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Biomedical subjects

S D Stephens

Publications and source records attributed to S D Stephens.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Factors influencing binaural hearing aid use.

Two hundred patients who had been fitted with binaural hearing aids were chosen as subjects for a questionnaire survey to determine the factors which would influence the use of binaural hearing aids. From the analysis of the 16 factors used which included audiological, physical and social factors, the following results were obtained: (1) A significantly greater proportion of male patients used binaural hearing aids than female patients. (2) A significantly greater proportion of patients with a different hearing loss configuration in the two ears used binaural hearing aids as compared with those with a symmetrical hearing loss. (3) Frequent users of binaural hearing aids were males, who had had additional help to reduce their hearing disability, and had a more severe hearing loss in the better ear. The use of binaural hearing aids in noisy situations and in localising sounds was also investigated.

Auditory Threshold↗
PubMed1986

[Tinnitus--a treatment model].

In the management of any patient suffering from tinnitus, it is essential first to identify and treat any underlying cause and then to apply proven tinnito-suppressive treatment to any persistent tinnitus. The present model is concerned with the management of patients whose tinnitus persists despite this approach. It indicates how all relevant information about the patient should be obtained and subsequently applied in determining the approach(es) most pertinent to the particular patient. It aims to be independent of any specific setting and applicable to all clinicians concerned with helping the patient suffering from tinnitus.

Combined Modality Therapy↗
PubMed1985

Vestibular disorder and emotional distress.

A standardised test of psychopathology (CCEI) was administered to tinnitus sufferers some of whom also complained of dizziness. It was predicted that the complaint of dizziness would be associated with higher scores on the anxiety scales of the CCEI and this was confirmed. Subjects complaining of dizziness obtained much higher scores on 'phobic' and 'somatic' anxiety scales in particular. However, the complaint of dizziness was completely uncorrelated with objective assessments of balance and there was no effect of balance, objectively assessed, in moderating the association between the complaint of dizziness and 'anxiety'. The results highlight the complex relationship between vestibular dysfunction and complaint behaviour.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Audiological rehabilitation of patients with brainstem disorders.

A brief account is given of the course of rehabilitation of three patients with severe brainstem injuries. Particular use has been made of synthetic speech pattern assessment procedures which have been integrated into the management model of Goldstein and Stephens (1981). The use of speech stimuli of controllable simplicity has two main clinical benefits: the early course of re-acquisition can be examined analytically, second, aspects of speech receptive and productive rehabilitation can be facilitated. Re-acquisition of perceptive ability in some of these patients may follow a progression from simple to complex acoustic pattern contrasts and this may provide an effective basis for future techniques of rehabilitation.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

A clinical study of tinnitus maskers.

This report describes a three-centre study of the effectiveness of tinnitus maskers, combination instruments (masker plus hearing aid), and hearing aids in the management of tinnitus. Some 472 patients entered the study with 382 reaching the first evaluation session after a minimum period of 6 months from fitting, and 206 reaching the second evaluation not less than 6 months after the first. The study included two control groups, by which to assess the comparative benefit to be derived solely from the investigation and counselling of such patients. The principal results were as follows: thorough investigation and careful counselling do much to help the patient; much further benefit is given by tinnitus masking instruments of various kinds; maskers are more often effective than hearing aids, although the latter are frequently the most appropriate first treatment of those patients who have substantial (but not yet treated or insufficiently treated) hearing difficulties as well; there is no evidence of masking having any harmful effect on hearing. None of the audiometric or tinnitus tests currently employed can be regarded as predictive, either of tinnitus severity, or of the eventual outcome of masking therapy, however certain measurements may help as a guide to patient management.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

The Crown-Crisp Experiential Index in patients complaining of tinnitus.

