Concomitant Obstructive Sleep Apnoea in Patients with Meniere's Disease: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Meniere's disease (MD) is a condition characterised by fluctuating and progressive hearing loss, aural fullness, tinnitus, and intermittent attacks of vertigo. The disabling vertigo symptoms can be controlled in most patients by lifestyle changes and medications such as diuretics. Should standard medical therapy fail, the patient may require surgery in order to control the disease, but such surgical procedures can be functionally destructive.

Accidental Explantation of a Cochlear Implant in a Child Who Developed Cholesteatoma as a Late Complication of Cochlear Implantation.

Introduction: Although rare, cholesteatoma can develop as a late complication of cochlear implantation. The electrode array may then be exposed in the external auditory canal surrounded by cholesteatoma debris. .

Synergistic Ototoxicity of Gentamicin and Low-Dose Irradiation: Molecular Basis and Clinical Significance.

Background: Inner ear structures may be included in the radiation fields when irradiation is used to treat patients with head and neck cancers. These patients may also have concurrent infections that require gentamicin treatment. Radiation and gentamicin are both potentially ototoxic, and their combined use has been shown to result in synergistic ototoxicity in animals.

An unusual case of post-cochlear implant performance degradation in a patient with suspected Cogan's syndrome.

Cogan's Syndrome is an autoimmune disorder that can affect the ear, eye and other organs. Although rare, Cogan's Syndrome is particularly relevant to the cochlear implant surgeon because the resulting hearing loss is often bilateral and the majority of cases progresses to profound levels where cochlear implantation may be indicated. There are many issues relating to this condition that concern the cochlear implant surgeon.

Skull Base Osteomyelitis from Otitis Media Presenting as the Collet-Sicard Syndrome.

Skull base osteomyelitis can involve the jugular foramen and its associated cranial nerves resulting in specific clinical syndromes. The Collet-Sicard syndrome describes the clinical manifestations of palsies involving cranial nerves IX, X, XI, and XII. We present a rare atypical case of skull base osteomyelitis originating from infection of the middle ear and causing the Collet-Sicard syndrome.

Is Electroacupuncture Treatment More Effective in Somatic Tinnitus Than in Nonsomatic Tinnitus?

In recent years, evidence has been accumulating linking subjective tinnitus to the somatosensory system. Somatic tinnitus is defined as tinnitus in which forceful contractions of jaw and neck muscles modulate the psychoacoustic attributes of tinnitus, such as pitch and loudness. Being a somatosensory-based treatment modality, needling might well be more effective for treating somatic than nonsomatic tinnitus.

Electrode array extrusion through the posterior canal wall presenting as a delayed post-cochlear implant complication.

Unlabelled: OBJECTIVES AND IMPORTANCE: Cochlear implantation is an established, reliable, and safe procedure with a low complication rate. Electrode array extrusion through the posterior aspect of external ear canal is a potential major complication of cochlear implant surgery that may result in revision surgery or explantation. Although there have been previous case reports of such extrusions through the tympanic membrane, this is the first well-documented report of an extrusion through the posterior canal wall which was previously intact.

Relationship between leisure noise exposure and otoacoustic emissions in a young Asian population.

Objective: This study compared the otoacoustic emissions amplitudes of Asian youths at risk of leisure noise exposure through the use of portable music players with their less exposed counterparts.

Design: A listening habit survey was conducted. Subjects were divided into two groups for analysis.

The music listening preferences and habits of youths in Singapore and its relation to leisure noise-induced hearing loss.

Introduction: Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a preventable condition, and much has been done to protect workers from it. However, thus far, little attention has been given to leisure NIHL. The purpose of this study is to determine the possible music listening preferences and habits among young people in Singapore that may put them at risk of developing leisure NIHL.

Management of major post-cochlear implant wound infections.

In post-cochlear implant (CI) wound infections, a commonly asked question is whether the device could be salvaged and if so, what the challenges were. The aim of this article is to study patients with major post-CI wound infections, identify the risk factors and discuss the management. The case records all CI recipients who developed post-CI wound infections that required parenteral antibiotics treatment or any form of surgery between Jan 1997 and Dec 2011 were retrospectively reviewed.

Cochlear Implant Outcomes: A Comparison between Irradiated and Non-irradiated Ears.

Objectives: Radiotherapy for head and neck tumors is known to potentially induce sensorineural hearing loss, which is possibly due to damage to the cochlear and/or auditory pathways. Since the success of cochlear implantation depends on a functional auditory nerve, this paper aims to study the hearing outcomes of cochlear implantation in irradiated ears.

