The testing of the acuity of the sense of hearing to determine the thresholds of the lowest intensity levels at which an individual can hear a set of tones. The frequencies between 125 and 8000 Hz are used to test air conduction thresholds and the frequencies between 250 and 4000 Hz are used to test bone conduction thresholds.

Measurement of hearing based on the use of pure tones of various frequencies and intensities as auditory stimuli.

Communication through a system of conventional vocal symbols.

The process whereby an utterance is decoded into a representation in terms of linguistic units (sequences of phonetic segments which combine to form lexical and grammatical morphemes).

A form of electrophysiologic audiometry in which an analog computer is included in the circuit to average out ongoing or spontaneous brain wave activity. A characteristic pattern of response to a sound stimulus may then become evident. Evoked response audiometry is known also as electric response audiometry.

Acquired or developmental conditions marked by an impaired ability to comprehend or generate spoken forms of language.

Ability to make speech sounds that are recognizable.

The acoustic aspects of speech in terms of frequency, intensity, and time.

Hearing loss in frequencies above 1000 hertz.

Measurement of the ability to hear speech under various conditions of intensity and noise interference using sound-field as well as earphones and bone oscillators.

Measurement of parameters of the speech product such as vocal tone, loudness, pitch, voice quality, articulation, resonance, phonation, phonetic structure and prosody.

Conditions that impair the transmission of auditory impulses and information from the level of the ear to the temporal cortices, including the sensorineural pathways.

Treatment for individuals with speech defects and disorders that involves counseling and use of various exercises and aids to help the development of new speech habits.

Objective tests of middle ear function based on the difficulty (impedance) or ease (admittance) of sound flow through the middle ear. These include static impedance and dynamic impedance (i.e., tympanometry and impedance tests in conjunction with intra-aural muscle reflex elicitation). This term is used also for various components of impedance and admittance (e.g., compliance, conductance, reactance, resistance, susceptance).

A general term for the complete or partial loss of the ability to hear from one or both ears.

The audibility limit of discriminating sound intensity and pitch.

Hearing loss due to exposure to explosive loud noise or chronic exposure to sound level greater than 85 dB. The hearing loss is often in the frequency range 4000-6000 hertz.

Part of an ear examination that measures the ability of sound to reach the brain.

Noise present in occupational, industrial, and factory situations.

The ability or act of sensing and transducing ACOUSTIC STIMULATION to the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM. It is also called audition.

Hearing loss due to interference with the mechanical reception or amplification of sound to the COCHLEA. The interference is in the outer or middle ear involving the EAR CANAL; TYMPANIC MEMBRANE; or EAR OSSICLES.

Loss of sensitivity to sounds as a result of auditory stimulation, manifesting as a temporary shift in auditory threshold. The temporary threshold shift, TTS, is expressed in decibels.

Hearing loss resulting from damage to the COCHLEA and the sensorineural elements which lie internally beyond the oval and round windows. These elements include the AUDITORY NERVE and its connections in the BRAINSTEM.

A nonspecific symptom of hearing disorder characterized by the sensation of buzzing, ringing, clicking, pulsations, and other noises in the ear. Objective tinnitus refers to noises generated from within the ear or adjacent structures that can be heard by other individuals. The term subjective tinnitus is used when the sound is audible only to the affected individual. Tinnitus may occur as a manifestation of COCHLEAR DISEASES; VESTIBULOCOCHLEAR NERVE DISEASES; INTRACRANIAL HYPERTENSION; CRANIOCEREBRAL TRAUMA; and other conditions.

The science or study of speech sounds and their production, transmission, and reception, and their analysis, classification, and transcription. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

Tests of accuracy in pronouncing speech sounds, e.g., Iowa Pressure Articulation Test, Deep Test of Articulation, Templin-Darley Tests of Articulation, Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation, Screening Speech Articulation Test, Arizona Articulation Proficiency Scale.

Self-generated faint acoustic signals from the inner ear (COCHLEA) without external stimulation. These faint signals can be recorded in the EAR CANAL and are indications of active OUTER AUDITORY HAIR CELLS. Spontaneous otoacoustic emissions are found in all classes of land vertebrates.

Tests of the ability to hear and understand speech as determined by scoring the number of words in a word list repeated correctly.

Any sound which is unwanted or interferes with HEARING other sounds.

Electrical waves in the CEREBRAL CORTEX generated by BRAIN STEM structures in response to auditory click stimuli. These are found to be abnormal in many patients with CEREBELLOPONTINE ANGLE lesions, MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, or other DEMYELINATING DISEASES.

