• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.158-164
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• 2005

Meniere's disease is not a life-threatening but lift-altering inner ear disease characterized by episodic vertigo, fluctuating hearing loss, tinnitus and ear fullness. The etiology and pathophysiology symptoms is still disputed. Thereby the treatment of Meniere's disease is empirical. As yet no treatment has prospectively modified the clinical course of condition and thereby prevented the progressive hearing loss. We experienced two cases of Meniere's disease treated with oriental medical treatment, acupuncture and herbal medication. 15 year-old and 23 year old male patients had diagnosed Meniere's disease by western medical doctor. After treatment their vertigo is decreased and the level of hearing loss was rise up. Therefore, oriental medical treatments could be safe and effective methods.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.115-126
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• 2016

Audiometric calibration is a prerequisite for securing the reliability of audiometric test results by checking the internal consistency of the relevant instrument. The purpose of this review is to help instrument operators understand the calibration procedure of aural acoustic immittance instrument which is frequently used for objective assessment. By referring to the latest international standards and the national standards relevant to the aural acoustic immittance instrument, the following parameters will be reviewed: 1) introduction of performance characteristics, 2) detailed procedure of the calibration method. According to the newest international and national standards [IEC 60645-5 (2004), ANSI S3.39-1987 (R2012)], the aural acoustic immittance instrument basically includes six components: 1) calibration cavity, 2) acoustic immittance analysis system, 3) probe assembly/unit and signal, 4) pneumatic air-pressure pump system, 5) acoustic reflex activator system and 6) tympanogram and acoustic reflex plotting system, each of these components should meet set standards. The result of behavioral hearing tests is influenced by various complex factors including the examinee's cooperation, background noise of the examination room, measurement method, skill level of the audiologist and calibration status, but the objective hearing tests is more influenced by the calibration status of the instrument than any other factors. The audiologist should take full responsibility for the reliability of the hearing test result, so he/she should carry out the calibration check and adjustments of aural acoustic immittance instrument periodically and maintain the instrument continuously by referring to the newest standards and the manufacturer's instruction manual.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.269-279
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• 2004

Meniere's disease is not a life-threatening but life-altering inner ear process characterized by episodic vertigo, fluctuating hearing loss, tinnitus, and ear fullness. The etiology and pathophysiology of the symptoms is still disputed. Thereby the treatment of Meniere's disease is empirical. As yet, no treatment has prospectively modified the clinical course of the condition and thereby prevented the progressive hearing loss. We experienced two cases of Meniere's disease treated with herbal medication and acupuncture. 62 year-old male and 64 year-old female patients had definite Meniere's disease. Banhabaeckchulchunma-tang was administered in both cases. After treatment Vertigo attacks were completely controlled in both, whereas Hearing level remained unchanged. Tinnitus was improved in one patient and unchanged in the other. Therefore, Banhabaeckchulchunma-tang and acupuncture could be a safe and simple therapeutic modality that is effective in controlling the vertigo ; however further studies must be done on hearing preservation and tinnitus.

• Proceedings of the KOSOMBE Conference
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• v.1996 no.05
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• pp.243-247
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• 1996

Electro-magnetic type implantable middle ear hearing aid has been empirically developed. But for further improvement of the system performance more quantitative approach is necessary. In this paper, we analyzed vibrating transducer which is most important to design the system, appropriate for given hearing level, and implemented it. Using this transducer, implantable hearing aid system are developed. To verify the design process, we experimented with driving metal strip by the developed system. From the experiment, frequency response of implemented device showed good characteristic at audio frequency and we confirmed that each part of the developed system operated well.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.82-94
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• 2022

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to report the effect of east-west medical combined treatment of sudden sensorineural hearing loss(SSNHL) through cooperation in a hospital. Methods : We treated three patients diagnosed as SSNHL by combination of herbal medicine, acupuncture, pharmoacupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, laser therapy and conventional medications. We evaluated the results of this treatment with pure tone audiometry, word recognition score(WRS), the changes in distortion product otoacoustic emissions(DPOAE) and visual analogue scale. Results : One of them showed a meaningful improvement in the hearing level of the low frequency region. The others showed 'Complete recovery' in pure tone audiometry and WRS. The subjective symptoms including tinnitus and ear fullness improved in three patients. Conclusion : This study suggests that east-west medical combined treatment is effective on SSNHL patients.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.59-68
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• 1998

Digital hearing aids offer many advantages over conventional analog hearing aids. With the advent of high speed digital signal processing chips, new digital techniques have been introduced to digital hearing aids. In addition, the evaluation of new ideas in hearing aids is necessarily accompanied by intensive subject-based clinical tests which requires much time and cost. In this paper, we present an objective method to evaluate and predict the performance of hearing aid systems without the help of such subject-based tests. In the hearing impairment simulation(HIS) algorithm, a sensorineural hearing impairment medel is established from auditory test data of the impaired subject being simulated. Also, the nonlinear behavior of the loudness recruitment is defined using hearing loss functions generated from the measurements. To transform the natural input sound into the impaired one, a frequency sampling filter is designed. The filter is continuously refreshed with the level-dependent frequency response function provided by the impairment model. To assess the performance, the HIS algorithm was implemented in real-time using a floating-point DSP. Signals processed with the real-time system were presented to normal subjects and their auditory data modified by the system was measured. The sensorineural hearing impairment was simulated and tested. The threshold of hearing and the speech discrimination tests exhibited the efficiency of the system in its use for the hearing impairment simulation. Using the HIS system we evaluated three typical hearing aid algorithms.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.151-155
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• 2001

