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Patron saints of the ear

We all know that ear symptoms include hearing loss, vertigo, tinnitus and otalgia, but did you know there are patron saints for all these symptoms? John Riddington Young shares an overview of the patron saints of the ear, inspired by...

Endoscopic middle ear surgery for cholesteatoma treatment

A critical question when any new technique is proposed is ‘does it work?’ In this article Daniele Marchioni and Davide Soloperto discuss the success rates of endoscopic ear surgery for cholesteatoma. Introduction Surgical management of cholesteatoma is still a controversial...

Hunting for the zorse - hybrid learning in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic

Emma Watts, a West Midlands ENT Registrar and Digital Fellow, gives a witty and concise recollection of ENT training during COVID, and predicts how hybrid learning may be here to stay. *A zorse is the offspring of a zebra stallion...

Sniffing out the evidence – COVID-19 and loss of sense of smell and taste

Louis Pasteur once observed: “In the fields of observation chance favors only the prepared mind.” Professor Hopkins was certainly prepared when a few anecdotes of smell problems started to accumulate early in the pandemic’s course. Post-viral olfactory loss is nothing...

How cognition influences hearing aid use

Introduction Hearing aids are designed to provide amplification for individuals with poor auditory sensitivity. Signal processing algorithms are designed and implemented in hearing aids to further enhance speech intelligibility and to improve listening comfort by attenuating unwanted background noise. Sarampalis...

Could social isolation be a factor in the link between hearing loss and dementia?

In 1802, Beethoven wrote to his brothers Carl and Johann about his hearing loss: “You men who think or say that I am malevolent, stubborn, or misanthropic, how greatly do you wrong me. You do not know the secret cause...

Health related quality of life measures as outcome parameters in middle ear diseases

Surely the only outcome needed for post-surgical ears is a better PTA? Marcus Neudert argues there should be more to it than that. To draw a comprehensive picture of the disease-associated restrictions in patients with chronic otitis media, audiometric outcome...

Dizziness: confusion, issues and considerations

Douglas L Beck gives his unique take on the difficulties involved in diagnosing dizzy patients and the importance of well-founded research acting as the basis for any diagnosis and treatment decisions. Dizziness. Uh-oh. We really have a very limited understanding...