Personal devices for protection of the ears from loud or high intensity noise, water, or cold. These include earmuffs and earplugs.

Software capable of recognizing dictation and transcribing the spoken words into written text.

Use of sound to elicit a response in the nervous system.

Transmission of sound waves through vibration of bones in the SKULL to the inner ear (COCHLEA). By using bone conduction stimulation and by bypassing any OUTER EAR or MIDDLE EAR abnormalities, hearing thresholds of the cochlea can be determined. Bone conduction hearing differs from normal hearing which is based on air conduction stimulation via the EAR CANAL and the TYMPANIC MEMBRANE.

A test to determine the lowest sound intensity level at which fifty percent or more of the spondaic test words (words of two syllables having equal stress) are repeated correctly.

Examination of the EAR CANAL and eardrum with an OTOSCOPE.

Surgical reconstruction of the hearing mechanism of the middle ear, with restoration of the drum membrane to protect the round window from sound pressure, and establishment of ossicular continuity between the tympanic membrane and the oval window. (Dorland, 28th ed.)

Wearable sound-amplifying devices that are intended to compensate for impaired hearing. These generic devices include air-conduction hearing aids and bone-conduction hearing aids. (UMDNS, 1999)

The graphic registration of the frequency and intensity of sounds, such as speech, infant crying, and animal vocalizations.

Electronic hearing devices typically used for patients with normal outer and middle ear function, but defective inner ear function. In the COCHLEA, the hair cells (HAIR CELLS, VESTIBULAR) may be absent or damaged but there are residual nerve fibers. The device electrically stimulates the COCHLEAR NERVE to create sound sensation.

Sound that expresses emotion through rhythm, melody, and harmony.

Pathological processes of the ear, the hearing, and the equilibrium system of the body.

Acquired or developmental cognitive disorders of AUDITORY PERCEPTION characterized by a reduced ability to perceive information contained in auditory stimuli despite intact auditory pathways. Affected individuals have difficulty with speech perception, sound localization, and comprehending the meaning of inflections of speech.

A method of speech used after laryngectomy, with sound produced by vibration of the column of air in the esophagus against the contracting cricopharyngeal sphincter. (Dorland, 27th ed)

Partial hearing loss in both ears.

Disorders of speech articulation caused by imperfect coordination of pharynx, larynx, tongue, or face muscles. This may result from CRANIAL NERVE DISEASES; NEUROMUSCULAR DISEASES; CEREBELLAR DISEASES; BASAL GANGLIA DISEASES; BRAIN STEM diseases; or diseases of the corticobulbar tracts (see PYRAMIDAL TRACTS). The cortical language centers are intact in this condition. (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, p489)

The electric response evoked in the CEREBRAL CORTEX by ACOUSTIC STIMULATION or stimulation of the AUDITORY PATHWAYS.

Formation of spongy bone in the labyrinth capsule which can progress toward the STAPES (stapedial fixation) or anteriorly toward the COCHLEA leading to conductive, sensorineural, or mixed HEARING LOSS. Several genes are associated with familial otosclerosis with varied clinical signs.

Methods of enabling a patient without a larynx or with a non-functional larynx to produce voice or speech. The methods may be pneumatic or electronic.

A disturbance in the normal fluency and time patterning of speech that is inappropriate for the individual's age. This disturbance is characterized by frequent repetitions or prolongations of sounds or syllables. Various other types of speech dysfluencies may also be involved including interjections, broken words, audible or silent blocking, circumlocutions, words produced with an excess of physical tension, and monosyllabic whole word repetitions. Stuttering may occur as a developmental condition in childhood or as an acquired disorder which may be associated with BRAIN INFARCTIONS and other BRAIN DISEASES. (From DSM-IV, 1994)

The sounds produced by humans by the passage of air through the LARYNX and over the VOCAL CORDS, and then modified by the resonance organs, the NASOPHARYNX, and the MOUTH.

Disorders of hearing or auditory perception due to pathological processes of the AUDITORY PATHWAYS in the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM. These include CENTRAL HEARING LOSS and AUDITORY PERCEPTUAL DISORDERS.

Disorders of the quality of speech characterized by the substitution, omission, distortion, and addition of phonemes.

Surgery performed in which part of the STAPES, a bone in the middle ear, is removed and a prosthesis is placed to help transmit sound between the middle ear and inner ear.

The interference of one perceptual stimulus with another causing a decrease or lessening in perceptual effectiveness.

