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...
Music training for cochlear implant users
The ability to enjoy music is something that is important to most people and contributes to wellbeing, as well as holding cultural significance. However, the speech signal is generally prioritised for those with cochlear implants (and indeed hearing aids). Improving...
Electrocochleography and cochlear implants programming
Cochlear implants (CIs) often are the only option for people with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss to be able to hear. Therefore, effective CI programming seems very important, especially in children who are still developing their speech. Using acoustic...
Steroid use in acute acoustic trauma
Acute acoustic trauma (AAT) injuries include noise-induced damage to inner and middle ear presenting as hearing loss, tinnitus and vertigo. Classic presentation is sensorineural hearing loss with an intact tympanic membrane. The authors carried out a case-control study in military...
Assessment of audiological needs
A thorough assessment of audiological needs is crucial for a successful audiological rehabilitation. This study concentrated on creating the Québec Audiological Assessment Protocol for Younger and Older Adults (QAAP-YOA) that could be easily adopted in audiological clinics. The authors used...
Is endoscopic stapes surgery safe and are outcomes comparable to microscopic stapes surgery
Endoscopic techniques for visualisation of the middle ear were described in 1967 by Mer and colleagues, and the use of transcanal endoscopic ear surgery (TEES) has since expanded to a wider range of otologic applications including tympanoplasty and excision of...
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...
Cochlear implants in the over 80s
The UK has an ageing population. Seven percent of the over 80s population have bilateral severe to profound hearing loss which can lead to associated negative outcomes (social isolation, depression and reduced quality of life). Cochlear implantation (CI) can successfully...
How interaural level differences differ between children with bilateral cochlear implants and their normally-hearing peers
A group in the Netherlands investigated interaural level differences (ILDs) in children who were bilaterally implanted with cochlear implants (CIs) and compared their performance to their normally-hearing peers. ILDs are used to localise sound and rely on the high-frequency cues....
Hearing outcomes after mastoid obliteration tympanoplasty
In this study, the authors retrospectively compare hearing outcomes after mastoid obliteration to non-obliterative techniques in cholesteatoma surgery. They have performed canal wall up with mastoid obliteration (bony obliteration tympanoplasty or BOT) since 2013. The procedure has replaced canal wall...
Effect of age-related changes in voice production and hearing on Voice Handicap Index and Geriatric Depression Scores
The ageing process affects hearing and production of voice. It is not unknown that impairment of these faculties can affect quality of life and also cause depression. The authors have presented an array of actual anatomical and functional changes that...
Biologics for deafness
Cochlear implants and hearing aids are inherently limited in their ability to restore ‘natural’ hearing. Biological therapy to treat inner ear pathology still is evolving rapidly with several ongoing clinical trials, though none are available for clinical practice to date....
