Audiologic test results were reviewed for 30 patients whose hearing was preserved following eighth nerve tumor surgery. Improved auditory brainstem response tracings were seen as probably indicating increased neural synchrony due to reduced pressure on the cochlear nerve following surgery, whereas reduced hearing sensitivity probably reflects…

This study examined the effects of speechreading sentence perception across three speaker viewing angles: front view, quarter view, and side view. The performance of a female adult with postlingual hearing loss was measured at each angle. Results indicated that the side view angle was the most effective, though performance at the other angles was…

This study examined the effects of the cochlear hearing loss of 12 adults on two measures of sequential processing that rely on spectro-temporal information: a gap-detection discrimination task and a melody recognition task. It was concluded that cochlear hearing loss deleteriously affects the processes underlying perceptual organization of…

This study compared American Sign Language (ASL) abilities in 36 deaf adults who acquired ASL either in early childhood or in later childhood and who were born deaf or later lost their hearing. Subjects who acquired ASL as a second language after early childhood outperformed those who acquired it as a first language at the same age. (Author/DB)

Children and adolescents (n=40) with congenital or adventitious blindness were exposed to two unfamiliar environments. Evaluation of subjects' spatial representations (through construction of models and estimates of distance) found that age appeared to be more important than learning in their development of spatial representation skills. (DB)

The speech perception performance of 10 congenitally deaf and 3 postlingually deafened children who received multichannel cochlear implants were compared at preimplant and 6-month intervals up to 2 years. The congenitally deaf children did not exhibit measurably improved performance until after 12 months or more of implant use, whereas…

This project examined whether the rehabilitation of reading recognition allowed comprehension of print for 38 low vision adults (ages 37-87) who were former readers. The project developed training strategies for enhancing reading comprehension. The paper concludes that instruction in comprehension has value as part of low vision rehabilitation for…

Psychological variables influencing adjustment to acquired visual loss are examined conceptually and empirically, to clarify their role in skill acquisition and to develop a testable model of adjustment. The Nottingham Adjustment Scale, which measures anxiety, depression, self-esteem, and other characteristics, is presented, along with analysis of…

Single word oral reading was systematically examined in a 6-year-old hyperlexic boy with mental retardation, attention deficit disorder, and hyperactivity. Reading performances were compared to those of normally developing readers and to those of patients with adult-onset alexias to test three hypotheses regarding the mechanisms of reading in…

This monograph presents an update to the strategic plan of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), focusing on recent accomplishments, program goals, strategies, and priorities in research opportunities in the areas of hearing/hearing impairment and voice/voice disorders. Specifically considered for the…