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Adult speech testing in the UK

What do hearing healthcare providers see as the benefits and barriers to delivering speech testing? This article explores the latest research. Why speech testing? Speech tests have been used across ENT and audiology practice to measure an individual’s speech recognition...

RNID’s campaign to restore NHS earwax removal services in the UK

Wax removal in the UK has become a topic of intense discussion. Here, Crystal Rolfe discusses the RNID’s findings and approach to tackling the issue. Earwax build-up can cause painful and distressing symptoms – a 2022 RNID survey found people...

Endotypes in chronic rhinosinusitis: clinical relevance

Identifying endotypes enables personalised therapies that target specific pathophysiological processes, potentially resulting in better treatment outcomes for patients. The contemporary model of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) pathogenesis revolving around endotype, in combination with an expanding toolbox of diagnostics and therapeutics, enables...

An update on HPV and the vaccination

In recent years, the role of HPV in the development of oropharyngeal cancers has become apparent. Hannah Fox and Vin Paleri contend that while we may not always be able to cure oropharyngeal cancers, vaccination offers our best hope for...

Airway stenting in paediatric ENT

Although experience in the use of airway stents in adults is considerable, their use in children is more recent and more limited. Cláudia Schweiger and Michael J Rutter provide an overview of stents and their use in paediatric airway. Stenting...

Discovery in the genetics of complex disease: Otitis media

Otitis media (OM), a common disease of childhood, is considered to be a complex trait with multiple genetic and environmental factors expected to contribute to a child’s risk of developing recurrent acute OM (rAOM; ≥3 episodes in 6 months or...

Active middle ear implants and bone-anchored hearing systems

The implantable hearing device market has grown significantly over recent years. But as conventional hearing aids improve and cochlear implant candidacy widens, what is the role for active middle ear implants and bone anchored hearing systems, and how should we...

Hearing rehabilitation after vestibular schwannoma surgery

Hearing rehabilitation is a key focus of the management of patients with vestibular schwannoma. But how do we rehabilitate hearing when the cochlear nerve has been damaged by tumour, irradiation, or resective surgery? Mathieu Trudel, Scott Rutherford and Simon Lloyd...

Extended benefits of cochlear implantation in the elderly

With the challenges presented by an ageing population, Louise Craddock and Charlie Huins describe the benefits of cochlear implants for deaf elderly adults that go beyond improvement of hearing and speech understanding. Introduction People aged over 65 make up 7.4%...

Upper airway endoscopy: achieving a balanced service whilst minimising the conflict of sustainability

Nasal endoscopes present a unique challenge in balancing sustainability and practicality. Both disposable and reusable scopes may have distinct roles in modern practice. Flexible endoscopy of the upper aerodigestive tract is an essential technique that facilitates detailed assessment of the...

The ear-brain connection: the role of cognition in neural speech processing

Audiologists and other hearing healthcare professionals have become increasingly interested in the importance of cognitive function in the assessment and management of hearing loss, especially in light of evidence suggesting a link between hearing loss and cognitive decline in older...

Could social isolation be a factor in the link between hearing loss and dementia?

In 1802, Beethoven wrote to his brothers Carl and Johann about his hearing loss: “You men who think or say that I am malevolent, stubborn, or misanthropic, how greatly do you wrong me. You do not know the secret cause...