middle ear

PURPOSE: The indications of Vibrant Soundbridge (VSB) have been expanded to include patients with conductive and mixed hearing loss due to congenital aural atresia (CAA). However, the current evidence supporting the auditory outcomes of VSB is based mainly on case reports and retrospective chart reviews. Therefore, the present systematic review aims to summarize and critically appraise the current evidence regarding the safety and effectiveness of VSB in children and adult patients with CAA...

PURPOSE: Videos and images are becoming an educational tool in every domain. The objective was to assess the contribution of short educational endoscopic videos in learning the complex anatomy of the tympanic cavity. METHODS: We conducted a prospective study amongst all the otolaryngology residents in 2021 in the greater Paris area (n = 74), from the first year to fifth year. We divided the residents into two groups who had the same 30-min anatomy class based on anatomical drawings...

PURPOSE: The definitive treatment for chronic suppurative otitis media is surgery. Surgical technique and procedure varies according to individual case findings and pathology and may require mastoidectomies in which the canal wall is preserved or lowered to eradicate disease from mastoid air cells. Surgical treatment of chronic middle ear disease carries a risk of damage to the inner ear. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the noise produced by the tour system following chronic ear surgery causes sensorineural hearing loss, a condition for which not many studies have been published in the literature...

Vestibular neurectomy is an effective method eliminating vertigo attacks in patients suffering from disabling Meniere's disease with no clinical improvement despite conservative and intratympanic therapy. Magnetic resonance imaging allows in vivo evaluation of changes manifesting in the inner ear after treatment; however, downgrading of the endolymphatic hydrops after vestibular neurectomy had not been previously described in the literature. In the present article, a case of a patient with unilateral severe Meniere's disease treated with selective vestibular nerve section from middle fossa approach was described...

Malformations of cortical development (MCDs) are a diverse group of disorders that result from abnormal neuronal migration, proliferation, and differentiation during brain development. Head computed tomography (CT) has limited use in the diagnosis of MCDs and should be reserved for selected cases with specific indications or when magnetic resonance imaging is not available or contraindicated. CT can detect brain calcifications associated with MCDs, thus helping in the differential diagnosis between acquired and genetic MCDs or in the identification of different genetic patterns...

OBJECTIVE: Branchio-oto-renal syndrome (BOR, OMIM#113,650) is a rare autosomal dominant disorder that presents with a variety of symptoms, including hearing loss (sensorineural, conductive, or mixed), structural abnormalities affecting the outer, middle, and inner ear, branchial fistulas or cysts, as well as renal abnormalities.This study aims to identify the pathogenic variants by performing genetic testing on a family with Branchio-oto-renal /Branchio-otic (BO, OMIM#602,588) syndrome using whole-exome sequencing, and to explore possible pathogenic mechanisms...

<b><br>Introduction:</b> The COMQ-12 questionnaire is a tool to assess the quality of life in patients with chronic otitis media in many countries. The questionnaire consists of 12 questions: seven relating to the severity of symptoms, two regarding the impact of the disease on lifestyle and work, two concerning the impact on the need for healthcare, and one is a general question. Each question is rated on a scale from 0 to 5.</br> <b><br>Aim:</b> To present the validation process and the final version of the Polish version of the COMQ-12 questionnaire...

BACKGROUND: Sheep have been proposed as a large-animal model for studying cochlear implantation. However, prior sheep studies report that the facial nerve (FN) obscures the round window membrane (RWM), requiring FN sacrifice or a retrofacial opening to access the middle-ear cavity posterior to the FN for cochlear implantation. We investigated surgical access to the RWM in Hampshire sheep compared to Suffolk-Dorset sheep and the feasibility of Hampshire sheep for cochlear implantation via a facial recess approach...

Objective: To assess the clinical features and CT diagnostic characteristics of Branchio-Oto-Renal or Branchio-Oto Syndrome . Methods: The temporal CT findings and clinical features observations of 13 patients with Branchio-Oto-Renal Syndrome (BORS) or Branchio-Oto Syndrome(BOS) confirmed by genetic testing were retrospectively analyzed. There were 8 males and 5 females, aged from 1 to 39 years, with a median age of 9 years, in which 3 pairs (6 cases) were parent-child relationship. Results: All of 13 cases had hearing loss and preauricular fistula, 11 cases accompanied by 2nd branchial fistulas...

Chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) is a leading global cause of potentially preventable hearing loss in children and adults, associated with socioeconomic deprivation. There is an absence of consensus on the definition of CSOM, which complicates efforts for prevention, treatment, and monitoring. CSOM occurs when perforation of the tympanic membrane is associated with severe or persistent inflammation in the middle ear, leading to hearing loss and recurrent or persistent ear discharge (otorrhoea). Cholesteatoma, caused by the inward growth of the squamous epithelium of the tympanic membrane into the middle ear, can also occur...

