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Neurological idiopathic disease: a shared journey for NASA and medicine

Whilst Southampton can’t really be described as an extreme environment, experiments carried out in the city have certainly been taken out of this world. Robert Marchbanks discusses one of the associations between Southampton, The International Space Station and tympanic membrane...

Not just the scissors: the story of Myron Metzenbaum

Myron Metzenbaum was born in Cleveland, Ohio (USA) in 1876, the fourth of nine children. As a young man, he worked in the family’s linen store, where his father was well known to be very kind to the less fortunate...

Did you ever meet Draffin on your travels?

Draffin’s rods or bipods are a well-known ENT instrument. Before their invention in 1951, the attendant anaesthetist or nurse was obliged to support the mouthgag during tonsillectomy. Their originator, David Alexander Draffin (born in 1917 in Ballybey, Co Monaghan), was...

Lawrence Werth (19 October 1956 – 19 August 2014)

In August the audiology community was saddened to learn that Lawrence Werth (57), Chairman of PC Werth Ltd, London had passed away after a brave battle with skin cancer. A prolific contributor to this magazine over the years, he is...

OTC hearing aids

The potential for the deregulation of hearing aid technology, through the Over-The-Counter Act has led to a tremendous amount of opinions and views from all stakeholders in the US. You don’t have to go far on the internet, social media...

What’s new in protecting hearing?

Preventing an avoidable hearing loss before it begins would be the public health dream. In this article Kathleen Campbell takes us through one option that is showing the potential to fulfil that ambition. Kathleen explains the development of a preventative...

Moving forward for better communication for the Deaf and hard of hearing – Wavefront Centre

Now more than ever, guaranteeing accessibility and inclusion is a vital need for people of all abilities. The Wavefront Centre for Communication Accessibility in Vancouver, BC, is a model on to how to effectively address these issues and serve the...

Beware of Bicycle Face!

Many of us were told as children that we would get square eyes from watching too much television. But spare a thought for those late Victorian ladies, embracing their first taste of liberty on a bicycle, who were threatened with...

OBITUARY: Randall Payne Morton (1948 - 2025)

Randall Payne Morton. Sadly I report the recent death of Randall Payne Morton, Professor of ORL-HNS in Auckland, New Zealand, on the 11 September 2025, after a long and protracted illness. I first met and worked with Randall during his...

What’s new in genetic testing for hearing impairment?

Often the first question following the diagnosis of a hearing loss is ‘why?’ In this article Ali Danesh explores the advances made in uncovering ‘why’ from a genetics perspective. Ali describes the panel of genetic tests now commercially available to...