Audiology features
Current management of unilateral sporadic vestibular schwannoma
Vestibular schwannoma is the commonest tumour of the cerebellopontine angle (80%) and accounts for around 8% of all intracranial tumours. The commonest primary presenting symptoms are audio vestibular. Hearing health professionals are often the first contact for patients with potential symptoms of vestibular schwannoma, with the majority then being seen and diagnosed by otorhinolaryngologists.
Fall prevention in the elderly population
A fall in later life can have a catastrophic impact on a person’s quality of life. Lilian Felipe explains how falls prevention programmes and vestibular rehabilitation can help.
Microgravity: an extreme environment for otolith organs
Motion sickness in a car can be upsetting for all involved. Transferring this concept into a tiny cabin bound for space could have devastating consequences. Are the processes involved in ‘space motion sickness’ the same as motion sickness? How do...
Alternobaric vertigo: asymmetrical vestibular function due to asymmetrical middle ear pressures (Iron Man’s archenemy)
The Marvel Cinematic Universe could certainly be deemed an ‘extreme environment’ and yet very rarely do we see the Avenger’s popping to the clinic for a check-up. Hee-Young Kim has wondered how they cope with extreme pressure changes and discusses...
Neurological idiopathic disease: a shared journey for NASA and medicine
Whilst Southampton can’t really be described as an extreme environment, experiments carried out in the city have certainly been taken out of this world. Robert Marchbanks discusses one of the associations between Southampton, The International Space Station and tympanic membrane...
A multidisciplinary approach to the management of the adult balance - dizzy patient
Richard Gans and Kimberly Rutherford, renowned experts from The American Institute of Balance, give their team’s overview of the stages involved in reaching ‘diagnosis based strategies’. For the dizzy patient, this focuses on patient-centred clinical pathways for individualised therapy with...
Recent changes in vestibular science and assessment
Clinical assessment of the dizzy or imbalanced patient is all about the patient’s history. History, history, history. But what about puzzling cases when we feel we need more information? Sally Rosengren gives us a rundown of the vestibular tests which...
Developments in diagnostic approaches for acutely dizzy patients
The acutely dizzy patient can be a diagnostic and management dilemma for emergency departments and general practitioners, with many patients consequently having delayed access to specialised assessment and treatment. David Jay tells us about HINTS, a bedside test that can...
Psychogenic vestibular disorders: understanding and management
‘Psychogenic vestibular disorders’, also known as ‘functional vertigo and dizziness’, are common causes of dizziness and balance difficulty. Although our understanding of their underlying pathophysiology remains incomplete, Drs Diego Kaski and Amy Edwards outline how early identification and positive diagnosis...
Thyroid dysfunction and Meniere’s disease: is there a relationship?
The set of symptoms described as Meniere’s disease may have several causative factors. Timothy Hain and Patthida Maroongroge look for a relationship in the literature between Meniere’s disease and hypothyroidism. Meniere’s disease (MD) affects around two in 1000 people and...
Congenital CMV: investigations and management in the audiology setting
Congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) is the only cause of congenital sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) for which there is a medical treatment available to prevent further hearing loss. Dr Simone Walter discusses cCMV infection, cCMV-related hearing loss, and how to facilitate their...
Drug side-effects on audiological and vestibular testing
Are they a malingerer? Or perhaps they are inattentive? It may be their drugs! Robert DiSogra considers the side-effects of medication on the test subject. The audiogram serves many purposes in clinical practice. For the audiologist, it helps to differentiate...
