The Predictive Value of Preoperative Measurements of Cochlear Nerve Diameters From MRT and Postoperative Speech Perception in Adult Patients With Cochlear Implant.

Objective: The current study aims to investigate whether objective measurements of the cochlear nerve (CN), derived from preoperative MRI images, correlate with postoperative speech perception in CI patients.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: University Medical Center, tertiary academic referral center.

The curvature quantification of wave I in auditory brainstem responses detects cochlear synaptopathy in human beings.

Purpose: Patients with age-related hearing loss complain often about reduced speech perception in adverse listening environment. Studies on animals have suggested that cochlear synaptopathy may be one of the primary mechanisms responsible for this phenomenon. A decreased wave I amplitude in supra-threshold auditory brainstem response (ABR) can diagnose this pathology non-invasively.

Effect of Cochlear Implant Electrode Insertion Depth on Speech Perception Outcomes: A Systematic Review.

Objective: The suitable electrode array choice is broadly discussed in cochlear implantation surgery. Whether to use a shorter electrode length under the aim of structure preservation versus choosing a longer array to achieve a greater cochlear coverage is a matter of debate. The aim of this review is to identify the impact of the insertion depth of a cochlear implant (CI) electrode array on CI users' speech perception outcomes.

Transimpedance Matrix Can Be Used to Estimate Electrode Positions Intraoperatively and to Monitor Their Positional Changes Postoperatively in Cochlear Implant Patients.

Objective: Accurate positioning of the electrode array during cochlear implant (CI) surgery is crucial for achieving optimal hearing outcomes. Traditionally, postoperative radiological imaging has been used to assess electrode position. Transimpedance matrix (TIM) measurements have also emerged as a promising method for assessing electrode position.

Tone Decay Reconsidered: Preliminary Results of a Prospective Study in Hearing-Aid Users with Moderate to Severe Hearing Loss.

Among hearing aid (HA) users, there is a considerable variability in word recognition scores (WRSs). This variability is most pronounced among individuals with moderately severe to severe hearing loss. The variability cannot be adequately explained by factors such as pure-tone audiogram, audiogram type or age.

Head and Neck Cancer: A Study on the Complex Relationship between QoL and Swallowing Function.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is linked to significant morbidity, adversely affecting survival and functional capacity. Post-treatment challenges such as pain, dysphonia, and dysphagia are common, prompting increased attention in survivorship research. Quality of Life (QoL) questionnaires, especially the MD Anderson Dysphagia Inventory (MDADI), are prevalent outcome measures in clinical studies but often lack parallel objective swallowing function evaluations, leading to potential outcome discrepancies.

Listening with an Ageing Brain - a Cognitive Challenge.

Hearing impairment has been recently identified as a major modifiable risk factor for cognitive decline in later life and has been becoming of increasing scientific interest. Sensory and cognitive decline are connected by complex bottom-up and top-down processes, a sharp distinction between sensation, perception, and cognition is impossible. This review provides a comprehensive overview on the effects of healthy and pathological aging on auditory as well as cognitive functioning on speech perception and comprehension, as well as specific auditory deficits in the 2 most common neurodegenerative diseases in old age: Alzheimer disease and Parkinson syndrome.

Improving remote material classification ability with thermal imagery.

Material recognition using optical sensors is a key enabler technology in the field of automation. Nowadays, in the age of deep learning, the challenge shifted from (manual) feature engineering to collecting big data. State of the art recognition approaches are based on deep neural networks employing huge databases.

Neuromonitoring of the cochlear nerve during vestibular schwannoma resection and simultaneous cochlear implantation.

Vestibular schwannomas (VS) are benign tumors that originate from the nerve sheath of one of the two vestibular nerves. VS can have a severe impact on everyday life of the patient and may lead to symptoms such as vertigo, hearing loss (e.g.

[Mastoid cavity obliteration with allogenic and autologous material].

Introduction: Surgical obliteration is the treatment of choice for symptomatic mastoid cavities. Various methods and materials are available. Allogeneic material is easily available but can lead to wound infections due to rejection, granulation and inflammatory reactions.

[Neuromonitoring of the cochlear nerve during vestibular schwannoma resection and simultaneous cochlear implantation. German version].

Vestibular schwannomas (VS) are benign tumors that originate from the nerve sheath of one of the two vestibular nerves. VS can have a severe impact on everyday life of the patient and may lead to symptoms such as vertigo, hearing loss (e.g.

[Electronic learning for otorhinolaryngology students using the content management system ILIAS].

Background: With increasing access to online teaching materials, traditional teaching methods at universities need to be questioned in the context of digital transformation. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether electronic learning may serve as or replace conventional internship in otorhinolaryngology.

Materials And Methods: A completely digital electronic learning concept was created and made available at the online learning platform ILIAS.

