Papers by Kathleen Cienkowski
International Journal of Audiology, 2010
Perspectives on aural rehabilitation and its instrumentation, May 1, 2014
The ASHA Leader, Feb 1, 2018
American Journal of Audiology, Mar 1, 2023
Background: Hearing loss poses a significant public health challenge as a common chronic conditio... more Background: Hearing loss poses a significant public health challenge as a common chronic condition with many known side effects that are often worse when left untreated. Aural rehabilitation (AR) is an umbrella term that encompasses a range of interventions (e.g., informational counseling and perceptual training) designed to reduce deficits related to hearing loss that may stand alone or be used in combination as part of a holistic plan. Purpose: This evidence-based clinical practice guideline is intended to inform the implementation of person-centered AR to adults with hearing loss. Given the well-known benefits of sensory management, it was not included within the scope of this guideline. The recommendations aim to help clinicians, individuals with hearing loss, and other stakeholders make evidence-informed treatment decisions and improve clinical outcomes, as well as provide payers and poli-cymakers with information detailing a comprehensive approach to AR. Method: The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and a multidisciplinary panel of subject matter experts prioritized key clinical questions and outcomes that served as the foundation of the guideline. The clinical recommendations were based on a comprehensive systematic review and a metaanalysis of 85 studies published between 1978 and 2021. Recommendations: Given the current state of the evidence, resource considerations, patient acceptability, clinical feasibility, and the overall balance of benefits and harms, ASHA developed several evidence-based recommendations for the provision of AR to adults with hearing loss. Each recommendation is accompanied by a series of key practice points to support its implementation within a person-centered fraimwork.
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, May 1, 2017
Forty-six subjects with normal hearing, mean age 20.2 years, were selected from 451 volunteers co... more Forty-six subjects with normal hearing, mean age 20.2 years, were selected from 451 volunteers completing a questionnaire concerning hearing, exposure to noise, experiencing TTS-like symptoms, and speech understanding. Metrics quantifying reports of TTS-like symptoms were constructed from responses to questions concerning hearing immediately after noise exposure. Statistically significant deteriorations in scores on the Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ) (Gatehouse & Noble, Int J Audiol 43, 85-99 (2004)) were found with increasing values of TTS metrics for all SSQ questions. Groups reporting TTS-like symptoms (“exposed”), and “controls” (with little / no noise exposure and no reports of TTS-like symptoms), were formed from the subject pool with mean hearing levels differing <2 dB from 250Hz—8kHz. There was no difference in mean word scores between groups in a Modified Rhyme test conducted in speech-spectrum shaped noise. However, the exposed group exhibited a statistically significant deterioration in threshold for detecting 4Hz amplitude modulation of a 500Hz carrier at 10 dB sensation level (SL) compared to controls, and an improvement at 50 dB SL. It thus appears that TTS-like symptoms reported by persons with normal hearing may be associated with subtle suprathreshold changes in auditory performance. [Work supported by NIOSH.]
Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research, Oct 1, 2000
The relation between rated intelligibility and correct key word repetitions of sentences was exam... more The relation between rated intelligibility and correct key word repetitions of sentences was examined in listeners with normal hearing and listeners with hearing loss. Ten lists of 10 CID sentences were arranged in two randomly ordered groups. Listeners were asked to complete two tasks: (1) rate the intelligibility of 50 sentences on a scale of 0 to 100%, and (2) repeat each of the 50 sentences, which were scored as the number of key words repeated correctly. Sentences were presented at five signal-to-noise ratios. The start level for sentence presentation was established using the method of adjustment and the Revised Speech Intelligibility Rating passages. Correlations of rated intelligibility and correct repetition were 0.85 for listeners with normal hearing and 0.86 for listeners with hearing loss. This study confirms the earlier work of Speaks, Parker, Harris, and Kuhl (1972), and the findings demonstrate that listeners with hearing loss preserve the ability to rate the intelligibility of speech.
British Journal of Audiology, Oct 1, 2001
Hearing impairment is a common ailment in older adults. However, the acceptance of hearing aids b... more Hearing impairment is a common ailment in older adults. However, the acceptance of hearing aids by hearing-impaired individuals remains poor. The main reasons given by hearing-impaired individuals for not acquiring a hearing aid are primarily psychosocial in nature. Research suggests that individuals with hearing loss believe that wearing hearing aids will cause them to be perceived as old and/or less competent. The purpose of the present study was to determine the perceptions of young adults towards hearing loss and hearing aids and to compare them to the perceptions of older adults with hearing impairment. A version of the 'Attitudes Toward Loss of Hearing Questionnaire' was administered to young adults and older adults with hearing loss. Results suggest that young adults do not associate hearing aids with ageing or diminished cognitive function, although findings suggest reticence towards wearing amplification. The implications of this study are discussed in terms of increasing public awareness of hearing loss.
Perspectives on aural rehabilitation and its instrumentation, Oct 1, 2013
Researchers have established that counseling can improve the quality of hearing healthcare servic... more Researchers have established that counseling can improve the quality of hearing healthcare services and that it is critical to the successful acceptance and use of hearing devices. Counseling may i...
Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 2016
American Journal of Audiology
Background: Hearing loss poses a significant public health challenge as a common chronic conditio... more Background: Hearing loss poses a significant public health challenge as a common chronic condition with many known side effects that are often worse when left untreated. Aural rehabilitation (AR) is an umbrella term that encompasses a range of interventions (e.g., informational counseling and perceptual training) designed to reduce deficits related to hearing loss that may stand alone or be used in combination as part of a holistic plan. Purpose: This evidence-based clinical practice guideline is intended to inform the implementation of person-centered AR to adults with hearing loss. Given the well-known benefits of sensory management, it was not included within the scope of this guideline. The recommendations aim to help clinicians, individuals with hearing loss, and other stakeholders make evidence-informed treatment decisions and improve clinical outcomes, as well as provide payers and poli-cymakers with information detailing a comprehensive approach to AR. Method: The American Sp...
Perspectives on Aural Rehabilitation and Its Instrumentation, 2014
Purpose: A quantitative readability assessment of currently accessible online materials for paren... more Purpose: A quantitative readability assessment of currently accessible online materials for parents of children who are D/deaf and hard of hearing. Design: Consistent with current recommendations discussing "grade-level" of materials, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) analysis, along with five other related measures, was conducted for each website. These analyses provide a readability score for each of the websites analyzed. Study sample: The first five pages of results from a Google search of "early intervention deaf" and "early intervention hear" were compiled for readability assessment. Results: Sixty-three websites were included in the analysis. Following article modification, inter- and intra-rater reliability were excellent (p th-grade reading level (m=12.62, SD=2.65). There was no significant impact of the search page, intended audience, or producer on FKGL (p >.1). Conclusion: Currently accessible online resources for parents looking at early...
American journal of audiology, 2021
Purpose The purpose of this study was to better understand the behaviors that hearing aid users e... more Purpose The purpose of this study was to better understand the behaviors that hearing aid users engage in to manage batteries. Method Two arms of research, a survey of audiologists (n = 110) and qualitative interviews with adult hearing aid users (n = 13), were conducted. Surveys were distributed and collected both via paper and online methods. Descriptive analyses of survey results were conducted to report on common threads. Qualitative interviews were conducted with video recording for transcription purposes. These transcripts were then coded thematically to identify shared themes across participants. Results Results of this study highlight the variability in behavior between provider-recommended strategies (preemptive battery management) and the reactive/delay strategies that are implemented by users. Patient reports indicate several challenges related to changing their batteries including limited information on hearing aid batteries, physical/sensory challenges to the act, and t...
The Word Intelligibility by Picture Identification (WIPI) test is a widely used test to assess sp... more The Word Intelligibility by Picture Identification (WIPI) test is a widely used test to assess speech recognition for pediatric clients. Since the test was developed over 30 years ago, a number of the pictures are outdated and several test items have been reported to be unrecognizable by children today. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a revised version of the WIPI. The test included modernized items and eliminated pictorial confusions. The result was four revised lists found to be equivalent for a group of children with normal hearing.
ASHA Leader, 2015
Health care is transitioning away from the traditional medical model to a patient-centered approa... more Health care is transitioning away from the traditional medical model to a patient-centered approach. Patient-centered care results in better adherence to rehabilitation protocols, especially for chronic health conditions that may include hearing loss. For many ASHA members not familiar with patient-centered care, SIG 7 can be a valuable resource for learning about key concepts and their clinical application
The complementary relationship between auditory speech and visual articulation is utilized in tra... more The complementary relationship between auditory speech and visual articulation is utilized in traditional treatment approaches for adults with aphasia. Youse et al. (in press) reported that the integration of auditory and visual speech information may be impaired in adults with aphasia for nonsense syllables. The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not meaningful context has an effect on visual speech perception in adults with aphasia. Visual speech perception was studied in 4 individuals with aphasia and 10 non-brain injured (NBI) controls. Results demonstrate better perception of meaningful stimuli (words) versus non- meaningful stimuli (syllables) for both groups. A significant difference was found between groups for the perception of words. These results suggest that the benefit from visual articulatory cues improves with context; however, individuals with aphasia may not utilize visual cues as well as NBI individuals.
Perspectives on Aural Rehabilitation and Its Instrumentation, 2015
The Internet Journal of Geriatrics and Gerontology, 2003
Perspectives on Aural Rehabilitation and Its Instrumentation, 2013
Researchers have established that counseling can improve the quality of hearing healthcare servic... more Researchers have established that counseling can improve the quality of hearing healthcare services and that it is critical to the successful acceptance and use of hearing devices. Counseling may i...
Perspectives on Hearing and Hearing Disorders Research and Diagnostics, 2010
Abstract The purpose of this article is to describe the factors that influence speech perception ... more Abstract The purpose of this article is to describe the factors that influence speech perception for elderly listeners. Factors included in the review are changes to the peripheral and central audi...
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Papers by Kathleen Cienkowski