Asymmetry in Cortical Thickness of the Heschl's Gyrus in Unilateral Ear Canal Atresia.

Hypothesis: Unilateral congenital conductive hearing impairment in ear canal atresia leads to atrophy of the gray matter of the contralateral primary auditory cortex or changes in asymmetry pattern if left untreated in childhood.

Background: Unilateral ear canal atresia with associated severe conductive hearing loss results in deteriorated sound localization and difficulties in understanding of speech in a noisy environment. Cortical atrophy in the Heschl's gyrus has been reported in acquired sensorineural hearing loss but has not been studied in unilateral conductive hearing loss.

A pilot study on spatial hearing in children with congenital unilateral aural atresia.

Despite normal hearing in one ear, individuals with congenital unilateral aural atresia may perceive difficulties in everyday listening conditions typically containing multiple sound sources. While previous work shows that intervention with bone conduction devices may aid spatial hearing for some children, testing conditions are often arranged to maximize any benefit and are not very similar to daily life. The benefit from amplification on spatial tasks has been found to vary between individuals, for reasons not entirely clear.

Bell's Palsy in Pregnancy and Postpartum: A Retrospective Case-Control Study of 182 Patients.

Objective: To assess the incidence of Bell's palsy in pregnant and postpartum women. Additionally, to compare facial outcomes in terms of Sunnybrook score following Bell's palsy with regard to corticosteroid treatment and other confounding factors.

Study Design: Retrospective case-control study.

Non-invasive sampling procedure revealing the molecular events at different abutments of bone-anchored hearing systems-A prospective clinical pilot study.

Purpose: To investigate the molecular activities in different compartments around the bone-anchored hearing system (BAHS) with either electropolished or machined abutments and to correlate these activities with clinical and microbiological findings.

Materials And Methods: Twelve patients received machined or electropolished abutments after implant installation of BAHS. Peri-abutment fluid and tissue were collected from baseline to 12 months.

Adults with unilateral congenital ear canal atresia - sound localization ability and recognition of speech in competing speech in unaided condition.

Background: Individuals with unilateral hearing loss show poor spatial hearing, but individual variability is high.

Aims/objectives: To investigate if the degree of hearing loss in unilateral ear canal atresia affects horizontal sound localization and speech recognition.

Materials And Methods: Twelve subjects with unilateral ear canal atresia without childhood hearing intervention.

The facial nerve palsy and cortisone evaluation (FACE) study in children: protocol for a randomized, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial, in a Borrelia burgdorferi endemic area.

Background: Children with acute peripheral facial nerve palsy cannot yet be recommended corticosteroid treatment based on evidence. Adults with idiopathic facial nerve palsy are treated with corticosteroids, according to guidelines resulting from a meta-analysis comprising two major randomized placebo-controlled trials. Corresponding trials in children are lacking.

Quality of Life in Bell's Palsy: Correlation with Sunnybrook and House-Brackmann Over Time.

Objectives: To compare patient-graded facial and social/well-being function with physician-graded facial function in Bell's palsy over time.

Study Design: A prospective follow-up study at two tertiary otorhinolaryngological centers.

Methods: A total of 96 patients, 36 women and 60 men, aged 18-77 years, were included.

Ten years of experience with the Ponto bone-anchored hearing system-A systematic literature review.

Background: Bone-anchored hearing systems (BAHSs) are widely used for hearing rehabilitation and are indicated in cases of conductive and mixed hearing loss and in single-sided deafness. The Ponto system, that is one available option, has been on the market since 2009.

Objective Of Review: The aim of this study is to systematically review the literature reporting on the Ponto system, with regard to audiological and surgical outcomes and patient's quality-of-life scores.

Hearing outcome after myringoplasty in Sweden: A nationwide registry-based cohort study.

Objectives: To present hearing results after successful primary myringoplasty surgeries registered in the Swedish Quality Registry for Myringoplasty and to evaluate the chance of hearing improvement and the risk of hearing loss.

Design: A retrospective nationwide cohort study based on prospectively collected registry data between 2002 and 2012.

Settings: Registry data from secondary and tertiary hospitals performing myringoplasty.

The bone conduction implant - a review and 1-year follow-up.

The objective of this study is to evaluate its safety and effectiveness of the bone conduction implant (BCI) having an implanted transducer and to review similar bone conduction devices. This is a consecutive prospective case series study where the patients were evaluated after 1, 3, 6 and 12 months. Outcome measures were focussed on intraoperative and postoperative safety, the effectiveness of the device in terms of audiological performance and patient's experience.

Peripheral facial nerve palsy in children in a Borrelia high-endemic area, a retrospective follow-up study.

Aim: To identify the incidence, aetiology and prognosis of acute peripheral facial nerve palsy (FNP) in children in the Borrelia high-endemic region of Stockholm.

Methods: The present study identified children from 0 to 18 years of age who visited a paediatric emergency department for acute peripheral FNP during a 1-year period from 2014 to 2015. Data were collected retrospectively.

Tinnitus and taste disturbances reported after myringoplasty: Data from a national quality registry.

Objectives/hypothesis: Postoperative tinnitus and taste disturbances after myringoplasty are more common than previously reported.

Study Design: This study was a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from the Swedish National Quality Registry for Myringoplasty.

Methods: The analysis was performed on extracted data from all counties in Sweden collected from database A from 2002 to 2012 and database B from 2013 to 2016.

The clinical outcome and microbiological profile of bone-anchored hearing systems (BAHS) with different abutment topographies: a prospective pilot study.

