One year results for patients with unilateral hearing loss and accompanying severe tinnitus and hyperacusis treated with a cochlear implant

Objective: To show that patients with unilateral hearing loss (UHL), with one ear fulfilling cochlear implant (CI) indication criteria, and an additional severe tinnitus handicap can be treated effectively with a CI. Method: A prospective multicentre study was conducted in five Spanish centres. Sixteen adult patients with UHL and a mean Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) score of at least 58 were implanted. The study design included repeated within-subject measures of quality of life (Health Utility Index Mark 3 [HUI3]), tinnitus (THI, Visual Analogue Scale [VAS] on tinnitus loudness), hearing (Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale– [SSQ]), and hyperacusis (Test de Hipersensibilidad al Sonido [THS]) up to 12 months after the initial CI fitting

International consensus on Vibrant Soundbridge(R) implantation in children and adolescents.

Contains fulltext : 87962.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)OBJECTIVE: Active middle ear implants augment hearing in patients with sensorineural, conductive, and mixed hearing losses with great success. However, the application of active middle ear implants has been restricted to compromised ears in adults only. Recently, active middle ear implants have been successfully implanted in patients younger than 18 years of age with all types of hearing losses. The Vibrant Soundbridge (VSB) active middle ear implant has been implanted in more than 60 children and adolescents worldwide by the end of 2008. In October 2008, experts from the field with experience in this population met to discuss VSB implantation in patients below the age of 18. METHODS: A consensus meeting was organized including a presentation session of cases from worldwide centers and a discussion session in which implantation, precautions, and alternative means of hearing augmentation were discussed. At the end of the meeting, a consensus statement was written by the participating experts. The present consensus paper describes the outcomes and medical/surgical complications: the outcomes are favourable in terms of hearing thresholds, speech intelligibility in quiet and in noise, with a low incidence of intra- and postoperative complications. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, the VSB offers another viable treatment for children and adolescents with compromised hearing. However, other treatment options should also be taken into consideration. The advantages and disadvantages of all possible treatment options should be weighed against each other in the light of each individual case to provide the best solution; counseling should include a.o. surgical issues and MRI compatibility.1 november 201

Salivary stones and stenosis. A comprehensive classification

INTRODUCTION: Sialendoscopy and sialoMRI enables diagnosis of salivary gland obstructive pathologies, such as lithiasis, stenosis, and dilatations. Therefore, a classification of these pathologies is needed, allowing large series comparisons, for better diagnosis and treatment of salivary pathologies. MATERIAL AND METHODS: With help from people from the European Sialendoscopy Training Center (ESTC), the results of sialographies, sialoMRI and sialendoscopies, a comprehensive classification of obstructive salivary pathologies is described, based on the absence or presence of lithiasis (L), stenosis (S), and dilatation (D) ("LSD" classification). DISCUSSION: It appears that a classification of salivary gland obstructive pathologies should be described. We hope it will be widely used and of course criticized to be improved and to compare the results of salivary gland diagnostic methods, such as sialography and sialendoscopy, and also the results and indications for salivary gland therapeutic methods, such as lithotripsy, sialendoscopy, and/or open surgery