Effects of Auditory Training on Speech Recognition in Children with Single-Sided Deafness and Cochlea Implants Using a Direct Streaming Device: A Pilot Study.

Treating individuals with single-sided deafness (SSD) with a cochlear implant (CI) offers significant benefits for speech perception in complex spatial listening environments. After implantation, training without involvement of the normal-hearing ear is essential. Therefore, the AudioLink streaming device (MED-EL GmbH, Austria) can be used to connect the externally worn audio processor to media devices; thus, the auditory stimuli are directly streamed to the implanted ear.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging with Active Implantable Hearing Devices: Reports from the Daily Radiological Routine in an Outpatient MR Center.

Purpose: For people with hearing implants (HI), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) still presents some difficulties due to the built-in magnet. Radiologists often have concerns regarding complications associated with HIs. The aim of this study was to record the experiences of HI users during and after MRI examinations.

Bilateral vocal fold paresis and glottal bridge synechia in COVID-19.

Key Clinical Message: Bilateral vocal fold paresis (BVFP) is a rare complication in COVID-19 and should be considered as differential diagnosis in COVID-19-patients presenting with dyspnea and stridor. High-dose intravenous corticosteroids can be useful treating COVID-19-related laryngeal edema and vocal fold paresis. This case shows the complexity of laryngeal complications in COVID-19 requiring surgeries and functional therapies.

A Novel Representation of Audiological and Subjective Findings for Acoustical, Bone Conduction and Direct Drive Hearing Solutions.

Background: The benefit of hearing rehabilitation is often measured using audiological tests or subjective questionnaires/interviews. It is important to consider both aspects in order to evaluate the overall benefits. Currently, there is no standardized method for reporting combined audiological and patient reported subjective outcome measures in clinical practice.

Personalized Medicine in Otolaryngology: Special Topic Otology.

Globally, more than 1.5 billion people experience some degree of hearing loss [..

Minimally Traumatic Cochlear Implant Surgery: Expert Opinion in 2010 and 2020.

This study aimed to discover expert opinion on the surgical techniques and materials most likely to achieve maximum postoperative residual hearing preservation in cochlear implant (CI) surgery and to determine how these opinions have changed since 2010. A previously published questionnaire used in a study published in 2010 was adapted and expanded. The questionnaire was distributed to an international group of experienced CI surgeons.

Clinical feasibility of a novel test setup for objective measurements using the VIBRANT SOUNDBRIDGE.

Objectives: The VIBRANT SOUNDBRIDGE is a widely used active middle ear implant to treat hearing loss. The floating mass transducer is surgically coupled to the ossicles, the round or oval window. A reliable method to monitor the coupling efficiency intraoperatively is highly desired.

Improved Music Perception after Music Therapy following Cochlear Implantation in the Elderly Population.

Background: Cochlear implantation (CI) and the accompanying rehabilitation has become a routine procedure in hearing restoration. Literature is sparse on elderly CI recipients focusing on the issue of age and their inclined auditory resolution, taking their diminished cognitive function into account, which requires adaptation of rehabilitation programs to overcome habituation.

Objective: This study aims to show that a few adjustments in the therapy program towards age, mental, physical and auditory condition significantly improve music perception and overall auditory benefit, hence normal communication and social interactions can be found.

Surgical Experience and Early Audiological Outcomes With New Active Transcutaneous Bone Conduction Implant.

Objectives: Our objective was to report the very first surgical experiences, audiologic benefits, and satisfaction with the new active transcutaneous bone conduction implant, generation 602 (BCI602), in patients with mixed/conductive hearing loss (M/CHL) and single-sided deafness.

Methods: A retrospective chart review from patients who underwent BCI602 surgery was performed.

Results: Twelve subjects were implanted (mean age 33.

Long-Term Safety and Quality of Life after Vibroplasty in Sensorineural Hearing Loss: Short/Long Incus Process Coupler.

Objective: The study shows the long-term effectiveness, safety, and quality of life after Vibrant Soundbridge (VSB) implantation in sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) using the short process coupler (SP) or the long process coupler (LP).

