• Speech Sciences
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.37-50
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• 2000

This paper describes a test of everyday speech understanding ability, in which a listener's utilization of the context-situational information of speech is assessed, and is compared with the utilization of acoustic-phonetic information. The test items are sentences which are presented in a babble type of noise, and the listener response is the key word in the sentence. The key words are always two-syllabic nouns and the questioning sentences are added to obtain the responding key words. Two types of sentences are used. One is the high-predictable sentences for which the key word is somewhat predictable from the context. The other is the low-predictable sentences for which the key-word cannot be predicted from the context. Both types are included in six 40-item forms of the test, which are balanced for intelligibility, key-word familiarity and predictability, phonetic content, and length. Performance of normally hearing listeners shows significantly different functions for various signal-to-noise ratios. The potential applications of this test, particularly in the assessment of speech understanding ability in the hearing impaired, are discussed.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.86-89
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• 2017

Waardenburg syndrome (WS) is a rare genetic disorder, including clinical features of pigmentary abnormalities of irides, skin, hair and sensorineural hearing loss and facial dysmorphism. Among the four types, WS type IV (Waardenburg-Shah syndrome) additionally represents Hirschsprung's disease. Mutations in the SOX10, END3, or EDNRB genes are known to cause WS type IV. Here, we report a 6 year-old girl who was diagnosed as WS type IV by typical clinical manifestations, including skin hypopigmentation, heterochromia of both irides, unilateral sensorineural hearing loss, mild developmental delay and Hirschsprung's disease. The diagnosis was confirmed by molecular genetic analysis of EDNRB. Two novel EDNRB mutations were identified, and each mutation was segregated from each of her parents. During the follow-up period, the patient underwent a surgery for spleen torsion and was medically managed due to recurrent enterocolitis. Also, she suffered from impaired immunity including Hirschsprung's associated enterocolitis.

• KIEAE Journal
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.63-70
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• 2012

In order to set the direction of providing facility for the utilization of castle heritage, as well as to establish the method for securing access and determine installation criteria in consideration of preservation environment, an analysis was carried out on the cases of having secured access for people with disabilities in England for the advanced utilization of castle heritage. As the result of the analysis, the planning factors of the facility for people with disabilities in England for the utilization of castle heritage were deduced as follows: 1) The plan for facility was focused on the disabled using wheelchairs and visually impaired persons, rather than on services for hearing-impaired persons and people with learning disability. 2) As for audience movement line plan, regular route was used for audience movement line to lead them in a single direction. 3) As for the provision of prior access information, 3 stepwise access grades were established for the facility information plan of heritage. 4) As for information service by disability type, models were provided; and complementary explanation was provided by using text, drawing, picture, video and voice. 5) Rest spaces were secured where audience could look out upon castle heritage. For the utilization of castle heritage, it is necessary to develop planning factors of the facility design for people with disabilities according to its characteristics.

• The Korean Journal of Rehabilitation Nursing
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.92-101
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• 2009

Purpose: This study was conducted to explore the functional status and long-term care services for the community-dwelling low-income elderly. Method: A descriptive research design was used in this study. The functional status of the participants was obtained using Minimum Data Set-Home Care Version 2.0 and the long-term care services were identified via Michigan's choice. Total of 154 persons aged 65 years or older completed Korean Minimum Data Set-Home Care Version 2.0 on the community dwelling low-income elderly. Results: The average of Activities of Daily Living was 4.19, and the range was 0-55, while the average of Instrument of Activities of Daily Living was 4.85 and the range was 0-56. Among the subjects, 46.1% belonged to the Information and Referral group and 1.3% to the Nursing Home group. Severe daily pain was reported by 14.9%, and 76.6% of the participants had impaired vision. The Activities of Daily Living was difference according to living with, education, vision, and depression. The long-term care services differed according to gender, pain, vision, hearing, and depression. Conclusion: The support policy for the elderly needed to focus on impaired visual and depression to enhance the activities of daily living. Moreover, there is a need for the Information and Referral group to arrange and develop nursing intervention resources.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.749-758
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• 2001

The purpose of the study was to analyze the functional status of low income elderly living at home according to their socio-economic factors, sensory function, health status, medical service utilization, commodity and types of chronic disease. Method: Functional status was defined by the level of mobility, ADL and IADL categorized as independently functional, mildly impaired, moderately disabled, and severely disabled. The data was collected by home-visit interviews with 567 community dwelling adults who were 65 years of age or more with low a income status subsidized by government in ChonAn. Results: 9.9% of community dwelling older adults were severely disabled, and 44.4% were moderately disabled in their functional status. There were significant differences in the functional status by age, education, religion, and types of family structure. The older adults with hearing impairment or dental problems had a significantly higher rate of severe disability. Self-rated health status and medical service utilization were also significant factors to the differences in functional status. The functional status of older adults was also significantly related to the presence of chronic health problems such as chronic back pain, stroke, and Alzheimer-dementia. Conclusion: The results confirmed that community dwelling older adults with low income status were more functionally disabled in comparison to general older adults at national level, while the relating factors to their functional status seemed similar to other studies on older adults. Further studies were suggested to look into functional status longitudinally and focus on the changes of functional status by managing modifiable influencing factors.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.427-432
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• 2019

In this paper, we propose a home monitoring system using sound event detection based on a bidirectional gated recurrent neural network for the hard-of-hearing. First, in the proposed system, packet loss concealment is used to recover a lost signal captured through wireless sensor networks, and reliable channels are selected using multi-channel cross correlation coefficient for effective sound event detection. The detected sound event is converted into the text and haptic signal through a harmonic/percussive sound source separation method to be provided to hearing impaired people. Experimental results show that the performance of the proposed sound event detection method is superior to the conventional methods and the sound can be expressed into detailed haptic signal using the source separation.