In order to obtain the fundamental data on the auditory thresholds of fishes for marine ranching, the auditory thresholds of black rockfish Sebastes inermis were measured in the presence of masking noise in the spectrum level range of $73\~83$ dB (0 dB re $1{\mu}Pa/\sqrt{Hz}$) with a classical cardiac conditioning technique. Critical ratios were about $28\~34$ dB at $80\~300$ Hz and $47\~52$ dB at $500\~800$ Hz. The ratio increased almost linearly with increasing frequency to 500 Hz. The noise spectrum level at the start of masking was about 70 dB within the frequency range of $80\~800$ Hz excepting 65 dB at 300 Hz. It means that hearing of the black rockfish is masked in the natural environment with the noise spectrum level above 65 dB. The sound pressure level of $200\~300$ Hz recognized by black rockfish was above 96 dB under the ambient noise and the critical ratio of them was above 26 dB.

• Proceedings of the KOR-BRONCHOESO Conference
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• 1981.05a
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• pp.40.3-41
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• 1981

The ichthyosiform dermatosis is consisted of a heterogenous group of hereditary disorders. Authors report a case of 26 year old female patient who has congenital ichthyosiform dermatosis associated with sensorineural hearing loss, neovascularization of cornea, partial alopecia and abnormalities of nails and teeth. The audiological findings of this patient were as follows: 1. Bilateral severe sensorineural hearing loss. 2. SISI scores: 100% at 1, 000 Hz and 4, 000 Hz on both ear. 3. Tone decay test: 25 dB decay at 1, 000 Hz and 4, 000 Hz respectively on both ear. 4. SRTs : 85 dB on both ear. 5. Speech discrimination scores : 80% at 95 dB hearing level(MCL) on both ear. With above results, cochlear lesion is suspected in this syndrome.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.336-341
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• 2006

Objective : The authors conducted a retrospective study to evaluate the preservation rates of serviceable hearing and to determine its prognostic factors after gamma knife stereotactic radiosurgery[GK SRS] in the patient with vestibular schwannomas. Methods : Between December 1997 and March 2005, 54 patients with a sporadic vestibular schwannoma and serviceable hearing [Gardner Robertson grade I-II] were enrolled in this study. Electronic database of medical records and radiological examinations before and after GK SRS were investigated to the last follow up. The mean marginal dose was $12.3{\pm}0.7Gy$. The mean maximum dose delivered to the tumor center was 24.7Gy [$22{\sim}30Gy$]. The median tumor volume was 2cc [$0.1{\sim}9.1cc$]. The median follow-up period of magnetic resonance[MR] imaging was 31 months [$6{\sim}99\;months$], and the mean follow-up period of audiometry was 24 months [$4{\sim}70\;months$]. Results : The tumor control rate was 100% in the patients with the follow up period more than 2 years. The trigeminal and facial nerve preservation rates were 98% and 100%, respectively. Twenty-eight [52%] of the 54 patients preserved serviceable hearing and 16 [30%] patients retained their pre-GK G-R grade level after GK SRS. In the univariate and multivariate analysis, there was no significant prognostic factor in preservation of the serviceable hearing. Conclusion : The hearing preservation rate is still unsatisfactory compared with the results of other cranial nerve preservation and tumor control in the treatment of vestibular schwannoma by GK SRS. More sophisticated strategy during and after GK SRS is necessary to improve long-term hearing preservation.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.30 no.2 s.57
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• pp.356-368
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• 1997

In effort to determine whether aircraft noise can have health effects such as hearing loss, hypertension and psychological stress, a total of 111 male professors and administrative officers working a college near a military airport in Korea(exposed group) and a total of 168 males and 112 females matched by age groups(control groups) were analyzed. Personal noise exposure and indoor and outdoor sound level of jet aircraft noise were measured at the exposed are3. And pure tone, air conduction test and measurement of blood pressure were given to the exposed(males) and matched control groups (males and females). BEPSI(Brief Encounter Psychological Instrument) and psychological response to aircraft noise were examined for the exposed group. The noise dosimetry results revealed time-weighted averages(TWAs) that ranged from 61 to 68 dBA. However the levels encountered during taking off jet airplanes reached 126 dBA for two half minutes time period. Th, audiometric, test showed that mean values of HTL(hearing threshold level) in exposed group at every frequency(500, 1,000, 2,000, 4,000, and 8,000 Hz were much lower than them of male and female control groups. And in old age groups, interaction of age and noise was observed at 8,000 Hz in both ears(p<0.05). Conclusively, aircraft noise does not appear to induce hearing loss directly in high frequency, but may decreased hearing threshold level by interaction of aging process and noise exposure. However, difference of mean values of exposed and control groups on blood pressure was not significantly. In psychological test, annoyance was the most severe psychological response to noise in exposed group, but mean value of BEPSI was not correlated with job duration in exposed group.