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History of ENT - Murder most foul, strange and unnatural

Hamlet written by William Shakespeare at the very beginning of the 17th century has definite otological interest. The whole play is about young Prince Hamlet’s revenge for his father’s murder. The king is killed by Hamlet’s wicked uncle, who then...

A soprano’s demise: a cautionary tale for the thyroid surgeon

Prior to the mid-19th century, thyroid surgery was considered excessively dangerous. The emergence of anaesthetic, antisepsis and improved instrumentation, however, increased its feasibility and frequency in Europe. The unhurried, judiciously antiseptic and haemostatic approach, advocated by Kocher, was popularised and...

Jacobsen’s organ

The vomeronasal organ (VNO) was not, in fact, first described by Jacobsen in 1809, but by Frederik Ruysch (1638–1731), the noted Dutch anatomist. He had an absolute passion for embalming, and his ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’ in Amsterdam was acknowledged as...

Misophonia: an audiologist’s perspective on recent research and assessment

From validated assessment tools to new insights into neural processing, recent research is redefining the audiologist’s role in understanding misophonia. Misophonia – literally “hatred of sound” – is a condition marked by disproportionate emotional and physiological reactions to specific trigger...

The pioneer of precision: Wolfgang Steiner and the evolution of transoral laser surgery

It is rare that a single clinician entirely changes the course of the management of a particular condition. Steiner was one such clinician. Wolfgang Steiner was to transoral laser microsurgery what Grandmaster Flash was to hip-hop or James Brown was...

Making audiology work during COVID-19 and beyond

‘New normal’ is another phrase that has become synonymous with this pandemic. In this article, consideration for ‘low-touch’ and ‘no touch’ audiological pathways are described for adoption as the ‘new normal’ for hearing healthcare. The COVID-19 crisis has ushered in...

Reflections on educational gatherings in the COVID era

The COVID pandemic has brought disruption and uncertainty for the organisers of medical conferences. ENT and audiology have always thrived on a healthy exchange of views and the sharing of knowledge across subspecialties and across national boundaries. Ray Clarke asked...

OBITUARY: Professor Heinz Stammberger (1946-2018)

We, at ENT & Audiology News, have just learned of the death of Professor Heinz Stammberger on 9 December. Within the global ENT community, there can be few people whose names are as well-known as his, and his loss will...

Endoscopic airway interventions in children

Open surgery for paediatric airway pathologies such as subglottic stenosis was hailed as revolutionary when many of today’s paediatric ORL specialists were in training. Equipment, facilities and training has moved on and the high-quality optics in modern endoscopes, coupled with...