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Screening for hearing aid fittings – an approach for primary care

Introduction The communication difficulties related to hearing loss can lead to ‘depression, social withdrawal and problems with employment and access to information sources’ [1]. Furthermore, unmanaged hearing loss is associated with dementia, a poorer quality of life, depression, anxiety and...

Robert Vincent: otologie sans frontières

Chris Aldren speaks to French ear surgeon Robert Vincent who’s particularly proud of forming a global otologist network providing free resources for education and patient care worldwide. Robert Vincent Robert, who have been your otological mentors? I did my initial...

Addressing ear and hearing care through task sharing: the Malawian experience

How can ear and hearing care be addressed in a setting with limited resources? Wakisa Mulwafu, Chris Prescott and Johan Fagan present an innovative model for training ear surgery technicians to perform endoscopic myringoplasty under local anaesthesia on a large...

What’s the appetite for clinical risk?

The first Professor and Chair of Medical Professionalism at RCSI and BSHS, Dubhfeasa Slattery provides an overview of how a desire for better healthcare at all levels can be harnessed and nourished, leading to a potential life-long interest in reducing...

Electronic nicotine delivery systems (e-cigarettes): what you need to know

As an aid to stopping smoking e-cigarettes may have a role, but they are heavily promoted by industry as a leisure pursuit and desirable fashion accessory. Sneh Biyani and Craig Derkay gives a thorough account of what we know about...

The emergence of in-office ventilation tubes for the treatment of otitis media in children

In-office tympanostomy tube systems offer a quicker, anaesthesia-free alternative to traditional surgery for children, with promising outcomes and reduced costs. Tympanostomy tube or grommet insertion is the most common surgery performed on children worldwide. Whilst a relatively short and straightforward...

The pong of poverty: George Orwell on the problem of olfactory classism

Throughout his fiction and non-fiction, George Orwell incorporated references to olfaction to invoke strong reactions in his readers. For example, in Nineteen Eighty-Four the protagonist Winston describes “the pleasant smell of [Julia’s] hair”. Orwell emphasises the invasiveness and emotional force...