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ENT clinics – 50 years of progress…?

Cocaine in abundance, eustachian tube catheterisation, and the ever-present threat of a fire in the clinic… How have things changed in the last few decades? Retired ENT surgeon, Douglas MacMillan, tells us of his experiences starting out in the late...

Surgeons and swearing

We will all know colleagues who have raised the act of swearing to an art form; just as Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of It could cut a workmate in half with a well-placed swear word, surgeons can be equally...

Physiological mechanisms of hyperacusis: an update

Hyperacusis is a heterogeneous and complex clinical entity, and proposals about physiological mechanisms should reflect these issues. Ben Auerbach helps us navigate through present knowledge in this area, and proposes future directions for research. Hyperacusis is a debilitating hearing disorder...

Why and what should hearing care professionals know about cognitive impairment and dementia

Good reasons to care about cognitive impairment and dementia in audiology If asking people what they fear most when getting to old age, it is cognitive decline that is named most often. This comes with the expectation of limitations in...

Cochlear implants: recipient stories

The most powerful evidence for the remarkable achievements made with cochlear implants over 40 years comes from the life-changing, personal stories of those who have benefited from the technology. James Rylance I first noticed a problem with hearing when I...

Rapid genetic testing to avoid hearing loss in neonates

Thousands of newborn babies could avoid a lifetime of hearing loss thanks to a new rapid genetic test. In this article, we learn how. We have demonstrated for the first time that a rapid genetic test from a cheek swab...

"A merry road, a mazy road, and such as we did tread, The night we went to Birmingham by way of Beachy Head"

It’s true, the UK’s premier ENT event has come around quickly this time. So, who better to ‘poke awake’ for an article on the ethos and culture of Birmingham UK, BACO 2020 venue, than the erudite Chris Potter, who’s been...

Otological problems in musicians

Musicians are understandably anxious about their hearing, and recent high-profile cases of noise-related hearing loss have resulted in huge changes in the music industry. Chris Aldren (otologist and violinist) explains. In the recent Oscar-winning movie, Sound of Metal, heavy metal...

History of photography in otorhinolaryngology in the 19th Century

In this final article of the History of ENT edition, João Clode introduces us to the history of medical photography in the 19th century, giving us some fascinating early examples of otorhinolaryngology photographs. Medical photography – the early years The...

Scientific advances in mapping syndromic hearing loss

From more than 22000 genes that we humans have, approximately 3000 genes are associated with human communication. There are tens of syndromes which have been identified to be accompanied by hearing loss. Disorders of almost every organ of the body...

How to deliver bad news better

Delivering bad news well takes experience and time. The Ida team recommend the SPIKES protocol; providing structure for relaying bad news, giving confidence to those delivering it, and leaving recipients feeling cared for and informed. It’s among the most distressing...

Acoustic shock: definitions and clinical aspects

Acoustic shock, a previously little-known and poorly understood clinical entity, came to the public’s attention in 2019 due to a high-profile legal case of a musician at the Royal Opera House. In this fascinating article, Andrew Parker and William Parker...