How does one build a two-storey house? Start with a firm foundation, followed by a strong structure. Only then can the floors and attic be added. Madell and Hewitt provide practitioners with this same blueprint to facilitate optimal outcomes for...
Dining with family members, amongst the clinking of dishes and glasses, the sounds of conversations and laughter, the husband, a user of hearing aids, misses his wife’s request to bring another bottle of wine. After a third try, the wife,...
Adenoidectomy is a common procedure undertaken for obstructive sleep apnoea and nasal obstruction. Curettage is the most common technique but is associated with complications (mucosal trauma, bleeding) that may cause eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD). This study analysed changes in middle...
Patients treated surgically for cancer of the tongue are expected to have difficulty in eating, drinking and swallowing. The authors of this paper report on a cohort of 106 patients in their practice who had surgical resection as primary treatment....
Of medications leading to malpractice claims, corticosteroids comprise the third most common. They are used widely and have a significant side-effect profile: hypertension, lipodystrophy, diabetes, avascular necrosis of the femoral head, peptic ulceration and psychiatric reactions to name but a...
The removal of impacted wisdom teeth is a common surgical procedure with possible complications including postoperative bleeding and wound infection and alveolar osteitis. Preventing osteitis is dependent on retaining the blood clot in the socket with no infection. There are...
It is taught that a complete facial nerve (FN) palsy after temporal bone (TB) trauma should be conservatively managed if electroneuronography (ENoG) shows a less than 90% degeneration of response compared to the contralateral side. This small study from the...
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...
As an audiologist, I am always looking for alternative and innovative solutions for patients who have tried all other traditional approaches. What else can I offer to patients who struggle to hear, even with appropriate amplification, or those who struggle...
This article reviews advances in the diagnosis and management of allergic rhinitis. Recent advances in the diagnosis of allergic rhinitis include testing of local immunoglobulin E (IgE), urinary test to diagnose aspirin hypersensitivity and optical rhinometry to assess degree of...
‘New normal’ is another phrase that has become synonymous with this pandemic. In this article, consideration for ‘low-touch’ and ‘no touch’ audiological pathways are described for adoption as the ‘new normal’ for hearing healthcare. The COVID-19 crisis has ushered in...
Exposure to clinical research as a trainee is often sporadic and unstructured, despite it featuring in both the GMC’s Good Medical Practice and the ISCP’s syllabus for all surgical specialities, including otolaryngology [1,2]. The majority of trainees undertake small-scale research...