Aetiology of Ludwig van Beethoven's hearing impairment: hypotheses over the past 100 years - A systematic review.

Objectives: Even 250 years after Beethoven's birth, the irrevocable cause of his hearing impairment remains unclear despite multiple publications by different professional groups. This study aimed to analyse the development of the most likely aetiologies during the last 100 years by a systematic review of the relevant medical literature.

Methods: A systematic review of medical literature in PubMed, PubMed Central, and Web of Science for the period 1920-2020 was conducted.

Spatial Hearing by Bilateral Cochlear Implant Users With Temporal Fine-Structure Processing.

Several studies have demonstrated the advantages of the bilateral vs. unilateral cochlear implantation in listeners with bilateral severe to profound hearing loss. However, it remains unclear to what extent bilaterally implanted listeners have access to binaural cues, e.

A new adhesive bone conduction hearing system effectively treats conductive hearing loss in children.

Objectives: Bone conduction hearing devices integrated in softbands (BCDSs) are frequently not well accepted by children with conductive hearing loss due to pressure on the head, sweating, or cosmetic stigma. A non-surgical hearing system (ADHEAR) uses a new bone conduction concept consisting of an audio processor connected to an adhesive adapter fixed behind the ear. This study is the first to evaluate the audiological and clinical outcome of this novel system, comparing it with conventional BCDSs in a short- and mid-term follow-up in children under 10 years of age.

Prognostic factors regarding the hearing outcome in severe to profound sudden sensorineural hearing loss treated by tympanotomy and sealing of labyrinthine windows after ineffective systemic corticosteroid application.

Purpose: Tympanotomy and sealing of labyrinthine membranes has become in some centers used to treat severe to profound sudden sensorineural hearing loss refractory to conservative treatment. The aim of this retrospective study was to determine which preoperative factors influence the likelihood of postoperative recovery according to different audiological assessment criteria.

Methods: The mean final hearing threshold, the hearing improvement, the probability of a complete recovery according to two different classifications, and probability of a significant recovery of 136 adult subjects were studied by univariate and multivariate analyses.

Transmastoid implantability of an active transcutaneous bone conduction implant in adults with regard to the underlying pathology: a radiological simulation study.

Objectives: To compare the feasibility of transmastoid implantation of an active transcutaneous bone conduction device (BCD) in the most important pathologies of the temporal bone and the impact of implant lifts in adulthood.

Methods: First, clinical predominant pathologies for implantation of this BCD were evaluated by a literature review. Then, high-resolution CT of 240 temporal bones with neuro-otologic diseases (NOD), chronic otitis media (COM), or cholesteatoma, respectively, were investigated regarding their implantability, using a radiological simulation program.

Vibroplasty in Severe Congenital or Acquired Meatal Stenosis by Coupling an Active Middle Ear Implant to the Short Process of the Incus.

Objective: To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of coupling an active middle ear implant to the short process of the incus in subjects with meatal pathologies.

Study Design: Retrospective study.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.

Cochlear Implantation in Children With Congenital Single-Sided Deafness.

Objective: To determine audiological and clinical results of cochlear implantation in children with congenital single sided deafness (SSD), with an emphasis on children implanted before and after 6 years of age.

Study Design: Retrospective study.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.

Cry melody in 2-month-old infants with and without clefts.

Objective: To investigate cry melody properties in infants with clefts using objective methods and to identify early differences in cry development in relation to infants without clefts that may indicate special developmental risks.

Design: Melody analysis was carried out on cries from the second month of life. The cry properties of infants with a cleft lip and palate (CLP) and infants with a cleft palate only (CP) were quantitatively compared.

CpG island promoter hypermethylation of the pro-apoptotic gene caspase-8 is a common hallmark of relapsed glioblastoma multiforme.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an incurable malignancy with inherent tendency to recur. In this study, we have comparatively analyzed the epigenetic profile of 32 paired tumor samples of relapsed GBM and their corresponding primary neoplasms with special attention to genes involved in the mitochondria-independent apoptotic pathway. The CpG island promoter hypermethylation status was assessed by methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction and selected samples were double checked by bisulfite genomic sequencing.