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Psychoacoustics: Perception of Normal and Impaired Hearing with Audiology Applications

The field of psychoacoustics and the practice of audiology have always been curious bedfellows. In the clinic, we commonly assess patients’ hearing ability through pure-tone detection, a classic psychoacoustical phenomenon, but just one of the many, many ways in which...

OTO-104 in noise-induced and cisplatin-induced hearing loss

These two animal studies report on potential new applications for intra-tympanic OTO-104, a slow-release hydrogel formulation of dexamethasone that is currently being used in a Europe-wide randomised trial for Ménière’s disease. In the first paper, guinea pigs were given a...

Hyperbaric oxygen for sudden onset sensorineural hearing loss

Idiopathic sudden onset sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) is a relatively common presentation to the ENT emergency department, and can have profound effects on patients’ lives. This retrospective study looked at 15 patients who were treated with hyperbaric oxygen after failure...

Long-term results of incus vibroplasty in patients with moderate-to-severe sensorineural hearing loss

The Vibrant Soundbridge (VSB) middle ear implant is now a well-accepted and widely utilised treatment option for patients with sensorineural hearing loss unable to use standard hearing aids. However, as a relatively recent addition to the portfolio of implants available...

Hearing loss in the contralateral ear after mastoid drilling

It is difficult to conceive that most of the noise generated by drilling the mastoid would not be conveyed to the contralateral cochlea, by direct transmission through the skull bone, where the attenuation factor is only 5-10 dB. Only a...

Semicircular canal dehiscence and cochlear implantation

Semicircular canal dehiscence (SCD) is thought to occur in 3% of the population, it is mostly asymptomatic, but patients may present with sound-induced vestibular symptoms, low-frequency conductive hearing loss, autophony, hyperacusis and aural fulness. With the increasing utilisation of cochlear...

Cochlear implantation in the over 85s

An ageing population globally, means that the individuals of some countries are now living longer and, as hearing loss is commonly associated with the elderly, there will be more elderly people eligible for cochlear implantation. Hearing loss itself is associated...

Algorithms to diagnose NIHL

Finding an efficient diagnostic tool for noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) has been of research interest for a long time. There are several algorithms that compare expected age-related deterioration of hearing with the actual audiogram. This study aimed to compare a...

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...

Systemic steroids for sensorineural hearing loss

This Japanese retrospective study looked at whether the dosage of prednisolone affects the response rate in patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss. The authors included a total of 159 patients over a 14-year period who were treated with 200mg/day...