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Communicating with patients in 
‘Plain English’

Physicians have long been accused of using unnecessarily complicated language and impenetrable jargon as a way of maintaining their status, prestige and high earnings-potential, bamboozling the public and excluding them from meaningful discussion as part of what George Bernard Shaw...

Clinical utility and practical interpretation of the video head impulse test

The head impulse test (HIT) is an essential bedside test to detect peripheral vestibular deficits. The video head impulse test (vHIT) is a new tool quantifying the HIT. In this article Maria Heuberger and colleagues point out the clinical utility...

Use of automated audiometry for faster patient access to audiology services?

Manual audiometry has long been the gold standard for establishing hearing thresholds. In recent years, a number of automated audiometry applications have reached the market. In this article, a team from Ireland have put a version of automated audiometry to...

Robert Vincent: otologie sans frontières

Chris Aldren speaks to French ear surgeon Robert Vincent who’s particularly proud of forming a global otologist network providing free resources for education and patient care worldwide. Robert Vincent Robert, who have been your otological mentors? I did my initial...

Greener pastures? Reflections from UK ENT surgeons now practising abroad

Ever considered practising ENT abroad? Here are some experiences of previously UK-based ENT surgeons who took the plunge and are now plying their trade in distant lands. Andrew McCombe ENT ConsultantDate of migration: December 2015Place of work: Mediclinic City Hospital,...

A soprano’s demise: a cautionary tale for the thyroid surgeon

Prior to the mid-19th century, thyroid surgery was considered excessively dangerous. The emergence of anaesthetic, antisepsis and improved instrumentation, however, increased its feasibility and frequency in Europe. The unhurried, judiciously antiseptic and haemostatic approach, advocated by Kocher, was popularised and...

In conversation with Professor Jos Eggermont

Having known Jos for many years, I jumped at the opportunity to catch up with him for our Nov/Dec 2020 series of tinnitus items. My questions reached him during lockdown, and he was enjoying the chance to get on top...

Commentary: dementia, hearing loss, and the danger of professional rabbit holes

The Lancet, a world-leading general medical journal, has a global impact. Its commissioned report into dementia prevention, intervention and care has been cited over 6000 times and has further been reviewed and updated in 2020 and now 2024. Here, Profs...

Timing of surgery in chronic rhinosinusitis: does it matter?

While many patients with chronic rhinosinusitis respond to medical treatment, some do not. The next step for these patients is surgery, but how soon should this be offered? Sooner rather than later seems to be the answer, as Claire Hopkins...