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The aims of this study were to examine vocabulary scores of 5-year-old children who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH), as well as the impact of early enrollment in specialized intervention on vocabulary outcomes. Receptive and expressive vocabulary scores were analyzed for 342 five-year-old children who are DHH enrolled in specialized listening and spoken language intervention programs. Regression analyses were utilized to examine the effects of age at enrollment on vocabulary outcomes. Overall, participants achieved scores within normal test limits on receptive and expressive measures of vocabulary. Children who enrolled in intervention prior to 28 months of age had better vocabulary skills at 5 years old. The findings support that children who are DHH can understand and produce vocabulary at skill levels commensurate with their typically hearing peers, regardless of severity of hearing loss. Results highlight the crucial impact of specialized programs on children's lexical readiness to participate in general education settings by kindergarten.

Purpose: This study examined changes in datalogging for children attending an auditory-oral educational program with integrated audiology services versus children attending a mainstream or nonspecialized program. Method: Eighty children participated in this study, half of which were enrolled in an auditory-oral educational program versus the nonspecialized or mainstream setting. Datalogging for cochlear implant and hearing aid users was obtained via retrospective medical and educational chart review from 2016 to 2019. Results: Results demonstrated that at post-enrollment, children attending the auditory-oral educational program significantly increased device wear time (as measured by average hours/day) when compared to the control group. Children using hearing aids enrolled in the specialized educational program obtained the largest improvement in overall wear time, averaging an increase of 5 hr/day of device use from pre- to post-enrollment. Conclusions: This is the first study to document the association of specialized educational programs on device use. Clinical and educational programs should collaborate to provide integrated services to lessen family burden and increase a child's device use and retention.

The objective of this study was to obtain an understanding of audiologists' knowledge of Spanish speech perception materials for the paediatric hearing loss population. An electronic survey, the Knowledge of Spanish Audiology & Speech Tools (KSAST) was distributed via Qualtrics to audiologists who worked with Spanish-speaking children. One hundred and fifty-three audiologists practicing in the United States completed the electronic survey over a period of six months. Audiologists lacked knowledge of current Spanish measures and there was no consensus on what providers were administering for the paediatric population. The largest gaps in knowledge existed for the infancy through early childhood age groups. Notably, even when Spanish measures exist, audiologists reported feeling uncomfortable using them in clinic due to a variety of reasons (e.g., did not know how to access measure, did not know how to administer). This study highlights the lack of consensus in managing Spanish-speaking patients with hearing loss. There is a lack of validated age-appropriate measures to accurately assess speech perception for Spanish-speaking children. Future research should focus on improving training on management of Spanish-speaking patients, as well as development of speech measures and best practice guidelines for this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study sought to determine the effect of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compliant noise on auditory health and assess whether pre-noise near infrared (NIR) light therapy can mitigate the effects of noise exposure. Methods: Over four visits, participants (n = 30, NCT#: 03834714) with normal hearing completed baseline hearing health assessments followed by exposure to open ear, continuous pink noise at 94 dBA for 15 min. Immediately thereafter, post-noise hearing tests at 3000, 4000, and 6000 Hz and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) were conducted along with the Modified Rhyme Test (MRT), Masking Level Difference Test (MLD), and Fixed Level Frequency Tests (FLFT) [collectively referred to as the Central and Peripheral Auditory Test Battery (CPATB)] to acquire baseline noise sensitivity profiles. Participants were then randomized to either Active or Sham NIR light therapy for 30 min binaurally to conclude Visit 1. Visit 2 (=24 and = 48 h from Visit 1) began with an additional 30-min session of Active NIR light therapy or Sham followed by repeat CPATB testing and noise exposure. Post-noise testing was again conducted immediately after noise exposure to assess the effect of NIR light therapy. The remaining visits were conducted following =2 weeks of noise rest in a cross-over design (i.e., those who had received Active NIR light therapy in Visits 1 and 2 received Sham therapy in Visits 3 and 4). Results: Recovery hearing tests and DPOAEs were completed at the end of each visit. Participants experienced temporary threshold shifts (TTS) immediately following noise exposure, with a mean shift of 6.79 dB HL (±6.25), 10.61 dB HL (±6.89), and 7.30 dB HL (±7.25) at 3000, 4000, and 6000 Hz, respectively, though all thresholds returned to baseline at 3000, 4000, and 6000 Hz within 75 min of noise exposure. Paradoxically, Active NIR light therapy threshold shifts were statistically higher than Sham therapy at 3000 Hz (p = 0.04), but no other differences were observed at the other frequencies tested. An age sub-analysis demonstrated that TTS among younger adults were generally larger in the Sham therapy group versus Active therapy, though this was not statistically different. There were no differences in CPATB test results across Active or Sham groups. Finally, we observed no changes in auditory function or central processing following noise exposure, suggestive of healthy and resilient inner ears. Conclusion: In this study, locally administered NIR prior to noise exposure did not induce a significant protective effect in mitigating noise-induced TTS. Further exploration is needed to implement effective dosage and administration for this promising otoprotective therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective We examined the association between parent and child fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake, physical activity (PA), and body mass index in an ethnic minority and low-income sample. Methods The study sample consisted of 86 children ages 5-7 years (80% Hispanic) and their parents. Three parent health variables (healthy weight, recommended F&V servings per day, and recommended weekly PA) were used to create a healthy role model index. Associations between the parent index and corresponding child health behaviors and weight were examined. Results Most parents (53.5%) were not healthy role models, 30.2% were limited healthy role models, 16.3% were good role models, and none were excellent role models; most parents and children did not meet guidelines for healthy weight, F&V intake, and PA. Parents who scored higher on the index were more likely to have children with higher levels of F&V. Furthermore, parents who had a healthy weight were 3.7 times more likely to have a child who had a healthy weight. Additionally, parents who were consuming the recommended servings of F&V per day were 10 times more likely to have children who were also consuming the recommended servings of F&V per day compared to parents who were not consuming the recommended servings of F&V per day. Conclusions for Practice These findings suggest the important role of parental modeling of healthy behaviors to their young children among minority/low-income families. Parents may serve as an important mechanism of change for children's health status by increasing their own healthy lifestyle behaviors., Author(s): Jennifer Coto [sup.1] , Elizabeth R. Pulgaron [sup.2] , Paulo A. Graziano [sup.1] , Daniel M. Bagner [sup.1] , Manuela Villa [sup.2] , Jamil A. Malik [sup.3] , Alan [...]

