injury, hearing impairment, and intellectual disability were higher among type of disability (p<.001). People with language disorder showed significantly higher dependence on all items of IADL than people without language disorder (p<.001). As the first-ranked healthcare need, people without language disorder had the highest percentage of "chronic illness management," and people with language disorder had the highest percentage of "disability management" (p<.001). Conclusion : The findings of the current investigation suggest that health care services are needed to improve IADL in people with language disorder and that the development of a disability management program for people with language disorder is required.

• 한국노년학
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.973-992
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• 2010

The hearing impairment is the representative disorder that affects the quality of the routine life of the aged period. This study was aimed to develop the Korean evaluation scale for hearing handicap(KESHH) with which we can evaluate social and psychological effects of the hearing impairment. Applying this scale clinically, we can analyze the geriatric hearing loss specifically and improve the quality of the aural rehabilitation that can help the hardness of the hearing impairment. Data were collected from 288 participants(176 hearing aid users and 112 non-hearing aid users) and the average age of the participants was 67.4 years old ( 60.15 for the hearing aids users and 78.9 for the non hearing users). The composition ratio of the male and female participants were 58.0% and 42.0% and extrovert and introvert personality were 49.3% and 50.7% showing balanced formation. The tentative draft of KESHH measurements were produced with 30 items and following 5 subscales. Using factor analysis, 6 items were erased and 4 subscales - social effect, psycho/emotional effect, interpersonal effect, and perception of hearing aids - were identified. As each subscale consisted of 6 items, 24 items were corrected and remained totally. Conclusively, the KESHH was developed with 24 items and 4 subscales including 6 items on each subscale. In addition, the KESHH was divided into type-1 and 2 depending on hearing aid users and non hearing aid users. The results of this study can be summarized as the following 5 parts. Firstly, the reliabilities of the KESHH were proved to be high because the subscales' Cronbach alpha values were from 0.723 through 0.895. Secondly, the KESHH showed systematically increasing score as the hearing impairment increased. The lowest score was 24 and the highest score was 117 and the average scores of the hearing impaired and non-hearing impaired are 72.06(SD=15.67) and 66.98(SD=20.94) showing 5.08 increased score for the hearing impaired. Depending on the degree of the hearing loss, the scores recorded 52.63 at the below of the mild hearing loss, 67.29 for the moderate hearing loss, 71.89 for the moderately severe hearing loss, and 75.57 for the severe hearing loss The comparison of the scores by hearing levels indicated that the higher the hearing levels were, the higher the scores of the KESHH with statistical significance(p<0.001). Thirdly, the correlation among 4 subscales was 0.384~0.880(p<0.001). Also, the pure tone average, personality, and the four subscales correlations showed statistical significance with 0.148~0.880 except for the pure tone average and personality and the pure tone average and perception of hearing aids. Fourthly, the total variances explained for the independent subscles were analyzed with multiple regression. The social effect was explained 17.4% with pure tone average, personality, and the status of hearing aid use variances. The psycho/emotional effect was explained 14.4% with puretone average, personality, and age variances. The interpersonal effect was explained 11.2% with pure tone average, personality, and the status of hearing aid use variances. The perception of hearing aids effect was explained 2.2% with only personality. Finally, test-retest reliability was proved to be high with 0.791(p<0.001). Conclusively, the KESHH that was developed considering Korean culture can be a useful instrument for expressing the hearing handicaps of the Korean aged hearing impaired in scores for both hearing aid users and non-users. Also, it is thought that the KESHH is useful clinically for identifying the changes of the hearing handicap scores before and after wearing hearing aids and aural rehabilitation at diverse situations.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.311-323
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• 2021

Objective: The disabled are in a blind spot for obtaining information on drugs, and the pharmacies' counseling on drug use is centered on non-disabled people. Few studies have investigated the current statuses of drug use by type of disability. The purpose of this study is to understand the drug use by type of disability and by life cycle of visually impaired and hearing impaired in Korea. Methods: The study participants consisted of 16 people with visually impairments, 12 people with hearing impairments. One in-depth interview was conducted per participant, and each interview was recorded and documented. Results: Common barriers against safe medication and medical service uses across disability types are 'lack of consideration and service for the disabled, limited access to medical facilities due to disability, limited access to information regarding medication use, psychological anxiety about drug use and side effects, and inconvenience regarding COVID-19 epidemic. The specific factors were 'difficulties in identifying proper medicines and following prescribed dosages' in the case of visually impaired, and 'problems with sign language interpretation system' for the hearing impaired. Conclusion: Disabled people are hindered from using medicines properly due to various factors. Based on the content derived from this study, it is necessary to eliminate the inhibition factors and devise specific measures for the safety of each type of disorder such as developing a method for medication counseling considering disabilities and establishing communication support systems.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.5.1-5.10
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• 2022

