The Spatial Organization of Ascending Auditory Pathway Microstructural Maturation From Infancy Through Adolescence Using a Novel Fiber Tracking Approach.

Auditory perception is established through experience-dependent stimuli exposure during sensitive developmental periods; however, little is known regarding the structural development of the central auditory pathway in humans. The present study characterized the regional developmental trajectories of the ascending auditory pathway from the brainstem to the auditory cortex from infancy through adolescence using a novel diffusion MRI-based tractography approach and along-tract analyses. We used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) to quantify the magnitude and timing of auditory pathway microstructural maturation.

The spatial organization of ascending auditory pathway microstructural maturation from infancy through adolescence using a novel fiber tracking approach.

Auditory perception is established through experience-dependent stimuli exposure during sensitive developmental periods; however, little is known regarding the structural development of the central auditory pathway in humans. The present study characterized the regional developmental trajectories of the ascending auditory pathway from the brainstem to the auditory cortex from infancy through adolescence using a novel diffusion MRI-based tractography approach and along-tract analyses. We used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) to quantify the magnitude and timing of auditory pathway microstructural maturation.

Association between Cannabis Use and Tinnitus in US Adults.

Objective: Assess the association between cannabis use and tinnitus in a nationally representative sample of US adults.

Study Design: Cross-sectional.

Setting: Population-based.

Physician satisfaction with telemedicine and in-person visits in otolaryngology.

Objectives: To investigate the differential factors associated with physician satisfaction between telemedicine and in-person visits in otolaryngology.

Methods: Study data included 646 telemedicine and 365 in-person encounters delivered from May-June 2020 at a tertiary center outpatient setting. Encounter-specific physician satisfaction was rated by 15 otolaryngologists using Provider Satisfaction Questionnaire (range 0-100) consisted of 5 items (patient needs addressed, patient involvement, adequacy of information given, quality of emotion support provided, and general interaction satisfaction).

Congenital duplicated incus in the mastoid cavity.

Many congenital ossicular chain malformations exist, usually involving ossicular deformities, fixation, absence, or discontinuity. Duplication of ossicles has not been reported, much less a duplicated ossicle located in the mastoid. We present a case of a patient who had a duplicated incus in the mastoid antrum.

An Exploration of Online Support Community Participation Among Patients With Vestibular Disorders.

Objectives/hypothesis: To formally document online support community (OSC) use among patients with vestibular symptoms and gain an appreciation for the perceived influence of participation on psychosocial outcomes and the impact on medical decision-making.

Study Design: Self reported internet-based questionnaire.

Methods: The Facebook search function was paired with a comprehensive list of vestibular diagnoses to systematically collect publicly available information on vestibular OSCs.

Prevalence of Tinnitus and Associated Factors Among Asian Americans: Results From a National Sample.

Objectives: A previous study demonstrated low rates of high-frequency hearing loss and noise exposure among Asian Americans (AAs). This study examined the prevalence of tinnitus and associated factors among AAs using the first nationally representative sample of AAs.

Study Design: Cross-sectional analysis of a national health survey.

Clinical Practice Guideline: Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (Update).

Objective This update of a 2008 guideline from the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation provides evidence-based recommendations to benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), defined as a disorder of the inner ear characterized by repeated episodes of positional vertigo. Changes from the prior guideline include a consumer advocate added to the update group; new evidence from 2 clinical practice guidelines, 20 systematic reviews, and 27 randomized controlled trials; enhanced emphasis on patient education and shared decision making; a new algorithm to clarify action statement relationships; and new and expanded recommendations for the diagnosis and management of BPPV. Purpose The primary purposes of this guideline are to improve the quality of care and outcomes for BPPV by improving the accurate and efficient diagnosis of BPPV, reducing the inappropriate use of vestibular suppressant medications, decreasing the inappropriate use of ancillary testing such as radiographic imaging, and increasing the use of appropriate therapeutic repositioning maneuvers.

Clinical Practice Guideline: Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (Update) Executive Summary.

The American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation has published a supplement to this issue of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery featuring the "Clinical Practice Guideline: Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (Update)." To assist in implementing the guideline recommendations, this article summarizes the rationale, purpose, and key action statements. The 14 recommendations developed emphasize diagnostic accuracy and efficiency, reducing the inappropriate use of vestibular suppressant medications, decreasing the inappropriate use of ancillary testing, and increasing the appropriate therapeutic repositioning maneuvers.

