Analysis of Output Levels of an MP3 Player: Effects of Earphone Type, Music Genre, and Listening Duration

Shim, Hyunyong,Lee, Seungwan,Koo, Miseung,Kim, Jinsook The Korean Audiological Society and Korean Otologi 2018 Journal of Audiology & Otology Vol.22 No.3

<P><B>Background and Objectives</B></P><P>To prevent noise induced hearing losses caused by listening to music with personal listening devices for young adults, this study was aimed to measure output levels of an MP3 and to identify preferred listening levels (PLLs) depending on earphone types, music genres, and listening durations.</P><P><B>Subjects and Methods</B></P><P>Twenty-two normal hearing young adults (mean=18.82, standard deviation=0.57) participated. Each participant was asked to select his or her most PLLs when listened to Korean ballade or dance music with an earbud or an over-the-ear earphone for 30 or 60 minutes. One side of earphone was connected to the participant’s better ear and the other side was connected to a sound level meter via a 2 or 6 cc-couplers. Depending on earphone types, music genres, and listening durations, loudness A-weighted equivalent (LAeq) and loudness maximum time-weighted with A-frequency sound levels in dBA were measured.</P><P><B>Results</B></P><P>Neither main nor interaction effects of the PLLs among the three factors were significant. Overall output levels of earbuds were about 10-12 dBA greater than those of over-the-ear earphones. The PLLs were 1.73 dBA greater for earbuds than over-the-ear earphones. The average PLL for ballad was higher than for dance music. The PLLs at LAeq for both music genres were the greatest at 0.5 kHz followed by 1, 0.25, 2, 4, 0.125, 8 kHz in the order.</P><P><B>Conclusions</B></P><P>The PLLs were not different significantly when listening to Korean ballad or dance music as functions of earphone types, music genres, and listening durations. However, over-the-ear earphones seemed to be more suitable to prevent noise induce hearing loss when listening to music, showing lower PLLs, possibly due to isolation from the background noise by covering ears.</P>

Test-Retest Reliability of Word Recognition Score Using Korean Standard Monosyllabic Word Lists for Adults as a Function of the Number of Test Words

Kim, Jinsook,Lee, Junghak,Lee, Kyoung Won,Bahng, Junghwa,Lee, Jae Hee,Choi, Chul-Hee,Cho, Soo Jin,Shin, Eun Yeong,Park, Jeonghye The Korean Audiological Society 2015 Journal of Audiology & Otology Vol.19 No.2

<P><B>Background and Objectives</B></P><P>The purpose was to establish the test-retest reliability of word recognition score (WRS) using Korean standard monosyllabic word lists for adults (KS-MWL-A) recently developed based on the international standard for speech audiometry (ISO 8253-3:2012).</P><P><B>Subjects and Methods</B></P><P>Subjects consisted of 159 adults aged to 18 to 25 years with normal hearing sensitivity. WRSs were obtained in 2 dB steps from the level of speech recognition thresholds to the level of 86% correct responses or greater. After one or two weeks, retest was performed. Correlation, confidence interval (CI) and prediction interval (PI) were calculated for the reliability.</P><P><B>Results</B></P><P>Correlation coefficients were 0.88 for 50 test words, 0.76 for 25 and 0.61 for 10 words. Results also showed that 95% CIs and PIs were narrower for 25 and 50 test words than those for 10 test words.</P><P><B>Conclusions</B></P><P>Korean WRS using the KS-MWL-A has high reliability for 25 and 50 test words, but relatively low for 10 words. It suggested that 95% CIs for each test words would be criteria for significant differences in WRS for groups and 95% PIs at each score of WRS could be utilized for a considerable difference for each individual at retest.</P>

Hearing Thresholds for a Geriatric Population Composed of Korean Males and Females

Bahng, Junghwa,Lee, Junghak The Korean Audiological Society 2015 Journal of Audiology & Otology Vol.19 No.2

<P><B>Background and Objectives</B></P><P>The purpose of the present study was to provide the hearing threshold levels in the elderly Korean population, and to compare Korean data with that in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 7029 (2000).</P><P><B>Subjects and Methods</B></P><P>Data were collected from a total of 526 ears from 112 males and 151 females aged 60-84 years. All participants were screened otologically by the procedure given in ISO 8253-1 (2010).</P><P><B>Results</B></P><P>Results showed that the pure-tone average was gradually elevated with increasing age. The amount of hearing loss was greater in males than in females, and the high frequency hearing thresholds were worse than the low frequency hearing thresholds in males and females. The hearing threshold levels were higher at low frequencies in males and at all frequencies in females than the norms of ISO 7029 (2000).</P><P><B>Conclusions</B></P><P>Results from this study will be partly used for standardization of hearing thresholds as a function of age in Korea and for updating the ISO 7029.</P>

The Dynamic Range for Korean Standard Sentence Material: A Gender Comparison in a Male and a Female Speakers