Methods: This retrospective study evaluated 77 VSB cases. Follow-up (F/U) time-dependent objective measurements (audiological outcomes), subjective data collection (quality-of-life questionnaire), and safety measures are presented.

Long-Term Stability and Safety of the Soundbridge Coupled to the Round Window.

Objective: The objective of the study was to demonstrate the long-term outcomes of patients implanted with the active middle ear implant (AMEI) Vibrant Soundbridge (VSB) through coupling the floating mass transducer (FMT) to the round window (RW).

Methods: This retrospective study evaluated the short- and long-term clinical performance (audiological outcomes) and safety (revisions/explantations) of the VSB coupled to the RW between 2013 and 2019 at the St. Pölten University Hospital, Austria.

Long-term Hearing Preservation in Electric Acoustic Cochlear Implant Candidates.

Objectives: To evaluate long-term stability and residual hearing preservation after cochlear implantation with electric acoustic stimulation (EAS).

Study Design: Retrospective chart-analysis.

Setting: University clinic.

Active transcutaneous bone conduction hearing implants: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: In July 2018 the active transcutaneous bone conduction hearing implant received FDA approval in the US (for patients 12 years and older with conductive and/or mixed hearing loss or single-sided deafness), reflecting the current trend of moving away from percutaneous hearing solutions towards intact skin systems.

Objectives: To critically assess the current literature on safety, efficacy and subjective benefit after implantation with an active transcutaneous bone conduction hearing device.

Data Sources: Literature investigation was performed by electronic database search including PubMed and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and manual search of relevant journals and reference lists of included studies.

Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT in the localization of head and neck paraganglioma compared with F-DOPA PET/CT and I-MIBG SPECT/CT.

Purpose: F-Fluoro-L-dihydroxyphenylalanine (F-DOPA) PET offers high sensitivity and specificity in the imaging of non-malignant head and neck paraganglioma (HNPGL) but lower sensitivity in metastatic disease of these neuroendocrine tumours (NET). In contrast to the radiotracer F-DOPA, both I-meta-iodo-benzylguanidine (I-MIBG) and Ga-DOTA-Tyr3-octreotide (Ga-DOTA-TOC) offer valuable clinical information on norepinephrine and somatostatin (SST) receptor status for planning I-MIBG and radionuclide peptide therapy (PRRT), respectively. Therefore, we compared Ga-DOTA-TOC and F-DOPA PET/CT with I-MIBG planar and SPECT/CT imaging, for the detection of HNPGL.

Minimal Reporting Standards for Active Middle Ear Hearing Implants.

There is currently no standardized method for reporting audiological, surgical and subjective outcome measures in clinical trials with active middle ear implants (AMEIs). It is often difficult to compare studies due to data incompatibility and to perform meta-analyses across different centres is almost impossible. A committee of ENT and audiological experts from Germany, Austria and Switzerland decided to address this issue by developing new minimal standards for reporting the outcomes of AMEI clinical trials.

Compared to I-MIBG SPECT/CT, F-DOPA PET/CT provides accurate tumor extent in patients with extra-adrenal paraganglioma.

Aim: The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of I-MIBG SPECT/CT with that of F-DOPA PET/CT for staging extra-adrenal paragangliomas (PGLs) using both functional and anatomical images (i.e., combined cross-sectional imaging) as the reference standards.

Towards a Unified Testing Framework for Single-Sided Deafness Studies: A Consensus Paper.

Background: While hearing aids for a contralateral routing of signals (CROS-HA) and bone conduction devices have been the traditional treatment for single-sided deafness (SSD) and asymmetric hearing loss (AHL), in recent years, cochlear implants (CIs) have increasingly become a viable treatment choice, particularly in countries where regulatory approval and reimbursement schemes are in place. Part of the reason for this shift is that the CI is the only device capable of restoring bilateral input to the auditory system and hence of possibly reinstating binaural hearing. Although several studies have independently shown that the CI is a safe and effective treatment for SSD and AHL, clinical outcome measures in those studies and across CI centers vary greatly.

Acute dyspnea caused by a giant spindle cell lipoma of the larynx.

