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As an audiologist, I tend to prioritise a sensory approach to aural rehabilitation by improving auditory function through use of devices, such as hearing aids. However, some patients might require a more multi-faceted approach. To expand my patient resource toolkit,...Coblation tongue channelling
After uvulopalatoplasty, the tendency is to focus on the tongue base as the next anatomical area to address in the management of snoring and sleep-disordered breathing. In this article, Glen Burgess describes the technique of tongue channelling, to reduce the...IFOS activities
International collaboration is more important than ever, and we hear from Prof Milan Profant about a collaboration that grew out of the very successful IFOS meeting in Paris in 2017. IFOS has developed a new philosophy regarding how to organise...What’s new in the cochlea?
Prof Furness in this article rounds up the steps and leaps being made by the scientific community to develop therapies to support, rejuvenate and / or replace the cochlear structures. David’s electron microscope images of the cochlear structures are world...
Nasopharyngeal versus nasal swabs for COVID-19
This systematic review from Austria compares nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) and PCR test to nasal swabs from the other nasal areas with PCR. After finding 425 articles, using PRISMA guidelines 18 were deemed suitable for comparison. Anterior nasal swabs (ANS) and...
Impact of COVID-19 on ear surgeries
The authors review the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the practice of ear surgeries in this article. The pandemic has changed how we practise medicine and introduced new guidelines to ensure safety of healthcare personnel. Studies have demonstrated COVID-19...
Canal wall up mastoid defects - can they be usefully reconstructed with hydroxyapatite cranioplastic cement?
Standard canal wall up (CWU) mastoid surgery leaves a mastoid defect of varying size, commonly covered by soft tissue. Rarely, this bony defect can cause discomfort, cosmetic issues or other problems. To mitigate these, the defect can be filled either...
Herpes zoster and SSNHL
Some studies suggest that viral infections may increase the risk of a sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL). The described longitudinal study explored whether herpes zoster may be a factor that increases the risk of SSNHL. Medical history in reference to...
Age and sleep disorders as risk factors for Ménière’s disease
Decades after it was first described, the pathophysiology of Ménière’s disease is still a subject for research and discussion, with several controversies regarding its management. Several factors have been reported to cause Ménière’s disease including viral infections, allergies, genetic factors,...
McIsaac scores in tonsillitis
Acute tonsillitis is usually caused by a viral infection, however often antibiotics are prescribed without a confirmed diagnosis of a bacterial infection. The Modified Centor (McIsaac) criteria, which include fever (>38°c), tonsillar exudate, no cough, anterior cervical lymphadenitis and age,...
Trends in the incidence of oropharyngeal cancer
The recent rise in HPV-related oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma is well described. There has been a significant shift from tobacco-driven to virus-driven cancers at this anatomical site. This retrospective study analysed US tumour registry data over a long period (1973–2009)...
