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Pinsonnault-Skvarenina A, Hotton M, Sharp A, Chauvette L, Tremblay É, Choquette R, Ansaldo AI, Gagné JP, Lacerda ABM. Communication during the COVID-19 pandemic: the hearing-impaired perspective. Int J Audiol 2023; 62:1155-1165. [PMID: 36129442 DOI: 10.1080/14992027.2022.2120552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To understand the communicational and psychosocial effects of COVID-19 protective measures in real-life everyday communication settings. DESIGN An online survey consisting of close-set and open-ended questions aimed to describe the communication difficulties experienced in different communication activities (in-person and telecommunication) during the COVID-19 pandemic. STUDY SAMPLE 172 individuals with hearing loss and 130 who reported not having a hearing loss completed the study. They were recruited through social media, private audiology clinics, hospitals and monthly newsletters sent by the non-profit organisation "Audition Quebec." RESULTS Face masks were the most problematic protective measure for communication in 75-90% of participants. For all in-person communication activities, participants with hearing loss reported significantly more impact on communication than participants with normal hearing. They also exhibited more activity limitations and negative emotions associated with communication difficulties. CONCLUSION These results suggest that, in times of pandemic, individuals with hearing loss are more likely to exhibit communication breakdowns in their everyday activities. This may lead to social isolation and have a deleterious effect on their mental health. When interacting with individuals with hearing loss, communication strategies to optimise speech understanding should be used.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexis Pinsonnault-Skvarenina
- École d'orthophonie et d'audiologie, Faculté de médecine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada
- Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire en réadaptation du Montréal métropolitain, CIUSSS Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, Montréal, Canada
- Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology, McGill University, Montréal, Canada
| | - Mathieu Hotton
- Département de réadaptation, Faculté de médecine, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
- Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en réadaptation et intégration sociale, CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale, Québec, Canada
| | - Andréanne Sharp
- Département de réadaptation, Faculté de médecine, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
- CERVO Brain Research Center, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
| | - Loonan Chauvette
- Département de réadaptation, Faculté de médecine, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
- CERVO Brain Research Center, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
| | - Élodie Tremblay
- École d'orthophonie et d'audiologie, Faculté de médecine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada
| | - Ronald Choquette
- École d'orthophonie et d'audiologie, Faculté de médecine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada
| | - Ana Ines Ansaldo
- École d'orthophonie et d'audiologie, Faculté de médecine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada
- Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal - CIUSSS Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, Montréal, Canada
| | - Jean-Pierre Gagné
- École d'orthophonie et d'audiologie, Faculté de médecine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada
- Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire en réadaptation du Montréal métropolitain, CIUSSS Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, Montréal, Canada
- Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal - CIUSSS Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, Montréal, Canada
| | - Adriana Bender Moreira Lacerda
- École d'orthophonie et d'audiologie, Faculté de médecine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada
- Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal - CIUSSS Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, Montréal, Canada
- Co-titulaire de la Chaire de la Fondation Caroline-Durand en audition et vieillissement, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada
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Choi JH, Choi HJ, Kim DH, Park JH, An YH, Shim HJ. Effect of face masks on speech perception in noise of individuals with hearing aids. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:1036767. [PMID: 36532290 PMCID: PMC9754666 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.1036767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2022] [Accepted: 11/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Although several previous studies have confirmed that listeners find it difficult to perceive the speech of face-mask-wearing speakers, there has been little research into how masks affect hearing-impaired individuals using hearing aids. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the effects of masks on the speech perception in noise of hearing-impaired individuals and normal-hearing individuals. We also investigated the effect of masks on the gain conferred by hearing aids. The hearing-impaired group included 24 listeners (age: M = 69.5, SD = 8.6; M:F = 13:11) who had used hearing aids in everyday life for >1 month (M = 20.7, SD = 24.0) and the normal-hearing group included 26 listeners (age: M = 57.9, SD = 11.1; M:F = 13:13). Speech perception in noise was measured under no mask-auditory-only (no-mask-AO), no mask-auditory-visual (no-mask-AV), and mask-AV conditions at five signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs; -16, -12, -8, -4, 0 dB) using five lists of 25 monosyllabic Korean words. Video clips that included a female speaker's face and sound or the sound only were presented through a monitor and a loudspeaker located 1 m in front of the listener in a sound-attenuating booth. The degree of deterioration in speech perception caused by the mask (no-mask-AV minus mask-AV) was significantly greater for hearing-impaired vs. normal-hearing participants only at 0 dB SNR (Bonferroni's corrected p < 0.01). When the effects of a mask on speech perception, with and without hearing aids, were compared in the hearing-impaired group, the degree of deterioration in speech perception caused by the mask was significantly reduced by the hearing aids compared with that without hearing aids at 0 and -4 dB SNR (Bonferroni's corrected p < 0.01). The improvement conferred by hearing aids (unaided speech perception score minus aided speech perception score) was significantly greater at 0 and -4 dB SNR than at -16 dB SNR in the mask-AV group (Bonferroni's corrected p < 0.01). These results demonstrate that hearing aids still improve speech perception when the speaker is masked, and that hearing aids partly offset the effect of a mask at relatively low noise levels.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Hyun Joon Shim
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Nowon Eulji Medical Center, Eulji University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
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Moradi F, Enjezab B, Ghadiri-Anari A. The role of androgens in COVID-19. Diabetes Metab Syndr 2020; 14:2003-2006. [PMID: 33091758 PMCID: PMC7557269 DOI: 10.1016/j.dsx.2020.10.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2020] [Revised: 10/11/2020] [Accepted: 10/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIM The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a global health emergency. According to the findings, male patients with COVID-19 infection are at an increased risk for severe complications than females. The causes of this issue are unknown and are most probably multifactorial. Sexual hormones affect the immune system, so estrogen strengthens the immune system, and testosterone suppresses it. Due to the reports of the high prevalence of androgenic alopecia in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and a higher risk of respiratory disease and increased use of allergy/asthma medications among patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) as a hyperandrogenism condition compared with non-PCOS women, this review aimed to evaluate androgens role in COVID-19. METHODS 42 related articles from 2008 to 2020 were reviewed with the keywords of androgens, hormonal factors, and hair loss in combination with COVID-19 in medical research databases. RESULTS The evidence of transmembrane protease, serine 2 (TMPRSS2) expression in lung tissue, which is an androgen-regulated gene and expressed mainly in the adult prostate may interpret the increased susceptibility of the male gender to severe COVID-19 complications. Moreover, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) acts as a functional receptor for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and male hormones are effective in the ACE-2 passageway and simplify SARS-CoV-2 entry into host cells. CONCLUSION Further studies on the severity of symptoms in patients with COVID-19 in other hyperandrogenism conditions compared to the control group are recommended.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Behnaz Enjezab
- Research Center for Nursing and Midwifery Care, Department of Midwifery, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
| | - Akram Ghadiri-Anari
- Department of Internal Medicine, Diabetes Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
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