Impact of Cochlear Implant Electrode Array Design on Post-Op Speech Perception.

Objective: Electrode array design may impact hearing outcomes in patients who receive cochlear implants. The goal of this work was to assess differences in post operative speech perception among patients who received cochlear implants of differing designs and lengths.

Study Design: Retrospective chart review.

Minimum intraoperative testing battery for cochlear implantation: the international practice trend.

Purpose: In cochlear implantation (CI) surgery, there are a wide variety of intraoperative tests available. However, no clear guide exists on which tests must be performed as the minimum intraoperative testing battery. Toward this end, we studied the usage patterns, recommendations, and attitudes of practitioners toward intraoperative testing.

International Consensus Statements on Intraoperative Testing for Cochlear Implantation Surgery.

Objectives: A wide variety of intraoperative tests are available in cochlear implantation. However, no consensus exists on which tests constitute the minimum necessary battery. We assembled an international panel of clinical experts to develop, refine, and vote upon a set of core consensus statements.

Clinical Practice Guideline: Age-Related Hearing Loss.

Objective: Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is a prevalent but often underdiagnosed and undertreated condition among individuals aged 50 and above. It is associated with various sociodemographic factors and health risks including dementia, depression, cardiovascular disease, and falls. While the causes of ARHL and its downstream effects are well defined, there is a lack of priority placed by clinicians as well as guidance regarding the identification, education, and management of this condition.

Skull Base Osteomyelitis: Historical Perspective, Diagnosis and Management Update.

SBO is a life-threatening disease that requires a high index of suspicion based on these patients complex underlying medical co-morbidities and clinician's acumen. Once a diagnosis is made, is it critical to communicate and work closely with other multidisciplinary teams (neuroradiology for appropriate choice of imaging study and interpretation; infectious disease for appropriate medical treatment and duration; internist to properly manage their underlying medical co-morbidities). Despite advances in imaging, the diagnosis is first made based on clinical judgment, appropriate culture, and tissue biopsy.

Myosin Mutations and Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss: Results of Whole Exome Sequencing.

Objective: Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) affects 66,000 patients per year in the United States. Genetic mutations have been associated with progressive hearing loss; however, genetic mutations associated with ISSNHL have not been identified.

Methods: A prospective cohort study of adults older than 18 years presenting with ISSNHL at a tertiary academic medical center.

Thinking Beyond the Temporal Bone Lab: A Systematic Process for Expanding Surgical Simulation in Otolaryngology Training.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a temporary lapse in the development of otolaryngology trainee operative skills due to the cancellation of elective procedures and redeployment of trainees and attendings to COVID-19 units. Although transient, this disruption provided an opportunity for otolaryngology programs to develop contingency plans and formalize nascent simulation training curricula. Integration of formal simulation training alongside current didactic and surgical education may offset lost exposure during surgically lean times while providing the framework and resources for enhanced baseline training.

A precision medicine tool to understand who responds best to hearing aids in late-life depression.

Objectives: Accumulating evidence suggests that hearing loss (HL) treatment may benefit depressive symptoms among older adults with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), but the specific individual characteristics of those who stand to improve most are unknown.

Methods: N = 37 patients ≥60 years with HL and MDD received either active or sham hearing aids in this 12-week double-blind randomized controlled trial. A combined moderator approach was utilized in the analysis in order to examine multiple different pretreatment individual characteristics to determine the specific qualities that predicted the best depressive symptom response to hearing aids.

Executive Summary of Clinical Practice Guideline on Tympanostomy Tubes in Children (Update).

Objective: This executive summary of the guideline update provides evidence-based recommendations for patient selection and surgical indications for managing tympanostomy tubes in children. The summary and guideline are intended for any clinician involved in managing children aged 6 months to 12 years with tympanostomy tubes or children being considered for tympanostomy tubes in any care setting as an intervention for otitis media of any type. The target audience includes specialists, primary care clinicians, and allied health professionals.

Clinical Practice Guideline: Tympanostomy Tubes in Children (Update).

Objective: Insertion of tympanostomy tubes is the most common ambulatory surgery performed on children in the United States. Tympanostomy tubes are most often inserted because of persistent middle ear fluid, frequent ear infections, or ear infections that persist after antibiotic therapy. All these conditions are encompassed by the term (middle ear inflammation).

Hearing Rehabilitative Treatment for Older Adults With Comorbid Hearing Loss and Depression: Effects on Depressive Symptoms and Executive Function.

