Katrien Vermeire | Long Island University, Brooklyn Campus (original) (raw)

Papers by Katrien Vermeire

Introduction: ‘Bimodal hearing’ refers to the condition in which electrical hearing via a cochlea... more Introduction: ‘Bimodal hearing’ refers to the condition in which electrical hearing via a cochlear implant is combined with residual hearing in the non-implanted ear. Several studies demonstrate improvements in speech perception in noise and sound localization. Mechanisms underlying these benefits are still unclear. The objective of this study is to gain insight into binaural processing in bimodal listeners. Methods: Three bimodal listeners participated in this study. All were implanted with Nucleus devices, of which one with a Hybrid L24. Binaural hearing is investigated using behavioral tests and auditory brainstem responses (ABR). ABRs are recorded in three stimulus conditions: monaural left, monaural right and binaural stimulation. The implanted ear is stimulated electrically, whereas the non-implanted ear is stimulated with 500 Hz tone-bursts. A binaural interaction component is derived from the ABR (ABR-BIC) by subtracting the binaural response from the sum of both monaural re...

Introduction Bimodal hearing refers to the condition in which electrical hearing via a cochlear i... more Introduction Bimodal hearing refers to the condition in which electrical hearing via a cochlear implant (CI) is combined with acoustical, residual hearing in the non-implanted ear. Previous research demonstrated advantages in speech perception in noise and sound localization. Mechanisms underlying these benefits are still unclear. The objective of this study is to gain insight into developmental changes in binaural interaction with increasing bimodal experience. Methods One bimodal listeners (female, aged 62 years) is tested three, six and twelve months post-implantation. Binaural hearing is assessed by means of speech perception in noise tests, sound localization tests and questionnaires. Results Performance on binaural tasks improved with increasing experience with bimodal fitting. Conclusion These results suggest that the ability to combine electrical and acoustical signals improves with increasing bimodal experience. In addition to these behavioral measures, binaural interaction...

Journal of hearing science, 2017

Introduction: Bimodal hearing refers to the condition in which electrical hearing via a cochlear ... more Introduction: Bimodal hearing refers to the condition in which electrical hearing via a cochlear implant (CI) is combined with residual hearing in the non-implanted ear. Psychoacoustic research demonstrates improvements in speech perception in noise and sound localization. There is however a large inter-subject variability in bimodal outcome, which may partly be explained by the capacity of the auditory brainstem to integrate electrical and acoustical signals. The present study suggests a technique to assess brainstem processing of bimodal stimulation. Methods: Ten bimodal listeners were included in the study. The non-implanted ear was stimulated acoustically, whereas the implanted ear was stimulated electrically. Before starting the ABR acquisition, the electrical and acoustical stimulation were pitch and loudness balanced. Subsequently, ABRs were recorded in response to monaural acoustical, monaural electrical, and bimodal stimulation. Results: Electrical ABRs were found in all su...

Inleiding: Met de groeiende populatie ouderen neemt het aantal personen met ouderdomsslechthorend... more Inleiding: Met de groeiende populatie ouderen neemt het aantal personen met ouderdomsslechthorendheid gestaag toe. Hoewel ouderdomsslechthorendheid grotendeels te wijten is aan endocochleaire veranderingen, blijken ook degeneratieve verschijnselen ter hoogte van het centraal auditieve systeem bij te dragen tot deze vorm van slechthorendheid. De huidige studie onderzoekt de effecten van veroudering op een aspect van centraal auditieve verwerking, met name binaurale verwerking. Binaurale verwerking werd in deze studie onderzocht aan de hand van auditief opgewekte hersenstampotentialen (ABR). Literatuur toont namelijk aan dat verschillen tussen de binaurale ABR en de som van de linker en rechter ABR gerelateerd zijn aan binaurale processen. Methodologie: De huidige studie onderzocht bovengenoemde verschillen in proefpersonen van jonge (n=14), middelbare (n=14) en oudere leeftijd (n=14). ABRs werden opgemeten door middel van akoestische stimulatie ter hoogte van het linkeroor, het recht...