Non-syndromic hearing loss (NSHL) is a common hereditary disorder. Both clinical and genetic heterogeneity has created many obstacles to understanding the causes of NSHL. The present study has attempted to ravel the genetic aetiology in NSHL progression and to screen out potential target genes using computational approaches. The reported NSHL target genes (2009-2020) have been studied by analyzing different biochemical and signaling pathways, interpretation of their functional association network, and discovery of important regulatory interactions with three previously established miRNAs in the human inner ear as well as in NSHL such as miR-183, miR-182, and miR-96. This study has identified SMAD4 and SNAI2 as the most putative target genes of NSHL. But pathogenic and deleterious non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms discovered within SMAD4 is anticipated to have an impact on NSHL progression. Additionally, the identified deleterious variants in the functional domains of SMAD4 added a supportive clue for further study. Thus, the identified deleterious variant i.e., rs377767367 (G491V) in SMAD4 needs further clinical validation. The present outcomes would provide insights into the genetics of NSHL progression.

• Korean Journal of Audiology
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.49-54
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• 2021

Type II mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS II) commonly known as Hunter syndrome, is a rare X-linked lysosomal storage disorder caused by iduronate-2-sulfatase deficiency, which in turn causes otorhinolaryngological manifestations, including sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). Previously, the median survival age of patients with MPS was approximately 13.4 years. However, in the era of enzyme replacement therapy and other multidisciplinary care modalities, the life expectancy has increased. Herein, we report a rare case of an adolescent with MPS II who underwent SNHL treatment with cochlear implantation (CI). Based on unexpected findings of mastoid emissary veins and overgrowth of the vessels around the temporal bone, CI was performed using the transmeatal approach instead of the conventional transmastoid method, to avoid damage to the vessels. The average hearing threshold after CI was 35 dB and no surgical complications were encountered. Adolescent MPS II may present vessel abnormalities, which can reduce the success rate of surgery. In patients with MPS II with SNHL, CI should be performed under careful monitoring of vessel overgrowth. Moreover, with regard to feasibility of CI in adolescent patients with MPS II with SNHL, surgical techniques such as the transmeatal approach should be selected based on adequate assessment of the case.

• Journal of Audiology & Otology
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.49-54
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• 2021

Type II mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS II) commonly known as Hunter syndrome, is a rare X-linked lysosomal storage disorder caused by iduronate-2-sulfatase deficiency, which in turn causes otorhinolaryngological manifestations, including sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). Previously, the median survival age of patients with MPS was approximately 13.4 years. However, in the era of enzyme replacement therapy and other multidisciplinary care modalities, the life expectancy has increased. Herein, we report a rare case of an adolescent with MPS II who underwent SNHL treatment with cochlear implantation (CI). Based on unexpected findings of mastoid emissary veins and overgrowth of the vessels around the temporal bone, CI was performed using the transmeatal approach instead of the conventional transmastoid method, to avoid damage to the vessels. The average hearing threshold after CI was 35 dB and no surgical complications were encountered. Adolescent MPS II may present vessel abnormalities, which can reduce the success rate of surgery. In patients with MPS II with SNHL, CI should be performed under careful monitoring of vessel overgrowth. Moreover, with regard to feasibility of CI in adolescent patients with MPS II with SNHL, surgical techniques such as the transmeatal approach should be selected based on adequate assessment of the case.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.414-422
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• 2023

Hearing assessment is critical in dogs and cats. Hearing loss in dogs and cats may be congenital or secondary to a central nervous system disorder or ear disease. The brainstem auditory-evoked response (BAER) test has been developed as an electrophysiological test for auditory function assessment. Modern BAER equipment is based on a computerized system. Thus, auditory function assessment can be performed using this objective, safe, and noninvasive method. No study has yet investigated the interspecies differences between BAER test results of dogs and cats. Therefore, the present study aimed to analyze the differences in BAER test results between dogs and cats. The test was conducted on four healthy adult dogs and four healthy adult cats. Regarding latency, lower values were obtained for all waveforms above 50 dB in cats compared to dogs. Regarding amplitude, cats showed higher values than dogs at intensities above 50 dB. Through a comparative analysis in this study, it was concluded that the two species had statistically significant differences. The BAER data of dogs cannot be applied to cats, and vice versa.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.215-217
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• 2017

Branchio-oto-renal syndrome (BOR) is a rare autosomal dominant disorder. The features include branchial cysts, hearing loss, ear malformation, preauricular pits, retrognathia, congenital heart disease, and renal abnormalities. However, anesthetic management of these patients has seldom been reported. We report a case in which general anesthesia was performed for dental treatment in a patient with BOR. Airway management, renal function, and hemodynamic changes can be of critical concern during anesthetic management. A 13-year-old girl diagnosed with BOR had severe right hearing loss, right external ear malformation, renal abnormalities, and postoperative patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). Dental extraction under general anesthesia was scheduled for a supernumerary tooth. The procedure was completed with sufficient urine volume, adequate airway management, and stable hemodynamics.