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The process of medical innovation

You’ve got an amazing idea for a new device. It is going to change how your speciality of surgery is practised. It will lead to better operative results and lower risks to patients – that’s amazing, can I see it?...

Unpacking the World Health Organization’s World Report on Hearing: what does it say?

The inaugural report on hearing from the World Health Organisation is a tool for advocacy, and for getting hearing loss on government agendas. Nguyen Ngoc Bao Tran was 11 months old when her hearing loss was diagnosed. Despite being informed...

Mapping the financial and disease burden of hearing loss and associated interventions

The prevalence and burden of ear and hearing disorders is huge and, historically, has been underappreciated. Globally, unaddressed hearing loss poses a growing public health challenge, requiring urgent attention from policymakers, health professionals and civil society. The recently published World...

Loss of smell after COVID-19: a view from the patient forums

Patient advocate, Chrissi Kelly, founder of AbScent, talks about how the pandemic has changed the way we think about smell loss. The high prevalence of chemosensory impairment as a result of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has shone a much-needed spotlight on...

Aerosol research and performance

Is singing safe? This was a question asked around the world at the start of the pandemic in early 2020. Natalie Watson and Chris Orton tell us about a rapidly-convened research group that led to profound changes in UK Government...

Endolymphatic sac surgery: controversial procedure for the treatment of Ménière’s disease

Landmark Paper: Thomsen J, Bretlau P, Tos M, Johnsen NJ. Ménière’s disease: endolymphatic sac decompression compared with sham (placebo) decompression. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1981;374:820-30. Of all of the chapters in the Landmark Papers book, the chapter that discussed...

Malignant lesions and reconstruction of the pinna

External ear reconstruction can be challenging. Baskaran Ranganathan and Amr Abdelhamid describe how careful assessment, planning and surgery following the subunit principles and reconstructive ladder will ultimately lead to good aesthetic outcomes with restored form and function. The external ear,...

Burnout: is this just a pandemic phenomenon?

The phrase ‘burnout’ is often heard, but what is it, and what are the early warning signs? Importantly, how can it be prevented or managed? Over the last few years, health professional wellbeing, mental health, and burnout have come to...

Intratympanic treatments for subjective idiopathic tinnitus

Direct application of medication into the ear is long established, going back as far as written records. In the modern era, greater understanding of aural anatomy revealed that drugs instilled in the middle ear could potentially diffuse into the cochlea...

Dr Marion Pfaender Down

“Dr Marion P Downs, an innovator in the field of paediatric audiology and a tireless advocate for the early identification of hearing loss, passed away on November 13, 2014. During her exemplary career at the University of Colorado Health Sciences...