Increased risk of depression in patients with acquired sensory hearing loss: A 12-year follow-up study.

Acquired sensory hearing loss (SHL) is suggested to be associated with depression. However, some studies have reported conflicting results. Our study investigated the relationship between the prevalence of SHL and the incidence of depression over 12 years of follow-up by using data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD).

Multiple analyses of factors related to complications in endoscopic sinus surgery.

Background: This study was undertaken to evaluate whether endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) with a microdebrider had an impact on complication rates, and to facilitate the determination of factors associated with complications in patients who underwent ESS at a tertiary referral center in Taiwan.

Methods: This investigation was a retrospective study and literature review. We analyzed 997 consecutive patients who underwent ESS at Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan from January 2006 through February 2010.

Intratympanic steroid injection as a first-line therapy in uremia patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

Conclusions: ITSI as a first-line therapy in uremia patients with SSNHL offers a valid and safe treatment compared with intravenous systemic steroid treatment. A specific pathophysiology caused by possible sodium pump paralysis may be explained for uremia patients with SSNHL.

Objective: To compare the efficacy of intratympanic steroid injection (ITSI) with that of systemic intravenous steroids as a first-line therapy in uremia patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL).

High-dose intratympanic gentamicin instillations for treatment of Meniere's disease: long-term results.

Conclusions: Administration of high-dose gentamicin for intractable Meniere's disease appears to be effective in achieving long-term control of vertigo. However, the safety of this route of administration with respect to the patient's hearing has not yet been sufficiently established.

Objectives: The study aimed to analyze the long-term results of patients receiving high-dose intratympanic gentamicin (ITG) instillation for refractory Meniere's disease.

A novel mutation in the WFS1 gene identified in a Taiwanese family with low-frequency hearing impairment.

Background: Wolfram syndrome gene 1 (WFS1) accounts for most of the familial nonsyndromic low-frequency sensorineural hearing loss (LFSNHL) which is characterized by sensorineural hearing losses equal to and below 2000 Hz. The current study aimed to contribute to our understanding of the molecular basis of LFSNHL in an affected Taiwanese family.

Methods: The Taiwanese family with LFSNHL was phenotypically characterized using audiologic examination and pedigree analysis.

Mutation at the Evi1 locus in Junbo mice causes susceptibility to otitis media.

Otitis media (OM), inflammation of the middle ear, remains the most common cause of hearing impairment in children. It is also the most common cause of surgery in children in the developed world. There is evidence from studies of the human population and mouse models that there is a significant genetic component predisposing to OM, yet nothing is known about the underlying genetic pathways involved in humans.

Effectiveness of intratympanic dexamethasone injection in sudden-deafness patients as salvage treatment.

Objective: To study the effectiveness of intratympanic dexamethasone (IT-DEX) in patients with severe or profound sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) after treatment failure with conventional therapy.

Study Design: Randomized, controlled study.

Methods: Patients who met the criteria for SSNHL, with a severity of severe to profound, underwent 10 days of standard treatment with oral steroid and other facilitating agents.