Declan Costello,
MA, MBBS, FRCS(ORL-HNS),
Editor, ENT & Audiology News;
Consultant Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeon,
Wexham Park Hospital,
Slough, Berkshire, UK.
As the pandemic evolves, the world seems to be divided into those countries that are fortunate enough to have good vaccine coverage and, hence, are able to open up their societies; and those who do not have an adequate vaccine roll-out and are having to live with significant restrictions or high levels of prevalent disease. And so, as our eyes turned recently to the Olympics in Japan, it was without the usual crowds, and it was with the constant threat of COVID spreading amongst the athletes. Nonetheless, it was wonderful to watch the event unfold, and has provided some much-needed ‘positive vibes’.
In the UK, we have been fortunate in recent weeks that music and other activities have been able to start up again. So, it is timely that in this edition of the magazine, we look at ENT and audiological issues in relation to music. We cover topics as diverse as musical hallucinations and voice disorders in singers – you can read our introduction here.
As ENT surgeons, the range of pathology we have encountered during the pandemic has been bewildering and enormously diverse. In my own field of laryngology, we are encountering pathologies we have only rarely seen in the past. In some areas, mucormycosis has been very prevalent, and Sunil Dutt interviews two of India’s most experienced clinicians (click here).
We have some exciting news to share with you from our good friend, David Howard, who has been involved in a ground-breaking project looking at a novel method of ventilating patients – he tells us more about the Exovent in a very special Spotlight on Innovation feature. One of David’s collaborators, Catherine Rennie (ENT Consultant at Charing Cross Hospital in London), has recently been recognised by the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) as one of the ‘Top 50 Women in Engineering 2021’. Nina Mistry caught up with Catherine on behalf of ENT & Audiology News following this award (you can read the interview here). Looking at the list of the engineers given this honour, it is striking that Cath is the only doctor in the group – an amazing achievement (www.wes. org.uk/WE50).
Finally, our Global Ambassador in Southern Africa, Johan Fagan, interviews the 87-year-old Eugene Myers. Dr Myers is thoughtful and incisive, and is clearly as engaged with medical education now as he ever has been. It’s a great example of how to live in your 80s!
