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Acupuncture for tonsillectomy pain in children

The challenge: tonsillectomy pain Tonsillectomy is a uniform surgical insult which results in a 10-day recovery for children. Severe pain can occur which can give rise to poor oral fluid intake, dehydration and potentially the need for intravenous fluid resuscitation....

Cochlear implant care: putting patients in charge

Should patients take charge of their own cochlear implant care? Helen Cullington presents a compelling case that will provoke discussion in implant centres. Around 1400 people receive a cochlear implant in the UK each year. Patients require lifetime annual follow-up...

Can the audiology clinic benefit from advances in virtual reality?

François Patou discusses how the recent advances in virtual reality technologies can be used to support people living with hearing loss. He outlines some of the novel virtual reality tools that are emerging as resources to support delivery of audiology...

Optical cochlear implants: recent progress toward light-based hearing restoration

Optical cochlear implants combine optogenetics and light-based hardware to overcome limits of electrical CIs, promising sharper frequency resolution and more natural hearing. Cochlear implants (CIs) are among the most successful neuroprosthetic devices in modern medicine, restoring speech perception to hundreds...

Tonsillitis and tonsillectomies: where do we go from Paradise?

Landmark Paper: Paradise JL, Bluestone CD, Bachman RZ, et al. Efficacy of tonsillectomy for recurrent throat infection in severely affected children – results of parallel randomized and nonrandomized clinical trials. N Engl J Med 1984;310(11):674-83. The Paradise paper on tonsillectomy...

Genetic discovery using animal models: presbyacusis

By their very nature, late-onset hereditary disorders offer a large window of opportunity for therapeutic intervention. However, before we can begin to think about strategies we need knowledge of the genetics and pathology underlying the condition. In this article we...

What you need to know about recent advances in genetics of hearing loss in the newborn

Identifying the underlying genetic cause of hearing loss in newborns can improve dramatically the early diagnosis and appropriate intervention. Hearing loss is the most common sensory disorder at birth, affecting approximately two out of 1000 newborns [1]. Congenital impaired hearing...

Addressing ear and hearing care through task sharing: the Malawian experience

How can ear and hearing care be addressed in a setting with limited resources? Wakisa Mulwafu, Chris Prescott and Johan Fagan present an innovative model for training ear surgery technicians to perform endoscopic myringoplasty under local anaesthesia on a large...

The effects of leisure noise exposure on young people’s hearing

There is growing concern regarding the effects of leisure noise exposure on young people’s auditory system. Information provided by healthcare professionals should be evidence-based; Hannah Keppler discusses some recent findings about hearing in young people. Excessive noise exposure can lead...

Monstrous craws and horrid butchery: a concise history of thyroid surgery

Prior to the foundation of our speciality, thyroid surgery had a dubious reputation and universally dismal outcomes. Jenny Walton casts a critical eye over this dark chapter. Diseases of the thyroid gland have been referenced in historic texts for well...