Park, Kyeong-Yeon,Jin, In-Ki The Korean Audiological Society 2015 Journal of Audiology & Otology Vol.19 No.2

<P><B>Background and Objectives</B></P><P>The purpose of this study was to identify differences between the dynamic ranges (DRs) of male and female speakers using Korean standard sentence material. Consideration was especially given to effects within the predefined segmentalized frequency-bands.</P><P><B>Materials and Methods</B></P><P>We used Korean standard sentence lists for adults as stimuli. Each sentence was normalized to a root-mean-square of 65 dB sound pressure level. The sentences were then modified to ensure there were no pauses, and the modified sentences were passed through a filter bank in order to perform the frequency analysis. Finally, the DR was quantified using a histogram that showed the cumulative envelope distribution levels of the speech in each frequency band.</P><P><B>Results</B></P><P>In DRs that were averaged across all frequency bands, there were no significant differences between the male and the female speakers. However, when considering effects within the predefined frequency bands, there were significant differences in several frequency bands between the DRs of male speech and those of female speech.</P><P><B>Conclusions</B></P><P>This study shows that the DR of speech for the male speaker differed from the female speaker in nine frequency bands among 21 frequency bands. These observed differences suggest that a standardized DR of male speech in the band-audibility function of the speech intelligibility index may differ from that of female speech derived in the same way. Further studies are required to derive standardized DRs for Korean speakers.</P>

Development of a School Adaptation Program for Elementary School Students with Hearing Impairment

Kim, Shin-Jeong,Kwon, Myung Soon,Han, Woojae The Korean Audiological Society 2015 Journal of Audiology & Otology Vol.19 No.1

<P><B>Background and Objectives</B></P><P>Although new technology of assistive listening device leads many hard of hearing children to be mainstreamed in public school programs, many clinicians and teachers still wonder whether the children are able to understand all instruction, access educational materials, and have social skills in the school. The purpose of this study is to develop a school adaptation program (SAP) for the hearing-impaired children who attend public elementary school.</P><P><B>Subjects and Methods</B></P><P>The theoretical framework of the SAP was a system model including microsystem, mesosystem, and macrosystem merged with Keller's ARCS theory.</P><P><B>Results</B></P><P>The SAP consisted of 10 sessions based on five categories (i.e., school life, activity in the class, relationship with friends, relationship with teacher, and school environments). For preliminary validity testing, the developed SAP was reviewed by sixteen elementary school teachers, using the evaluation questionnaire. The results of evaluation showed high average 3.60 (±0.52) points out of 4 while proving a reliable and valid school-based program.</P><P><B>Conclusions</B></P><P>The SAP indicated that it may serve as a practical and substantive program for hearing-impaired children in the public school in order to help them achieve better academic support and social integrations.</P>

Mass and Stiffness Impact on the Middle Ear and the Cochlear Partition

Kim, Jinsook,Koo, Miseung The Korean Audiological Society 2015 Journal of Audiology & Otology Vol.19 No.1

<P>Mass and stiffness affect on the peculiar characteristics of transmission of the middle ear and the distinctive behavior of the cochlear mechanics. Applying the principle of the mass and stiffness, the band-pass characteristic transfer function of the middle ear has been explained. The greatest transfer function of the middle ear, approximately 24-29 dB, is observed at 1-2 kHz in both cat and human species. However, at lower frequencies, the transfer function was disturbed by the stiffness of the middle ear primarily due to middle ear cavity. At higher frequencies, the transfer function was disturbed by the stiffness of the middle ear primarily due to middle ear bones. Several examples, such as an acoustic reflex, otitis media, and otosclerosis are discussed. For understanding the traveling wave of the basilar membrane, different place tuning at certain stimulus frequencies, contrastingly shaped basilar membrane to the cochlear duct, and the structural and physical characteristics of the whole cochlear partition were reviewed in terms of changing width, mass, and stiffness from the base to apex. Being about ten times wider, more massive, and one hundredfold stiffer at the base than the apex, the nature of the cochlear partition to absorb high-frequency energy changes in fluid pressure declines toward the apex. Consequently, at the base of the cochlea, high frequencies stimuli are decoded while low frequencies stimuli are decoded at the apex of the cochlea. Due to these characteristics of the cochlear partition, the direction of the traveling wave was also proved to be in the fashion of base-to-apex always.</P>

Comparison of Single-Task versus Dual-Task for Listening Effort

Kwak, Chanbeom,Han, Woojae The Korean Audiological Society and Korean Otologi 2018 Journal of Audiology & Otology Vol.22 No.2

