[Diagnosis and treatment of dysphagia].

Most swallowing problems can be treated, although the treatment depends on the type of dysphagia. A multidisciplinary team of surgeons, phoniatrists, and speech-language therapists is necessary to develop the appropriate treatment strategy. A thorough medical history, clinical investigation of the swallowing muscles, and fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing with foods of different consistencies help to decide whether swallowing exercises alone are sufficient, or whether an additional pharmacologic or surgical treatment is needed to prevent aspiration, malnutrition, and dehydration.

[The physiologic and the pathologic swallowing process].

It is estimated that 5 million people in Germany currently suffer from swallowing disorders. Due to increasing life expectancy and the good outcome of very premature infants, this number is expected to increase. Swallowing normally occurs in four phases, and for each phase there are diagnostic tools to assess whether the problem is anatomic-organic or functional.

[Detection of hearing loss in dementia patients : pilot study and literature survey].

There is a higher incidence of dementia among people with hearing loss, although the complex interrelation is not yet understood. The potential influence of hearing rehabilitation is also unclear. A previously published retrospective study on this topic throws doubt on the ability of dementia patients to accomplish audiometric tests.

[Hearing function and hearing loss in the elderly].

Statistically, hearing function decreases with advancing age, but not all people are affected to the same extent. Environmental influences, such as noise exposure in particular, also play an important role in the development of hearing loss. Since the functional capacity of parts of the central auditory processing system can also diminish with age, these should also be evaluated in diagnostic procedures.

[Dementia and otorhinolaryngologic practice].

The interaction between sensorial registration of peripheral stimuli and their central cognitive processing is not yet understood. The role of sensory deficits such as olfactory deterioration or hearing loss in the development of dementia is currently a focus of concern, with hopes of finding new diagnostic aspects and therapeutic options for multimodal treatment concepts in patients with dementia. The expertise of ENT specialists in the diagnostic and therapeutic fields of dysphagia, vestibular dysfunction and olfactory or hearing loss could make an important contribution to the development of future strategies for dealing with dementia.