Disparities among Different Countries in Access for Diagnosis and Treatment of Pediatric Sensorineural Hearing Loss.

Objective: Timely diagnosis and management of pediatric sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is essential for best outcomes. This study evaluated the differences of health access among cochlear implant (CI) centers of countries with different health care systems.

Study Design: Retrospective.

Brazilian Society of Otology task force - cochlear implant ‒ recommendations based on strength of evidence.

Objective: To make evidence-based recommendations for the indications and complications of Cochlear Implant (CI) surgery in adults and children.

Methods: Task force members were educated on knowledge synthesis methods, including electronic database search, review and selection of relevant citations, and critical appraisal of selected studies. Articles written in English or Portuguese on cochlear implantation were eligible for inclusion.

Hearing Performance in Cochlear Implant Users Who Have Facial Nerve Stimulation.

 Facial nerve stimulation (FNS) is a complication in cochlear implant (CI) when the electrical current escapes from the cochlea to the nearby facial nerve. Different management to reduce its effects are available, although changes might result in a less-than-ideal fitting for the CI user, eventually reducing speech perception.  To verify the etiologies that cause FNS, to identify strategies in managing FNS, and to evaluate speech recognition in patients who present FNS.

Is the spread of excitation different between adults and children cochlear implants users?

Purpose: While cochlea is adult size at birth, etiologies and bone density may differ between children and adults. Differences in neural response thresholds (tNRT) and the spread of excitation (SOE) width may impact the use of artificial intelligence algorithms in speech processor fitting.

Aim: To identify whether neural response telemetry threshold and spread of excitation width are similar in adults and children.

Inside-Out Transcanal Endoscopic Mastoidectomy: Literature Revision.

 Recently, there have been significant advancements in transcanal endoscopic ear surgery (TEES). The combination of rigid and thin otoendoscopes with high-definition cameras enabled a less invasive transcanal access to the middle ear and a clearer view of the surgical field. Several surgeons have recently published studies about cholesteatoma resection via transcanal endoscopic surgery, even in cases where the disease has extended to the mastoid, requiring transcanal endoscopic mastoidectomy.

Can the use of the CROS system provide head shadow effect contribution to unilateral Cochlear Implant Users?

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the contribution of the CROS system on the head shadow effect in unilateral implant users.

Methods: Prospective cross-sectional study, approved by the ethics committee under protocol 2.128.

Molecular and genetic characterization of a large Brazilian cohort presenting hearing loss.

Hearing loss is one of the most common sensory defects, affecting 5.5% of the worldwide population and significantly impacting health and social life. It is mainly attributed to genetic causes, but their relative contribution reflects the geographical region's socio-economic development.

Central Auditory Nervous System Stimulation through the Cochlear Implant Use and Its Behavioral Impacts: A Longitudinal Study of Case Series.

The purpose of this study was to investigate, over a period of five years, the cortical maturation of the central auditory pathways and its impacts on the auditory and oral language development of children with effective use and without effective use of a Cochlear Implant (CI). A case series study was conducted with seven children who were CI users and seven children with normal hearing, with age- and gender-matched to CI users. The assessment was performed by long-latency auditory evoked potentials and auditory and oral language behavioral protocols.

Balancing the Loudness in Speech Processors and Contralateral Hearing Aids in Users of Unilateral Cochlear Implants.

 The use of cochlear implants and hearing aids (bimodal) has been growing with the expansion of the indication for them, and it is important to ensure protocols so that there is a balance of the loudness regarding the two devices.  To evaluate if the limited complex sounds present in the frequency bands of the current devices enable the balance of the loudness in adult users of bimodal stimulation, and to analyze if speech recognition improves after balancing.  A prospective cross-sectional study with convenience sampling.

Do the minimum and maximum comfortable stimulation levels influence the cortical potential latencies or the speech recognition in adult cochlear implant users?

Introduction: Cochlear implants (CI) programming is based on both the measurement of the minimum levels required to stimulate the auditory nerve and the maximum levels to generate loud, yet comfortable loudness. Seeking for guidance in the adequacy of this programming, the cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEP) have been gaining space as an important tool in the evaluation of CI users, providing information on the central auditory system.

Objective: To evaluate the influence of mishandling of electrical stimulation levels on speech processor programming on hearing thresholds, speech recognition and cortical auditory evoked potential in adult CI users.

Is There Any Correlation between Spread of Excitation Width and the Refractory Properties of the Auditory Nerve in Cochlear Implant Users?

Background: The spread of excitation (SOE) and auditory nerve recovery function (REC) are objective measures recorded by neural response telemetry and may interfere in cochlear implant (CI) stimulation.

Objective: To analyze and correlate SOE with the refractory periods in subjects with pre- and postlingual deafness implanted with different electrode arrays.

Methods: This was a retrospective study of 323 ears separated by perimodiolar or straight arrays and by pre- or postlingually deaf recipients.

Is the spread of excitation width correlated to the speech recognition in cochlear implant users?

Purpose: To assess whether there is an interference of the spread of excitation (SOE) on speech recognition.

Methods: Retrospective cross-sectional study, approved by the institution's ethics committee (CAAE03409212.8.

Auditory and language skills in children with auditory brainstem implants.