Objectives: To examine general risk propensity in relation to perceptions of noise, risk behaviour, and hearing loss in the general population. Design: Participants completed an online survey using the Amazon Mechanical Turk crowdsourcing platform. Study sample: The sample comprised 1274 adults from the United States. Results: Higher general risk propensity was associated with an increased likelihood to engage in noiserisk behaviours. Lower general risk propensity was associated with increased knowledge of noise risks and an increased perception of noise as risky. The frequency of self-reported exposures to hazardous noise resulted in estimated annual noise doses exceeding standard hazard limits in 40% of the surveyed population. Conclusions: Results revealed limited knowledge of the risks and associated health consequences of noise exposure in the general population Results of this study suggest a high rate of self-exposure to hazardous noise by the general population. Those with higher general risk propensity are more likely to engage in risky noise behaviour. Risky noise behaviour is associated with age, gender, race, ethnicity, and general risk propensity. Intervention programs to modify risky noise behaviour in the general population should focus on both increasing knowledge and establishing accurate perceptions of risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The effect of stress on vaccine-induced humoral immunity and therapeutic interventions to mitigate pandemic-related stress remain underexplored., Method: Participants in a longitudinal cohort study ( n = 189) completed a validated measure, GAD-7, and 10-instrument stress measure to assess stress and anxiety after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccination. Serum was collected to obtain SARS-CoV-2 antibody titer levels., Results: Participants experienced increased stress due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic with a positive correlation between GAD-7 scores and peak antibody titers overall; however, there was a negative association with scores commensurate with severe anxiety. Health care workers and younger participants were more significantly affected by anxiety., Conclusions: Mild anxiety levels may have immune-enhancing effects, whereas severe anxiety may cause antibody generation reduction. Mental health-focused interventions are imperative for younger adults and health care workers. Young adults may be more resilient to increased stress levels., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has filed patent applications relating to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) serological assays (US Provisional Application Numbers: 62/994,252, 63/018,457, 63/020,503 and 63/024,436) and NDV-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines (US Provisional Application Number: 63/251,020), which list Florian Krammer as coinventor. Patent applications were submitted by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Mount Sinai has spun out a company, Kantaro, to market serological tests for SARS-CoV-2. Florian Krammer has consulted for Merck and Pfizer (before 2020) and is currently consulting for Pfizer, Third Rock Ventures, GSK, and Avimex. The Krammer laboratory is also collaborating with Pfizer on animal models of SARS-CoV-2., (Copyright © 2023 American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.)