Functional Outcomes and Self-Reported Quality of Life in Patients with Facial Nerve Impairment Following Vestibular Schwannoma Surgery.

Objective: The aim of this observational retrospective study was to report quality of life (QoL) in patients with postoperative facial nerve (FN) palsy after vestibular schwannoma (VS) surgery, investigating clinical factors related to functional outcomes.

Methods: Forty-eight consecutive patients (M:F 25:23; median age: 52.5 years) with facial palsy following surgery for sporadic VS were considered retrospectively.

Bilateral simultaneous cochlear implants in children: Best timing of surgery and long-term auditory outcomes.

Purpose: Evaluate the hearing outcomes of bilateral deaf children implanted simultaneously and define the most appropriate timing for surgery.

Materials And Methods: Audiological CI results were retrieved in both the short-term and long-term period and compared by stratifying the patients into different subcohorts according to their age at surgery. Additional data collected were age at implant activation, etiology and timing of onset of deafness, presence of psychomotor delay.

Benefits of bone conduction hearing aid in children with unilateral aural atresia.

Objective: To assess the hearing benefit with a unilateral bone conduction hearing aid in a cohort of children with unilateral aural atresia.

Methods: Cross-sectional case series pilot study involving 7 children (median age: 10 years, range 6-11). All patients underwent pure-tone, speech, aided sound field and aided speech audiometry and Simplified Italian Matrix Test (SIMT) with and without bone conduction hearing aid (Baha 5 Cochlear).

Validity and reliability of the Italian translation of the Yale Pharyngeal Residue Severity Rating Scale.

Objective: In the dysphagic patient, pharyngeal residues (PR) are associated with aspiration and poor quality of life. The assessment of PR using validated scales during flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) is crucial for rehabilitation. This study aims to validate and test the reliability of the Italian version of the Yale Pharyngeal Residue Severity Rating Scale (IT-YPRSRS).

Improving Auditory Perception in Pediatric Single-Sided Deafness: Use of Cochlear Implants' Direct Connection for Remote Speech Perception Rehabilitation.

Purpose: Unilateral cochlear implants (CIs) can restore binaural hearing in single-sided deafness (SSD). Direct stimulation of the CI can be obtained via the Bluetooth connection of a device to the CI, thus excluding the typical-hearing ear. This study aims to investigate the use of CI connectivity features as a rehabilitative strategy in a small cohort of children affected by SSD.

Bilateral Post-Traumatic Facial Palsy: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Introduction: Bilateral facial nerve (FN) palsy due to temporal bone fracture is a rare clinical entity, with few cases reported. The choice between conservative and surgical treatment is more complex than in unilateral cases.

Materials And Methods: A thorough search of the available literature on trauma-related bilateral FN palsy revealed 22 reports.

Cochlear implantation in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Outcomes and implant fitting characteristics.

Background: Little is known regarding fitting parameters and receptive and expressive language development in cochlear-implanted children (CCI) with profound sensorineural hearing loss (SHL) who are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The aim of the study was to evaluate a group of ASD CCI users in order to describe their ASD clinical features and CCI outcomes; report on the average electrical charge requirements; and evaluate the possible correlations between electrical and psychophysical outcomes with ASD characteristics.

Materials And Methods: A multicentre observational study of 22 ASD children implanted in four cochlear implant (CI) centers.

How great is the negative impact of masking and social distancing and how can we enhance communication skills in the elderly people?

During COVID-19 pandemic, protective measures such as social distancing and face masks posed a challenge in daily communication, in this context the elderly are one of the most at risk categories as widely exposed to hearing loss. This article focuses on how the COVID-19 pandemic affected verbal communication, especially on those people that even in normal conditions present an increased difficulty in speech perception. Special attention has been paid to hearing aids and cochlear implant users, these devices indeed can be affected by a speech intelligibility reduction and could be uncomfortable if used together with face masks.

Correspondence Between Cognitive and Audiological Evaluations Among the Elderly: A Preliminary Report of an Audiological Screening Model of Subjects at Risk of Cognitive Decline With Slight to Moderate Hearing Loss.

Epidemiological studies show increasing prevalence rates of cognitive decline and hearing loss with age, particularly after the age of 65 years. These conditions are reported to be associated, although conclusive evidence of causality and implications is lacking. Nevertheless, audiological and cognitive assessment among elderly people is a key target for comprehensive and multidisciplinary evaluation of the subject's frailty status.

Cochlear implant outcomes in the elderly: a uni- and multivariate analyses of prognostic factors.

Purpose: To assess preoperative features that could predict the audiological outcome after cochlear implantation in the elderly, in terms of pure tone audiometry, speech audiometry, and speech perception performance.

Methods: All available records of patients with cochlear implants aged 65 or more at the time of their implantation at our Institution were reviewed (50 patients, mean age 70.76 ± 4.

Surgical timing for bilateral simultaneous cochlear implants: When is best?

Introduction: Hearing loss is considered the most common congenital disease and the prevalence of neonatal deafness can be estimated between 1 and 2 cases per 1000 live births. Infant deafness must be diagnosed as early as possible and an effective therapeutic intervention needs to be carried out in order to avoid the serious consequences of hearing deprivation during the evolutionary period: alterations in the development of central auditory pathways and lack of language acquisition. The cochlear implant (CI) has proved to be the best instrument to solve the problem of auditory deprivation.

Check-list for the assessment of functional impairment in children with congenital aural atresia.

Objectives: Congenital Aural Atresia (CAA) is a deformity of the external ear and it is commonly associated with malformations of middle and inner ear and, in some cases, with other facial deformities. Very few assessment measures exist for evaluating the functional impairment in children with CAA. Purpose of this study is to introduce and describe an assessment Checklist, (nominated FOS Checklist) that covers feeding abilities (F), oralmotor skills (O), communication/language development (S) in children with CAA.

Cochlear implantation in the elderly: surgical and hearing outcomes.

Background: At the present time, 50 to 60% of the population above 70 years of age suffers from a hearing impairment and from 0.6 to 1.1% has a severe to profound loss, which cannot benefit from an hearing aid.