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Vocal cord dysfunction and dysfunctional breathing: an evolving clinical paradigm

Patients frequently present to the ENT department with breathing difficulties. The entity of ‘vocal cord dysfunction’ (also known as paradoxical vocal cord movement, inducible laryngeal obstruction, and many other names) is increasingly well recognised. Ravi Thevasagayam gives us an overview....

Music, hearing, and education: from the lab to the classroom

Historically, research assessing the impact of musical training has focused on those children whose families are able to pay for private lessons. In this article however, Nina Kraus outlines the findings of one of her recent projects; assessing the impact...

Wilde and the foundations of medical epidemiology

William Wilde (father of Oscar) was renowned as an otologist, but less well known for his work in epidemiology. The bedrock of the modern discipline of public health is good data collection, and we hear from our good friend, Ray...

The integration of targeted therapy and surgery in advanced thyroid cancer clinical trials

One of the headline speakers, Mark Zafereo, will be talking at IFOS about thyroid cancer. We hear from his team about some of the areas they will be discussing. Locally advanced thyroid cancer generally refers to patients who have significant...

Targeting the microbiome in chronic rhinosinusitis

Researchers at St Paul’s Sinus Centre and UBC in Vancouver are testing a novel treatment for CRS: transferring mucus from a healthy donor into a patient’s sinuses. Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is one of the most common diseases managed by otolaryngologists...

What has NAIROS taught us about septoplasty?

Septoplasty is a commonly performed procedure worldwide for nasal obstruction associated with a deviated nasal septum. In the UK, with long waiting lists for septoplasty, there is a large and unexplained variation in the incidence of this procedure between individual...

Cognitive spare capacity: what is it and why does it matter?

Cognition refers to thinking and memory. So why would cognition be a useful concept for ENTs and audiologists? Audition provides our main channel of communication and when we speak to each other, we want to exchange thoughts and remember what...

Leadership challenges in the world 
of AQP and accreditation – learning from experience

The words ‘choice and competition’, ‘any qualified provider (AQP)’ and ‘accreditation’ have irrevocably become part of audiology jargon in the last two years in England. Commissioners who chose ‘Adult Hearing Aid Services for age-related hearing loss’ have begun the process...

The future of hearing care and the role of audiology

The Clinical Director of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and President-elect of the American Academy of Audiology reviews the status of the present day audiologist’s remit, and discusses the changes we can expect with the changing demographic and behaviour of...

A place for everything and everything in its place: the practicalities of randomised clinical trials

Will this pill cure tinnitus? Bonnie Millar describes one trial that has investigated the possibility whilst describing the path of drug trials in the UK. Background In the last quarter of 2014, a clinical trial (QUIET-1; ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02315508) commenced...

The evolving role of OAEs in newborn hearing screening

An admission on emissions from James Hall! OAEs hold an established place in the screening of infants; Professor Hall introduces how OAEs established this position and the advances keeping the test relevant to today’s infant screening battery. Introduction Truthfully, when...