Methods: A retrospective study of cochlear implant recipients from our institution who had previously received radiotherapy for head and neck cancers was performed.

Acoustic brainstem implant in a post-meningitis deafened child-Lessons learned.

We report a case of a deafened child with advanced labyrinthitis ossificans resulting from meningo-encephalitis. She received a cochlear implant in the right ear, following a drill-out procedure. Post-implant hearing outcomes were satisfactory initially, but deteriorated over time as a result of partial electrode migration.

Ototoxicity from combined Cisplatin and radiation treatment: an in vitro study.

Objective. Combined cisplatin (CDDP) and radiotherapy is increasingly being used to treat advanced head and neck cancers. As both CDDP and radiation can cause hearing loss, it is important to have a better understanding of the cellular and molecular ototoxic mechanisms involved in combined therapy.

12th Yahya Cohen Memorial Lecture: The cellular and molecular basis of radiation-induced sensori-neural hearing loss.

Introduction: Sensori-neural hearing loss (SNHL) is a frequent complication of conventional radiotherapy for head and neck tumours, especially nasopharyngeal carcinoma. To manage radiation-induced ototoxicity appropriately, an understanding of the cellular and molecular basis of this complication is necessary.

Materials And Methods: A medline search of relevant literature was done, focusing on the radiation-induced cellular and molecular processes that lead to hair cell death in the cochlea.

Outcome of early cochlear implantation.

Introduction: Universal newborn hearing screening facilitates early detection of congenital hearing loss. A child found to have severe to profound hearing loss may require a cochlear implant to access sounds in the speech frequency range.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective study compared the speech perception outcomes of children implanted at 2 years and below (C1) with those implanted later (C3).

Association of Epstein-Barr virus with nasopharyngeal carcinoma and current status of development of cancer-derived cell lines.

It is well known that the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) contributes directly to tumourigenesis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), primarily in the undifferentiated form of NPC (WHO type III; UNPC or UC), which is commonly found in South East Asia. Unfortunately, research in NPC has been severely hampered by the lack of authentic EBV-positive (EBV+) human NPC cell lines for study. Since 1975, there have been more than 20 reported NPC cell lines.

L-N-Acetylcysteine protects against radiation-induced apoptosis in a cochlear cell line.

Conclusion: L-N-Acetylcysteine (L-NAC) significantly reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and cochlear cell apoptosis after irradiation. The safe and effective use of L-NAC in reducing radiation-induced sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) should be verified by further in vivo studies.

Objectives: Radiation-induced SNHL is a common complication after radiotherapy of head and neck tumours.

Preauricular sinus: clinical course and associations.

Objectives: To evaluate the clinical course of congenital preauricular sinus (PAS) up until adulthood and to determine its association with congenital ear and renal abnormalities.

Design: Cohort survey.

Setting: Medical screening facility at a military base.

Dose-dependant radiation-induced apoptosis in a cochlear cell-line.

Cisplatin and gentamycin are both ototoxic and they have been shown to induce cochlear cell apoptosis. Although radiation is also ototoxic, radiation-induced apoptosis in cochlear cells has not been studied. This study aimed to investigate the biophysical changes of dose-related radiation-induced cochlear cell apoptosis in an experimental model.

Cochlear implantation in postirradiated ears: outcomes and challenges.

Objectives: Radiotherapy to head and neck tumors can potentially damage the auditory pathways. This has relevance in cochlear implants and there is a need for clinical studies to confirm the feasibility of cochlear implantation in these patients.

Methods: The records of all patients who had received cochlear implants at our institution were reviewed in this retrospective study and those who had prior irradiation for head and neck tumors were further studied.

Sensorineural hearing loss after radiotherapy and chemoradiotherapy: a single, blinded, randomized study.

Purpose: The synergistic ototoxicity of radiation and cisplatin (CDDP) has not been adequately studied. This study investigated whether the use of concurrent and postradiotherapy CDDP in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) resulted in a difference in postradiotherapy sensorineural hearing when compared with the use of radiotherapy alone.

Patients And Methods: Newly diagnosed patients were randomly assigned to the radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy groups.

CSF otorrhea complicating temporal bone osteoradionecrosis in a patient with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

A 44-year-old Chinese man with a history of nasopharyngeal carcinoma that was treated with radiotherapy presented with fluid in the middle ear. We performed a myringotomy and subsequently made a diagnosis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage secondary to osteoradionecrosis of the temporal bone. To the best of our knowledge, this is only the second reported case of an otogenic CSF leak resulting from osteoradionecrosis of the temporal bone.