Journal Reviews
Small but significant
These authors try to circumnavigate the conundrum of what is influenced by what. For something so small, the impact of the Stria Vascularis cannot be understated. The difficulty in reviewing the influence of loop diuretics or aminoglycosides on the Stria...
Is there an association with cognitive impairment and hearing loss in a developing country?
Hearing loss (HL) is the third leading chronic health condition among older adults. Most studies investigating HL and cognition have been performed in high-income countries. Risk factors for dementia (eg. hypertension, midlife hearing loss, obesity and physical inactivity) are more...
A twitch in time with a flicker of knowledge
The middle ear muscles can be seen as one of the ear’s safety mechanisms, and the interplay between eyes and ears has been established; think vestibular ocular reflex (VOR) or semi-circular canal dehiscence (SCCD). But can this protective mechanism be...
Inner ear immunity
There is much speculation regarding the ear’s immune response. The environment in which we live and breathe is getting ever more complex; aspects such as the percentage of the population with autoimmune conditions are on the rise and, therefore, it...
How do mermaids hear?
When the imagery of childhood fairy tales meets the more clinically analytical mind of an adult, there may at some point come the question, ‘how do mermaids hear’? Luckily a department of biology in Denmark has sought to furnish such...
Continuous Ambulatory Vestibular Assessment (CAVA)
This article presents initial test findings using a novel system called CAVA - Continuous Ambulatory Vestibular Assessment. Akin to the 24-hour ECG tape to identify cardiac arrhythmias, this system aims to continuously monitor the presence of a nystagmus pattern in...
Do personal listening devices cause cochlear synaptopathy?
Cochlear synaptopathy is a condition in which noise interrupts the synaptic communication between sensory inner hair cells and low spontaneous rate cochlear nerve fibres. Since these nerve fibres are associated with signal coding in noisy backgrounds, their disruption leads to...
Can amplification preserve auditory function?
Hearing loss is a noted modifiable risk factor for dementia, and is also associated with depression, decreased quality of life and isolation. Hearing aids are the main intervention for presbycusis and a 2017 Cochrane Review showed that they have a...
A new tool for assessing otoscopy skills
Medical and audiology students need to be proficient in performing otoscopy in order to undertake the routine practice required of them at work upon graduation. One significant challenge in teaching otoscopy is the lack of objective and validated assessment tools...
Genetic testing in congenital hearing loss
Advances in genetic testing over the last decade have reduced the cost and time such testing required and increased understanding of the genes involved in conditions like congenital hearing loss. This study from Atlanta looks at genetic testing from a...
Electrodes and the stapedial reflex
This study had two main objectives: testing the efficiency of the sequential stimulation of four different electrodes versus a single electrode on the threshold of the stapedial reflex; and correlating the values with the minimum comfort level (MCL). The study...
Virtual human speaker
The aim of the discussed study was to develop and evaluate a 3D virtual speaker that could use pre-recorded audio-material and possibly be used for audio-visual speech testing in the future. The authors developed the terminal-analogue method that allows to...