• The Journal of the Korea institute of electronic communication sciences
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.1355-1362
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• 2021

Recently, not only congenital hearing impairment, but also the number of people with hearing impairment due to acquired factors is increasing. The environment in which sign language can be learned is poor. Therefore, this study intends to present a sign language (sign language number/sign language text) evaluation system as a sign language learning assistance tool for sign language learners. Therefore, in this paper, sign language is captured as an image using OpenCV and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). In addition, we study a system that recognizes sign language behavior using MediaPipe, converts the meaning of sign language into text-type data, and provides it to users. Through this, self-directed learning is possible so that learners who learn sign language can judge whether they are correct dez. Therefore, we develop a sign language learning assistance system that helps us learn sign language. The purpose is to propose a sign language learning assistance system as a way to support sign language learning, the main language of communication for the hearing impaired.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.49 no.8
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• pp.845-850
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• 2006

Purpose : To assess the incidence of neonatal hearing loss in a neonatal intensive care unit and the relative importance of risk factors for hearing imparement in a neonatal intensive care unit which the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing(JCIH) had recommended. Methods : One thousand, two hundred and one newborns admitted to the Good Moonhwa Intensive Care Unit from May 2003 to December 2005 were assesed using the automated auditory brainstem response(AABR). The screening was performed on those aged more than 36 weeks and weighing more than 2,200 g. We divided the infants into two groups, 'pass' and 'refer'. The 'refer' group were retested one month later, and if classified as 'refer' during the retest, were referred to a hearing impairment clinic. Results : From the 1,201 neonates, 1,187(98.8 percent) passed the test and 14(1.2 percent) failed. 293(24.4 percent) of the 1,201 neonates had a risk factor for hearing impairment; 282(96.2 percent) passed the test and 11(3.8 percent) failed. The group with risk factors were shown to have a higher incidence of hearing loss(P<0.001). The neonates in the refer group were shown to have a higher incidence of ototoxic drugs(P<0.001), low birth weight(<1,500 g)(P<0.001) and craniofacial anomalies(P=0.007). On the other hand, there were no statistical differences between the pass and refer groups in congenital infection, hyperbilirubinemia, bacterial meningitis, low Apgar scores, prolonged mechanical ventilation and syndromes known to include hearing loss. Conclusion : In order to identify hearing-impaired infants within an appropriate period, neonatal hearing screening tests and identification of the risk factors for neonatal hearing loss are important.

• Journal of the Korean BIBLIA Society for library and Information Science
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.191-211
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• 2020

The main purpose of this research is to identify limitations and problems in access to information using reading aids devices for the visually impaired and to suggest ways to activate the use of alternative materials using reading aids devices. A survey was conducted on adults with visual impairment in order to identify the factors of limitation in using reading aids devices. The analysis resulted in six aspects of limiting factors in activating the use of reading aids devices. The approaches for activating the use of reading aids devices were proposed by dividing them into policy and operational aspects, focusing on the limiting factors derived. Policy aspects suggested developing low-cost reading aids devices, increasing awareness of the devices, and complying with Web standard guidelines for improving the applicability of the devices, while operational aspects suggested reinforcing hearing-use functions, expanding information services related to reading aids devices, and enhancing portability of the devices.

• Proceedings of the KOR-BRONCHOESO Conference
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• 1978.06a
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• pp.9.2-9
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• 1978

Monaural and binaural hearing aid performance under quiet and noisy conditions were compared in regard to (1) the degree of hearing impairment, (2) the symmetry of pure tone audiogram, (3) the automatic gain control of the hearing aid. (4) hearing impairement with recruitment and, word discrimination ability. Performance using binaural hearing aids was consistently superior to that using monaural hearing aids. The results were as follows. 1. Speech detection thresholds were enhanced by a mean of 4.25dB when tested with danavox 747 PP stereo type hearing aid and by a mean of 4.12 dB when tested hearing aids connected seperately to the right and left ears. 2. Binaurally tested speech reception thresholds were superior to monaurally tested thresholds by a mean of 3.56dB when tested in quiet and by a mean of 5.56dB when tested in noise. 3. Binaurally tested word discrimination scores were also superior by a mean of 17.09% in quiet and by a mean 19.63% in noise. 4. Both SRT and word discrimination scores were performed best by subjects with moderately-severe impairement. The performance by one mildly impaired subject was the poorest of all performances. The levels of performance order were; moderately-severe loss, severe loss. moderate loss and mild loss. 5. The data obtained using AGC aids when compaired with that of linear amplification show that when AGC aids were worn in both ears. the results were very poor but when one AGC aid was worn in one ear and linear amplification in the other. the results were good. 6. The advantages of binaural hearing aids were obvious even in cases 1) with great diferences in hearing thresholds between right and left ears, 2) when the subject was unable to discriminate words without vision and. 3) when the subject had extreme recruitme t phenomenon.