Experts' discussion: implications of the World Health Organization's World report on hearing for the cochlear implant field.

Objective: This review aims to analyse the implications of the World Health Organization's 2021 world report on hearing, with a particular focus on the cochlear implant field. The objective is to understand the challenges and opportunities highlighted in the report and propose viable solutions for effective implementation within the cochlear implant community.

Methods: Following the release of the World Health Organization's world report on hearing, cochlear implant professionals explored and discussed the implications of the report with examples from various countries to understand the disparities in access, reimbursement policies, and social stigma associated with hearing loss.

Minimum intraoperative testing battery for cochlear implantation: the international practice trend.

Purpose: In cochlear implantation (CI) surgery, there are a wide variety of intraoperative tests available. However, no clear guide exists on which tests must be performed as the minimum intraoperative testing battery. Toward this end, we studied the usage patterns, recommendations, and attitudes of practitioners toward intraoperative testing.

International Consensus Statements on Intraoperative Testing for Cochlear Implantation Surgery.

Objectives: A wide variety of intraoperative tests are available in cochlear implantation. However, no consensus exists on which tests constitute the minimum necessary battery. We assembled an international panel of clinical experts to develop, refine, and vote upon a set of core consensus statements.

Audiological practice and COVID-19: recommendations that audiological centers can use to maintain the safety and quality of service-expert opinion.

Purpose: Audiology is an essential service for some patient groups and some interventions. This article sets forth experience-based recommendations for how audiological centers can continue to safely and effectively function during COVID-19.

Methods: The recommendations are the result of panel discussion and are based on the clinical experience of the panelists/authors.

Auditory brainstem implantation (ABI) in children without neurofibromatosis type II (NF2): communication performance and safety after 24 months of use.

To assess the safety and communication performance of auditory brainstem implant (ABI) provision in children who were contraindicated for cochlear implantation and do not have neurofibromatosis type II (NF2). Communication performance was assessed via a battery of tests up to 24 months after first fitting. Safety was assessed intra-operatively and via post-operative adverse event reports.

Hearing preservation cochlear implantation in children: The HEARRING Group consensus and practice guide.

Objectives: To provide multidisciplinary cochlear implant teams with a current consensus statement to support hearing preservation cochlear implantation (HPCI) in children, including those children with symptomatic partial deafness (PD) where the intention is to use electric-acoustic stimulation (EAS). The main objectives are to provide guidelines on who is a candidate, how to assess these children and when to implant if Med-El Flex electrode arrays are chosen for implantation.

Methods: The HEARRING group reviewed the current evidence and practice regarding the management of children to be considered for HPCI surgery emphasizing the assessment needed prior to implantation in order to demonstrate the benefits in these children over time.

Towards a Unified Testing Framework for Single-Sided Deafness Studies: A Consensus Paper.

Background: While hearing aids for a contralateral routing of signals (CROS-HA) and bone conduction devices have been the traditional treatment for single-sided deafness (SSD) and asymmetric hearing loss (AHL), in recent years, cochlear implants (CIs) have increasingly become a viable treatment choice, particularly in countries where regulatory approval and reimbursement schemes are in place. Part of the reason for this shift is that the CI is the only device capable of restoring bilateral input to the auditory system and hence of possibly reinstating binaural hearing. Although several studies have independently shown that the CI is a safe and effective treatment for SSD and AHL, clinical outcome measures in those studies and across CI centers vary greatly.

Patient management for cochlear implant recipients in audiology departments: A practice review.

Objectives: To determine and evaluate the time clinics needed to complete the sub-processes involved in the first-fitting and follow-up fitting of people with a cochlear implant.

Methods: Eight HEARRING clinics completed a questionnaire recording how long it took to complete the sub-processes involved in first-fitting and follow-up fitting cochlear implant recipients. The mean times of clinics and procedures were then compared.

Quality standards for bone conduction implants.

Conclusion: Bone conduction implants are useful in patients with conductive and mixed hearing loss for whom conventional surgery or hearing aids are no longer an option. They may also be used in patients affected by single-sided deafness.

Objectives: To establish a consensus on the quality standards required for centers willing to create a bone conduction implant program.

Public health implications of obstructive sleep apnea burden.

Objective: To assess the implications of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) burden among Indian children.

Methods: MonteCarlo simulations were performed in order to estimate the number of OSA related obesity cases among Indian children (1-14 y of age) and the number of cases of stroke, coronary heart disease (CHD) and type 2 diabetes, considered as main adverse outcomes of OSA related childhood obesity, according to untreated and treated [adenotonsillectomy (AT) alone and AT associated to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)] pediatric OSA. Data used to perform MonteCarlo simulations were derived from a review about current literature exploring OSA related obesity.