The aim of this study was to evaluate distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) and extended high-frequency (EHF) thresholds in a control group and in patients with normal hearing sensitivity in the conventional frequency range and reporting unilateral tinnitus. Seventy patients were enrolled in the study: 47 patients with tinnitus in the left ear (Group 1) and 23 patients with tinnitus in the right ear (Group 2). The control group included 60 otologically normal subjects with no history of pathological tinnitus. Pure-tone thresholds were measured at all standard frequencies from 0.25 to 8 kHz, and at 10, 12.5, 14, and 16 kHz. The DPOAEs were measured in the frequency range from approximately 0.5 to 9 kHz using the primary tones presented at 65/55 dB SPL. The left ears of patients in Group 1 had higher median hearing thresholds than those in the control subjects at all 4 EHFs, and lower mean DPOAE levels than those in the controls for almost all primary frequencies, but significantly lower only in the 2-kHz region. Median hearing thresholds in the right ears of patients in Group 2 were higher than those in the right ears of the control subjects in the EHF range at 12.5, 14, and 16 kHz. The mean DPOAE levels in the right ears were lower in patients from Group 2 than those in the controls for the majority of primary frequencies, but only reached statistical significance in the 8-kHz region. Hearing thresholds in tinnitus ears with normal hearing sensitivity in the conventional range were higher in the EHF region than those in non-tinnitus control subjects, implying that cochlear damage in the basal region may result in the perception of tinnitus. In general, DPOAE levels in tinnitus ears were lower than those in ears of non-tinnitus subjects, suggesting that subclinical cochlear impairment in limited areas, which can be revealed by DPOAEs but not by conventional audiometry, may exist in tinnitus ears. For patients with tinnitus, DPOAE measures combined with behavioral EHF hearing thresholds may provide additional clinical information about the status of the peripheral hearing.

Clicks and a set of tone bursts covering the same frequency band were applied as a stimuli evoking otoacoustic emissions (OAE). Recorded otoacoustic emissions were decomposed into the basic waveforms by means of high-resolution adaptive time–frequency approximation method based on the matching pursuit algorithm. The method allows for description of the signal components in terms of frequencies, time occurrences, time spans, and energy. The analysis of OAE’s energy density distributions in time–frequency space revealed that click responses can be considered as linear superpositions of responses to tone bursts. The frequency–latency relationship was studied and compared with earlier works. The method made possible the exhaustive description of the resonant modes specific for given subject/ear. They were characterized not only by the close frequencies appearing for different tones, but they usually had similar latencies and time spans. Short-time and long-time resonant modes were identified. The second ones might be connected with spontaneous emissions. The method opens new perspectives in studying the fine structure of the OAE and testing of the theoretical models.

Objective: A postlingually deaf patient who receives a cochlear implant (CI) acquires multiple benefits, not just audiological but also nonaudiological: improvement in quality of life, psychological well-being, and social interaction. The aim of the study was to ascertain the relationship between the CI satisfaction experienced by adult, postlingually deaf individuals and their level of psychological distress, stress coping strategies, and global self-esteem. We also considered sociodemographic variables (such as sex, age, education, marital/partner status, and employment/study status), variables related to their deafness, and their length of experience with a CI. Design: The study had a cross-sectional design in which participants were asked to fill in a mailed personal inquiry form seeking sociodemographic data and one question related to CI satisfaction, and the following questionnaires: General Health Questionnaire-28, the Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. This study included 98 patients with postlingual deafness between 19 and 85 years old who had unilateral CIs. For some analyses, the patients were also divided into two groups: younger (≤60 years) and older (>60 years). Two other subgroups were those with shorter CI experience (1 to 2 years) and those with longer CI experience (5 to 6 years). As an objective reference, speech perception scores in quiet and in noise were also used. Results: The majority of postlingually deaf subjects rated their CI satisfaction as high or very high, and this was at similar levels in younger and older subjects, as well as in those who had used CIs for either a short or a long time. CI satisfaction was not related to speech perception scores, duration of deafness, length of CI use, or other sociodemographic factors. Positive self-esteem, having less severe symptoms of depression, and the use of humor or self-distraction were conducive to CI satisfaction. Using a coping strategy of denial had a negative association with CI satisfaction. Coping strategies and symptoms of mental distress varied between younger and older subjects. For younger subjects, higher CI satisfaction was associated with lower severity of depressive symptoms, whereas for the elderly, higher CI satisfaction was associated with less severe social dysfunction symptoms. Over the years of using a CI, the same strategy may have a different psychological function in providing satisfaction: for example, venting, which in the group with a short CI experience is negatively correlated to satisfaction, is positively correlated to satisfaction for those with longer CI experience. Conclusions: The results show that psychological factors—self-esteem, distress, and coping strategies—are important for CI satisfaction in postlingually deaf CI users. The results point to advantages in widening the availability of various tailored forms of psychological intervention for patients with postlingual deafness after receiving a CI.

