Reliability of an Android Based Free Application for Assessment of Hearing Loss in Adults.

Hearing loss is an important health care concern. Pure Tone Audiometry (PTA) is considered  Gold Standard for audiometric evaluations though, there exist a huge variance between the demand and the actual services available. As smartphones are mobile, applications are upgradable, results are reproducible, the mobile applications may offer a good screening tool, especially in remote areas.

Role of Pre-Operative High-Resolution Computed Tomography for Surgical Planning in Patients Undergoing Cochlear Implantation - An Observational Study.

Background: Currently preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain and High-Resolution Computed Tomography (HRCT) scanning of temporal bones form part of routine Cochlear implantation (CI) assessment. Pre- operative imaging demonstrates anatomic details or anomalies if any, that prove essential in pre-surgical evaluation of patients. These form a road map for the surgeon to anticipate any difficulty during surgery, to aid in decision making to implant the most appropriate ear, plan surgical technique, or select electrode arrays.

Evaluation of surgical skill among otology residents during cadaveric temporal bone dissection using an objective assessment tool.

Background: The acquisition and refinement of technical skills by the surgical residents are central to surgical teaching; hence, there is increasing interest in the objective assessment of surgical competence. In the field of otology, as of now, there are limited studies for the assessment of surgical competence, also, various subjective methods are being used to assess this vital aspect of training. This study aimed to validate and use an objective assessment tool for the valuation of surgical skills in a tertiary care teaching institute in the Indian subcontinent.

Evaluation of the Viability of Auditory Steady State Response Testing for Detection of Pseudohypacusis in Serving Personnel of the Indian Armed Forces.

The most popular objective physiologic test for detecting hearing loss that is in use today is the ABR, however it is not frequency specific. The frequency specific tool available for evaluation of hearing is ASSR. The study is aimed to assess the ability of ASSR to estimate hearing thresholds and identify the ideal modulation frequency in hearing impaired personnel.

Identifying entrustable professional activities for post-graduation in ENT: What should an ENT specialist be able to do?

Background: Though regulatory bodies of medical education in India mandate post graduate medical education to be competency based, the implementation of the same has not kept pace. The present study aims to develop and propose a set of entrustable professional activities for a masters degree in the discipline of ENT. It also attempts to present it in the form of a portfolio.

Use of Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) to detect sub-clinical inner ear damage in divers of the Indian Navy.

Background: Professional Divers are at a high risk of Sensorineural Hearing Impairment. Divers may sustain sub-clinical hearing loss that is not identified on pure tone audiometry (PTA). Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) reflect the functional status of the Outer Hair Cells.

High resolution multi detector computed tomography of temporal bone: our experience in a tertiary care service hospital.

High resolution multi detector computed tomography (HRMDCT) is an excellent tool for evaluation of a variety of congenital and acquired conditions affecting the temporal bones. We describe our experience of HRMDCT of temporal bones of 145 patients in a tertiary care and teaching hospital of Armed Forces Medical Services of India over a period of three and half years. Hearing loss was the most frequent indication for HRMDCT and congenital bilateral profound sensorineural hearing loss for evaluation prior to possible cochlear implant formed the single largest group (62, 42%) among all indications for HRMDCT of temporal bones.

Lateral temporal bone resection for malignancy of external auditory meatus: our approach.

Objective: Surgical management of tumors of the external ear remains controversial with regard to the extent of resection and the efficacy of piecemeal resection compared to standard en bloc resection. The objective was to study the results of lateral temporal bone resection with soft tissue resection used at our centre in managing a series of such cases.

Setting: Tertiary referral centre

Patients: A retrospective study was carried out on seven cases of temporal bone malignancies treated at our center, with lateral temporal bone resection by the otologic microsurgical technique and superficial parotidectomy, with adjuvant radiotherapy where indicated.

Ultrasonography: Its role in nodular thyroid disease.

Objective: The objective was to correlate the number, size and extent of the nodules as determined during the preoperative clinical examination of the thyroid gland, USG, intra-operative examination and histopathology. Also, FNAC (with or without USG guidance) and USG findings suggestive of malignancy were correlated with the final histopathology.

Setting: Tertiary referral centre

Patients: A retrospective chart review was done for 106 patients who underwent surgery for benign or malignant nodular thyroid disease in our center, between Jan 2004-Dec 2006.

Management of the node negative early carcinoma tongue.

Objective: To determine the role of thickness of the primary lesion in early Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC) of the oral tongue for decision-making regarding the management of possible occult cervical node metastases.

Setting: Tertiary referral centre

Patients: Patients who were treated by the authors for early (T1, T2) primary lesions in the oral tongue in two malignancy treatment centres of the Armed Forces Medical Services were included in this prospective study. Where the primary lesion was less than 04 mm in depth, the neck was not addressed electively.

Surgical management of trismus due to Oral Submucous Fibrosis - Lysis of fibrotic bands with the KTP-532 Laser.

Oral Submucous Fibrosis is an insidious, chronic disease affecting the oral cavity, sometimes the pharynx and rarely the tongue. 15 patients with Oral Submucous Fibrosis presenting with severe trismus were treated with lysis of the fibrotic bands with a KTP-532 Laser and adjunctive treatment with excellent results over a 12 month follow-up period.

Cochlear implantation in multi-handicapped patients: the merf experience.

Hearing loss is the most common form of sensory impairment in humans. When hearing impairment is present from birth or is acquired in early childhood, it can be devastating for normal development. Early childhood deafness also has implications for cognitive, emotional and social development.