To compare the standardised Nidek EAS-1000 densitometric analysis of the lens with clinical assessment of the nucleus at an early stage of cataract development, 1,200 eyes of 1,204 participants of the VECAT study were assessed at the baseline using both subjective and objective lens grading. Standardisation of the automatic slit image analysis was achieved using a custom-designed EAS-1000 Software version 3.01c. Among 6 measurements of nuclear optical density, the mean pixel luminescence of integrated anterior nuclear density correlated best with clinical assessment (R = 0.662, p < 0.001). Variance components that interfere with the assessment are defined.
We aimed to determine whether reported difficulties in speech understanding are associated with abnormal acoustic reflex thresholds (ARTs). The acoustic reflex has been shown to have a role in the understanding of speech at high intensities by ensuring that the strong low-frequency components of sound do not excessively mask the higher-frequency components, which are important for speech understanding. There is also wide variance in individual ARTs. Hence, the possibility arises that subjects reporting listening difficulties in noise have abnormal acoustic reflex function. In this investigation, a questionnaire to 2395 university students was used to obtain 20 subjects reporting listening difficulties in background noise and requesting advice about their hearing problems; it also screened out significant histories of middle ear disease in childhood. These subjects, and 20 control subjects reporting no listening difficulties, received a battery of performance tests and measures of acoustic reflex thresholds. Results showed significant differences in auditory performance between subjects reporting listening difficulties and those with no such difficulties, but no differences in acoustic reflex thresholds. These findings extend the relationship between reported listening difficulties and auditory performance within the "normal hearing' range, but this relationship is unlikely to be due to abnormal acoustic reflex thresholds.
The elevated ARTs in adults with histories of childhood OM result from peripheral sequelae of OM. Further evidence is required to determine any functional significance of these raised reflex thresholds.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.