Comparison of the gaze stabilization test and the dynamic visual acuity test in unilateral vestibular loss patients and controls.

Objective: Compare the dynamic visual acuity test (DVAT) and gaze stabilization test (GST) in patients with unilateral vestibular loss (UVL) and healthy control subjects using a novel computerized testing system prototype.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Tertiary academic referral laboratory.

An open label study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of intratympanic golimumab therapy in patients with autoimmune inner ear disease.

Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of intratympanically injected golimumab (GLM), a TNF-α inhibitor, as a steroid-sparing agent for patients with steroid-dependent autoimmune inner ear disease (AIED).

Study Design: Open label.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.

The transcriptome of utricle hair cell regeneration in the avian inner ear.

Sensory hair cell loss is the major cause of hearing and balance disorders. Mammals are incapable of sustained hair cell regeneration, but lower vertebrates can regenerate these mechano-electrical transducers. We present the first comprehensive transcriptome (by mRNA-Seq) of hair cell regeneration in the chick utricle.

Translabyrinthine resection of neurofibromatosis type 2 associated vestibular and facial schwannomas, repair of facial nerve, and placement of auditory brainstem implant.

We present video of gross-total resection of a large cerebellopontine angle tumor consisting of both vestibular and facial schwannoma components via the translabyrinthine route in a patient with neurofibromatosis type 2. The facial nerve is reconstructed using a greater auricular nerve graft, and an auditory brainstem implant is placed. Prior to surgery the patient had no facial nerve function on the operative side and had lost useful hearing.

Practical guide to understanding multivariable analyses, Part B: conjunctive consolidation.

Conjunctive consolidation, one method of multivariable analysis by arranging data into clusters, is intuitive and transparent. An unexpected consequence in writing this article was the discovery of just how useful it is in critically analyzing articles and in designing new projects. It has stimulated a fresh understanding as to the value of multivariable thinking in all clinical research.

Practical guide to understanding multivariable analyses: Part A.

Multivariable analyses are complex statistical methods to evaluate the impact of multiple variables on outcomes of interest. Books have been written on each of these methods detailing the mathematical and statistical objectives and processes. However, we have found very little in the way of brief reports that help the nonstatistically trained physician obtain a basic understanding of multivariable analyses in order to have some understanding of the increasing literature using these methods.

Practical guide to choosing an appropriate data display.

The primary objective of graphing research data is to communicate key information visually in a rapid, accurate, and concise way. Graphs might be considered visual take-home lessons of the major point(s) of the manuscript. In choosing a graph, it is tempting to concentrate only on ways of illustrating summary statements characterizing the group(s).

A practical guide to surveys and questionnaires.

Surveys with questionnaires play a vital role in decision and policy making in society. Within medicine, including otolaryngology, surveys with questionnaires may be the only method for gathering data on rare or unusual events. In addition, questionnaires can be developed and validated to be used as outcome measures in clinical trials and other clinical research architecture.

A practical guide to understanding Kaplan-Meier curves.

In 1958, Edward L. Kaplan and Paul Meier collaborated to publish a seminal paper on how to deal with incomplete observations. Subsequently, the Kaplan-Meier curves and estimates of survival data have become a familiar way of dealing with differing survival times (times-to-event), especially when not all the subjects continue in the study.

A practical guide to understanding systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

A systematic review is a transparent and unbiased review of available information. The published systematic review must report the details of the conduct of the review as one might report the details of a primary research project. A meta-analysis is a powerful and rigorous statistical approach to synthesize data from multiple studies, preferably obtained from a systematic review, in order to enlarge the sample size from smaller studies to test the original hypothesis and/or to generate new ones.

A practical guide for understanding confidence intervals and P values.

The 95 percent confidence interval about the mean demarcates the range of values in which the mean would fall if many samples from the universal parent population were taken. In other words, if the same observation, experiment, or trial were done over and over with a different sample of subjects, but with the same characteristics as the original sample, 95 percent of the means from those repeated measures would fall within this range. This gives a measure of how confident we are in the original mean.

Practical guide to efficient analysis and diagramming articles.

Objective: In a busy practice, time is a commodity in rare supply, and keeping abreast of the relevant medical literature is a daunting task. Even after reading an article carefully, important information may be lost because of undue attention to the methodological minutia.

Method: Fundamental to reducing a complex article into a well-organized and consistent format is the technique of quantitatively diagramming the principal components in the design and findings of the study.