Hearing disorders among school-age children are a current concern. Continuing studies have been performed in Poland since 2008, and on 2 December 2011 the EU Council adopted Conclusions on the Early Detection and Treatment of Communication Disorders in Children, Including the Use of e-Health Tools and innovative Solutions. The discussion now focuses not only on the efficacy of hearing screening programmes in schoolchildren, but what should be its general aim and what tests it should include? This paper makes the case that it is important to include central auditory processing disorder (CAPD) tests. One such test is the dichotic digits test (DDT). The aim of the presented study was to evaluate the usefulness of the DDT in detecting central hearing disorders in school-age children.During hearing screening programmes conducted in Poland in 2008-2010, exactly 235,664 children (7-12-years-old) were screened in 9,325 schools. Of this number, 7,642 were examined using the DDT test for CAPD. Screening programmes were conducted using the Sense Examination Platform.With the cut-off criterion set at the 5th percentile, results for the DDT applied in a divided attention mode were 11.4% positive for 7-year-olds and 11.3% for 12-year-olds. In the focused attention mode, the comparable result for 12-year-olds was 9.7%. There was a clear right ear advantage. In children with positive DDT results, a higher incidence of other disorders, such as dyslexia, was observed.A test for CAPD should be included in the hearing screening of school-age children. The results of this study form the basis for developing Polish standards in this area.

Introduction: ChatGPT has been tested in many disciplines, but only a few have involved hearing diagnosis and none to physiology or audiology more generally. The consistency of the chatbot’s responses to the same question posed multiple times has not been well investigated either. This study aimed to assess the accuracy and repeatability of ChatGPT 3.5 and 4 on test questions concerning objective measures of hearing. Of particular interest was the short-term repeatability of responses which was here tested on four separate days extended over one week. Methods: We used 30 single-answer, multiple-choice exam questions from a one-year course on objective methods of testing hearing. The questions were posed five times to both ChatGPT 3.5 (the free version) and ChatGPT 4 (the paid version) on each of four days (two days one week and two days the following week). The accuracy of the responses was evaluated in terms of a response key. To evaluate the repeatability of the responses over time, percent agreement and Cohen’s Kappa were calculated. Results: The overall accuracy of ChatGPT 3.5 was 48-49%, while that of ChatGPT 4 was 65-69%. ChatGPT 3.5 consistently failed to pass the threshold of 50% correct responses. Within a single day, the percent agreement was 76-79% for ChatGPT 3.5 and 87-88% for ChatGPT 4 (Cohen’s Kappa 0.67-0.71 and 0.81-0.84 respectively). The percent agreement between responses from different days was 75-79% for ChatGPT 3.5 and 85-88% for ChatGPT 4 (Cohen’s Kappa 0.65-0.69 and 0.80-0.85 respectively). Conclusion: ChatGPT 4 outperforms ChatGPT 3.5 both in accuracy and higher repeatability over time. However, the great variability of the responses casts doubt on possible professional applications of both versions.