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The Journey of Hearing and Hearing-Related Disorders over Time—2nd Edition
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The Journey of Hearing and Hearing-Related Disorders over Time—2nd Edition

A special issue of Journal of Clinical Medicine (ISSN 2077-0383). This special issue belongs to the section "Otolaryngology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 August 2026 | Viewed by 9949

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Winfried Schlee

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Guest Editor
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
Interests: digital phenotyping; digital health; tinnitus; hearing; mental health; decision support; ecological momentary assessment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Jorge Piano Simões

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Guest Editor
Faculty of Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences, University of Twente, Drienerlolaan 5, 7522 NB Enschede, The Netherlands
Interests: chronic disorders; mental health; mental illness; positive psychology; ecological momentary assessment; big data; digital phenotyping; biostatistics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Building on the foundational insights and groundbreaking research presented in the first edition: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/jcm/special_issues/B57567CJJO, we invite you to contribute to a Special Issue on "The Journey of Hearing and Hearing-Related Disorders over Time—2nd Edition".

Hearing is a critical sense, being a prerequisite for interpersonal communication, perception of the environment, and social interaction. However, hearing competence is not a stable capability but changes over time for various reasons, such as aging, acquired diseases, infections, environmental influences, etc.

Loss of hearing or the development of hearing-related disorders (e.g., tinnitus or hyperacusis) can lead to significant changes in auditory stimulation in the brain and perception of the environment and can trigger behavioral changes in affected persons. These changes are a dynamic process that evolves over time. In principle, we distinguish the natural process over time from processes with clincal interventions.

In this Special Issue, we will collect scientific works that improve our understanding of hearing and/or hearing-related disorders over time, as well as personal and environmental factors influencing these issues. We particularly invite original research that involves the digital phenotyping of people affected by hearing damage and hearing-related disorders.

In general, we welcome original research articles and systematic reviews.

Prof. Dr. Winfried Schlee
Dr. Jorge Piano Simões
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Clinical Medicine is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • hearing
  • hearing journey
  • hearing-related disorders
  • tinnitus
  • hyperacusis
  • digital phenotyping
  • big data