Background The unexplained variability in bimodal outcome impedes clinicians to provide evidence-... more Background The unexplained variability in bimodal outcome impedes clinicians to provide evidence-based counseling regarding contralateral hearing aid (HA) use. There is thus a need for measures of bimodal benefit. This study explores whether bimodal benefit can be assessed using the P300 event-related potential (ERP). Methods Cognitive P300 ERPs were recorded in five bimodal listeners using a low-frequency tonal contrast. Subjects counted the amount of deviant stimuli. The accuracy of the count served as a measure of behavioral performance. To assess the benefit of wearing a contralateral HA, CI-only and bimodal listening were compared. Results P300 ERPs were measurable and reproducible in four subjects. In these subjects, latencies decreased and amplitudes increased in bimodal versus CI-only listening. The subject with the largest improvement in the P300 ERP showed the largest improvement in behavioral performance. Conclusions This study suggests that CI-users generally benefit fro...

Introduction: Bimodal listeners combine a cochlear implant (CI) with a contralateral hearing aid ... more Introduction: Bimodal listeners combine a cochlear implant (CI) with a contralateral hearing aid (HA). Psychoacoustic research shows that bimodal listening can improve speech perception in noise, sound localization, and music appreciation. Nevertheless, a substantial proportion of bimodal listeners cease to wear the HA shortly after implantation. To date, there is no consensus on whether or not bimodal listening is preferred in a given individual or population. This study examines whether endogenous auditory evoked cortical responses can be used to assess bimodal benefit. Methods: Six experienced CI-users were included in the study. Three used a HA in daily life, whereas the others did not wear a HA. All subjects were implanted with either the Nucleus CI24RE(CA) or CI422 and had low-frequency residual hearing in the non-implanted ear. The cognitive P300 response was elicited using an oddball paradigm with a 500 Hz tone-burst as the standard and a 250 Hz tone-burst as the deviant sti...

Introduction: Bimodal hearing refers to the condition in which electric hearing via a cochlear im... more Introduction: Bimodal hearing refers to the condition in which electric hearing via a cochlear implant (CI) is combined with residual hearing in the non-implanted ear. There is electrophysiological evidence that binaural integration of electric and acoustic signals occurs in these patients [Battmer et al. unpublished data]. The picture becomes more complex in the case of unilateral electro-acoustic stimulation (EAS). Unilateral electric hearing is then often combined with bilateral low-frequency residual hearing. This raises the question whether these patients only benefit from the presence of bilateral low-frequency information or if also acoustic-electric binaural interaction occurs. In a normative study, we found that binaural interaction can be investigated using 500 Hz tone-burst auditory brainstem responses (500 Hz TB ABR). Using a combination of 500 Hz TB ABR and electrically evoked ABR, acoustic-electric binaural interaction in EAS users with bilateral low-frequency residual...

Inleiding: Bimodale luisteraars combineren elektrisch horen via een cochleair implantaat (CI) met... more Inleiding: Bimodale luisteraars combineren elektrisch horen via een cochleair implantaat (CI) met contralateraal akoestisch restgehoor. Onderzoek toont aan dat bimodale stimulatie leidt tot verbeteringen op het vlak van geluidskwaliteit, spraakverstaan in rumoer en geluidslokalisatie. Individuele patienten varieren echter aanzienlijk in de resultaten die ze behalen met bimodale stimulatie. Deze variabiliteit is mogelijks te wijten aan de integratie capaciteit van het centraal auditief systeem, een eigenschap die geinitieerd wordt op hersenstamniveau. Tot op heden is er slechts weinig onderzoek verricht naar de integratie van elektrische en akoestisch signalen op hersenstamniveau. De huidige studie stelt dan ook een techniek voor om de verwerking van deze signalen te onderzoeken. Methodologie: Tien bimodale patienten werden in de studie geincludeerd. Het niet-geimplanteerde oor werd akoestisch gestimuleerd. Het geimplanteerde oor werd daarentegen elektrisch gestimuleerd. De akoestisc...

Introduction: Continuous advances in cochlear implant (CI) technology have led to a relaxation of... more Introduction: Continuous advances in cochlear implant (CI) technology have led to a relaxation of the implantation criteria. Hence, an increasing amount of CI-users combine electrical and acoustical hearing in opposite ears. To date, it is unclear how the central auditory system processes binaurally presented electrical and acoustical signals. This study explores the utility of the auditory brainstem response (ABR) to assess brainstem processing of bimodal stimulation. Methods: Ten CI-users with substantial contralateral residual hearing volunteered in the study. The non-implanted ear was stimulated acoustically, whereas the implanted ear was stimulated acoustically. Before starting the ABR acquisition, the electrical and acoustical stimulation was pitch and loudness balanced. Subsequently, ABRs were recorded to monaural acoustical, monaural electrical, and bimodal stimulation. Results: Electrical ABRs were found in all subjects in both the monaural and bimodal condition. Acoustical...