A verbal or nonverbal means of communicating ideas or feelings.

A group of cognitive disorders characterized by the inability to perform previously learned skills that cannot be attributed to deficits of motor or sensory function. The two major subtypes of this condition are ideomotor (see APRAXIA, IDEOMOTOR) and ideational apraxia, which refers to loss of the ability to mentally formulate the processes involved with performing an action. For example, dressing apraxia may result from an inability to mentally formulate the act of placing clothes on the body. Apraxias are generally associated with lesions of the dominant PARIETAL LOBE and supramarginal gyrus. (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, pp56-7)

That component of SPEECH which gives the primary distinction to a given speaker's VOICE when pitch and loudness are excluded. It involves both phonatory and resonatory characteristics. Some of the descriptions of voice quality are harshness, breathiness and nasality.

Equipment that provides mentally or physically disabled persons with a means of communication. The aids include display boards, typewriters, cathode ray tubes, computers, and speech synthesizers. The output of such aids includes written words, artificial speech, language signs, Morse code, and pictures.

Hearing loss without a physical basis. Often observed in patients with psychological or behavioral disorders.

The process whereby auditory stimuli are selected, organized, and interpreted by the organism.

Surgical insertion of an electronic hearing device (COCHLEAR IMPLANTS) with electrodes to the COCHLEAR NERVE in the inner ear to create sound sensation in patients with residual nerve fibers.

Intra-aural contraction of tensor tympani and stapedius in response to sound.

The science of language, including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and historical linguistics. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

An illusion of movement, either of the external world revolving around the individual or of the individual revolving in space. Vertigo may be associated with disorders of the inner ear (EAR, INNER); VESTIBULAR NERVE; BRAINSTEM; or CEREBRAL CORTEX. Lesions in the TEMPORAL LOBE and PARIETAL LOBE may be associated with FOCAL SEIZURES that may feature vertigo as an ictal manifestation. (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, pp300-1)

The process by which an observer comprehends speech by watching the movements of the speaker's lips without hearing the speaker's voice.

Pathological processes of the VESTIBULAR LABYRINTH which contains part of the balancing apparatus. Patients with vestibular diseases show instability and are at risk of frequent falls.

A number of tests used to determine if the brain or balance portion of the inner ear are causing dizziness.

The gradual expansion in complexity and meaning of symbols and sounds as perceived and interpreted by the individual through a maturational and learning process. Stages in development include babbling, cooing, word imitation with cognition, and use of short sentences.

A general term for the complete loss of the ability to hear from both ears.

The science pertaining to the interrelationship of psychologic phenomena and the individual's response to the physical properties of sound.

Conditions characterized by language abilities (comprehension and expression of speech and writing) that are below the expected level for a given age, generally in the absence of an intellectual impairment. These conditions may be associated with DEAFNESS; BRAIN DISEASES; MENTAL DISORDERS; or environmental factors.

Recording of nystagmus based on changes in the electrical field surrounding the eye produced by the difference in potential between the cornea and the retina.

The process of producing vocal sounds by means of VOCAL CORDS vibrating in an expiratory blast of air.

The region of the cerebral cortex that receives the auditory radiation from the MEDIAL GENICULATE BODY.

The space and structures directly internal to the TYMPANIC MEMBRANE and external to the inner ear (LABYRINTH). Its major components include the AUDITORY OSSICLES and the EUSTACHIAN TUBE that connects the cavity of middle ear (tympanic cavity) to the upper part of the throat.

The sum or the stock of words used by a language, a group, or an individual. (From Webster, 3d ed)

The aggregate business enterprise of manufacturing textiles. (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

A discipline concerned with relations between messages and the characteristics of individuals who select and interpret them; it deals directly with the processes of encoding (phonetics) and decoding (psychoacoustics) as they relate states of messages to states of communicators.

Procedures for correcting HEARING DISORDERS.

The language and sounds expressed by a child at a particular maturational stage in development.

Tests designed to assess language behavior and abilities. They include tests of vocabulary, comprehension, grammar and functional use of language, e.g., Development Sentence Scoring, Receptive-Expressive Emergent Language Scale, Parsons Language Sample, Utah Test of Language Development, Michigan Language Inventory and Verbal Language Development Scale, Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities, Northwestern Syntax Screening Test, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Ammons Full-Range Picture Vocabulary Test, and Assessment of Children's Language Comprehension.

A dimension of auditory sensation varying with cycles per second of the sound stimulus.