INTRODUCTION: Hypacusia can be caused by various etiologies; however, hearing loss attributed to gouty tophi remains a rare occurrence. This case report presents, for the first time, a bilateral gouty tophi causing hearing impairment. CASE PRESENTATION: This report describes a case study involving an 83-year-old Caucasian female patient who presented symptoms of hypacusia, pruritus, and a sensation of pressure in her right ear. A computed tomography scan revealed the presence of non-homogeneous calcified structures in both ears...

OBJECTIVES: The relationship between long-term exposure to occupational noise and hearing loss has been extensively documented. We aimed to assess spatial and temporal changes in the burden of occupational noise-induced hearing loss (ONIHL) in 204 countries and territories with varying socio-demographic indexes (SDI) from 1990 to 2019. DESIGN: Temporal and spatial trends in age-standardized disability-adjusted life year rates (ASDR) for ONIHL were estimated by sex, age, SDI level, country, and geographic region from 1990 to 2019...

OBJECTIVES: Planar cell polarity (PCP) signaling, essential for uniform alignment and directional beating of motile cilia, has been investigated in multiciliated epithelia. As a complex structure connecting the middle ear to the nasopharynx, the eustachian tube (ET) is important in the onset of ear-nose-throat diseases. However, PCP signaling, including the orientation that is important for ciliary motility and clearance function in the ET, has not been studied. We evaluated PCP in the ET epithelium...

Tympanic membrane (TM) perforations, primarily induced by middle ear infections, the introduction of foreign objects into the ear, and acoustic trauma, lead to hearing abnormalities and ear infections. We describe the design and fabrication of a novel composite patch containing photocrosslinkable gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) and keratin methacryloyl (KerMA) hydrogels. GelMA-KerMA patches containing conical microneedles in their design were developed using the digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing approach...

Although domestic dogs vary considerably in both body size and skull morphology, behavioural audiograms have previously been found to be similar in breeds as distinct as a Chihuahua and a St Bernard. In this study, we created micro-CT reconstructions of the middle ears and bony labyrinths from the skulls of 17 dog breeds, including both Chihuahua and St Bernard, plus a mongrel and a wolf. From these reconstructions, we measured middle ear cavity and ossicular volumes, eardrum and stapes footplate areas and bony labyrinth volumes...

PURPOSE: Recent studies have suggested that children with an isolated cleft lip (CL) are more likely to develop middle ear disease and eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) compared to the general population. This may be related to abnormal palatal musculature or an undiagnosed submucosal cleft palate (SMCP). We aim to determine the prevalence of SMCP in patients with CL who exhibit ETD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed for children with an isolated CL requiring tympanostomy tubes over a 20-year period at an academic tertiary care medical center...

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is a major otitis media (OM) pathogen, with colonization a prerequisite for disease development. Most acute OM is in children <5 years old, with recurrent and chronic OM impacting hearing and learning. Therapies to prevent NTHi colonization and/or disease are needed, especially for young children. Respiratory viruses are implicated in driving the development of bacterial OM in children. We have developed an infant mouse model of influenza-driven NTHi OM, as a preclinical tool for the evaluation of safety and efficacy of clinical therapies to prevent NTHi colonization and the development of OM...

Finite Element modeling has been an extended methodology to build numerical model to simulate the behavior of the hearing system. Due to the complexity of the system and the difficulties to reduce the uncertainties of the geometric data, they result in computationally expensive models, sometimes generic, representative of average geometries. It makes it difficult to validate the model with direct experimental data from the same specimen or to establish a patient-oriented modeling strategy. In the present paper, a first attempt to automatize the process of model building is made...

Introduction Rhabdomyosarcoma, though rare in the middle ear, necessitates prompt recognition for optimal management. They are malignant mesenchymal neoplasms arising from the embryonic mesenchymal cells of striated skeletal muscles. Case presentation We present a case of a 5-year-old child with massive right mastoid swelling and bloody ear discharge. Cytological examination via fine needle aspiration biopsy revealed features suggestive of a malignant mesenchymal tumor, confirmed on imaging and subsequent histopathology as embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (ERMS) FNCLCC grade 2...

Elephants have a unique auditory system that is larger than any other terrestrial mammal. To quantify the impact of larger middle ear (ME) structures, we measured 3D ossicular motion and ME sound transmission in cadaveric temporal bones from both African and Asian elephants in response to air-conducted (AC) tonal pressure stimuli presented in the ear canal (PEC). Results were compared to similar measurements in humans. Velocities of the umbo (VU) and stapes (VST) were measured using a 3D laser Doppler vibrometer in the 7-13,000 Hz frequency range, stapes velocity serving as a measure of energy entering the cochlea-a proxy for hearing sensitivity...