Otosclerosis and Fitness to Fly.

Background: When an aircrew member is referred for otosclerosis, his flight fitness may be questionable. The objective of this retrospective study was to describe a case series of otosclerosis in an aircrew population and to discuss the decisions about their flight waivers.

Methods: There were 27 aircrew members who were referred to the ENT-Head and Neck Surgery Department of the National Pilot Expertise Center.

Specific activation of operculum 3 (OP3) brain region during provoked tinnitus-related phantom auditory perceptions in humans.

The phantom sound perception mechanism by which a sound perception occurs without any external sound source is still enigmatic. According to our previous fMRI study, a small region in the parietal operculum 3 was hyperactivated as a function of tinnitus periodicity in subjects with acoustic trauma tinnitus sequelae. This region was localized in the vicinity of neural correlates of middle-ear tympano-ossicular chain movements due to pressure variations.

Vestibular schwannoma and fitness to fly.

Introduction: When a pilot is referred for vestibular schwannoma (VS), his or her fitness to fly may be questioned. The objective of this retrospective study was to describe a series of VS cases in a pilot population and to discuss their fitness to fly options.

Methods: Between September 2002 and March 2010, the ENT/Head and Neck Surgery Department of the National Pilot Expertise Center conducted nearly 120,000 expert consultations for 40,000 pilots.

Susceptibility to tinnitus revealed at 2 kHz range by bilateral lower DPOAEs in normal hearing subjects with noise exposure.

We investigated potential markers of susceptibility to tinnitus in a group of normal hearing young pilots aged 25-35 years and with 8 +/- 5 years of aircraft noise exposure. 316 pilots were interviewed about their tinnitus status and were tested for hearing thresholds (audiograms) and distortion products otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE-grams). There was no subject with permanent tinnitus.

[Sinonasal mucosal malignant melanoma].

Introduction: Mucosal melanomas are rare tumors, and primary sinonasal malignant melanomas uncommon tumors that are frequently misclassified. Differential diagnosis should rule out other sinonasal malignancies, including carcinoma, lymphoma, sarcoma, and olfactory neuroblastoma.

Case: We report two new cases of sinonasal melanoma.

Follicular dendritic cell sarcoma of the tonsil: a case report.

Follicular dendritic cell sarcomas of the tonsil are very rare tumors. Only 10 cases have been published in the English-language medical literature. We present an additional case that occurred in a 27-year-old woman.

Hearing in military pilots: one-time audiometry in pilots of fighters, transports, and helicopters.

Introduction: Pilots are exposed to potentially harmful levels of noise, the actual consequences of which are still poorly documented. We have determined the audiometric profiles of pilots as a function of age and type of aircraft (i.e.