Costs and health effects of screening and delivery of hearing aids in Tamil Nadu, India: an observational study

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Subjective Visual Vertical and Horizontal Abnormalities in a Patient with Lateral Medullary Syndrome-A Case Report

Introduction: Evaluation of persistent vertigo in post infarct patients is very important as the management depends on whether the cause is purely of central origin or due to associated vestibular affliction.   Case Report: A patient with left sided dorsolateral medullary syndrome and persistent vestibular symptoms was evaluated. Vestibular test battery showed abnormal smooth pursuit, bilateral hyperactive caloric responses, and abnormal dynamic subjective visual vertical and dynamic subjective visual horizontal tests.   Conclusion:  Dorsolateral medullary infarctions (Wallenberg’s syndrome) typically cause a central vestibular tonus imbalance in the roll plane with ipsilateral deviations of perceived vertical orientation. The SVV and SVH tests may have a role in localizing the pathology in a patient with lateral medullary syndrome

Neurological associations in auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder: Results from a tertiary hospital in South India

Aims: To find out the prevalence and types of neurological abnormalities associated in auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder in a large tertiary referral center. Settings and Design: A prospective clinical study was conducted on all patients diagnosed with auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder in the ear, nose, and throat (ENT) and neurology departments during a 17-month period. Patients with neurological abnormalities on history and examination were further assessed by a neurologist to determine the type of disorder present. Results: The frequency of auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder was 1.12%. Sixty percent were found to have neurological involvement. This included cerebral palsy in children, peripheral neuropathy (PN), spinocerebellar ataxia, hereditary motor-sensory neuropathy, spastic paresis, and ponto-bulbar palsy. Neurological lesions did not present simultaneously with hearing loss in most patients. Sixty-six percent of patients with auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder were born of consanguineous marriages. Conclusions: There is a high prevalence of neurological lesions in auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder which has to be kept in mind while evaluating such patients. Follow-up and counselling regarding the appearance of neuropathies is therefore important in such patients. A hereditary etiology is indicated in a majority of cases of auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder

Peripheral Auditory Assessment in Minor Head Injury: A Prospective Study in Tertiary Hospital

Hearing loss is a common problem encountered in ENT practice. Hearing loss following head injury is a major medical problem in both adults and children, which may go unnoticed when it does not affect speech frequencies. Sensorineural hearing loss at high frequencies is a common finding in minor head injury. Patients with history suggestive of mild head injury (MHI) according to Glasgow coma scale score were evaluated. The most common cause of MHI was road traffic accidents involving two wheeler riders without helmets. Higher the frequencies affected, and severe the hearing loss, poorer was the prognosis. Distortion product oto-acoustic emissions assessment at 3000 and 4000 Hz were found to be significant and has a higher predictive value in assessing outer hair cell damage