Background: The spindle cell lipoma (SCL) is a special type of lipoma and this is very rare in the head and neck regions. There are only five reported cases exist, which describes the occurrence of a SCL in the hypopharynx.

Methods: Our case report presents a case of a very large SCL in the larynx.

Bilateral use of active middle ear implants: speech discrimination results in noise.

Binaural sound reception has advantages over unilateral perception, including better localization and sound quality as well as speech and tone reception in both quiet and noisy environments. Up to now, most active middle ear implant (AMEI) users have been unilaterally implanted, but patient demand for an implant on the other side is increasing. Ten bilaterally-AMEI implanted native German-speaking adults were included in the study.

Safety and feasibility of initial frequency mapping within 24 hours after cochlear implantation.

Conclusion: Switch-on within 24 h after cochlear implantation can be safely and practically performed. The minimally invasive approach presented here also brought about benefits such as nonstop rehabilitation programs and shorter duration of uncertainty/worry for patients and their families about surgical outcomes. Those were important factors for international patients.

(68)Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT provides accurate tumour extent in patients with extraadrenal paraganglioma compared to (123)I-MIBG SPECT/CT.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of (123)I-MIBG SPECT/CT with that of (68)Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT for staging extraadrenal paragangliomas (PGL) using both functional and anatomical images (i.e. combined cross-sectional imaging) as the reference standards.

A retrospective comparison between 68Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT and 18F-DOPA PET/CT in patients with extra-adrenal paraganglioma.

Purpose: (18)F-Fluoro-L-dihydroxyphenylalanine ((18)F-DOPA) PET offers high sensitivity and specificity in the imaging of nonmetastatic extra-adrenal paragangliomas (PGL) but lower sensitivity in metastatic or multifocal disease. These tumours are of neuroendocrine origin and can be detected by (68)Ga-DOTA-Tyr(3)-octreotide ((68)Ga-DOTA-TOC) PET. Therefore, we compared (68)Ga-DOTA-TOC and (18)F-DOPA as radiolabels for PET/CT imaging for the diagnosis and staging of extra-adrenal PGL.

Impedance and electrically evoked compound action potential (ECAP) drop within 24 hours after cochlear implantation.

Previous animal study revealed that post-implantation electrical detection levels significantly declined within days. The impact of cochlear implant (CI) insertion on human auditory pathway in terms of impedance and electrically evoked compound action potential (ECAP) variation within hours after surgery remains unclear, since at this time frequency mapping can only commence weeks after implantation due to factors associated with wound conditions. The study presented our experiences with regards to initial switch-on within 24 hours, and thus the findings about the milieus inside cochlea within the first few hours after cochlear implantation in terms of impedance/ECAP fluctuations.

Curcumin targets fibroblast-tumor cell interactions in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Co-culture of periodontal ligament fibroblasts (PDLs) and SCC-25 oral squamous carcinoma cells (OSCC) results in conversion of PDLs into carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and induces epithelial-to mesenchymal transition (EMT) of OSCC tumor cells. We hypothesized that Curcumin targets this dynamic mutual interaction between CAFs and tumor cells. Normal and 2 μM Curcumin-treated co-culture were performed for 4 days, followed by analysis of tumor cell invasivity, mRNA/protein expression of EMT-markers and mediators, activity measure of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9), and western blot analysis of signal transduction in tumor cells and fibroblasts.

Tumor cell and carcinoma-associated fibroblast interaction regulates matrix metalloproteinases and their inhibitors in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Co-culture of periodontal ligament (PDL) fibroblasts and SCC-25 oral squamous carcinoma cells (OSCC), results in conversion of PDLs into carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). Paracrin circuits between CAFs and OSCC cells were hypothesized to regulate the gene expression of matrix remodeling enzymes in their co-culture, which was performed for 7days, followed by analysis of the mRNA/protein expression and activity of metalloproteinases (MMPs), their tissue inhibitors (TIMPs) and other relevant genes. Interleukin1-β, transforming growth factor-β1, fibronectin and αvβ6 integrin have shown to be involved in the regulation of the MMP and TIMP gene expression in co-culture of CAFs and tumor cells.