Journal of Hearing Science, 2012

Objectives: (1) To estimate the dynamic range (DR) for electric stimulation by means of acoustic ... more Objectives: (1) To estimate the dynamic range (DR) for electric stimulation by means of acoustic and electric loudness matching; (2) to characterize loudness growth as a function of electric stimulus amplitude across the DR.

Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 2019

In a recent article of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, Hack et al. (2019) argue that linguist... more In a recent article of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, Hack et al. (2019) argue that linguistic ability rather than multilingualism is a significant predictor of dementia. In their longitudinal study, they investigated 325 religious sisters who were older than 75 years of age. Self-reports were used in order to determine multilingualism. They found that speaking two or three languages did not delay the onset of dementia. However, they did find that individuals speaking four or more languages were less likely to suffer from dementia than those speaking only one language and concluded that having linguistic ability was a more significant predictor of dementia than being multilingual. However, more research is needed in order to identify the characteristics of multilingualism most salient for the risk of dementia. In this commentary, we raise several important methodological and statistical issues that are likely to have affected the findings of Hack et al.'s study. As a result, although their study makes an important contribution to the research field, drawing a conclusion at this time that linguistic ability is more a predictor of dementia than multilingualism would be premature; moreover, their preliminary results cannot be generalized to the general population.

Frontiers in Psychology, 2019

Phonological awareness is a critical component of phonological processing that predicts children'... more Phonological awareness is a critical component of phonological processing that predicts children's literacy outcomes. Phonological awareness skills enable children to think about the sound structure of words and facilitates decoding and the analysis of words during spelling. Past research has shown that children's vocabulary knowledge and working memory capacity are associated with their phonological awareness skills. Linguistic characteristics of words, such as phonological neighborhood density and orthography congruency have also been found to influence children's performance in phonological awareness tasks. Literacy is a difficult area for deaf and hard of hearing children, who have poor phonological awareness skills. Although cochlear implantation (CI) has been found to improve these children's speech and language outcomes, limited research has investigated phonological awareness in children with CI. Rhyme awareness is the first level of phonological awareness to develop in children with normal hearing (NH). The current study investigates whether rhyme awareness in children with NH (n = 15, median age = 5; 5, IQR = 11 ms) and a small group of children with CI (n = 6, median age = 6; 11.5, IQR = 3.75 ms) is associated with individual differences in vocabulary and working memory. Using a rhyme oddity task, wellcontrolled for perceptual similarity, we also explored whether children's performance was associated with linguistic characteristics of the task items (e.g., rhyme neighborhood density, orthographic congruency). Results indicate that there is an association between vocabulary and working memory and performance in a rhyme awareness task in NH children. Only working memory was correlated with rhyme awareness performance in CI children. Linguistic characteristics of the task items, on the other hand, were not found to be associated with success. Implications of the results and future directions are discussed.

International Journal of Audiology, 2019

Objective: Bimodal listeners vary in the amount of benefit they receive from wearing the contrala... more Objective: Bimodal listeners vary in the amount of benefit they receive from wearing the contralateral hearing aid. This may partially depend on the listener's auditory processing capacities. The current study explores whether the P300 event-related potential can provide insight into the mechanisms underlying the benefits of wearing a contralateral hearing aid. Design: P300s were recorded using an oddball paradigm with 500 and 250 Hz tone-bursts as standard and deviant stimuli, respectively. Subjects counted the number of deviantsa measure of performance. N2b latencies, P300 latencies, N2b-P300 amplitudes, and performance were assessed during CI-only and bimodal listening. Study sample: Five bimodal listeners. Results: P300s were present in four subjects. Amplitudes were larger during bimodal listening (bimodal: 22.3 ± 4.83 mV, CI-only: 13.1 ± 3.86 mV). Both N2b and P300 latencies were shorter during bimodal (N2b: 265 ± 20.0 ms, P300: 551 ± 129.4 ms) than CI-only listening (N2b: 326 ± 42.2 ms, P300: 402 ± 38.4 ms). While performance often reached ceiling level, the difference between the standard and deviant was generally more salient during bimodal listening. Conclusions: This study provides a proof-of-concept, suggesting that P300s may provide insight into benefits that are not always measurable with behavioural tasks.

