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Mobile apps for audiological screening

This article summarises the newly emerging mobile applications for audiological screening. The purpose is to try to reduce the time between individuals identifying a hearing problem and seeking help for it. These apps are gaining in popularity and recognition. The...

One anastomosis or two

This is a cumulative meta-analysis from Hong Kong reviewing 27 articles and a total of 7,389 flaps. The authors, at the outset, acknowledge that the number of anastomoses is not the only factor of venous compromise and flap failure. Nonetheless...

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...

Bone anchored implant stability predicted one week after implantation

Bone conduction (BC) devices can now be implanted as a single stage procedure with minimal soft tissue thinning to reduce the complications in the surrounding skin. The question of optimal loading time has to my mind not been answered. Here...

New aminoglycosides with reduced ototoxicity risk

Aminoglycoside antibiotics are widely used for infections affecting patients of all ages and at different sites, however they carry a risk of ototoxicity, nephrotoxicity and rarely peripheral neuropathy. Preventing ototoxicity is crucial to the maintenance of auditory function and quality...

Auditory brainstem response patterns are neural signatures

Through examples, this article describes how particular aspects of auditory brainstem responses can portray certain kinds of language or communication impairments – a characteristic pattern or ‘neural signature’. A reduction in processing of the fundamental frequency is seen commonly in...

Thyroid cancer: to dissect the neck or not?

This is a good review of the much-debated management of the neck in thyroid cancer. It discusses oncological goals that must be achieved whilst maintaining voice, swallowing and parathyroid function. A clear description is made of the common nodal basins...

Controlling tinnitus

The absence of sufficient evidence for the use of integrated sound generators for the management of tinnitus led the authors to conduct a randomised blind clinical trial in which they compared the use of a conventional hearing aid with a...

DIY Epley manoeuvre

This is an interesting paper that looks at getting patients to do their own particle repositioning manoeuvre (PRM) after having it done by a clinician (‘Epley’ to you and me although there are some slight differences) once a week for...

Auditory processing in children with unilateral hearing loss

It is a common assumption that unilateral hearing loss (UHL) in children is of little consequence because appropriate development of speech and language can still occur with one normal hearing ear. Recent studies, however, suggest that there are significant differences...

Zinc and rhinosinusitis

Patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) in general, and those with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) in particular, have been shown to have down-regulation of tight junction genes. Zinc, on the other hand, is well-known for its role in immune regulation and deficiency...

Cycle helmets protective against facial injuries?

This is a meta-analysis completed by a maxillofacial unit on the South Coast of England. Nine studies from an initial literature review of 102 were included in the analysis. Cycling has been reported as the cause of 3-20% of facial...