Effect of COVID-19 on cochlear implant users: parental perspectives

Udit Saxena,Gish Chacko,S B Rathna Kumar,Vikas Nagabathula,Venkata Damarla 한국언어재활사협회 2021 Clinical Archives of Communication Disorders Vol.6 No.1

Purpose: For ten months the world has witnessed a global pandemic “COVID-19”, which disturbed many lives either directly and/or indirectly. COVID-19 has proven challenging to the public health system and considering the hearing healthcare, an internet-based survey was conducted on how COVID-19 affected the services to Cochlear Implant users and which consecutively affected their communication needs. Methods: The study was carried out during the period of June–August 2020. The questionnaire consisted of 38 questions, developed and presented via “Google forms”. The questions were based on the common problems faced by the Cochlear Implant users. The nature of the questions was generally focused on how COVID-19 affected their child’s communication due to limited services. The questionnaire was self-administered and the time taken would be 10–15 minutes. The parents of the Cochlear Implanted children were asked to answer the survey with the best of their experience. Results: The overall survey results showed that majority of the respondents observed a variety of problems related to the usage, management and maintenance of Cochlear Implant during this COVID-19 pandemic condition. Conclusions: This report suggests that hearing health care requires a radical rethinking of service delivery and create the momentum to rapidly formulate innovative digital and tele-health approaches in response to these changing situations.

Systematic review of the effectiveness of homoeopathy in the treatment of autism spectrum disorder

Vibha Saxena,Gish Chacko,Udit Saxena 한국언어재활사협회 2021 Clinical Archives of Communication Disorders Vol.6 No.1

Purpose: Over the years there is a significant increase in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), yet there is no standard medical treatment available for this population. Homoeopathy as reported in literature can prove to be a boon for ASD treatment as in homoeopathy patients are prescribed medicine based on specific symptoms in light of associated physical and mental aspect. A systematic review of literature was required to put together the reported information on the relation between homoeopathy and ASD. This work reviews all the related literature in-depth. Methods: Literature on the concerned issue was searched from databases like Scopus, PubMed, ScienceDirect, JASTOR, Google Scholar, PsycINFO (psychology and psychiatry literature), and ERIC (Education Resources Information Center). Results: In total, 19 published articles were found on the investigation of using homoeopathy in the treatment of ASD. Seventeen studies showed that homoeopathy can be effective in the treatment of ASD. Result of 1 study was inconclusive and 1 more study found homoeopathy to be not suitable in treating ASD. Conclusions: Most reports support the use of homoeopathy in the treatment of ASD. They describe that homoeopathy efficiently control ASD symptoms and also supplements other therapies used in the treatment of ASD. Few authors suggested otherwise too.

Impact of COVID-19 on hearing aid users

Gish Chacko,Udit Saxena,S B Rathna Kumar,Suresh Medisala 한국언어재활사협회 2021 Clinical Archives of Communication Disorders Vol.6 No.2

Purpose: An unexpected pandemic ‘COVID-19’ has arisen in the world which affected many lives either directly and/or indirectly. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an acute respiratory illness caused by the newly identified β-coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 virus. Methods:COVID-19 has proven challenging to the public health system. Taking into account thehearing healthcare, an internet based survey was conducted to understand the effect COVID-19 has on the usage of hearing aid among its users during the pandemic and conditions such as lockdowns arise due to it. This study was carried out by the Department of Audiology, MAA Institute of Speech and Hearing, India, during the period of June-August 2020. The questionnaire consisted of 13 questions, developed and presented via “Google forms”. The questions in the questionnaire was based on the presumptive but common problems faced by the hearing aid users. The nature of the questions was specifically focused on the effect that pandemic and the resultant lockdowns have on the hearing aid usage. The survey was self-administered and the time taken would be 5–10 minutes. The respondents were asked to answer the survey with the best of their experience. Results: Overall, survey results showed that respondents faced variety of problems with their hearing aid usage during the pandemic and conditions arose due to it. Conclusions: COVID-19 has negatively affected the lives of many people with hearing loss in variety of ways. Further research is needed to provide effective solutions and make global strategies to tackle hearing aid usage related problems in these.