Objective: The aim of this study is to characterize the development of auditory and language skills in children during the first 3 years of auditory brainstem implant (ABI) use.

Method: It is a retrospective longitudinal analysis of auditory and language skills in 12 children and pre-adolescents with pre-lingual deafness following ABI surgery (mean age at surgery: 4 years; age range: 2-11 years). Responses were analyzed aboutInfant Toddler Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale (IT-MAIS), MAIS, and Meaningful Use of Speech Scale (MUSS) at 1, 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36 months after ABI activation.

Caloric test and video head impulse test sensitivity as vestibular impairment predictors before cochlear implant surgery.

Objectives: Currently, cochlear implant procedures are becoming increasingly broad and have greatly expanded. Bilateral cochlear implants and cochlear implants are more frequently applied in children. Our hypothesis is that the video head impulse test may be more sensitive than the caloric test in detecting abnormal vestibular function before cochlear implant surgery.

Video head impulse test relevance in the early postoperative period after cochlear implantation.

Background: Cochlear implantation (CI) is the gold standard therapy for profound or severe sensorineural hearing loss. It is a safe surgical procedure but, because of the proximity of the cochlea and vestibule, postoperative vestibular disorder may occur. Our hypothesis is that the video head impulse test (vHIT) may be a good tool to achieve a topographic diagnosis of dizziness in the early postoperative period after CI.

Benefit of Cochlear Implantation in Children with Multiple-handicaps: Parent's Perspective.

 The cochlear implants centers in the world are studying the cochlear implantation in children with multiple handicaps.  To develop a questionnaire to analyze the subjective benefits of the cochlear implantation in multiple handicapped children according to their parent's perspective.  A questionnaire was applied to 14 families of multiple handicapped children, aging from 2-12 years old and having from 11 months to 11 years of implant use.

The Influence of Auditory Feedback and Vocal Rehabilitation on Prelingual Hearing-Impaired Individuals Post Cochlear Implant.

Objective: To verify changes in the perceptual and acoustic vocal parameters in prelingual hearing-impaired adults with cochlear implants after vocal rehabilitation.

Hypothesis: Auditory feedback restoration alone after cochlear implant is not enough for vocal adjustments. A targeted and specific voice therapy intervention is required.

Auditory brainstem implant in postmeningitis totally ossified cochleae.

Introduction: An auditory brainstem implant (ABI) is an option for auditory rehabilitation in patients with totally ossified cochleae who cannot receive a conventional cochlear implant.

Objective: To evaluate the outcomes in audiometry and speech perception tests after the implantation of an ABI via the extended retrolabyrinthine approach in patients with postmeningitis hearing loss.

Materials And Methods: Ten patients, including children and adults, with postmeningitis hearing loss and bilateral totally ossified cochleae received an ABI in a tertiary center from 2009 to 2015.

Correction: Cortical maturation in children with cochlear implants: Correlation between electrophysiological and behavioral measurement.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Use of an Osteoplastic Flap for the Prevention of Mastoidectomy Retroauricular Defects.

 After mastoidectomy, patients usually complain of bone depressions in the retroauricular region in the surgical site, especially in procedures that require extensive cortical resections. This causes inconveniences such as difficulty wearing glasses, cleaning, and aesthetics complaints.  This study aims to describe a vascularized flap surgical technique that uses the mastoid cortical bone adhered to the periosteum, which is pedicled on the anterior portion and repositioned at the end of the surgery.

Outcomes of Late Implantation in Usher Syndrome Patients.

 Usher syndrome (US) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by hearing loss and progressive visual impairment. Some deaf Usher syndrome patients learn to communicate using sign language. During adolescence, as they start losing vision, they are usually referred to cochlear implantation as a salvage for their new condition.

Satisfaction and quality of life in users of auditory brainstem implant.

Purpose To evaluate satisfaction and quality of life of users of Auditory Implant Brainstem. Methods This is a cross-sectional and descriptive study conducted at Divisão de Clínica Otorrinolaringológica of Hospital das Clínicas of Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil. For the research, 19 users of an Auditory Brainstem Implant answered the following questionnaires: KINDLR (Questionnaire for Measuring Health-Related Quality of Life in Children and Adolescents), for children and adolescents, their parents and/or caregivers; WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire, for adult participants; and the Satisfaction with Amplification in Daily Life (SADL) questionnaire culturally adapted to Brazilian Portuguese.

Cortical maturation in children with cochlear implants: Correlation between electrophysiological and behavioral measurement.

Central auditory pathway maturation in children depends on auditory sensory stimulation. The objective of the present study was to monitor the cortical maturation of children with cochlear implants using electrophysiological and auditory skills measurements. The study was longitudinal and consisted of 30 subjects, 15 (8 girls and 7 boys) of whom had a cochlear implant, with a mean age at activation time of 36.

Preoperative vestibular assessment protocol of cochlear implant surgery: an analytical descriptive study.

Introduction: Cochlear implants are undeniably an effective method for the recovery of hearing function in patients with hearing loss.

Objective: To describe the preoperative vestibular assessment protocol in subjects who will be submitted to cochlear implants.

Methods: Our institutional protocol provides the vestibular diagnosis through six simple tests: Romberg and Fukuda tests, assessment for spontaneous nystagmus, Head Impulse Test, evaluation for Head Shaking Nystagmus and caloric test.