"Comparison of recovery rate and sequelae of various location of ventilation tube insertion "

Ventilation tube (VT) insertion is the most common otologic operations performed in children, which has great importance in recovery and prevention of hearing loss in children with Eustachian tube dysfunction in critical ages of growth development. The location of the VT insertion varies in different studies; the differences are in recovery rates and sequelae of VT insertion. This study is performed to compare results of various locations of VT insertion in hearing recovery rate and postoperative sequelae in the Booali Hospital from 1999 to 2000 (one-year period). This investigation is a clinical trial in 34 patients with Eustachian tube dysfunction; cases were selected according to history, otologic examination, adenoid radiography, audiometry (SRT, PTA-GAP) and tympanometry. The operating time consumed in the VT insertion and postoperative sequelae were recorded. Recovery rates of SAR and PTA-Gap were 25.14 dB and 18.41 dB in anterosuperior (AS) versus 18/67 dB and 14/85 dB in anteroinferior (AT) VT insertion respectively. Obstruction and otorrhea after VT insertion were 0, 4 and 13, 11 in AS and AI, respectively. Time difference in the AS versus AI was not significant. The assessment confirmed that anterosuperior VT insertion has better hearing recovery rate and lower postoperative sequelae

EFFECTS OF MOBILE TELEPHONES ON HEARING

The exposure to electromagnetic field emitted by mobile telephones is increasing rapidly worldwide that causes side effects, including thermal and non thermal side effects. Ear proximity to electromagnetic source may lead to greater damage and side effects, including hearing loss. This study was performed to assess the chronic effect of exposure to electromagnetic field of mobile telephones on hearing by audiometric measurements. A total of 200 subjects (100 users and 100 non-users) were studied, using historic cohort method. The subjects did not have history of any clinical condition possibly implicated in hearing loss, history of ear disease or pathology in otoscopic examination. Only the users dominant ears were studied (right side 75% and left side 25%). Pure tone threshold of all subjects were in the normal range but there was a significant difference between mean pure tone threshold of user and non-users, +0.12 ± 5.93dB and -3 ± 4.73dB, respectively. Duration of use was also related to threshold changes. This investigation showed that mobile sets may cause increase of the pure ton threshold. We suggest further studies to find out potential hazards of using mobile telephones and to develop guidelines for the mobile telephone users