Covid-19 infection in pregnant women: Auditory evaluation in infants.

 Recent studies showed that COVID-19 infection can affect cochleo-vestibular system. The possibility of a vertical transmission is controversial. Some studies suggested that it is possible but unlikely, others find no evidence of vertical transmission.

Bone-Anchored Hearing Devices for Single-Sided Deafness: A New Preoperative Evaluation Protocol and Widening of Indications Proposal.

Introduction: Bone-anchored hearing devices (BAHD) are well-known good solution for single-sided deafness (SSD). Despite power extension of recently introduced BAHD with implanted active transducer, with indications up to 65 dB Hl of bone conduction (BC) threshold on the implanted side, their indications for SSD still remain better than 25 dB on the good ear, with regards to bone conduction thresholds. The aim of this study was to assess the possibility to enlarge BAHD indications for SSD by means of a newly proposed candidacy evaluation protocol, which includes a new software-aided method.

Preoperative vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs), caloric test, and pure tone audiometry to identify the vestibular nerve branch of schwannoma origin: preliminary results in a series of 26 cases.

Vestibular schwannoma (VS) is a benign tumor which develops in the internal auditory canal and the cerebellopontine angle, potentially diminishing hearing or balance. Most VS tumors arise from one of two vestibular branches: the superior or inferior vestibular nerve. Determining the specific nerve of origin could improve patient management in terms of preoperative counseling, treatment selection, and surgical decision-making and planning.

Glycyrrhizin for topical use and prophylaxis of COVID-19: an interesting pharmacological perspective.

COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS - CoV - 2 pathogen, is currently a pandemic. At the moment there is not an available vaccine, so, scientific community is looking for strategies and drugs to implement prevention and prophylaxis. Several compounds are examined for this purpose.

Lactoferrin: a potential candidate to fight respiratory infections in the pandemic COVID-19 era.

Respiratory infections are a significant burden at any age, but especially in childhood and aging. The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the issue since there is no specific treatment and vaccine is not available. Moreover, respiratory symptoms cause social stigma in subjects suffering from an infection of any kind.

Retrospective Study of Salivary Gland Tumor Cases in a Large Italian Public Hospital and Review of the Literature.

A variety of tumors can develop in the salivary glands. The aim of this retrospective study was to describe the demographic characteristics of salivary gland tumors (SGT) in the population of a large area of the city of Rome, ASL RM1, over a 4-year period and compare these data with other epidemiological studies. Forty-nine cases were diagnosed as SGT; 63.

Universal newborn hearing screening using A-TEOAE and A-ABR: The experience of a large public hospital.

Background: Universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) aims to identify hearing loss in the early postnatal period; prompt detection of bilateral or unilateral hearing loss is mandatory for timely intervention.

Methods: This retrospective study reports the results of the first two years of a UNHS program on 4,719 newborns in a large public Italian hospital. Screening was divided into two levels: automated transient otoacoustic emissions were used for first level; automated auditory brainstem response for second level.

Somatosensory Tinnitus: Correlation between Cranio-Cervico-Mandibular Disorder History and Somatic Modulation.

In a subpopulation of patients, tinnitus can be modulated by movements of the jaw or head and neck due to complex somatosensory-auditory interactions. In some of these subjects, tinnitus could be related to an underlying temporomandibular (TMJ) or craniocervical (NECK) dysfunction that, if correctly identified, could streamline treatment and increase chances of tinnitus improvement. However, it is still unclear whether somatic modulation of tinnitus could be used as a screening tool for identifying such patients.

New olfactometric findings in Parkinson's disease.

Objectives: To investigate in Parkinson's disease-affected patients a correlation between hyposmia and gastrointestinal dysfunction and their possible identical etiopathogenesis.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: ENT and neurology departments (Gemelli Hospital, Rome, Italy).

Tinnitus Holistic Simplified Classification (THoSC): A New Assessment for Subjective Tinnitus, With Diagnostic and Therapeutic Implications.

Objective: One of the most debated topics in tinnitus is its standard and practical classification. The most popular classification distinguishes subjective from objective tinnitus. Other classifications are based on different features.

Deafness in Italy: an epidemiological and socio-demographic study.

Objectives: Hearing loss is very common in our society, but epidemiological data on deafness in Italy is lacking. A.I.

Pharmacological drugs inducing ototoxicity, vestibular symptoms and tinnitus: a reasoned and updated guide.

The present work on drug-induced ototoxicity, tinnitus and vertigo represents the update and revision of a previous guide to adverse drug reactions for italian physicians (2005). The panorama of drug-induced side effects causing ototoxicity or symptoms such as tinnitus or dizziness and vertigo has enlarged in recent years, thanks to a better knowledge and a more specific attention of pharmaceutical firms and drug-control institutions. In daily clinical practice, there is a need for the family physician and the ENT specialist or audiologist (also in consideration of the possible medico-legal implications) to focus the attention on the possible risk of otological side effects.

"One-shot" CO2 versus Er:YAG laser stapedotomy: is the outcome the same?

