Audiology and COVID-19

COVID-19 affected all clinical services in a very short time, including audiology. This service improvement investigation concentrated on how audiology services in the UK were impacted by the virus and how perception of tele-audiology changed. About 120 practising audiologists were...

Hidden disabilities and cochlear implantation under 12 months of age

There has been a global shift to providing children with severe-profound deafness cochlear implants (CIs) before they are 12 months old. Early intervention is critical and one of the overriding factors in successful outcomes for children with CIs. Early implantation...

CATE in people with dementia

Behavioural hearing tests may be difficult to perform for people with dementia. The aim of this study was to investigate if the cortical automatic threshold estimation (CATE) may be used as an alternative to the pure tone audiometry test. Six...

Impaired vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) gain correlates with hearing loss in vestibular schwannoma

The lack of correlation between the size of vestibular schwannoma (VS) and degree of hearing loss and vestibular function tests is well known. In this retrospective study, the focus was on the correlation between VOR gain of semicircular canal function,...

Audiometric outcomes following endoscopic stapes surgery

Adding to the evidence base for endoscopic stapes surgery, this systematic review and analysis of outcomes sought to establish the efficacy and safety of this approach. This review included 14 studies with a pooled sample of 314 adult patients. The...

Herpes zoster and SSNHL

Some studies suggest that viral infections may increase the risk of a sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL). The described longitudinal study explored whether herpes zoster may be a factor that increases the risk of SSNHL. Medical history in reference to...

Paediatric idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss

This Turkish retrospective study looked at the radiological and clinical characteristics, prognostic factors and treatment outcomes in children diagnosed with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL). Forty-eight children were included over an eight-year period. Complete recovery (CR) was achieved in...

Speech in noise hearing difficulties

The phenomenon of speech understanding in noise in normal hearing people attracts the interest of researchers continuously. This study’s aim was to further explore the possible reasons behind these difficulties. The participants were 50 adults that reported having normal hearing...

Genetic testing in congenital hearing loss

Advances in genetic testing over the last decade have reduced the cost and time such testing required and increased understanding of the genes involved in conditions like congenital hearing loss. This study from Atlanta looks at genetic testing from a...

Intratympanic steroids - to give or not to give?

The treatment of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) is controversial and different modes of steroids have been tried without any universal consensus. Various authors have reported combined oral and intratympanic steroid therapy in SSNHL, with consistent results in several...

Loneliness and hearing loss treatment

It is well-known that hearing loss can lead to social isolation and consequent loneliness. This study aimed to research whether hearing loss treatment helps in overcoming loneliness long-term. Two types of treatment - hearing aids (HA) and cochlear implants (CI)...

Hearing disability questionnaires

This is a very interesting study concerning the validity and readability of 10 hearing disability English language questionnaires available for clinical use. The questionnaires were assessed against the World Health Organisation’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health framework (WHO-ICF)....