Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) is a progressive disease characterized by chronic inflammation, which also has negative effects on cochlear functions and hearing levels. We investigated whether the cochlear functions and hearing levels of FMF patients were different than healthy controls and also evaluated the relationship of hearing levels with the age at diagnosis, duration without treatment, and inflammation and lipid parameters in this study. A total of 60 patients diagnosed with FMF and 48 age, gender and body mass index (BMI)-matched healthy controls were included in the study. The hemogram, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), and lipid parameters of the subjects were studied and they all underwent pure tone audiometry and Transient evoked otoacoustic emission tests after an otologic examination. The hearing levels of the FMF group were significantly higher than those of the control group. The TEOAE signal/noise (S/N) ratios were similar in both groups. A positive relationship was present between the audiometric test results and the age, BMI, low-density lipoprotein and triglyceride levels and a negative relationship with the high-density lipoprotein levels. A negative relationship was present between the TEOAE S/N ratios and the age of the patients, duration without treatment, lipid parameters, inflammation markers and the creatinine level. FMF patients are exposed to chronic inflammation and this can influence their hearing levels. The age at diagnosis, duration without treatment, chronic inflammation, unfavorable lipid parameters, and obesity can affect hearing tests negatively.
Tinnitus is a heterogeneous hearing disorder with no cure at present, but some treatments, such as a combination of counselling and sound therapy, can alleviate the discomfort it causes. The sound therapy efficiency depends on both the type of sound stimulus and the time of exposure. This study describes the fundamentals of a personalized sound therapy that stimulates the auditory system with either continuous or sequential sounds whose spectra are adjusted to the hearing levels of the participants.
Stapes surgery is the gold standard for managing otosclerosis. It has become increasingly appreciated to perform endoscopic ear surgery worldwide as the field of endoscopy expands. In basic terms, a stapes surgery intends to restore ossicular mobility and therefore improve sound energy transduction into the inner ear, thereby improving communication and sound amplification and bringing hearing levels back to acceptable levels.
Objective: To ascertain the feasibility of simultaneous bilateral same-day endoscopic tympanoplasty in a secondary-level hospital in a developing country.
Material & Methods: A prospective interventional cohort study conducted at a secondary-care hospital in North India.
Inclusion Criteria: Consenting patients having bilateral perforations aged 10-50 years.
Neural diversity can expand the encoding capacity of a circuitry. A striking example of diverse structure and function is presented by the afferent synapses between inner hair cells (IHCs) and spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) in the cochlea. Presynaptic active zones at the pillar IHC side activate at lower IHC potentials than those of the modiolar side that have more presynaptic Ca channels.
