Objectives
Although children with unilateral hearing loss (UHL) are at-risk for educational difficulties and behavioral problems, research in treatment outcomes is limited. Previous studies suggested that children with UHL would benefit from frequency-modulated (FM) assistive devices only. The objective of this study was to examine whether children with UHL would benefit from using a conventional hearing aid in the poorer-hearing ear.
Methods
Eight children, ages 7 to 12 years, with mild to moderately severe UHL, their parents and teachers participated in this study. Participants were fit with digital hearing aids using pediatric prescriptive targets. Primary outcome measures were speech perception tests in quiet and noise and subjective assessments from participants, parents and teachers, administered prior to and after three months of hearing aid use.
Results
Group average speech perception scores showed no significant aided benefit or detriment in any of the conditions tested. However, subjective assessments showed large significant aided benefits at home and school according to the children and their parents, and in quality of life as reported by the children with UHL.
Conclusion
Overall, the results suggest a hearing aid trial should be considered for children with mild to moderately severe UHL with individual monitoring for benefit.
Spotted lanternfly (
Lycorma delicatula
White; SLF) is a phloem‐feeding planthopper invasive to the Eastern United States that can feed on a range of wild and cultivated plant species. Since its 2014 introduction in the United States, large infestations and subsequent economic damage have been reported in cultivated grapevines, but no studies have detailed grapevine physiological responses to SLF phloem feeding. This study investigated grapevine‐SLF interactions, detailing how different infestation densities affect leaf gas exchange and end‐season concentrations of nonstructural carbohydrates and nitrogen in vegetative and perennial tissues of two
Vitis
species. Effects on fruit ripeness parameters and dormant bud freeze tolerance were examined, in addition to other year‐after effects. Phloem feeding by low densities (≤4 SLF shoot
−1
) had minimal effects, whereas greater densities (5–15 SLF shoot
−1
) increasingly affected carbohydrate and nitrogen dynamics in both
Vitis
species. Phloem feeding substantially affected starch and, to a lesser extent, total nitrogen concentrations of woody roots. Prolonged exposure strongly reduced leaf gas exchange. We conclude that intensive late‐season phloem feeding by large adult SLF population densities (≥8 SLF shoot
−1
) can induce carbon limitation, with the potential for negative year‐after effects in cases of severe belowground carbon depletion. This work presents novel insights into SLF‐grapevine interactions, identifies avenues of future SLF‐plant research, and assists the development of action thresholds for SLF management in vineyards.
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