The analysis of a critical number of sensory stimuli or facts (the pattern) by physiological processes such as vision (PATTERN RECOGNITION, VISUAL), touch, or hearing.

Three long canals (anterior, posterior, and lateral) of the bony labyrinth. They are set at right angles to each other and are situated posterosuperior to the vestibule of the bony labyrinth (VESTIBULAR LABYRINTH). The semicircular canals have five openings into the vestibule with one shared by the anterior and the posterior canals. Within the canals are the SEMICIRCULAR DUCTS.

Persons with any degree of loss of hearing that has an impact on their activities of daily living or that requires special assistance or intervention.

Either of the two fleshy, full-blooded margins of the mouth.

Conditions characterized by deficiencies of comprehension or expression of written and spoken forms of language. These include acquired and developmental disorders.

The study of speech or language disorders and their diagnosis and correction.

The exposure to potentially harmful chemical, physical, or biological agents that occurs as a result of one's occupation.

Movement of a part of the body for the purpose of communication.

The act or fact of grasping the meaning, nature, or importance of; understanding. (American Heritage Dictionary, 4th ed) Includes understanding by a patient or research subject of information disclosed orally or in writing.

An aphasia characterized by impairment of expressive LANGUAGE (speech, writing, signs) and relative preservation of receptive language abilities (i.e., comprehension). This condition is caused by lesions of the motor association cortex in the FRONTAL LOBE (BROCA AREA and adjacent cortical and white matter regions).

Diseases caused by factors involved in one's employment.

Studies which start with the identification of persons with a disease of interest and a control (comparison, referent) group without the disease. The relationship of an attribute to the disease is examined by comparing diseased and non-diseased persons with regard to the frequency or levels of the attribute in each group.

A cognitive disorder marked by an impaired ability to comprehend or express language in its written or spoken form. This condition is caused by diseases which affect the language areas of the dominant hemisphere. Clinical features are used to classify the various subtypes of this condition. General categories include receptive, expressive, and mixed forms of aphasia.

The branch of physics that deals with sound and sound waves. In medicine it is often applied in procedures in speech and hearing studies. With regard to the environment, it refers to the characteristics of a room, auditorium, theatre, building, etc. that determines the audibility or fidelity of sounds in it. (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

Studies in which the presence or absence of disease or other health-related variables are determined in each member of the study population or in a representative sample at one particular time. This contrasts with LONGITUDINAL STUDIES which are followed over a period of time.

Signals for an action; that specific portion of a perceptual field or pattern of stimuli to which a subject has learned to respond.

Imaging techniques used to colocalize sites of brain functions or physiological activity with brain structures.

Pathological processes that affect voice production, usually involving VOCAL CORDS and the LARYNGEAL MUCOSA. Voice disorders can be caused by organic (anatomical), or functional (emotional or psychological) factors leading to DYSPHONIA; APHONIA; and defects in VOICE QUALITY, loudness, and pitch.

Failure of the SOFT PALATE to reach the posterior pharyngeal wall to close the opening between the oral and nasal cavities. Incomplete velopharyngeal closure is primarily related to surgeries (ADENOIDECTOMY; CLEFT PALATE) or an incompetent PALATOPHARYNGEAL SPHINCTER. It is characterized by hypernasal speech.

NEURAL PATHWAYS and connections within the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM, beginning at the hair cells of the ORGAN OF CORTI, continuing along the eighth cranial nerve, and terminating at the AUDITORY CORTEX.

Elements of limited time intervals, contributing to particular results or situations.

The relationships between symbols and their meanings.

Bony structure of the mouth that holds the teeth. It consists of the MANDIBLE and the MAXILLA.

A device, activated electronically or by expired pulmonary air, which simulates laryngeal activity and enables a laryngectomized person to speak. Examples of the pneumatic mechanical device are the Tokyo and Van Hunen artificial larynges. Electronic devices include the Western Electric electrolarynx, Tait oral vibrator, Cooper-Rand electrolarynx and the Ticchioni pipe.

Behavioral manifestations of cerebral dominance in which there is preferential use and superior functioning of either the left or the right side, as in the preferred use of the right hand or right foot.

Rehabilitation of persons with language disorders or training of children with language development disorders.

Non-invasive method of demonstrating internal anatomy based on the principle that atomic nuclei in a strong magnetic field absorb pulses of radiofrequency energy and emit them as radiowaves which can be reconstructed into computerized images. The concept includes proton spin tomographic techniques.

