Journal Reviews archive for 2022
Moderating effect of hearing aids on association between hearing loss and brain structure?
Previous studies have suggested links between age-related hearing loss and structural changes in cortical regions with auditory and language functions, which could be causative of cognitive decline linked to the condition. The authors reason reduced sensory input could be causative...
Patients with auto-immune Meniere’s disease more likely to respond to intratympanic steroids
The authors retrospectively reviewed the duration of symptom control after intratympanic dexamethasone (IT) injections in 27 patients with Meniere’s disease (MD) over a six-year period. The patients received two IT injections of 3.3mg/ml of dexamethasone one-to-two weeks apart. Eleven patients...
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...
COVID-19 impact on the workplace
The COVID-19 pandemic impacted several areas of people’s life. It is unsurprising that it is now a very common research topic. The described study concerned a discussion about what effects the pandemic had and might have on the audiology workplace,...
Epithelial risk factors
This review paper from Barcelona retrospectively assesses patients diagnosed with oral epithelial dysplasia between 1995-2014 and followed up until 2017. In total, 144 cases were noted, of which 42% progressed to an oral cancer by the time of review in...
Reducing nasal changes in SARPE
This paper from Belgium highlights completing a sub-spinal cortectomy of the anterior nasal spine during the procedure of surgically assisted rapid palatal expansion (SARPE) as a means of reducing the alar and columella width as well as the nasolabial angle....
Piezoelectric saw reducing sensory disturbance in mandibular osteotomies
This paper from Seattle in the United States looked at 20 patients with a mean age of 19.9 +/- 3.2 years with a fairly standard surgical movement. They found that functional sensory recovery of the inferior alveolar nerve resulted in...
Immunosuppresants and ototoxicity
There is a wide range of immunosuppressant drugs ranging from calcineurin inhibitors (e.g. cyclosporine), anti-folic agents (e.g. methotrexate) to anti-TNF and monoclonal antibodies, many of which could be ototoxic. The authors performed a systematic review assessing ototoxicity secondary to immunosuppressant...
Role of maxillary sinus irrigation as an adjuvant to current management of chronic rhinusitis without polyposis
Several decades have passed since irrigation of maxillary sinuses generally became a treatment of the past. A more recent concept of biofilms may have evoked new interest in this past procedure, fraught with its own issues. In this study, the...
Role of non-echo planar diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging in detection of cholesteatoma
Whilst the method of canal wall down and same-session reconstruction is emerging to be more popular, canal wall up procedures are still performed. In either, it is necessary to ensure eradication of cholesteatoma or detect its recurrence. The reliability of...
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...
Exciting advances in facial reanimation
Despite several techniques for reanimation after facial paralysis, the management of these patients continues to challenge us. This paper reviews advances in facial reanimation surgery, provides updates on the timing of intervention, modifications to the traditional gracilis muscle transfer, other...