Behavioral Sciences, 2019

A systematic review was conducted to investigate whether bilingualism has a protective effect aga... more A systematic review was conducted to investigate whether bilingualism has a protective effect against cognitive decline in aging and can protect against dementia. We searched the Medline, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and ERIC databases with a cut-off date of 31 March 2019, thereby following the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) protocol. Our search resulted in 34 eligible studies. Mixed results were found with respect to the protective effect of bilingualism against cognitive decline. Several studies showed a protective effect whereas other studies failed to find it. Moreover, evidence for a delay of the onset of dementia of between 4 and 5.5 years in bilingual individuals compared to monolinguals was found in several studies, but not in all. Methodological differences in the set-up of the studies seem to explain these mixed results. Lifelong bilingualism is a complex individual process, and many factors seem to influence this an...

Recently, doubts were raised about the existence of the bilingual advantage in cognitive control.... more Recently, doubts were raised about the existence of the bilingual advantage in cognitive control. The aim of the present review was to investigate the bilingual advantage and its modulating factors. We searched the Medline, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and ERIC databases for all original data and reviewed studies on bilingualism and cognitive control, with a cut-off date of October 31, 2018, thereby following the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) protocol. The results of the 46 original studies show that, indeed, the majority, 54.3%, reported beneficial effects of bilingualism on cognitive control tasks; however, 28.3% found mixed results, and 17.4% found evidence against its existence. Methodological differences seem to explain these mixed results: particularly, the varying selection of the bilingual participants, the use of non-standardized tests, and the fact that individual differences were often neglected, and that longitudi...

International journal of pediatric otorhinolaryngology, 2016

We present a 3-year old boy with Leopard syndrome. His clinical manifestations included a congeni... more We present a 3-year old boy with Leopard syndrome. His clinical manifestations included a congenital bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. He underwent cochlear implantation on the right side at age 1 year and on the left side at age 1.5 years. The patient is doing very well and mainstreamed in a regular pre-school program with a teacher of the deaf and home based speech therapy. Bilateral cochlear implantation in the case of a child with Leopard syndrome can be successful.

Ear & Hearing, 2016

Age-related hearing loss hampers the ability to understand speech in adverse listening conditions... more Age-related hearing loss hampers the ability to understand speech in adverse listening conditions. This is attributed to a complex interaction of changes in the peripheral and central auditory system. One aspect that may deteriorate across the lifespan is binaural interaction. The present study investigates binaural interaction at the level of the auditory brainstem. It is hypothesized that brainstem binaural interaction deteriorates with advancing age. Forty-two subjects of various age participated in the study. Auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) were recorded using clicks and 500 Hz tone-bursts. ABRs were elicited by monaural right, monaural left, and binaural stimulation. Binaural interaction was investigated in two ways. First, grand averages of the binaural interaction component were computed for each age group. Second, wave V characteristics of the binaural ABR were compared with those of the summed left and right ABRs. Binaural interaction in the click ABR was demonstrated by shorter latencies and smaller amplitudes in the binaural compared with the summed monaural responses. For 500 Hz tone-burst ABR, no latency differences were found. However, amplitudes were significantly smaller in the binaural than summed monaural condition. An age-effect was found for 500 Hz tone-burst, but not for click ABR. Brainstem binaural interaction seems to decline with age. Interestingly, these changes seem to be stimulus-dependent.

The Annals of otology, rhinology, and laryngology, Jan 14, 2015

Purpose of the present study is to evaluate the effects of aging on temporal resolution and speec... more Purpose of the present study is to evaluate the effects of aging on temporal resolution and speech understanding in noise. Twenty-seven young and 33 older normal hearing adults participated in this study. Temporal resolution was investigated using the Gaps in Noise (GIN) test. Understanding sentences in noise was investigated using a Dutch sentences (LIST) test. Results demonstrated that older adults have significantly worse temporal resolution scores and significantly greater difficulty understanding sentences in noise than younger adults. In the group of older adults, the ability to understand sentences in noise correlated with hearing and age. A stepwise regression analysis showed that age was the best predictor for the speech in noise results. However, temporal resolution correlated with hearing, not with age. Results from the GIN test did not correlate with the results from the LIST test. The present study shows that with advancing age, both temporal resolution and speech under...