Age as a constituent element or influence contributing to the production of a result. It may be applicable to the cause or the effect of a circumstance. It is used with human or animal concepts but should be differentiated from AGING, a physiological process, and TIME FACTORS which refers only to the passage of time.

'Reading' in a medical context often refers to the act or process of a person interpreting and comprehending written or printed symbols, such as letters or words, for the purpose of deriving information or meaning from them.

The ability to speak, read, or write several languages or many languages with some facility. Bilingualism is the most common form. (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

Computer-assisted processing of electric, ultrasonic, or electronic signals to interpret function and activity.

The knowledge or perception that someone or something present has been previously encountered.

A variety of techniques used to help individuals utilize their voice for various purposes and with minimal use of muscle energy.

Observation of a population for a sufficient number of persons over a sufficient number of years to generate incidence or mortality rates subsequent to the selection of the study group.

The perceived attribute of a sound which corresponds to the physical attribute of intensity.

The range or frequency distribution of a measurement in a population (of organisms, organs or things) that has not been selected for the presence of disease or abnormality.

The comparison of the quantity of meaningful data to the irrelevant or incorrect data.

Muscles of facial expression or mimetic muscles that include the numerous muscles supplied by the facial nerve that are attached to and move the skin of the face. (From Stedman, 25th ed)

Levels within a diagnostic group which are established by various measurement criteria applied to the seriousness of a patient's disorder.

A mechanism of communicating one's own sensory system information about a task, movement or skill.

A cognitive disorder characterized by an impaired ability to comprehend written and printed words or phrases despite intact vision. This condition may be developmental or acquired. Developmental dyslexia is marked by reading achievement that falls substantially below that expected given the individual's chronological age, measured intelligence, and age-appropriate education. The disturbance in reading significantly interferes with academic achievement or with activities of daily living that require reading skills. (From DSM-IV)

Psychophysical technique that permits the estimation of the bias of the observer as well as detectability of the signal (i.e., stimulus) in any sensory modality. (From APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed.)

Difficulty and/or pain in PHONATION or speaking.

The measurement of magnetic fields over the head generated by electric currents in the brain. As in any electrical conductor, electric fields in the brain are accompanied by orthogonal magnetic fields. The measurement of these fields provides information about the localization of brain activity which is complementary to that provided by ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHY. Magnetoencephalography may be used alone or together with electroencephalography, for measurement of spontaneous or evoked activity, and for research or clinical purposes.

A statistical technique that isolates and assesses the contributions of categorical independent variables to variation in the mean of a continuous dependent variable.

A muscular organ in the mouth that is covered with pink tissue called mucosa, tiny bumps called papillae, and thousands of taste buds. The tongue is anchored to the mouth and is vital for chewing, swallowing, and for speech.

Lower lateral part of the cerebral hemisphere responsible for auditory, olfactory, and semantic processing. It is located inferior to the lateral fissure and anterior to the OCCIPITAL LOBE.

Gradual bilateral hearing loss associated with aging that is due to progressive degeneration of cochlear structures and central auditory pathways. Hearing loss usually begins with the high frequencies then progresses to sounds of middle and low frequencies.

The time from the onset of a stimulus until a response is observed.

Binary classification measures to assess test results. Sensitivity or recall rate is the proportion of true positives. Specificity is the probability of correctly determining the absence of a condition. (From Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed)

Predetermined sets of questions used to collect data - clinical data, social status, occupational group, etc. The term is often applied to a self-completed survey instrument.

Ability to determine the specific location of a sound source.

A pair of cone-shaped elastic mucous membrane projecting from the laryngeal wall and forming a narrow slit between them. Each contains a thickened free edge (vocal ligament) extending from the THYROID CARTILAGE to the ARYTENOID CARTILAGE, and a VOCAL MUSCLE that shortens or relaxes the vocal cord to control sound production.

The total number of cases of a given disease in a specified population at a designated time. It is differentiated from INCIDENCE, which refers to the number of new cases in the population at a given time.

The ability to differentiate tones.

Organized periodic procedures performed on large groups of people for the purpose of detecting disease.

Dominance of one cerebral hemisphere over the other in cerebral functions.

Disorders of verbal and nonverbal communication caused by receptive or expressive LANGUAGE DISORDERS, cognitive dysfunction (e.g., MENTAL RETARDATION), psychiatric conditions, and HEARING DISORDERS.

The selecting and organizing of visual stimuli based on the individual's past experience.

Learning to respond verbally to a verbal stimulus cue.