Re: Unilateral hearing loss

Anecdotally speaking, it's not just the head muffle effect, but also the proximity of the barrel recoil to the left ear in RH shooters. But I try not to make these generalizations and tend more to ask my patients to simulate how they hold their rifles and shoot.

As for Auditory processing, I can't cite anything right now off the top of my head, but your friend may possibly be referring to the Right Ear Advantage and the maturity of the corpus callosum. In younger children and young adults (up to around 12 years or so), there is a greater difference in how the left ear and right ear "process" information due more to the immaturity of the CC. However, this difference should resolve as the person matures and the pathways are more developed.

-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Shaver <mdshaver@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: AUDITORY@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Thu, Apr 14, 2011 10:56 am
Subject: Re: Unilateral hearing loss

Shooting for right-handers may increase the magnitude for the ear effect but I believe it is also present when noise exposure is not known to be more pronounced on either side (Chung et al., 1983). It may be worth noting that there are asymmetries in olivocochlear function which others have suggested may relate to protection from noise. However, if I remember correctly these asymmetries were demonstrated in humans using contralateral suppression of TEOAEs which is representative of medial olivocochlear function. However, it seems that the lateral olivocochlear bundle is a better candidate for aiding in protection against noise.

Mark

Mark Shaver, PhD, CCC-A
Clinical Educator/Audiologist
Wichita State University
Evelyn Hendren Cassat Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic
(316) 978-6352

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On 04/14/2011 07:55 AM, Bob Masta wrote:

I don't know if this is relevant, but I have heard 
audiologists say that it is well-known that (right-handed) 
rifle shooters tend to have more left-ear loss, because 
their head shields their right ear from the muzzle wave.  
The opposite is the case for (right-handed) pistol 
shooters. 

Is it possible that your colleague sees lots of military 
(and former military) patients?  The military uses mostly 
rifles, not pistols, and most people are right-handed.

Just a thought...

Best regards,


Bob Masta


==================
On 14 Apr 2011 at 12:56, Peter van Hengel wrote:

Dear list,

a colleague of mine is very interested in unilateral hearing loss. He's been
working in audiology for over 30 years and claims that in his experience it
is much more common for the left ear to be affected than the right.
Furthermore, if the right ear is affected, and the person is also
right-handed, the problems with processing auditory information are much
larger than in cases of left-sided hearing loss and/or left-handedness.
However, he does not know of any publications on the subject. Is there
anyone on the list who knows?

All the best,
Peter van Hengel
Audiologisch Centrum Twente
the Netherlands

Bob Masta
 
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