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Cervicogenic vertigo, a view from the experts

Many readers would be familiar with the term ‘cervicogenic vertigo’ to mean neck-related vertigo or dizziness. In simple terms, this disorder has been defined as dizziness/vertigo caused by neck pain and/or stiffness. By implication, the vertigo/dizziness should resolve by treating...

Systematic review and meta-analysis showing benefit of cochlear implantation in adults with single-sided deafness

This article presents results of a systematic review and meta-analysis to further investigate the impact of unilateral cochlear implantation (CI) in adults with single-sided deafness (SSD) with regards to speech perception in quiet and noise, tinnitus, sound localisation and quality...

Ethnic inequalities in hearing aid use

Recent events, including the COVID-19 pandemic, have once again highlighted health inequalities experienced by people from ethnic minority backgrounds. Our Editors’ Choice paper shows that there are inequalities in hearing aid use and includes the stark finding that ethnicity is...

Does salvage treatment in sudden sensorineural hearing loss work?

Many treatment strategies for sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) have been discussed, but the high spontaneous recovery rate (32-65%) of idiopathic SSNHL and differing treatment guidelines make comparing outcomes difficult. Systemic steroids are the most common first-line therapy with significant...

COVID vaccination and its relation to Bell’s palsy

The SARS-CoV-2 virus outbreak in 2020 continues to be investigated as well as its after-effects on those infected by it. The vaccines created for the public were groundbreaking achievements, evidenced by the lives saved by them and the return to...

Persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD), psychosomatic or not? The debate continues

PPPD continues to provoke debate since the diagnostic criteria emerged in 2017. This review covers two commentaries because they are best considered together: the first one, by HK and BS-U, concluded that PPPD is a psychosomatic disorder (in fact, ‘a...

Adult Audiology Casebook (2021)

Diagnostic audiology is one of my passions so, naturally, the title of this book was an attractive proposition for the clinician in me – and I wasn’t disappointed! It is seldom that you will learn so much in both the...

Metformin, the magical solution!

Both noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) and vestibular schwannomas (VSs) pose a challenge in terms of management. Metformin was suggested as a potential therapeutic drug for NIHL when the drug-target interaction data was investigated. Additionally, there are studies which demonstrate reduction...

Booklet-based supervised vs. non-supervised vestibular rehabilitation

There are conflicting results in the literature about home-based vestibular rehabilitation training (VRT) as opposed to physiotherapist-led training. A randomised controlled trial was designed to interrogate this further. The primary aim was to assess “the effects of a booklet-based exercise...

Nasal allergies and OSA

The first day of June is the meteorological start of summer. As a moderately wet spring slowly blurs to (a damp UK) summer, we can look forward to holidays in the countryside, enjoying the changing pollen seasons from tree to...

Lost and sound: exploring hyperbaric oxygen therapy for refractory SSNHL

Can hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) offer a breakthrough for patients with refractory sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL)? SSNHL is defined as acute hearing loss of ≥30 decibels in three consecutive frequencies within three days. Typically, it’s treated with two weeks...