Development of open-set test in Marathi language for assessing speech identification performance of native children

S. B. Rathna Kumar,Udit Saxena,P. Phani Krishna,Abhijeet Ramesh Shinde,Ketaki Vinayak Borkar 한국언어재활사협회 2020 Clinical Archives of Communication Disorders Vol.5 No.2

Purpose: Speech identification score (SIS) testing has been used in every phase of the audiological test battery. We developed an open-set test in Marathi for assessing the speech identification performance of native children. Methods: The development of the test took place in three phases which included the development of word lists, recording of word lists, and SIS testing. The developed test consisted of four word-lists with each list consisting of 15 monosyllabic words in CVC structure and 10 disyllabic words in CVCV structure. The recording was performed in a sound-treated room where ambient noise levels were maintained as per the permissible levels. SIS testing was performed on a total of 90 children with normal hearing who were equally divided into three groups. Groups I, II, and III consisted of children in the range between 6 and 6.11 years, 7 and 7.11 years, and 8 and 8.11 respectively. Results: The data were subjected to one-way ANOVA and the results revealed no statistically significant difference (p>0.05) in SIS between three groups for each word list and between four word-lists for each group. The overall groups’ mean SIS were 99.15%, 98.97%, 99.06%, and 99.02% for four word-lists respectively, and were falling within the normal range (90 to 100%). Conclusions: Findings of the present study are in line with the findings of research reports on other Indian languages. The four word-lists developed in the present study were found to be equally difficult, reliable, and valid test materials in Marathi for assessing native children.

Hidden Hearing Loss–Subjective and Objective Correlation of Cochlear Physiology

Anagha Achath Parakkandy,Udit Saxena,Gish Chacko,Sandhra Sakariyas,Architha Reddy Nimma,Rachel James 한국언어재활사협회 2024 Clinical Archives of Communication Disorders Vol.9 No.1

Purpose: The study is aimed at identifying the co-relation of subjective and objective tests’ that reveal the site of lesion in Hidden Hearing Loss. Methods: A total of 40 participants, between the age range 18 to 25 years were included in this study. They were categorized into two groups. Group 1 – Subjects with extended high frequency (EHF) loss but normal thresholds at conventional frequencies. Group 2 with normal EHF and conventional audiogram results. EHF testing was performed at 10 kHz, 12.5 kHz, 14 kHz, and 16 kHz. Click evoked Auditory Brainstem Response was done to elicit Cochlear Microphonics (CM) and Peak I. Results: Participants with normal EHF thresholds exhibited presence of Peak I and CM, whereas absence of Peak 1 and CM at 70 dB HL and below was seen in the group 1 partici-pants. Results revealed no significant relationship between both groups. Conclusions: The outcome of this study defines the physiology behind Hidden Hearing Loss as the insult to cochlear structures especially OHC’s. This led to a conclusion that there is a strong alliance between EHF loss, absence of CM and Peak I resulting in Auditory dys-syn-chrony in the far basal regions of the cochlea. This reveals an astonishing impact that alarms young adult population to prevent further incidence at the earliest.

Cultural adaptation and translation of PEACH scale in Telugu language: Applicability in assessing auditory and communication skills of children with cochlear implant

S. B. Rathna Kumar,Vijay Raju Bollapalli,Udit Saxena,Panchanan Mohanty,Sakeena Shora 한국언어재활사협회 2020 Clinical Archives of Communication Disorders Vol.5 No.3

Purpose: The present study aimed to assess auditory and communication skills of children with cochlear implant (CI) as a function of the age at which they received CI. Methods: Group I (Early Implanted Group: EIG) consisted of children (N=18) who received CI in the age of 2 to 3 years (M=2.64). Group II (Later Implanted Group: LIG) consisted of children (N=18) who received CI in the age of 4 to 5 years (M=4.64). The study constituted three phases; 1) adaptation and translation of the PEACH scale in Telugu language, 2) administration of Telugu PEACH scale on parents to assess auditory and communication skills of children with CI, and 3) scoring the responses of parents to obtain performance score of children in quiet and noisy communication environments. Results: The results revealed no significant difference (p>0.05) in the performance between EIG and LIG in both quiet and noisy communication environments. However, the children of both EIG and LIG demonstrated significantly lower (p<0.05) performance in noisy communication environments when compared to performance in quiet communication environments. Conclusions: From the findings of the study, it can be inferred that the age at which the children received CI did not seem to be a major contributor in predicting the outcomes. Finally, the Telugu PEACH scale can be considered a clinically feasible tool in assessing the functional performance of children with CI.