<P><B>Background and Objectives</B></P><P>Depending on the kind of task and/or material, listeners sometimes need to pay attention to understand communication. The present study aimed to estimate a listener’s amount of effort needed to understand communication by using recognition score and response time as a function of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and to confirm his/ her task dependency for listening effort.</P><P><B>Subjects and Methods</B></P><P>Forty-eight young adults with normal hearing participated in the study. As stimuli, Korean Speech Perception in Noise test without a question tag and three consecutive digits were used for sentence recognition (or single-task) and arithmetic (or dual-task), respectively. Both tasks were measured in quiet and under four SNR (i.e., 0, -4, -8, -12 dB) conditions. Their outcomes were analyzed and compared in terms of percent correct and response time.</P><P><B>Results</B></P><P>Sentence recognition scores and arithmetic scores decreased as the level of noise increased. Response time for sentence recognition decreased as noise increased, whereas the response time for arithmetic increased as noise increased. In addition, there was a negative correlation between error percent and response time in the sentence recognition. Conversely, a positive correlation between error percent and response time appeared in the arithmetic test.</P><P><B>Conclusions</B></P><P>Listening effort showed a different pattern based on the kind of task, single vs. dual, while the dual-task required greater effort from the listener.</P>

Clinical Characteristics of Dizziness Associated with Acute Peripheral Facial Palsy

Song, Kudamo,Chang, Sehun,Lee, Jun,Shin, Sun Ae,Lee, Ho Yun The Korean Audiological Society and Korean Otologi 2018 Journal of Audiology & Otology Vol.22 No.3

<P><B>Background and Objectives</B></P><P>We aimed to assess the clinical significance of dizziness associated with acute peripheral facial palsy (APFP).</P><P><B>Subjects and Methods</B></P><P>Medical records of patients who visited an otorhinolaryngology clinic at a university hospital and were admitted for treatment of APFP between 2014 and 2016 were thoroughly reviewed.</P><P><B>Results</B></P><P>In total, 15.3% (n=15) of patients had dizziness. Continuous, rotatory dizziness without exacerbating factors was most common and frequently accompanied by nausea/vomiting. Dizziness disappeared within 1 week during the hospitalization period. Patients with Ramsay Hunt syndrome (31.0%) had dizziness more frequently than those with Bell’s palsy (8.7%). In addition, higher hearing thresholds and pain around the ear was reported more often in dizzy patients (<I>p</I><0.05). Logistic regression analysis revealed that the initial House-Brackmann grade of facial paralysis was solely associated with final recovery, but dizziness was not associated with prognosis.</P><P><B>Conclusions</B></P><P>Patients with APFP may have transient dizziness in the early stage, which may be more frequently accompanied by worse hearing thresholds and/or pain around the ear. However, these symptoms including dizziness seem to be unrelated to final prognosis.</P>

Factors Prognostic of Season-Associated Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss: A Retrospective Observational Study

Ryu, In Yong,Park, Sang Hyun,Park, Eun Bin,Kim, Ho Joong,Kim, Sang Hoon,Yeo, Seung Geun The Korean Audiological Society 2017 Journal of Audiology & Otology Vol.16 No.2

<P><B>Background and Objectives</B></P><P>This study examined whether the prognosis of sudden deafness was dependent on the time of onset and evaluated the factors affecting prognosis during each period.</P><P><B>Subjects and Methods</B></P><P>Patients who developed sudden hearing loss from January 2005 to December 2015 were evaluated retrospectively. Meteorological data were obtained from the official website of the Korea Meteorological Administration. Factors prognostic of hearing recovery rate were analyzed.</P><P><B>Results</B></P><P>The hearing recovery rate of the 318 patients who developed sudden deafness did not differ significantly by month. Mean temperature and daily temperature range at onset of sudden deafness were not associated with recovery rate.</P><P><B>Conclusions</B></P><P>The recovery rate in patients with sudden deafness did not differ markedly by season.</P>

Substitution Patterns of Phoneme Errors in Hearing Aid and Cochlear Implant Users

Han, Woojae,Chun, Hyungi,Kim, Gibbeum,Jin, In-Ki The Korean Audiological Society 2017 Journal of Audiology & Otology Vol.16 No.2

<P><B>Background and Objectives</B></P><P>It is acknowledged that speech perceptual errors are increased in listeners who have sensorineural hearing loss as noise increases. However, there is a lack of detailed information for their error pattern. The purpose of the present study was to analyze substitution patterns of phoneme errors in Korean hearing aid (HA) and cochlear implant (CI) users who are postlingually deafened adults.</P><P><B>Subjects and Methods</B></P><P>In quiet and under two noise conditions, the phoneme errors of twenty HA and fourteen CI users were measured by using monosyllabic words, and a substitution pattern was analyzed in terms of manner of articulation.</P><P><B>Results</B></P><P>The results showed that both groups had a high percentage of nasal and plosive substitutions regardless of background conditions.</P><P><B>Conclusions</B></P><P>This finding will provide vital information for understanding the speech perception of hearing-impaired listeners and for improving their ability to communicate when applied to auditory training.</P>