Journal Reviews
To endo or to micro, that is the question: the musculoskeletal paradigm
Endoscopic ear surgery is a newer concept compared with the microscopic one. Both could lead to musculoskeletal pain due to the long static posture of surgeons during otologic procedures. The authors conducted a study on eight otolaryngologists, four attendings and...
Cognitive function is preserved in episodic vestibular disorders
Cognitive deficit in bilateral vestibular failure in particular, but also in unilateral vestibular failure, is well documented. The authors designed this prospective study to determine if deficits in cognition, as well as anxiety and depression, were present in episodic vestibular...
Hurdle jumping
This article deserves a little attention, rather like settling into conversation. As the writers state, listening is an effort and is a tricky field of study when combining multiple physiological measures. In order to gain an understanding, they suggest: consider...
The never-ending vertigo
The authors comment on the Barany Society guidelines for bilateral vestibulopathy (BV). This is one of the murky entities of vestibulogy. By definition, patients will eventually lose vestibular function and don’t experience any vertigo. However, some patients still get recurrent...
Dacryocystorhinostomy revisited
In this technical variant, instead of seeking the lacrimal sac, the authors describe a retrograde technique. They first identify the nasolacrimal duct at the level of the most anterior insertion of the inferior turbinate in the lateral nasal wall. The...
Sudden sensorineural hearing loss – who will get better?
Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) is a rare but potentially devastating condition. For patients presenting with this condition, prognosis is of paramount importance. Wu et al begin to address this issue by retrospectively studying 17 potential prognostic factors for...
Preoperative unaided maximum monosyllabic word recognition score as a predictor of CI outcomes
This retrospective study supports early intervention and hearing rehabilitation with hearing amplification for adults. The authors included 103 patients (128 ears), who had undergone cochlear implantation over a seven-year period, in this study. All patients had been assessed for their...
Cervicogenic vertigo, a view from the experts
Many readers would be familiar with the term ‘cervicogenic vertigo’ to mean neck-related vertigo or dizziness. In simple terms, this disorder has been defined as dizziness/vertigo caused by neck pain and/or stiffness. By implication, the vertigo/dizziness should resolve by treating...
Cochlear implantation in enlarged vestibular aqueduct patients
In this systematic review, the authors describe the complications and outcomes of cochlear implantation in patients with enlarged vestibular aqueduct (EVA). The authors reviewed five major databases and included 4035 patients from 34 studies. Of these, 853 patients (21.14%) had...
Age and sleep disorders as risk factors for Ménière’s disease
Decades after it was first described, the pathophysiology of Ménière’s disease is still a subject for research and discussion, with several controversies regarding its management. Several factors have been reported to cause Ménière’s disease including viral infections, allergies, genetic factors,...
An understandable backup
This small study comparing the auditory temporal processing of seven younger adults with that of seven older adults does not show anything breathtakingly new in its conclusions. After the assessment to rule out compounding factors such as middle ear pathology,...
Are we screening enough? Genetics in adult-onset sensorineural hearing loss
Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in adults can be a result of multiple factors such as age, noise exposure and autoimmune pathology. In a group of patients, no cause is identified and the SNHL is treated as idiopathic. Authors evaluate the...
