Toward a Diagnostic Imaging Algorithm for Undifferentiated Pulsatile Tinnitus.

Objective: Decisions around the diagnostic evaluation for pulsatile tinnitus (PT) remain challenging. We describe the usage patterns and diagnostic accuracy of imaging modalities and propose an evidence-based diagnostic approach for undifferentiated PT.

Study Design: Retrospective.

Multiple processes of vocal sensory-motor interaction in primate auditory cortex.

Sensory-motor interactions in the auditory system play an important role in vocal self-monitoring and control. These result from top-down corollary discharges, relaying predictions about vocal timing and acoustics. Recent evidence suggests such signals may be two distinct processes, one suppressing neural activity during vocalization and another enhancing sensitivity to sensory feedback, rather than a single mechanism.

Diagnostic Yield and Utility of Radiographic Imaging in the Evaluation of Pulsatile Tinnitus: A Systematic Review.

Objective: The objective of this study is to assess diagnostic yield of imaging modalities used to evaluate patients presenting with pulsatile tinnitus (PT).

Databases Reviewed: PubMed, Embase, and Scopus were queried using the search terms "pulsatile tinnitus," "pulse-synchronous tinnitus," and "pulse synchronous tinnitus" with no date limitations.

Methods: Studies that reported diagnostic imaging for patients presenting with PT were included.

Frontal-Auditory Cortical Interactions and Sensory Prediction During Vocal Production in Marmoset Monkeys.

The control of speech and vocal production involves the calculation of error between the intended vocal output and the resulting auditory feedback. Consistent with this model, recent evidence has demonstrated that the auditory cortex is suppressed immediately before and during vocal production, yet is still sensitive to differences between vocal output and altered auditory feedback. This suppression has been suggested to be the result of top-down signals containing information about the intended vocal output, potentially originating from motor or other frontal cortical areas.

Reassessing the Utility of Surgical Intervention for Skull Base Osteomyelitis: A 16-Year Experience.

Objective: The role of surgery in lateral skull base osteomyelitis (SBO) is controversial. Surgical intervention is often requested by consulting services in the interest of additional culture data to inform medical management. However, whether surgery alters subsequent antibiotic treatment or modifies disease outcome remains unknown.

Signal processing and stimulation potential within the ascending auditory pathway: a review.

The human auditory system encodes sound with a high degree of temporal and spectral resolution. When hearing fails, existing neuroprosthetics such as cochlear implants may partially restore hearing through stimulation of auditory neurons at the level of the cochlea, though not without limitations inherent to electrical stimulation. Novel approaches to hearing restoration, such as optogenetics, offer the potential of improved performance.

Meningitis Risk and Role of Prophylactic Antibiotics in Spontaneous Lateral Skull Base CSF Leaks.

Objective: To review the literature and our institutional experience regarding the risk of meningitis in patients with spontaneous lateral skull base cerebrospinal fluid (sCSF) leaks awaiting surgical repair, and the roles of antibiotic prophylaxis and pneumococcal vaccination, if known.

Methods: A retrospective chart review and systematic review of the literature was undertaken to identify the incidence of meningitis in patients with sCSF leaks awaiting surgical repair. Adults managed surgically for sCSF leaks at an academic tertiary care center over a 10-year period were included.

Impact of Anticholinergic Medications on Speech Perception Performance after Cochlear Implantation.

Objective: To identify and characterize the impact of anticholinergic medications, which have known adverse effects on cognition in older adults, on speech perception after cochlear implantation.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.

Rates of Sensorineural Hearing Loss and Revision Surgery After Stapedotomy: A Single-institution Experience Using the Nitinol Prosthesis.

Background: Historically, stapedectomy complication rates are quoted as 1% profound postoperative sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), 5%-10% nonprofound SNHL, and 5%-10% revision surgery.

Objective: We sought to reassess rates of post-stapedotomy complications based on our experience using contemporary surgical technique.

Methods: A retrospective case series was carried out at an academic tertiary referral center.

Audiometric and Surgical Outcomes of a Novel Bone-Conduction Hearing Aid.

Objective: To report the audiometric and surgical outcomes of a series of patients having undergone implantation of a novel transcutaneous bone conduction implant (t-BCI).

Study Design: Retrospective case series.

Setting: Single academic tertiary referral center.

Pure tone audiometry as assessed by a commercially-available mobile phone application compared to formal audiometry.

Purpose: Comparison of audiometric measurements of commercially available smartphone audiogram application thresholds as compared to gold standard audiometric evaluation.

Materials And Methods: A single-institution, original contribution. Ninety consecutive adult patients presenting to a tertiary care auditory clinic with auditory complaints were evaluated using standard audiometric testing and an application-based hearing test.

Effects of Cortical Stimulation on Feedback-Dependent Vocal Control in Non-Human Primates.

