Stavros Hatzopoulos

By Stavros Hatzopoulos, Henryk Skarzynski and Piotr H Skarzynski

Within the last decade, numerous new challenges have appeared in the UNHS arena, such as (i) the need to validate the automated OAE/ABR screeners; (ii) the need to qualify the responses from the automated devices; (iii) the need to obtain additional information (i.e., hearing threshold) for the subject under assessment, in a short period of time; (iv) and the need to integrate numerous measurements in a single portable automated device. To respond to these clinical demands, several new methodologies have been introduced to the UNHS clinical practice. In this context, the aim of this chapter is to provide information on these new technological trends.

Part of the book: Update On Hearing Loss

By Stavros Hatzopoulos, Andrea Ciorba, Virginia Corazzi and Piotr Henryk Skarzynski

Otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) are responses originating from the inner ear. Clinically they are evoked by different families of acoustic stimuli, such as transient acoustic clicks, tone pips, and pure tones. Upon stimulation, the acoustic energy is transformed in the middle ear at acoustic pressure acting upon the stapes footplate. The pressure wave inside the cochlea stimulates the OAE generators and a reverse acoustic energy (the OAE response) propagates from the inner ear, through the stapes and the middle ear structures, to the tympanic membrane. Considering that the acoustic energy has to cross the middle ear structures twice, the functional status of the middle ear can influence or attenuate considerably the OAE response. In this context, any vestibular alteration can influence the middle ear mechanics (mainly the middle ear impedance) and consequently the OAE response characteristics. The data in the literature indicate that OAEs are very sensitive to changes in the intracranial pressure. These pressure alterations during the Meniere’s hydrops phase are expressed as changes in the intralabyrinthine pressure. Other studies have presented data supporting the assumption that OAEs can adequately monitor middle ear changes induced by the presentation of the glycerol test. The data in the literature suggest that OAEs can monitor the progress of Meniere’s disease using reliable indices.

Part of the book: Up to Date on Meniere's Disease

By Thais Antonelli Diniz Hein, Stavros Hatzopoulos, Piotr Henryk Skarzynski and Maria Francisca Colella-Santos

The wideband tympanometry (WBT) assesses the middle ear function with a transient wideband stimulus in order to capture the middle ear behavior at a wide range of frequencies. Data in the literature suggest that the WBT has more sensibility to detect middle ear disorders than the traditional tympanometry. In this context, pathologies, which might be more easily identified/monitored by WBT, include otosclerosis, flaccid eardrums, ossicular chain discontinuity with semicircular canal dehiscence, and negative middle ear pressure with middle ear effusion. The chapter presents information on classical tympanometry, the multifrequency tympanometry equivalent coded as WBT, clarification of terms used in WBT measurements, and a short overview of clinical applications in infants and adults.

Part of the book: Advances in Clinical Audiology

By Stavros Hatzopoulos

Part of the book: Advances in Clinical Audiology

By Caroline Donadon, Stavros Hatzopoulos, Piotr Henry Skarzynski and Milaine Dominici Sanfins

This chapter will present information on the central auditory nervous system with a special focus in the auditory pathways. The intrinsic and extrinsic aspects of neuroplasticity will be described, and the neuroplasticity of the auditory system will be presented in detail. These topics are the basis of the auditory training (AT) program for central auditory processing disorders.

Part of the book: The Human Auditory System

By Andrea Ciorba, Piotr H. Skarzynski and Stavros Hatzopoulos

Part of the book: Latest Advances in Cochlear Implant Technologies and Related Clinical Applications