Purpose: In this prospective clinical pilot study, abutments with different topologies (machined versus polished) were compared with respect to the clinical outcome and the microbiological profile. Furthermore, three different sampling methods (retrieval of abutment, collection of peri-abutment exudate using paper-points, and a small peri-abutment soft-tissue biopsy) were evaluated for the identification and quantification of colonising bacteria.

Methods: Twelve patients, seven with machined abutment and five with polished abutment, were included in the analysis.

Myringoplasty Outcomes From the Swedish National Quality Registry.

Objectives/hypothesis: Data from patients registered for myringoplasty during 2002 to 2012 in the Swedish National Quality Registry for Myringoplasty.

Study Design: Both conventional myringoplasty and fat-graft techniques were used aimed at healing the tympanic membrane in noninfected ears.

Methods: Analysis was performed on data in a national database collected from 32 ear, nose, and throat clinics.

Audiometric features in young adults with Turner syndrome.

Objective: Hearing loss (HL) is a known problem in adults with Turner syndrome (TS). The aim of this study was to investigate audiometric features in young adults with TS and the extent of hearing aid provision.

Design: Patients were recruited from the Turner centre at Karolinska University Hospital.

Rehabilitation of Bells' palsy from a multi-team perspective.

Conclusions Defectively healed facial paralysis causes difficulties to talk and eat, involuntary spasms (synkinesis), and cosmetic deformities which can give rise both to severe psychological and physical trauma. A team consisting of Ear-Nose-Throat specialists, Plastic surgeons and Physiotherapists can offer better care, treatment and outcome for patients suffering from Bells' palsy. Objectives Patients suffering from Bells' palsy from all ENT hospitals in Sweden and the University Hospital in Helsinki has been included.

High-frequency hearing, tinnitus, and patient satisfaction with stapedotomy: A randomized prospective study.

Otosclerosis is a common disorder that leads to conductive hearing loss. Most patients with otosclerosis also have tinnitus, and surgical treatment is known to improve hearing as well as tinnitus. Some patients however experience worsening of tinnitus after the operation, but there are no known factors that allow surgeons to predict who will be at risk.

Stability Testing of a Wide Bone-Anchored Device after Surgery without Skin Thinning.

Objective: To longitudinally follow the osseointegration using Resonance Frequency Analysis (RFA) for different lengths of abutment on a new wide bone-anchored implant, introduced with the non-skin thinning surgical technique.

Study Design: A single-center, prospective 1 year study following adults with bone-anchored hearing implants.

Materials And Methods: Implantation was performed and followed for a minimum of 1 year.

Local treatment of the inner ear: a study of three different polymers aimed for middle ear administration.

Conclusion: A formulation based on sodium hyaluronate (NaHYA) was the most promising candidate vehicle for intra-tympanic drug administration regarding conductive hearing loss, inflammatory reactions, and elimination.

Objectives: Recent advances in inner ear research support the idea of using the middle ear cavity for drug administration to target the inner ear. This paper presents rheological and safety assessments of three candidate polymer formulations for intra-tympanic drug administration.

Subperiosteal abscesses in acute mastoiditis in 115 Swedish children.

Objectives: To study the outcome of different surgical methods of treating subperiosteal abscesses resulting from acute mastoiditis.

Methods: Medical records for all children from a Swedish retrospective multicentre study, conducted between 1993 and 2007, with acute mastoiditis and subperiosteal abscess, but without predisposing diseases or other complications, were studied. A total of 115 children aged 0-16 years were identified.

Hearing decline in menopausal women--a 10-year follow-up.

Conclusions: An unexpected rapid hearing decline remained after the 10-year follow up, similar to the hearing decline in 70-year-old women in reference materials. No clear changes concerning hearing in the peri- and postmenopausal period were noted.

Objective: To assess whether hearing decline correlates with menopause and/or cortisol blood levels.

A randomised, double blind trial of N-Acetylcysteine for hearing protection during stapes surgery.

Background: Otosclerosis is a disorder that impairs middle ear function, leading to conductive hearing loss. Surgical treatment results in large improvement of hearing at low sound frequencies, but high-frequency hearing often suffers. A likely reason for this is that inner ear sensory cells are damaged by surgical trauma and loud sounds generated during the operation.

Prospective analysis of stability testing for bone-anchored hearing implants in children after osseointegrating surgery without skin thinning.

Objectives: To report normative values for osseointegration in 10 children with bone-anchored hearing implants who were consecutively operated on using a tissue preserving technique with individualized abutments and prospectively followed with stability testing 1 year after surgery.

Methods And Material: Children were implanted with bone-anchored hearing devices using a non-skin thinning implantation technique and followed during the course of a year. Mean age was 5.

[Residual states in 30 percent of adult patients with Bell's palsy. Early treatment with cortisone improves the healing process].

Bell's palsy is an acute unilateral weakness or paralysis of the face of unknown cause. The incidence of the disease is 30 individuals per 100,000 per year. It is a diagnosis of exclusion and other known causes for acute peripheral facial palsy must be ruled out.

Stability testing after osseointegrated implant surgery without skin thinning in children: case reports after abutment loss.

Objective: To evaluate 2 cases of implant loss after osseointegration using low-resonance frequency analysis.

Patients: Ten children were operated on consecutively with the non-skin-thinning implantation of bone-anchored hearing devices. A capsule report was completed with 2 children who experienced loss of their abutments 3 to 4 weeks after implantation.