This data in aging mice strongly suggests that topical or oral nicotine or nicotine-like substances may be profoundly beneficial for aging humans with central auditory processing disruptions.

There is no consensus on “what” causes this condition, but genetics can be a factor (which is most likely the source of my APD). But on the plus side, I am a great problem solver, out-of-the-box thinker, and good with numbers and databases.

In real-world listening situations, we always listen to speech in the presence of other sources of masking, or competing sounds. One of the major sources of masking in such situations is the speech signal that the listener is not paying attention to. The process of understanding the target speech in the presence of a masking speech involves separating the acoustic information of the target speech and tuning out masker speech.

The successful navigation of complex everyday environments with multiple sensory inputs—such as restaurants, busy streets, and other social settings—relies on the brain’s ability to organize the barrage of information into discrete perceptual objects on which cognitive processes, such as selective attention, can act.

I said, “I have a hearing problem. I couldn’t catch what you said. Please can you look this way and repeat that?” It’s amazing how this combination inspires an appropriate and thoughtful response. I almost always find people are pleased to accommodate the differently abled, once you’ve given them the information they need.

We examined data from individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developing (TD) peers while they listened to both meaningful and meaningless sentences. ASD individuals show significantly stronger cortical responses to meaningless compared with meaningful speech in the same canonical language regions where TD individuals exhibit stronger responses to meaningful speech.

Published in the journal Otology & Neurotology in June 2021, our study details a new, 3D-printed, patient-specific tumor model for quantitatively assessing the accuracy of facial nerve tractography in vestibular schwannoma patients.

In our method, a child is trained to perform a play-based task when a signal is heard. An experimenter—called an observer—watches the child’s behavior to determine when the signal was played. In contrast to clinical testing methods, the signal is randomly placed in one of two intervals for each trial by the computer program.

In our August 2020 paper in The Hearing Journal, we review causes of prematurity and the typical development of the auditory system. The sensory system, which includes the auditory system, develops in a very specific way inside the womb. This process is interrupted and occurs differently when development continues outside of the womb due to a premature birth.

I expand on the information presented, clarify issues, and ensure that readers obtain an appropriate understanding of what auditory processing disorders are really all about, how they are appropriately evaluated, and how specific treatments are identified for the different types of auditory processing disorders (APD) that may be found in a child.

On Monday, October 26 at 5 PM EDT, Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) will host its first Hearing Health Hour event on Zoom. Presented quarterly, Hearing Health Hour is a lay-friendly webinar series about managing hearing loss and related conditions and research updates presented by Emerging Research Grants (ERG) recipients.

Listening difficulties occur in children diagnosed with auditory processing disorders (also known as central auditory processing disorders) and may co-occur in children who have developmental language disorder or attention/memory deficits. Persistent listening difficulties negatively affect children's learning and functioning. Studying factors that influence children’s listening performance using a unified multidisciplinary approach is crucial to better identify and manage deficits that contribute to listening difficulties in children.