Search

Do modern multiple microphones with beamforming facility really help implantees?

In this study the authors aimed to assess the benefit beamforming multiple microphones provide to implantees. Speech reception thresholds were assessed in different situations; fixed masking noise from eight loudspeakers around the subject at 0°, ±45°, ±90°, ±135° and 180°...

Voice issues in transgender individuals

Recently, former decathlete and TV personality, Bruce Jenner, admitted that he is transgender, thereby becoming the most famous and vocal advocate for transgender issues. Transgender refers to female to male or male to female identification. In either case, voice modification...

Gum as a thickening agent in dysphagia management

Foods and fluids are commonly thickened with starch based thickeners in the management of dysphagia to prevent aspiration. Now gums are gaining popularity as thickeners as they are resistant to salivary amylase. This study compared the effect of human saliva...

Speech audiometry tests in elderly patients with mild cognitive impairment

This paper caught my eye because, with our ageing population, mild cognitive impairment and dementia are a major, growing problem. We know that ageing causes a multitude of medical and social issues. So it seems wise to investigate the effects...

Attitudes towards leisure noise

Noise is a very common reason for hearing loss. The question is whether young adults realise the danger of developing a noise related hearing loss. The aim of this study was to evaluate the attitude towards leisure noise and noise...

Tinnitus association with psychiatric and personality disorders

Tinnitus attracts large interest among researchers all over the world due to its negative psychological side-effects. This study aimed at investigating lifetime and current prevalence of psychiatric and personality disorders in patients with long-lasting and distressing tinnitus. Participants included 49...

Cochlear implantation in immunosuppressed patients. Is it feasible?

The effectiveness of cochlear implantation has led to a relaxation of the candidate criteria. Patients who had been rejected in the past may now be accepted and their outcomes are encouraging. However, the acceptance of immunosuppressed patients as cochlear implant...

Neurosarcoidosis: another aetiologic factor for deafness and labyrinthitis ossificans

Very few studies describe deafness secondary to neurosarcoidosis as the latter is a rare inflammatory disorder of the nervous system usually associated with facial nerve and optic nerve disorders. This interesting case report describes a rare case of cochlear ossification...

English language development in bilingual toddlers

It is known that bilingual children have a smaller vocabulary in each of their two languages than monolingual children and also take a little longer to reach the same levels as monolinguals on various grammatical tasks. The authors of the...

How do the rejected candidates for cochlear implantation feel?

This interesting study from the UK explored, using personal interviews, how rejected candidates for cochlear implantation feel and deal with the decision not to implant. The authors assessed 10 adult cochlear implant candidates who had undergone the evaluation process were...

Does head trauma as aetiology of deafness affect the outcomes of cochlear implantation?

Head trauma associated with temporal bone fractures is a well known aetiological factor for deafness. The literature assessing the outcomes of cochlear implantation in such cases is rather limited. In this paper, the authors compared the performance of implantees with...

Back to basics: nasendoscopy beats CT, again!

There are few otolaryngologists (or patients) who have not been confronted with a computed tomography scan referring to a deviated septum. In a very similar way to the accidental findings of sinus mucosal thickening, the clinician is left in a...