Client Oriented Scale of Improvement in First-Time and Experienced Hearing Aid Users: An Analysis of Five Predetermined Predictability Categories through Audiometric and Speech Testing.

The aim of our investigation was to explore the relationship between unaided pure-tone and speech audiometry and self-reported aided performance measured according to five predetermined COSI categories among first-time hearing aid users and experienced hearing aid users. Data from 286 patients were retrospectively evaluated. We divided the sample into first-time hearing aid users (G1) and experienced hearing aid users (G2).

A Prospective Observational Study on the Role of Immunohistochemical Expression of Orphanin in Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Recurrence.

To date, histological biomarkers expressed by laryngeal cancer are poorly known. The identification of biomarkers associated with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), would help explain the tumorogenesis and prevent the possible recurrence of the lesion after treatment. For this reason, the aim of this study is to investigate, for the first time, the Orphanin expression in 48 human specimens of laryngeal SCC and evaluate its possible correlation with patients prognosis.

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo and asymmetric hearing loss: is the worst hearing ear likely to suffer from otoconial displacement?

Purpose: Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) may be found in patients complaining of hearing disorders. The aim of our investigation was to describe audiological findings in BPPV patients, focusing on subjects with asymmetric hearing loss (AHL), to better understand whether otoconial displacement may occur preferentially in the worst hearing ear.

Methods: A prospective study was performed on 112 BPPV patients.

The Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic Emergency on Alcohol Use: A Focus on a Cohort of Sicilian Workers.

The period between the beginning and the end of the COVID-19 pandemic emergency generated a general state of stress, affecting both the mental state and physical well-being of the general population. Stress is the body's reaction to events or stimuli perceived as potentially harmful or distressing. Particularly when prolonged over time, it can promote the consumption of different psychotropic substances such as alcohol, and thus the genesis of various pathologies.

DIFFUSE POSTERIOR SCLERITIS ASSOCIATED WITH HUMAN LEUKOCYTE ANTIGEN-B14* MANAGED WITH MULTIMODAL IMAGING: CASE REPORT AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE.

Purpose: To report a case of posterior scleritis in a human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B*14-positive patient, highlighting the crucial role of multimodal imaging and of autoimmune systemic disease screening for the diagnosis.

Methods: Case report.

Results: A 73-year-old woman, complaining of ocular discomfort in right eye, presented conjunctival hyperemia, keratic precipitates involving the anterior segment and four chorioretinal elevations with macular folds at fundus examination.

Risk Factors for Sensorineural Hearing Loss and Auditory Maturation in Children Admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Units: Who Recovered?

Background: Newborns admitted to neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are at higher risk of developing sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), which may improve over time. The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of the main risk factors for SNHL in a NICU cohort, focusing on children who underwent auditory maturation. Methods: An observational study of 378 children admitted to NICUs, who were followed for at least 18 months, with periodic audiologic assessments.

Single-Center-Single-Blinded Clinical Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy of a Nutraceutical Containing Boswellia Serrata, Bromelain, Zinc, Magnesium, Honey, Tyndallized Lactobacillus Acidophilus and Casei to Fight Upper Respiratory Tract Infection and Otitis Media.

Some nutraceuticals have been studied as supportive treatment for fighting upper respiratory tract infection and middle ear disease. Our study aims at evaluating the effect of a specific oral supplementation in the treatment of pediatric otits media. The subjects were randomly assigned by the physician (single-blinded study) to one of three groups: Control Group (CG), Treatment Group 1 (TG1), or Treatment Group 2 (TG2).

Mastoidectomy in surgical procedures to treat retraction pockets: a single-center experience and review of the literature.

Purpose: Retraction pocket (RP) is a common event affecting the middle ear when a negative pressure within it causes a retraction of a single part of the tympanic membrane (TM). Patients can be asymptomatic or can experience hearing loss, fullness feeling and/or ear discharge. RP can be stable or develop a cholesteatoma; aim of the study was to investigate if mastoidectomy may play a role in the surgical management of patients suffering from RP, both reporting our experience and discussing the existing literature.

