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A shifting landscape of otitis media

In light of pneumococcal vaccination programmes, is otitis media evolving to have a different natural history? Acute otitis media (AOM) is a major public health problem in children worldwide, as it is the leading bacterial infection and first cause of...

Optical cochlear implants: recent progress toward light-based hearing restoration

Optical cochlear implants combine optogenetics and light-based hardware to overcome limits of electrical CIs, promising sharper frequency resolution and more natural hearing. Cochlear implants (CIs) are among the most successful neuroprosthetic devices in modern medicine, restoring speech perception to hundreds...

Listening differently: my path into tinnitus and hyperacusis research

From lived experience to PhD research, Nic Wray explores how tinnitus and hyperacusis are understood in primary care, and why listening better could improve support. My working life has taken many turns, but becoming a researcher was never part of...

Video-augmented consent in thyroid surgery

Short, procedure-specific thyroid surgery videos improve patient understanding, standardise risk discussions and support informed consent. Background Informed consent is an important principle which underpins modern surgical practice. Patients are given information regarding their medical condition, discussion of the proposed treatment,...

When everyday sounds are unbearable: understanding pain and loudness hyperacusis

Everyday sounds can feel unbearably loud or physically painful for people with hyperacusis, a complex disorder that may require tailored, cautious care. Hyperacusis is a disorder in which everyday sounds are experienced as uncomfortable or intolerable. For some people, sounds...

Papzimeos: a major advance in treating adult recurrent respiratory papillomatosis

Since the beginning of our specialty, generations of patients and surgeons have faced the challenging clinical problem of recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP). Driven by a persistent and chronic infection with low-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6 or 11, it is...

HPV – why equitable protection matters

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most common viruses in the world, with most people acquiring it during adolescence or early adulthood, often without ever knowing it [1]. HPV lives in the skin and the mucosal linings of the...

Hypoglossal nerve stimulation for OSA: current experience with unilateral versus bilateral systems

Hypoglossal nerve stimulation (HNS) has emerged as an established treatment option for selected patients with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) who are intolerant to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). Over the past decade, technological developments have expanded the field from unilateral...

Redeployment of audiologists during COVID-19

As the demand on intensive therapy units in the NHS increased, volunteers from the audiology profession stepped in to support colleagues. Here, they share their experiences of caring on the frontline. Redefining normal: from outpatients to the ICU By Emilee...

2014: Are today’s implantable devices better than conventional solutions for patients with conductive or mixed hearing loss?

Patients with conductive or mixed hearing loss become candidates for amplification when reconstructive surgery is not viable. Three common amplification options are conventional acoustic devices, such as behind-the-ear devices (BTEs), (implantable) bone-conduction devices and active middle ear implants. The goal...

Laryngotracheal stenosis and malacia care

Why laryngotracheal stenosis and malacia (LTSM) care matters now? In late 2019, reports began to emerge of severe respiratory infections caused by a novel coronavirus. In the months that followed, intensive care admissions in the UK rose more than tenfold....