The Crown-Crisp Experiential Index (CCEI) was administered to 472 patients complaining of tinnitus who took part in a multi-centre study on tinnitus masking (Hazell et al., 1985). This inventory includes scales of anxiety, phobic anxiety, obsessionality, somatic anxiety, depression and hysteria. The scores on the CCEI scales for patients with and without 'dizziness' as an additional symptom were compared. In the non-dizzy patients, scores on the anxiety and depression scales were consistently elevated compared with the published normative values. In the dizzy patients scores on all scales except Hysteria were elevated. The most pronounced and consistent difference between the dizzy and non-dizzy patients was in the Somatic Anxiety scale. The presence of dizziness also obscured the relationship between the CCEI scales and measures of tinnitus. In contrast, however, hearing disability did not appear to influence the results.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1985

A controlled study of tinnitus masking.

As part of a multi-centre study on tinnitus maskers, a controlled study with random allocation of patients to treatment groups was performed. The two therapists subdivided the patients according to whether or not they experienced hearing difficulties in addition to their tinnitus. Those with no hearing difficulties were randomly assigned to a control group with no instrumental treatment, or to treatment with one of two types of masker. Those with hearing difficulties were assigned to hearing aid, combination instrument, or masker treatment. No significant differences were found between treatment groups for those with no hearing difficulties. The differences between treatment groups for those fitted with maskers were small, but tended to indicate increased benefit derived from maskers. A number of interesting inter-therapist effects were found.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗
PubMed1984

Development of the audiometer and audiometry.

The authors consider the reasons why the induction coil audiometer was not widely adopted in clinical practise. The conclusion is that they offered little relevance to the management of hearing-impaired patients at that time, bearing in mind the state of therapeutics, surgery and contemporary aids to hearing.

Audiometry↗
PubMed1984

Non-electric aids to hearing: a short history.

The historical development of non-electric aids to hearing is traced and a classification of the different types presented. Comparative measures of their different acoustical characteristics will be shown, indicating their relative value in various types of hearing losses. Attitudes towards such devices and principles involved in their selection in the 19th Century are discussed.

Acoustics↗
PubMed1984

Hearing-aid selection: an integrated approach.

This paper outlines the application of a general model of audiological rehabilitation to hearing-aid selection in its broadest sense. In it an attempt is made to take into account the non-acoustical as well as the acoustical factors. From the standpoint of an extension of the general model, it illustrates the way in which the information obtained in the evaluative part of the rehabilitative model may be applied in the remedial part of that model. The overall aim in this is to facilitate an evolution of the process of hearing-aid selection from a clinical 'art' to a clinical 'science' considering all relevant factors.

Attitude↗
PubMed1983

The prevention of hearing loss.

Hearing loss can affect up to 20% of the adult population and prevalence increases with age. However, hearing loss in childhood may have the most profound effects because of the block to the development of communication skills. Prevention of hearing loss is of major importance as treatment is often unsatisfactory. Causes are numerous, and may be multifactorial in an individual. Important causes include trauma, including noise and air pressure changes; genetic hearing loss; infection, including rubella; drug damage, metabolic and neoplasia.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Immunological disorders and auditory lesions.

The mechanisms by which auto-immune diseases may result in hearing disorders are reviewed. This is followed by a more detailed consideration of specific autoimmune disorders generally associated with auditory dysfunction. Four pilot studies examining the relationship between auto-immune disorders and hearing loss are briefly presented.

Antibodies, Antinuclear↗
PubMed1982

Some historical aspects of ototoxicity.

From a historical standpoint, the problems of ototoxicity came in two major stages. The first, in the nineteenth century, indirectly resulted from the chemical extraction, purification and, sometimes later, synthesis of the active components of traditional drugs, which led to their use in larger doses. The second stage, in the twentieth century, derived from the drive to find more and more effective antibacterial agents, which often had damaging side effects on the inner ear. These effects were highlighted by the development of more sophisticated techniques to detect and measure the ototoxic actions of drugs. The present brief account traces some early reports of ototoxicity from the time of Richard Morton (1692) onwards.

Arsphenamine↗