Objectives: Recent research has revealed important neural and psychiatric consequences of hearing loss (HL) in older adults. This pilot study examined the neural effects of HL and the impact of hearing aids on neuropsychiatric outcomes in major depressive disorder (MDD).

Design: Twelve-week, double-blind, randomized controlled trial.

Comparative Performance of Lateral Wall and Perimodiolar Cochlear Implant Arrays.

Objective: The physical shape of cochlear implant (CI) arrays may impact hearing outcomes. The goal of this study was to compare post-operative speech and melody perception between patients with lateral wall (LW) and perimodiolar (PM) electrode arrays across a range of lengths and manufacturers.

Study Design: Retrospective chart review.

A pilot randomized controlled trial of hearing aids to improve mood and cognition in older adults.

Objectives: Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is a prevalent condition associated with increased risk for depression and cognitive decline. This 12-week prospective, double-blind pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) of hearing aids (HAs) for depressed older adults with ARHL evaluated the feasibility of a novel research design.

Methods/design: N = 13 individuals aged ≥60 years with Major Depressive Disorder or Persistent Depressive Disorder and at least mild hearing loss (pure tone average ≥ 30 dB) were randomized to receive full- (active) vs low-amplification (sham) HAs added to psychiatric treatment as usual.

Impact of Underlying Diagnosis on Speech and Quality of Life Outcomes After Cochlear Implantation for Single-Sided Deafness.

Objective: Our objective was to compare outcomes in speech and quality of life in those undergoing cochlear implantation for single-sided deafness (SSD), with the aim to characterize the clinical impact of underlying diagnosis in the affected ear and pre-operative hearing status.

Study Design: Prospective case series.

Setting: Academic Cochlear Implant Center.

Subclinical Hearing Loss is Associated With Depressive Symptoms.

Objective: To assess whether the relationship between hearing and depressive symptoms is present among older adults classified as normal hearing (≤25 dB).

Design: Cross-sectional epidemiologic study (Hispanic Community Health Study).

Setting: US multicentered.

A New Lateral Wall Electrode: Evaluation of Surgical Handling, Radiographic Placement, and Histological Appraisal of Insertion Trauma.

Objective: To describe histologic and radiographic findings associated with insertion of a new lateral wall electrode in human temporal bones, as well as quantify the ease of insertion as characterized by multiple cochlear implant surgeons.

Setting: Multi-institutional cadaveric study.

Methods: The Slim J electrode was inserted in cadaveric temporal bones via a standard mastoidectomy and facial recess approach.

Electroacoustic Stimulation.

Electric acoustic stimulation (EAS), also known as hybrid stimulation, is indicated for individuals with intact low-frequency hearing and profound high-frequency hearing loss. Although low frequencies contribute to speech perception, these individuals are usually only able to detect vowels, but few or no consonants, and thus have difficulty with word understanding and hearing in noise. EAS uses the cochlear implant electrode array to stimulate the high frequencies within the basal turn of the cochlea coupled with a hearing aid to convey the low frequencies at the apical turn in the same ear.

Association of Audiometric Age-Related Hearing Loss With Depressive Symptoms Among Hispanic Individuals.

Importance: Age-related hearing loss is highly prevalent and has recently been associated with numerous morbid conditions of aging. Late-life depression is also prevalent and can be resistant to available treatments. Preliminary studies examining the association between hearing loss and late-life depression have been limited by subjective hearing measures, small sample sizes, and primarily white populations.

Common Otologic Surgical Procedures: Clinical Decision-Making Pearls and the Role of Imaging.

Neuro-otologists rely on the expertise and judgment of a skilled neuroradiologist to identify radiographic abnormalities in the complicated regional anatomy of the temporal bone and middle and posterior fossa, and more importantly, to alert the surgeon to potential operative pitfalls. This article highlights some of the common otologic surgical procedures that stress this important dynamic. The surgical perspective on quick and effective clinical decision-making pearls to keep in mind during a thorough radiographic analysis of the ear and lateral skull base is presented.

Sensation and Psychiatry: Linking Age-Related Hearing Loss to Late-Life Depression and Cognitive Decline.

Recent research has linked age-related hearing loss to impaired performance across cognitive domains and increased risk for dementia diagnosis. The data linking hearing impairment to incident late-life depression are more mixed but suggest that diminished hearing does increase risk for depression. Behavioral mechanisms may explain these associations, such as the withdrawal of older adults from situations in which they may have difficulty hearing and communicating, which may contribute to the development of social isolation, loneliness, and consequent cognitive decline and depression.