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 892 KB  
Article
Ginkgo biloba Extract EGb 761® in Patients with Chronic Tinnitus: Treatment Effects and Effect Modifiers
by Grażyna Lisowska, Irena Urban, Piotr Henryk Skarżyński, Sandra Schlaefke, Petra Brueggemann and Birgit Mazurek
J. Clin. Med. 2026, 15(1), 87; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm15010087 - 23 Dec 2025
Viewed by 2939
Abstract
Background/Objectives: An exploratory study was conducted to investigate the effect of Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761® in the management of chronic tinnitus, and whether comorbidities have an impact on the treatment outcome. Methods: The exploratory, uncontrolled, open-label study enrolled 170 [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: An exploratory study was conducted to investigate the effect of Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761® in the management of chronic tinnitus, and whether comorbidities have an impact on the treatment outcome. Methods: The exploratory, uncontrolled, open-label study enrolled 170 patients (Full Analysis Set) with chronic tinnitus who took 120 mg EGb 761® twice daily for 24 weeks. Outcomes were assessed using the Tinnitus Questionnaire, Tinnitus Handicap Inventory, and 11-Point Box Scales for loudness and annoyance. Comorbidities were recorded with audiometry, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the Perceived Stress Questionnaire. The effectiveness was further examined in responder analyses (at least 30% score reduction in 3 out of 4 outcomes) and in subgroups defined by baseline anxiety, hearing impairment, stress and depression. Results: At week 24, significant improvements were observed in all tinnitus-related outcomes compared to baseline (all p < 0.0001). In subgroup analyses, patients with high baseline anxiety or stress as well as those with normacusis improved more, whereas baseline depression had no influence. The overall response rate was 18.8%. Conclusions: The results of this exploratory study indicate that EGb 761® improved complaints in patients with chronic tinnitus. The therapy appears to be particularly beneficial for patients with normal hearing and/or concomitant anxiety and/or stress. Trial registration: The study was registered at ISRCTN (ISRCTN83863387, registration date 14 October 2016). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Journey of Hearing and Hearing-Related Disorders over Time—2nd Edition)
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14 pages, 775 KB  
Article
Prognostic Significance of Isolated Low-Frequency Hearing Loss: A Longitudinal Audiometric Study
by Junhun Lee, Chul Young Yoon, Jiwon Kim and Young Joon Seo
J. Clin. Med. 2025, 14(19), 6749; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14196749 - 24 Sep 2025
Viewed by 1969
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Hearing loss is a prevalent sensory impairment in older adults, linked to reduced quality of life, cognitive decline, and social isolation. While it usually begins in the high-frequency range, some individuals present with isolated low-frequency hearing loss (LFHL). The long-term prognostic [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Hearing loss is a prevalent sensory impairment in older adults, linked to reduced quality of life, cognitive decline, and social isolation. While it usually begins in the high-frequency range, some individuals present with isolated low-frequency hearing loss (LFHL). The long-term prognostic implications of such frequency-specific patterns remain unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the risk of long-term hearing deterioration by initial hearing loss type: LFHL, high-frequency hearing loss (HFHL), and combined-frequency hearing loss (CFHL). Methods: We retrospectively analyzed pure-tone audiometry (PTA) data from 10,261 patients who underwent at least two pure-tone audiometry assessments between 2011 and 2022 at a tertiary hospital. Each ear was treated as an independent observation. Hearing loss was defined as a threshold > 20 dB HL at 250, 500, 4000, or 8000 Hz. Participants were classified into normal hearing (NH), LFHL, HFHL, and CFHL groups. The outcome was a final four-frequency pure-tone average (4PTA) ≥ 40 dB HL. Logistic regression adjusted for age and sex was used, with subgroup analyses by follow-up duration. Results: HFHL (OR = 1.66, 95% CI: 1.47–1.89) and CFHL (OR = 2.23, 95% CI: 1.97–2.53) showed significantly higher risks of hearing loss compared with NH. LFHL did not show a significant increase (OR = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.76–1.16). These results were consistent across follow-up durations, with CFHL showing the most extensive deterioration. Conclusion: HFHL is a strong predictor of long-term auditory decline, and risk is further elevated with CFHL. In contrast, isolated LFHL was not associated with increased risk, suggesting relatively favorable outcomes. Frequency-specific classification may aid risk stratification and long-term monitoring strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Journey of Hearing and Hearing-Related Disorders over Time—2nd Edition)
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11 pages, 894 KB  
Article
AI-Based Prediction of Bone Conduction Thresholds Using Air Conduction Audiometry Data
by Chul Young Yoon, Junhun Lee, Jiwon Kim, Sunghwa You, Chanbeom Kwak and Young Joon Seo
J. Clin. Med. 2025, 14(18), 6549; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14186549 - 17 Sep 2025
Viewed by 1184
Abstract
Background/Objectives: This study evaluated the feasibility of predicting bone conduction (BC) thresholds and classifying air–bone gap (ABG) status using only air conduction (AC) data obtained from pure tone audiometry (PTA). Methods: A total of 60,718 PTA records from five tertiary hospitals in the [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: This study evaluated the feasibility of predicting bone conduction (BC) thresholds and classifying air–bone gap (ABG) status using only air conduction (AC) data obtained from pure tone audiometry (PTA). Methods: A total of 60,718 PTA records from five tertiary hospitals in the Republic of Korea were utilized. Input features included AC thresholds (0.25–8 kHz), age, and sex, while outputs were BC thresholds (0.25–4 kHz) and ABG classification based on 10 dB and 15 dB criteria. Five machine learning models—deep neural network (DNN), long short-term memory (LSTM), bidirectional LSTM (BiLSTM), random forest (RF), and extreme gradient boosting (XGB)—were trained using 5-fold cross-validation with Synthetic Minority Over-sampling Technique (SMOTE). Model performance was evaluated based on accuracy, sensitivity, precision, and F1 score under ±5 dB and ±10 dB thresholds for BC prediction. Results: LSTM and BiLSTM outperformed DNN in predicting BC thresholds, achieving ~60% accuracy within ±5 dB and ~80% within ±10 dB. For ABG classification, all models performed better with the 10 dB criterion than the 15 dB. Tree-based models (RF, XGB) achieved the highest classification accuracy (up to 0.512) and precision (up to 0.827). Confidence intervals for all metrics were within ±0.01, indicating stable results. Conclusions: AI models can accurately predict BC thresholds and ABG status using AC data alone. These findings support the integration of AI-driven tools into clinical audiology and telemedicine, particularly for remote screening and diagnosis. Future work should focus on clinical validation and implementation to expand accessibility in hearing care. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Journey of Hearing and Hearing-Related Disorders over Time—2nd Edition)
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13 pages, 742 KB  
Article
Does the Patient’s Sex Have an Impact on Beneficial Effects of Ginkgo biloba Extract EGb 761® in Dementia Patients with Tinnitus? Results of a Conditional Process Analysis
by Petra Brueggemann, Marília Grando Sória, Sandra Schlaefke, Petra Funk and Birgit Mazurek
J. Clin. Med. 2025, 14(17), 6313; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14176313 - 6 Sep 2025
Viewed by 3137
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Tinnitus often occurs alongside the emotional symptoms of anxiety and depression. The Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761® was shown to be effective in reducing neuropsychiatric symptoms in elderly patients with both dementia and tinnitus, exerting direct effects on tinnitus severity [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Tinnitus often occurs alongside the emotional symptoms of anxiety and depression. The Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761® was shown to be effective in reducing neuropsychiatric symptoms in elderly patients with both dementia and tinnitus, exerting direct effects on tinnitus severity and indirect effects mediated by improvement of anxiety, depression, and cognition. Whether the extent of the effects is influenced by the patient’s sex has not yet been investigated. We performed a conditional process analysis to evaluate this question. Methods: We analyzed the moderating role of sex on the direct and indirect effects of EGb 761® on tinnitus severity using a first- and second-stage conditional process model. Results: Indirect effects of EGb 761® on tinnitus severity mediated by improved cognition, anxiety, and depression did not differ between women and men (p > 0.05; all 95% bootstrap confidence intervals overlapped with zero). Moreover, direct treatment effects of EGb 761® on tinnitus severity were statistically significant for both sexes (women, p < 0.0001; men, p = 0.0279). Conclusions: Beneficial effects of Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761® in dementia patients with tinnitus are likely to be unaffected by the patient’s sex. Further research into the influence of patient characteristics on the outcome of tinnitus drug treatment is encouraged. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Journey of Hearing and Hearing-Related Disorders over Time—2nd Edition)
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