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Current practice in cochlear implantation

From candidacy to surgery and rehabilitation, cochlear implant practice is evolving, with new technologies shaping outcomes for patients worldwide. Image courtesy of MED-EL. Cochlear implants restore a sense of hearing in the profoundly deaf, representing the most successful neuroprostheses available,...

The evolution in management of microtia and atresia

The management of microtia and atresia has evolved significantly. Ossama Abdelhamid and Amr Abdelhamid explain how a multidisciplinary approach has become standard, with the aim of delivering individualised assessment and intervention that should target functional, structural, cosmetic and psychological aspects...

The drive for success: from the hockey pitch to the surgical field

A hockey ball is rock hard and can travel at 100 mph. Stopping it with your most vulnerable body parts seems an excellent metaphor for higher surgical training... Four years on from the 2012 Olympics presents an ideal time to...

‘The Sun does not forget a village just because it is too small’ – African proverb

Solar powered hearing aids In the middle of the morning of January 24, 2002, I had been in Otse for only three days, a village of 3500 in the south of Botswana, when I heard a knock at the door....

How trainees can make major contributions to practice

At a time when many of our trainees feel poorly supported and disheartened, the formation of a National ENT Trainee Research Network (Integrate) has been a major advance, enabling them to develop and execute research projects directly relevant to clinical...

Why screen for hearing loss in adults?

Introduction Hearing loss affects over 10 million people in the UK – one in six of the population. Of over 50-year-olds 41.7% are estimated to have some form of hearing loss. This rises to 71.1% of over 70-year-olds, over half...

Barrier and opportunities for hearing care: finding a way forward for all

Ideal models of care for communities can include tailored ear and hearing care interventions. Barriers exist at an individual and societal level to realise the vision of hearing care for all, regardless of country or resource setting. Affordability of hearing...

Measuring the pitch and loudness of tinnitus

Matching the characteristics of tinnitus Many researchers and clinicians have explored the subjective nature of tinnitus by asking people with tinnitus to adjust a sound so that it matches their tinnitus in some way. This can be useful both for...

Adult hearing screening: consideration for a holistic model

Background Adult-onset hearing impairment is a highly prevalent and undertreated chronic problem that poses a significant burden of disease worldwide [1]. It is usually gradual and diagnosed and managed approximately 10 years after adults have first experienced hearing difficulties [2]....

Hidden hearing loss in humans: cochlear synaptopathy is superseded by cognitive effects when listening to speech in noise

Elizabeth Beach presents an overview of the recent research being undertaken at the National Acoustic Laboratories on speech in noise and its relationship to cochlear synaptopathy. Our team at the National Acoustic Laboratories (NAL) has been investigating hidden hearing loss...

Barrier and opportunities for hearing care: finding a way forward for all

Ideal models of care for communities can include tailored ear and hearing care interventions. Barriers exist at an individual and societal level to realise the vision of hearing care for all, regardless of country or resource setting. Affordability of hearing...