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BAHAs in single-sided deafness doesn’t improve sound localisation

This systematic review from South Korea nicely summarises what we know about SSD (single-sided deafness) and hearing rehabilitation with BAHAs (Bone Anchored Hearing Aids). SSD was defined as a PTA greater than 90 dB and a normal hearing opposite ear...

Another use for Tisseel – plugging of the round window

After insertion of a cochlear implant electrode through the round window, there are several methods of sealing the perilymph leak and in my experience fascia (with varying amounts of attached muscle) seems to be most commonly used. Stephen O’Leary’s group...

Paediatric hearing following chemotherapy

This study examined the effect of platinum compounds on hearing in 104 children with solid tumours. As would be expected, this group was heterogeneous and included a range of ages, tumour types, chemotherapeutic agents and dosing regimens. Age-appropriate audiometry was...

CT guided cochlear implant programming improves performance

There is currently no national (UK) consensus on imaging patients for cochlear implantation. This paper may change that. It has shown increased hearing and quality of life in paediatric cochlear implant (CI) users when the programming has been assisted by...

The evidence for various treatments of autoimmune ear disease

The difficulty with this disease entity is that it is a heterogeneous group of conditions affecting the ear and a widely accepted diagnostic criteria does not exist. It is therefore difficult to conduct a well controlled trial and this systematic...

Cochlear implanted children are more likely to have device failure if their balance function is impaired

We know that children with permanent hearing loss are more likely to have an associated balance problem. It is also thought that children with cochlear implants (CI) that fail do so because of an increased risk of falls and head...

3D printed temporal bones for drilling are here!

It was only a matter of time before the 3D printer was used to help us with simulated temporal bone (TB) drilling. This group printed three paediatric TB models and evaluated their quality. They were found to be of ‘high...

Short-term risk of falling after cochlear implantation

This paper examined the effect of cochlear implantation on balance function in 16 adult patients. The authors assessed balance pre- and (two weeks) post-operatively by timing how long each patient was able to stand on a foam pad with their...

Vestibular functions of hereditary hearing loss patients with GJB2 mutations

Mutations of the GJB2 gene are a common cause of deafness, being found in 15-25% of cases of congenital deafness. Over 100 mutations are now recognised and may be associated with a hearing loss ranging from mild to profound. This...

Three years later: report on the state of well-being of patients with chronic tinnitus who underwent modified tinnitus retraining therapy

This paper reports on 130 patients with tinnitus of at least three months duration who underwent ‘Modified Tinnitus Retraining Therapy’ (MTRT). MTRT combines psychological and physical therapies with standard tinnitus retraining therapy provided as a course of multi-disciplinary treatment, as...

When should we decompress the facial nerve in Bell’s Palsy?

It has been over three decades since Fisch popularised facial nerve (FN) decompression for Bell’s Palsy. Studies further exploring this have been few since, partly due to the major complications that can occur following this type of surgery. The current...