The Role of Cartilage-perichondrium Tympanoplasty in the Treatment of Tympanic Membrane Retractions: Systematic Review of the Literature.

 Tympanic retraction is a condition characterized by the displacement of the tympanic membrane toward the structures of the middle ear. Clinically, tympanic retractions can lead to hearing loss, ear discharge and/or ear pain. In most of the cases, however, tympanic retractions are asymptomatic and are found accidentally during an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) examination.

Alcohol and Nicotine Use among Adolescents: An Observational Study in a Sicilian Cohort of High School Students.

In recent years, the mode of alcoholic intake known as binge drinking (BD) has become a common practice, especially among adolescents who, due to socio-environmental motives, tend to reach a rapid state of drunkenness. This drunkeness leads to alterations in brain areas responsible for executive functions and cognitive processes, as well as to the genesis of factors that predispose to lasting addiction. Likewise, nicotine leads to a comparable degree of addiction.

The prognostic value of subjective nasal symptoms and SNOT-22 score in middle ear surgery.

Background: The relationship between nasal functions and middle ear surgery is still under debate. Nasal obstruction is considered as a negative prognostic factor in middle ear surgery. This is based on the theory that it may cause Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) by leading to reduced ventilation of the middle ear, as found in several patients with nasal septal deviation, chronic rhinitis and nasal polyps.

Management of presumed candida endophthalmitis during the COVID-19 pandemic: Case report and review of the literature.

Purpose: To report the management of a case of candida endophthalmitis following intubation for SARS-CoV-2 ARDS, during the first lockdown, underlining consequently the limited access to the gold standard of care.

Methods: Case report.

Results: We have described the case of a 56-year-old Hispanic man who developed bilateral Candida endophthalmitis after one month of hospitalization in the intensive care unit for severe SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia.

Alcohol Abuse and Insomnia Disorder: Focus on a Group of Night and Day Workers.

The sleep-wake cycle plays a fundamental role in maintaining the physiological balance of our body. Its alteration favours the genesis of several organic alterations and diseases including sleep disorders and the consumption of several substances of abuse. It has been reported that the work activity, especially that carried out during the night, is able to influence the sleep-wake cycle, promoting the development of insomnia, which, in turn, would subject the worker to a stressful condition such as to encourage adverse behaviour such as the use/abuse of psychotropic substances.

Universal newborn hearing screening in the Italian Region of Sicily in 2018.

Objectives: We have clarified the role of Universal Neonatal Hearing Screening (UNHS) for both early diagnosis and rapid treatment in order to improve the prognosis of the deaf child and reduce patient management costs. Although in Sicily UNHS has been progressively implemented, there is scarce data in the literature on this matter. Therefore, the main objective was to collect in the year 2018 the following data: number of newborns screened for hearing loss, number of infants "referred" to transiently evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE), number of infants with pathologic auditory brainstem response (ABR) and number of infants affected by permanent hearing loss.

Evolution of migraine vertigo in overlapping syndrome with Ménière's disease: prognostic role of instrumental examination.

Introduction: Migraine vertigo (MV) and Ménière's disease (MD) share several signs and symptoms such as tinnitus, fullness, photophobia, phonophobia, headache and vertigo spells lasting hours.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to prospectively observe patients with MV with a sporadic audiological symptom evaluated with clinical examination, Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials (VEMPs), ECochG and v-HIT.

Results: The finding of VEMP asymmetry, according to our cut-off of 33% of difference between sides, resulted in 20 cases, of which 6 had asymmetry of both c-VEMPs and o-VEMPS, all with development of fluctuating hearing during follow-up.

Efficacy and Pharmacological Appropriateness of Cinnarizine and Dimenhydrinate in the Treatment of Vertigo and Related Symptoms.

Vertigo is not itself a disease, but rather a symptom of various syndromes and disorders that jeopardize balance function, which is essential for daily activities. It is an abnormal sensation of motion that usually occurs in the absence of motion, or when a motion is sensed inaccurately. Due to the complexity of the etiopathogenesis of vertigo, many pharmacological treatments have been tested for efficacy on vertigo.

