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CI and CP

Quality of life improvement is one of the main goals of cochlear implantation. Mobile phones are now a standard daily tool. For many implanted patients, a mobile phone is used for sending short messages rather than for voice calls. This...

Aided speech auditory brainstem response

Auditory brainstem response (ABR) is commonly used for hearing screening and is considered as one of the important means of objective audiometry. Speech ABR is a relatively new concept and is regarded as a marker of speech encoding at the...

Quality in Audiology: Design and Implementation of the Patient Experience

In Quality in Audiology, Dr Brian Taylor has grappled with an aspect of audiology about which I am passionate, and in doing this he has covered a lot of ground. He starts by trying to define quality – which in...

How well are we managing epistaxis cases?

Epistaxis constitutes 34.5% of all emergency admissions to otolaryngology departments nation-wide. Presently there are no detailed consensus guidelines for this commonest emergency, and there is tremendous variation of practice. Quite often, non-ENT trained doctors manage this emergency. This paper reviews...

Allergen specific subcutaneous immunotherapy helps in prolonged control of allergic rhinitis

One of the commonest allergens involved in perennial allergic rhinitis is house dust mite. A good proportion of these cases prove intractable to treatment with oral and intranasal antihistamines and intranasal steroid sprays. Immunotherapy is considered a useful alternative and...

To monitor or not to monitor

This is a report on an e-mail based survey of 1249 otologic surgeons on their practice regarding facial nerve monitoring during ear surgery. The response rate was very low (6.6%). The majority of responders (92%) stated that they did not...

Earplug use in clubbers

Past studies show that there is a low frequency of use of earplugs at music events. In this research article produced by the National Acoustic Laboratories, Australia, a group of 51 regular attendees at music events were recruited and given...

Visual distraction helps patients tolerate flexible laryngoscopy

With the arrival of flexible fibreoptic laryngoscope some 35 years ago, the examination of the laryngopharynx has become remarkably easier and saves immense time and costs since the days of mirror examination when this examination was not truly satisfactory in...

Traditional incision and drainage of a quinsy may be more efficacious than aspiration

Peritonsillar abscess drainage has always been one of the first procedures an ENT junior doctor performs. Traditionally incision and drainage (I&D) was the mainstay of treatment. In recent years, needle aspiration of the abscess has become much more commonplace, perhaps...

CRS vs. migraine: which is the culprit in most headaches?

‘Sinus headache’ is a common diagnosis according to patients and primary care physicians, but relatively infrequent in the eyes of otolaryngologists. This study examines 104 patients with a primary headache syndrome (PHS) and 130 patients with CRS, looking at SNOT-22...