Objectives: Hearing plays an important role in our ability to control voice, and perturbations in auditory feedback result in compensatory changes in vocal production. The auditory cortex (AC) has been proposed as an important mediator of this behavior, but causal evidence is lacking. We tested this in an animal model, hypothesizing that AC is necessary for vocal self-monitoring and feedback-dependent control, and that altering activity in AC during vocalization will interfere with vocal control.

Isolated Otologic Involvement of IgG4 Related Disease: A Case Report and Review of Literature.

Immunoglobulin G4 related disease (IgG4-RD) is a systemic autoimmune disease process that classically presents with multi-organ involvement; however isolated involvement of various structures within the body has also been described. Histopathologic examination is considered the gold standard for diagnosis. Glucocorticoids are well established as first-line treatment, but relapses are common, and consultation with rheumatology, immunology, and/or oncology teams is almost always warranted for proper medical management and disease maintenance.

Comparison of Outcomes of Surgical Repair of Spontaneous Temporal Bone CSF Leaks and Encephaloceles Using Bone Cement and Autologous Material.

Objective: To compare outcomes transmastoid repair of spontaneous middle fossa cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak using only bone cement (BC) versus only autologous material (AM) or combined materials (CM) with both bone cement and autologous material.

Study Design: Retrospective Chart Review.

Setting: Tertiary Care Hospital.

Age-related Patterns of Vestibular Dysfunction in Dizziness and Imbalance: A Review of Vestibular Testing Results Among 1,116 Patients.

Objective: To characterize differences in vestibular testing results among patients presenting with balance-related complaints; to stratify patterns of testing abnormalities by age.

Study Design: Retrospective chart review.

Setting: Academic Balance Center at a Tertiary Referral Center.

Current practices in nutrition management and disease incidence of common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus).

Background: A survey was developed to characterize disease incidence, common pathology lesions, environmental characteristics, and nutrition programs within captive research marmoset colonies.

Methods: Seventeen research facilities completed the electronic survey.

Results: Nutritional management programs varied amongst research institutions housing marmosets; eight primary base diets were reported.

Predictors of Postoperative Electrode Deactivation Among Adult Cochlear Implantees.

Objective: To characterize postoperative electrode functionality after adult cochlear implantation; to identify rationale and risk factors for electrode deactivation.

Study Design: Retrospective Chart Review.

Setting: Academic Cochlear Implant Center.

Streamlining the Cochlear Implant Evaluation: Utility of Community Audiometry in Cochlear Implant Candidacy Assessment.

Objective: To identify redundancy in the cochlear implant candidacy evaluation and assess its financial impact.

Study Design: Retrospective chart review.

Setting: Tertiary care academic cochlear implant center.

Bitter Taste Receptors and Chronic Otitis Media.

Objective: To evaluate the presence of bitter taste receptors (T2Rs) in the middle ear and to examine their relationship with chronic ear infections.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Tertiary care hospital.

Real-time feedback control of voice in cochlear implant recipients.

Objectives: To evaluate feedback-dependent vocal control in cochlear implant patients using pitch-shifted auditory feedback.

Methods: Twenty-three CI recipients with at least 6 months of implant experience were enrolled. Vocal recordings were performed while subjects repeated the vowel /e/ and vocal signals were altered in real-time using a digital effects processor to introduce a pitch-shift, presented back to subjects using headphones.

Failure and Revision Surgery After Cochlear Implantation in the Adult Population: A 10-year Single-institution Retrospective and Systematic Review of the Literature.

Objective: To characterize failure rate and etiology after cochlear implantation; to identify predictors and describe outcomes after implant failure.

Study Design: Retrospective chart review and systematic review of the literature using PubMed and Embase.

Setting: Academic Cochlear Implant Center.

A Rare Case of Temporal Bone Pneumocephalus Tracking through the Internal Auditory Canal.

A 39-year-old male with chronic hydrocephalus requiring biventricular shunts presented with progressive pneumocephalus over several years. He showed no improvement following ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt revision and anterior skull base repair for a sphenoid dehiscence. Imaging continued to show worsening pneumocephalus with air tracking along the right facial nerve from the geniculate ganglion to the internal auditory canal (IAC).

Auditory Feedback Control of Vocal Pitch in Spasmodic Dysphonia.

Objectives/hypothesis: Hearing plays an important role in the maintenance of vocal control in normal individuals. In patients with spasmodic dysphonia (SD), however, the ability to maintain sustained control of phonation is impaired. The origins of SD are unknown, and it is unclear whether auditory feedback-dependent vocal control is compromised in these patients.

Dissociation of Unit Activity and Gamma Oscillations during Vocalization in Primate Auditory Cortex.

Vocal production is a sensory-motor process in which auditory self-monitoring is used to ensure accurate communication. During vocal production, the auditory cortex of both humans and animals is suppressed, a phenomenon that plays an important role in self-monitoring and vocal motor control. However, the underlying neural mechanisms of this vocalization-induced suppression are unknown.