Audiology features
Genetics WG4. Improving diagnosis and drug development through the genetic understanding of tinnitus subtypes: a TINNET endeavour
Christopher R Cederroth and Jose Antonio Lopez-Escamez explain how progress is being made to investigate the contribution of genetic factors to tinnitus, including a subtype of ‘extreme’ tinnitus in Ménière’s disease. Genetics WG4 is working towards determining the genetic basis...
Paediatric vestibular evaluation
Richard E Gans is a renowned expert in the areas of vestibular evaluation and rehabilitation techniques. In the first of two articles (see here for the second article), Dr Gans gives an overview of the approach he and his team...
Rotational chair testing: “To rotate, or not to rotate, that is the real question”
Passive whole body rotation tests are widely considered to be the ‘gold standard’ for the identification of bilateral peripheral vestibular disorders (bPVD), but also have a part to play in identifying unilateral disorders (uPVD). In this article Paul Radomskij discusses...
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...
Vestibular rehabilitation therapy: diagnosis based strategies
In his second article on this topic (see here for the first article), Richard E Gans explains how to use vestibular rehabilitation therapy to treat vestibular patients, and demonstrates why this method of diagnosis based strategies has proved so successful....
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and the vestibular system: a case study
This team of audiologists from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Centre discuss an eight year old with congenital CMV, a neonatal infection which is usually asymptomatic, and provide guidance on how to recognise the signs in the paediatric population, and screen...
Aetiology, investigation and acute management of sudden sensorineural hearing loss
The cause of a single sided sensorineural hearing loss has a wide variety of aetiologies. This review, by Edwin Halliday, looks specifically at the differential diagnostic causes of a sudden sensorineural hearing loss, the relevant investigations and the management should...
Hearing about genes
I have been fortunate in my career to travel as an invited lecturer at many hospitals, universities and professional societies around the world. I have spoken to audiology societies, otolaryngology societies, and university communication disorders programmes in Europe, Asia, Africa,...
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...
Living with Usher syndrome
“Usher people often still have sharp, clear central vision. It is the corner of their eye that is missing. This is why the Usher person often does not feel or look blind. In the early days they may not even...
Hearing loss and Alport syndrome
Alport syndrome (AS) includes a group of hereditary diseases caused by mutations in the COL4A3, COL4A4 or COL4A5 genes. These genes are responsible for the biosynthesis of α3, α4 and α5 collagen IV chains, which are located in the glomerular...
Screening: evaluating the outcomes of early intervention
Newborn hearing screening is now the accepted standard of care in several countries, and is becoming increasingly more established worldwide. White [1] reported eight countries screening over 90% of newborns, ten screening between 25-89% of births and a further 54...