Characteristics of health-related quality of life in different types of chronic middle ear disease.

Purpose: Different types of chronic middle ear disease (CMED) present with differing severity of single symptoms, such as discharge, vertigo or hearing loss, which impair health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Here, we aimed to (i) investigate characteristics of HRQoL and (ii) evaluate the association between HRQoL and hearing among different types of CMED.

Methods: In this prospective longitudinal cohort study, we included adult patients undergoing surgical treatment for CMED.

Direct Drive Simulation-Preoperative Sound Simulation of "Vibroplasty-Hearing" in Patients With Mixed Hearing Loss.

Objective: Validation of the preoperative sound simulation test for vibroplasty-hearing so-called "Direct Drive Simulation" (DDS) in case of mixed hearing loss.

Study Design: Retrospective data analysis.

Setting: Tertiary referral center with a large hearing implant program.

Mastoid cavity obliteration leads to a clinically significant improvement in health-related quality of life.

Objective: To assess the change in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients undergoing mastoid cavity obliteration.

Methods: Patients who had undergone canal wall-down mastoidectomy for chronic otitis media with creation of a persistent mastoid cavity and underwent revision tympanomastoid surgery including mastoid cavity obliteration using autologous material were included. Audiological measurements including air conduction (AC) and bone conduction (BC) pure-tone averages (PTA) and the air-bone gap (ABG) were assessed.

Stapes surgery leads to significant improvement in quality of life, independently from the surgical method: evaluation of stapes surgery using different prostheses and different quality of life measurements.

Objectives: To compare quality-of-life (QoL) measurements with audiological results after stapes surgery with two different prostheses.

Methods: This is a retrospective longitudinal study. All patients required stapes surgery for otosclerosis and ossicular chain reconstruction with either a titanium band prothesis (TBP) or receiving a nitinol head prosthesis (NHP).

Comparison of total and partial ossicular replacement prostheses in patients with an intact stapes suprastructure.

Objectives: To compare the results of ossiculoplasty with two different partial ossicular replacement prostheses (PORP) to ossiculoplasty with a total ossicular replacement prosthesis (TORP) in patients with an intact stapes suprastructure.

Methods: All patients required primary or revision surgery for chronic middle ear disease and ossicular reconstruction with either a PORP or a TORP, as well as a with an intact stapes suprastructure. In total, 141 patients receiving classic tympanoplasty with PORP (N = 92), ossiculoplasty with PORP with ball joint (N = 22), or TORP (N = 27) between January 2011 and March 2017 were included in this study.

Aural and nasal foreign bodies in children - Epidemiology and correlation with hyperkinetic disorders, developmental disorders and congenital malformations.

Objectives: Foreign body incorporation in children is often a serious situation. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) could be a risk factor for self-insertion of foreign bodies. Large cohort analyses are missing.

Use of beta-blocker is associated with lower mortality in patients with coronary artery disease with or without COPD.

Introduction: Beta-blockers are indicated for secondary prevention of coronary artery disease (CAD). However, in patients with co-morbidity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) an underuse of beta-blocker has been reported.

Materials And Methods: Prescription and demographic data and information on hospital discharge diagnoses from 13 Austrian health insurance funds for the years 2006-2007 were analyzed.

Surgical Impact of Coupling an Active Middle Ear Implant to Short Incus Process.

Introduction: Since 1996 the active middle-ear implant Vibrant Soundbridge (VSB) is used to treat mild-to-severe sensorineural hearing losses. The former standard surgical approach for incus vibroplasty included a mastoidectomy and a posterior tympanotomy, crimping the Floating-Mass Transducer (FMT) to the long incus process. The introduction of the short process (SP) coupler allows the attachment of the FMT to the incus body making the procedure of a posterior tympanotomy unnecessary.

[20 Years of Bilateral Cochlear Implantation - an Analysis of the Implanted Patients].

Binaural hearing is essential for localization abilities and improves the speech perception in noise. Since 20 years, bilateral cochlear implantation is routinely performed to restore binaural hearing. In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated speech perception in quiet (Freiburger monosyllables, Hochmair-Schulz-Moser (HSM) sentence test, each at 70 dB) and in noise (HSM test, signal-to-noise ratio 10 dB) in 103 out of 165 adult patients who were bilaterally implanted in Würzburg between 1995 and June 2014.

Laryngeal pacing for bilateral vocal fold paralysis: Voice and respiratory aspects.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of neurostimulation with the laryngeal pacemaker (LP) system in patients with bilateral vocal fold paralysis (BVFP) in terms of voice quality and respiratory function.

Study Design: Feasibility study, first-in-human, single-arm, open-label, prospective, multicenter study with group-sequential design and 6-month follow-up period, as described in details in our previous publication.

Methods: Nine symptomatic BVFP subjects were unilaterally implanted with the LP system at three study sites in Germany and Austria.