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)

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

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

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

Partial hearing loss in both ears.

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.

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

Procedures for correcting HEARING DISORDERS.

The fitting and adjusting of artificial parts of the body. (From Stedman's, 26th ed)

The study of hearing and hearing impairment.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

Partial or complete hearing loss in one ear.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Ability to make speech sounds that are recognizable.

Hearing loss in frequencies above 1000 hertz.

The teaching or training of those individuals with hearing disability or impairment.

Ability to determine the specific location of a sound source.

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

Hearing loss due to damage or impairment of both the conductive elements (HEARING LOSS, CONDUCTIVE) and the sensorineural elements (HEARING LOSS, SENSORINEURAL) of the ear.

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.

Implants used in arthroscopic surgery and other orthopedic procedures to attach soft tissue to bone. One end of a suture is tied to soft tissue and the other end to the implant. The anchors are made of a variety of materials including titanium, stainless steel, or absorbable polymers.

The part of the inner ear (LABYRINTH) that is concerned with hearing. It forms the anterior part of the labyrinth, as a snail-like structure that is situated almost horizontally anterior to the VESTIBULAR LABYRINTH.

A surgical specialty concerned with the study and treatment of disorders of the ear, nose, and throat.

Sensorineural hearing loss which develops suddenly over a period of hours or a few days. It varies in severity from mild to total deafness. Sudden deafness can be due to head trauma, vascular diseases, infections, or can appear without obvious cause or warning.

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

Noise present in occupational, industrial, and factory situations.

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

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

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).

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.

Skills in the use of language which lead to proficiency in written or spoken communication.

Hearing loss due to disease of the AUDITORY PATHWAYS (in the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM) which originate in the COCHLEAR NUCLEI of the PONS and then ascend bilaterally to the MIDBRAIN, the THALAMUS, and then the AUDITORY CORTEX in the TEMPORAL LOBE. Bilateral lesions of the auditory pathways are usually required to cause central hearing loss. Cortical deafness refers to loss of hearing due to bilateral auditory cortex lesions. Unilateral BRAIN STEM lesions involving the cochlear nuclei may result in unilateral hearing loss.

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)

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

Methods of creating machines and devices.

Electronic devices that increase the magnitude of a signal's power level or current.

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

The narrow passage way that conducts the sound collected by the EAR AURICLE to the TYMPANIC MEMBRANE.

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

An implant used to replace one or more of the ear ossicles. They are usually made of plastic, Gelfoam, ceramic, or stainless steel.

The yellow or brown waxy secretions produced by vestigial apocrine sweat glands in the external ear canal.

The identification of selected parameters in newborn infants by various tests, examinations, or other procedures. Screening may be performed by clinical or laboratory measures. A screening test is designed to sort out healthy neonates (INFANT, NEWBORN) from those not well, but the screening test is not intended as a diagnostic device, rather instead as epidemiologic.

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

Surgery performed on the external, middle, or internal ear.

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

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

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

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 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)

The degree to which the individual regards the health care service or product or the manner in which it is delivered by the provider as useful, effective, or beneficial.

The hearing and equilibrium system of the body. It consists of three parts: the EXTERNAL EAR, the MIDDLE EAR, and the INNER EAR. Sound waves are transmitted through this organ where vibration is transduced to nerve signals that pass through the ACOUSTIC NERVE to the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM. The inner ear also contains the vestibular organ that maintains equilibrium by transducing signals to the VESTIBULAR NERVE.

An abnormally disproportionate increase in the sensation of loudness in response to auditory stimuli of normal volume. COCHLEAR DISEASES; VESTIBULOCOCHLEAR NERVE DISEASES; FACIAL NERVE DISEASES; STAPES SURGERY; and other disorders may be associated with this condition.

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.

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

Surgical insertion of an electronic hearing device (AUDITORY BRAIN STEM IMPLANTS) with electrodes to the cochlea nucleus in the BRAIN STEM rather than to the inner ear as in COCHLEAR IMPLANTATION.

Either of a pair of compound bones forming the lateral (left and right) surfaces and base of the skull which contains the organs of hearing. It is a large bone formed by the fusion of parts: the squamous (the flattened anterior-superior part), the tympanic (the curved anterior-inferior part), the mastoid (the irregular posterior portion), and the petrous (the part at the base of the skull).

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.

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.

Tests for central hearing disorders based on the competing message technique (binaural separation).

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