To assess and compare the functional results obtained by means of multiple-shot Erbium: yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Er:YAG) laser to those obtained using "one-shot" CO(2) laser stapedotomy in patients affected by otosclerosis. A retrospective case review was performed. Of the total number of 123 patients (114 ears) who underwent primary small-fenestra stapedotomy from January 2006 to September 2008, seven patients who received multiple-shot laser CO(2) stapedotomy were excluded from the study.

Improving melody recognition in cochlear implant recipients through individualized frequency map fitting.

Recent research has shown that music perception remains very difficult for most cochlear implant (CI) users, who generally report being unsatisfied with the quality of music listening through the CI. In particular, the appreciation of the spectral features of music, which include pitch, melody and timbre, is widely known to be poorer than its rhythmic patterns. One of the possible causes for this may be the misalignment between the conventional frequency band allocation to the electrodes of the array (frequency-place function) and the distribution of pitch percepts generated by electrode stimulation along the array (electrode-pitch function).

Serum fatty acids and cardiovascular risk factors in sudden sensorineural hearing loss: a case-control study.

Objectives: We analyzed the relationships between sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) and serum levels of fatty acids, total cholesterol, low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), and the antioxidant coenzyme Q10.

Methods: Forty-three patients with SSNHL and 43 healthy subjects were enrolled in the study. The main outcome measures were serum levels of fatty acids, coenzyme Q10, total cholesterol, and LDLs.

Cochlear implant patients' speech understanding in background noise: effect of mismatch between electrode assigned frequencies and perceived pitch.

Objective: To assess the electrode pitch function in a series of adults with postlingually implanted cochlear implants and with contralateral residual hearing, in order to investigate the correlation between the degree of frequency map mismatch and the subjects' speech understanding in quiet and noisy conditions.

Design: Case series.

Subjects: Seven postlingually deafened adults with cochlear implants, all with detectable contralateral residual hearing.

Transtympanic electrical stimulation for immediate and long-term tinnitus suppression.

Tinnitus is a common symptom which often becomes disabling, affecting the emotional and psychosocial dimensions of life. There are many reports describing tinnitus suppression or attenuation through electrical stimulation of the ear, provided either by cochlear implants or by transtympanic stimulation. Our study project aims to assess the effects of electrical promontory stimulation (EPS) on persistent disabling tinnitus.

Multiple viral genome search in endolabyrinthic fluids of profoundly deaf patients: possible cytomegalovirus intracochlear reactivation.

Background: The cause of about 30% of bilateral sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is still unknown. A viral etiology is among the most frequently proposed ones and the supposed diagnosis is only based upon few clinical and laboratory data. The detection of viral presence within a damaged compartment may represent a way to supply interesting data for confirmation of viral etiology and to explain pathogenic mechanisms.

Predictive role of audiological and clinical features for functional results after stapedotomy.

Objective: To analyze and compare the preoperative factors that potentially influence the outcome of stapedotomy in our study group.

Materials And Methods: 161 cases were enrolled. Clinical variables considered to influence functional results - air conduction (AC) and bone conduction (BC) pure-tone average (PTA), air-bone gaps (ABG), sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), ABG gain and DeltaSNHL - were gender, age, case type (unilateral vs.

Correlation between GJB2 mutations and audiological deficits: personal experience.

Mutations in GJB2 gene are the most common cause of genetic deafness. More than 100 mutations have been described. The aim of this work is to describe the personal experience in genetic hearing loss, investigating the audiological and genetical characteristics of Cx26 deafness and correlating genotype and phenotype.

[Efficacy of inhalation therapy with water of Salsomaggiore (Italy) in chronic and recurrent nasosinusal inflammation treatment].

Objectives: Aim of the research was the demonstration of the efficacy of thermal water vs saline in the recurrent and chronic nasosinusal pathologies treatment.

Materials And Methods: 120 patients randomized into 2 groups of 60 subjects each, all affected by recurrent or chronic rhinosinusitis with/without I degree nasal polyposis. At the beginning and at the end of the study, in all the subjects the clinical history, objective examination and the instrumental analysis of nasal functions by active anterior rhinometry, acustic rhinometry, nasal mucociliary transport time determination and nasal mucosa scraping were performed.

Electric to acoustic pitch matching: a possible way to improve individual cochlear implant fitting.

Poor pitch resolution has been shown to have negative implications for speech and music perception in implanted patients. Surprisingly, works on the subject have not focused much on the impact that the non-correspondence between frequencies allocated to electrodes and perceived frequencies could have on speech and music perception. The aim of the present study is to investigate the correlation between pitch mismatch and speech performance with the implant, and to ascertain the effects of mismatch correction through a mapping function making a personalized frequency reallocation possible.

Tinnitus modifications after cochlear implantation.

Tinnitus can be defined as a phantom sensation in the absence of an external sound. In our study, we evaluated the effect of cochlear implant on tinnitus evolution. Among adult, postlingually deaf patients who underwent cochlear implantation at our clinic, we selected 20 subjects with pre-implantation tinnitus (group A) and 10 subjects without pre-implantation tinnitus (group B).

Coenzyme Q 10 and cardiovascular risk factors in idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss patients.

Objectives: We investigated the association of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) with coenzyme Q (CoQ) and cardiovascular risk factors.

Study Design: A prospective study.

Setting: Hospital center.