Journal Reviews
Dizziness questionnaire and telemedicine during Covid pandemic
During the initial phases of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, delivery of ENT care adapted significantly. Kaleva et al present their findings of telephone balance consultations during the pandemic with a randomised prospective study utilising a dizziness questionnaire in West...
The decision-making process by parents of children with residual hearing who receive cochlear implants
It can be a difficult decision for parents whose children have residual hearing whether or not to undergo cochlear implantation. Their children may seem to be hearing with their hearing aids, and even in some cases can hear without aids....
Supracricoid laryngectomy revisited
In this article, the authors report on the long-term (five- and 10-year) survival, local recurrence rate and cause of death in a cohort of 46 patients with T3M0N0 glottic carcinoma undergoing supracricoid laryngectomy. The five- and 10-year survival were 78%...
Metformin, the magical solution!
Both noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) and vestibular schwannomas (VSs) pose a challenge in terms of management. Metformin was suggested as a potential therapeutic drug for NIHL when the drug-target interaction data was investigated. Additionally, there are studies which demonstrate reduction...
Booklet-based supervised vs. non-supervised vestibular rehabilitation
There are conflicting results in the literature about home-based vestibular rehabilitation training (VRT) as opposed to physiotherapist-led training. A randomised controlled trial was designed to interrogate this further. The primary aim was to assess “the effects of a booklet-based exercise...
Can tympanometry be used to diagnose Ménière’s disease?
The authors proposed multifrequency tympanometry (MFT) as an in-office test which may be able to diagnose Ménière’s disease (MD) that is quicker and more cost-effective than other methods. MFT measures the acoustic admittance of the middle ear and external ear...
Early vs late activation of cochlear implant device
Device activation after cochlear implant surgery was typically performed after wound healing, and varies anytime from three to four weeks after surgery. Nowadays, activation is performed as early as two to three days after surgery. The authors evaluated the effect...
What is in the Fountain of Youth?
Does the auditory system have to age? Can we become more like turtles or jellyfish and keep our internals running without degradation? This essay considers the theoretical underpinnings of biological processes in the cochlear, in particular the role of the...
Transcutaneous vs. percutaneous bone conduction devices
Bone conduction devices (BCD) have proven to be effective options for hearing amplification in patients who are not candidates for conventional hearing aids. This study prospectively surveyed 70 patients with BCD using the COSI (Client Oriented Scale of Improvement) and...
Persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD), psychosomatic or not? The debate continues
PPPD continues to provoke debate since the diagnostic criteria emerged in 2017. This review covers two commentaries because they are best considered together: the first one, by HK and BS-U, concluded that PPPD is a psychosomatic disorder (in fact, ‘a...
ChatGPT Quiz skills need refinement!
On 30 November 2022, ChatGPT was launched, free for all to use online. For those who are not aware, ChatGPT (Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer) is an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot which utilises the web to create detailed and natural human-like...
Paediatric vestibular dysfunction
This Malaysian study looked at the awareness amongst otorhinolaryngologists in the investigation and management of paediatric vestibular dysfunction. The authors noted that, although paediatric vestibular dysfunction is a common problem, there seems to be limited literature in assessing the proficiency...
