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Taking life by the throat

Patients suffering with problems with their voice, airway and/or swallowing can find their symptoms immensely distressing, and their care places a huge burden on healthcare systems. We hear from a world-leading laryngologist on current and future directions. Field of interest...

Cochlear implants and therapeutics: a natural partnership?

Global awareness of cochlear implants as a solution for hearing loss is slowly increasing and gaining acceptance. The potential for combining cochlear implants with inner ear therapeutics is immense, with promise in several areas. This article takes us on a...

Thyroid cancer – the last decade

Professor Ashok Shaha describes the evolution in the treatment of thyroid cancer that he has witnessed over the last decade and the invaluable progress made by himself and others, from their contributions to staging systems and guidelines. Nuances and paradigm...

Developing medical devices for children: opportunities and challenges

The development of medical devices for infants and children lags significantly behind the development of devices for adults. While in the United States the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has set up incentives for developing child age-specific pharmaceuticals, there is...

The missing link: how migraine neurophysiology amplifies tinnitus

This article discusses an emerging hypothesis linking bothersome tinnitus with migraine-related sensory processing dysfunction. When evaluating patients with tinnitus, a range of contrasting experiences are noted, from mild, non-bothersome symptoms to those associated with significant distress – broadly corresponding to...

Aided cortical assessment: uses in a paediatric hearing implant centre

When can an aided cortical assessment help decision making in a child’s hearing journey? In this article, the author demonstrates the application using an enlightening case study approach. A device, be it a conventional hearing aid or hearing implant, ideally,...

Utilisation of cortical auditory evoked potentials in the paediatric population

Introduction Early identification of hearing loss in infants followed by prompt intervention is well established as the key to maximising the development of speech, language and psychosocial skills. Many countries have already adopted early hearing detection and intervention (EDHI) programs,...

Selecting and optimising hearing aids for tinnitus benefit: a rough guide

Hearing aids have a relatively long history as tinnitus treatment tools. Saltzman and Ersner reported success in suppressing tinnitus with simple hearing aids in a number of cases as early as 1947 [1]. In an early comprehensive approach to tinnitus...

Long-term outcomes of children and young people with cochlear implants

Introduction Profound childhood hearing loss has a huge impact on early communication skills, the acquisition of spoken language, and hence on educational attainments and employment prospects. Over the centuries, educators of the deaf attempted to overcome the challenge by using...

The ear-brain connection in cochlear implant users: learning to listen again

While the cochlear implant (CI) has been a tremendous success in restoring hearing to deaf individuals, the implantation outcome still varies across CI users [1]. Some demographic factors, such as duration of deafness, and peripheral factors, such as electrode placement,...