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Long-term quality outcomes of bimaxillary surgery of obstructive sleep apnoea

This is a review of 12 patients at two years postoperatively and again at at least 17 years. Successful outcome of a decrease in apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI) of greater than 50% was thought to be success. Eight of the initial...

Does septoplasty improve smell?

This is a study from Barcelona on a very interesting topic: does septoplasty change sense of smell? The theory being that a deviated septum would prevent airflow to the olfactory region and once the anatomical obstruction has been relieved, that...

Assessment and management of dysphagia in the elderly

This article covers dysphagia in older patients, which is an important topic due to an ageing population, and a relatively common symptom that we see in clinic. Dysphagia could be due to presbyphagia secondary to changes in head and neck...

Psychoacoustics: Perception of Normal and Impaired Hearing with Audiology Applications

The field of psychoacoustics and the practice of audiology have always been curious bedfellows. In the clinic, we commonly assess patients’ hearing ability through pure-tone detection, a classic psychoacoustical phenomenon, but just one of the many, many ways in which...

Directional microphones and speech

This study aimed to research how speech recognition, listening effort and localisation depends on hearing aids’ microphone configuration in people with moderate to severe hearing losses. Eighteen participants with sensorineural, symmetrical, moderate to severe hearing loss were tested. Participants were...

From Listening to Language: Comprehensive Intervention to Maximise Learning for Children and Adults with Hearing Loss

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...

Persistent dysphonia due to cricothyroid muscle dystonia – should we be requesting laryngeal EMGs for non-resolving ‘functional’ dysphonia?

This article is an interesting report of a case of persistent voice problems affecting a 43-year-old physician that significantly compromised her ability to converse and communicate at work. Specifically, she had a fluctuating voice quality that would ‘choke off’, combined...

Early results of the Cochlear Osia (active transcutaneous bone-conduction implant) in teenagers

This funded research trial involving 14 adolescents, aged 10 to 17 years, in the Toronto Hospital for Sick Kids was carried out just prior to the new Osia implant obtaining FDA approval for use in the USA. The majority had...

Listening effort and speech perception performance

Capturing speech perception performance in noisy listening environments is a key part in validating any hearing instrument. Traditionally audiologists have always measured this performance in noisy environments by looking at thresholds, i.e. speech reception thresholds or signal to noise ratios....

Spread the therapy thick and quick to make sure it works

Speech sound disorders, such as apraxia, can negatively impact a child’s wellbeing - both their social wellbeing and their academic achievement. Traditionally speech and language therapy has attempted to remediate these difficulties using auditory feedback. More recently, advances in technology...