Effectiveness of Rehabilitative Intervention on Pain, Postural Balance, and Quality of Life in Women with Multiple Vertebral Fragility Fractures: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Patients with vertebral fragility fractures often experience chronic pain, postural and balance disorders, and poor quality of life (QoL). Although several studies have investigated the role of rehabilitation in severe osteoporosis, the effectiveness of this intervention in patients with multiple vertebral fractures is poorly known. The aim of our longitudinal cohort study is to evaluate the effectiveness of rehabilitation, including postural training, resistance exercises, and visual stabilization exercises, for a 7-week period, on the pain, postural balance, and QoL of subjects with at least two vertebral fragility fractures receiving denosumab and vitamin D.

Surgical Management of Retraction Pockets: Does Mastoidectomy have a Role?

 Retraction pocket is a condition in which the eardrum lies deeper within the middle ear. Its management has no consensus in literature.  To assess the role of mastoidectomy in the management of retraction pockets added to a tympanoplasty.

Eustachian Tube Function Assessment after Radiofrequency Turbinate Reduction in Atopic and Non-Atopic Patients.

(1) Background: Inferior turbinates' hypertrophy is often associated with Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD); radiofrequency turbinate reduction (RTR) may provide a long-term improvement of nasal obstruction and ETD-related symptoms. (2) Aim: The study aimed to compare ETD in atopic and non-atopic patients before and after RTR and to investigate the correlation between tympanometry and Eustachian Tube Dysfunction Questionnaire-7 (ETDQ-7). (3) Methods: Ninety-seven patients, ranging from 33 to 68 years old, were screened by skin tests and divided into atopic (G1) and non-atopic (G2).

Comparison of Electrocochleography and Video Head Impulse Test findings in Vestibular Migraine and Ménière Disease: A Preliminary Study.

Objectives: To evaluate electrophysiological findings among patients with vestibular migraine (VM) and to compare them with those of patients suffering from definite Ménière disease (MD) without migraine.

Materials And Methods: Twenty-one consecutive patients suffering from VM were enrolled; all subjects were selected according to the criteria proposed by the Bàràny Society for Neuro-otology. Each patient underwent a careful otological and neurotological examination.

Vocal Tract Discomfort Scale (VTDS) and Voice Symptom Scale (VoiSS) in the Early Identification of Italian Teachers with Voice Disorders.

 The current Italian law does not include any guidance regarding voice education, prevention of voice disorders and screening in subjects with high vocal loading such as teachers.  We aimed to check the correlation between the Vocal Tract Discomfort Scale (VTDS) with the Voice Symptom Scale (VoiSS) for the evaluation of Italian teachers. In addition, we aimed to investigate whether there are differences in the frequency and intensity of discomfort symptoms in teachers with disabilities comparing vocal tract discomfort symptoms in teachers with high risk (HRVD) and low risk (LRVD) of vocal disorders according to the VoiSS cutoff (> 15.

Difensil Immuno Reduces Recurrence and Severity of Tonsillitis in Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Oral supplements (OS) support the immune system in fighting upper airways infection. This study aimed to analyze the effect of Difensil Immuno (DI) on the recurrence of tonsillitis and fever in children. A multicentric randomized clinical trial was conducted.

Orofacial muscles activity in children with swallowing dysfunction and removable functional appliances.

Swallowing dysfunction is a frequent disorder among children and refers to an altered tongue posture and abnormal tongue movement during swallowing. Removable functional appliance is one of the treatments applied by dentistry to correct this disorder. The aim of this study was to evaluate any differences on orofacial muscles activity in children with swallowing dysfunction with and without removable functional appliances.

E-ABR in Patients with Cochlear Implant: A Comparison between Patients with Malformed Cochlea and Normal Cochlea.

Objectives: This study aims to compare the electrical auditory brainstem response (EABR) following cochlear implant (CI) surgery in pediatric subjects with cochlear malformation and a normal cochlea, in order to assess the sensitivity of EABR and to evaluate the surgery outcome.

Materials And Methods: A total of 26 pediatric subjects who were deaf and scheduled for CI surgery were enrolled into this case control study. Group A (n=20) included subjects with a normo-conformed cochlea.