Low-frequency pitch sensitivity and speech perception performance in adult cochlear implant users fitted with fine structure strategies.

Purpose: Cochlear implant (CI) users may perceive pitch changes via repetition rate (RP) and place-of-stimulation (PP) coding mechanisms. This study investigated whether CI users fitted with fine structure (FS) strategies can discriminate low-frequency (LF) pitch changes via RP and whether RP performers show better speech recognition than PP performers.

Methods: Thirty postlingually deafened adult CI users (15 unilateral, 15 bilateral) participated in this study.

A 3D-Printed Educational Model for First-Line Management of BPPV in Emergency Departments.

Background: We present a feasibility study on the development of a 3D-printed (3DP) model of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) and its validation as an educational tool for training in therapeutic maneuvers.

Methods: A 1.5:1 3DP model of the human labyrinth, supplemented by a 1:1 3DP model of the skull, was obtained from a computed tomography scan.

Unilateral versus bilateral stapes surgery: A comparative study on auditory outcome and quality of life.

Otosclerosis is a well-known disease which mainly affects middle-aged female patients, causing conductive or mixed hearing loss. Diagnosis is essentially made through a complete audiometric battery testing, while treatment substantially relies on stapes surgery. In this study, we analyzed audiometric and Quality-of-Life data from 33 patients in order to refine the surgical indications (unilateral versus bilateral stapes surgery) and assess the best technique (stapedotomy versus partial stapedectomy) and timing of treatment.

Follow-up strategies in pediatric cholesteatoma: a systematic review.

Purpose: The aim of this article was to systematically review the literature on the pediatric population surgically treated for cholesteatoma and describe the applied post-operative follow-up strategies.

Methods: A systematic review was conducted following the Primary Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) statement recommendations. After running the selected search string in PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar, studies in English, reporting on surgically treated pediatric cholesteatoma patients (age younger or equal to 18 year-old) were retrieved.

Predicting Matrix Test Effectiveness for Evaluating Auditory Performance in Noise Using Pure-Tone Audiometry and Speech Recognition in Quiet in Cochlear Implant Recipients.

Introduction: Auditory performance in noise of cochlear implant recipients can be assessed with the adaptive Matrix test (MT); however, when the speech-to-noise ratio (SNR) exceeds 15 dB, the background noise has any negative impact on the speech recognition. Here, we aim to evaluate the predictive power of aided pure-tone audiometry and speech recognition in quiet and establish cut-off values for both tests that indicate whether auditory performance in noise can be assessed using the Matrix sentence test in a diffuse noise environment.

Methods: Here, we assessed the power of pure-tone audiometry and speech recognition in quiet to predict the response to the MT.

Low-frequency pitch coding: relationships with speech-in-noise and music perception by pediatric populations with typical hearing and cochlear implants.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the effects of low frequency (LF) pitch perception on speech-in-noise and music perception performance by children with cochlear implants (CIC) and typical hearing (THC). Moreover, the relationships between speech-in-noise and music perception as well as the effects of demographic and audiological factors on present research outcomes were studied.

Methods: The sample consisted of 22 CIC and 20 THC (7-10 years).

High-Definition 3D Exoscope in Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology: A Systematic Literature Review.

Unlabelled: This PRISMA-compliant systematic review aimed to investigate the use of and the most common procedures performed with the novel 3D 4K exoscope in surgical pediatric head and neck settings.

Methods: Search criteria were applied to PubMed, EMBASE and the Cochrane Review databases and included all studies published up to January 2023 reporting 3D 4K exoscope-assisted surgeries in pediatric patients. After the removal of duplicates, selection of abstracts and full-text articles, and quality assessment, we reviewed eligible articles for number of patients treated, age, surgical procedures, and outcomes.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on paediatric otolaryngology: a nationwide study.

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly modified the work routine in healthcare; however, its impact on the field of paediatric otorhinolaryngology (ORL) has been rarely investigated. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of COVID-19 on paediatric ORL.

Methods: A questionnaire was developed by the Young Otolaryngologists of the Italian Society of ORL-Head and Neck Surgery (GOS).

Surgical Management of Intractable Meniere's Disease.

Meniere's Disease (MD) is an inner ear disorder characterized by spontaneous recurrent vertigo, fluctuating sensorineural hearing loss, aural fullness and low-pitch tinnitus. Therapeutic management of MD includes dietary restriction and medical therapy. A minority of cases is characterized by frequent vertigo attacks, progressive hearing loss and persistent tinnitus even through the continuous medical treatments; this condition is called intractable MD and requires a therapeutic escalation from non-invasive medical treatment to surgical intervention.

Hearing attention and quality of listening in children with unilateral hearing loss with and without hearing aid.

Objective: To analyse hearing attention and quality of listening in a cohort of children affected by moderate to severe unilateral hearing loss, comparing a group of hearing aid users to children with no hearing aid.

Methods: Twenty-four children (12 hearing aid users, and 12 without hearing rehabilitation) underwent audiological evaluation with speech audiometry in quiet and noise, hearing attention tests, and the speech, spatial and quality of hearing questionnaire in the version for parents.

Results: Concerning speech audiometry in noise, in the most difficult condition no one in the unaided group achieved a normal speech recognition threshold score (0% 11.

Cochlear implant in immune mediated inner ear diseases: Impedance variations and clinical outcomes.

Objective: Immune-mediated inner ear disease (IMIED) might cause severe/profound hearing loss and these patients are considered ideal candidates to cochlear implant (CI) surgery. The aim of the study was to evaluate impedance changes over time.

Method: The Study Group (SG) was composed of CI IMIED patients (31 ears) and a Control Group (CG) of CI patients with hearing loss not related to their immune system (31 ears).

Pupillometry Assessment of Speech Recognition and Listening Experience in Adult Cochlear Implant Patients.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the pupillary response to word identification in cochlear implant (CI) patients. Authors hypothesized that when task difficulty (i.e.

Bimodal cochlear implantation in elderly patients.

Objective: Bimodal stimulation is a standard option for asymmetric hearing loss in adults. Questions have been raised whether receiving two stimulations may conflict in elderly listeners where the central integration of an acoustic/electrical signal may be very important to obtain benefit in terms of speech perception.

Design: Clinical retrospective study.

fMRI in Bell's Palsy: Cortical Activation is Associated with Clinical Status in the Acute and Recovery Phases.

Background And Purpose: Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we explored cortical activation in patients with acute Bell's palsy (BP) and analyzed its correlates with clinical status in the acute phase, and with 6-month outcome.

Methods: Twenty-four right-handed patients with acute BP within 15 days of onset and 24 healthy controls underwent fMRI during performance of unilateral active (hemi-smiling) and passive lip movement tasks with both the paretic and the normal lip. The degree of paresis was evaluated during the acute stage and at the 6-month follow up using the House-Brackmann (HB) grading scale.

Laser Microsurgery Versus Radiotherapy Versus Open Partial Laryngectomy for T2 Laryngeal Carcinoma: A Systematic Review of Oncological Outcomes.

Introduction: The aim of the current systematic review is to update the pooled survival outcome of patients with T2 glottic carcinoma treated with either laser surgery (CO transoral laser microsurgery [CO TOLMS]), radiotherapy (RT), or open partial laryngectomy (OPL).

Methods: A systematic search was performed using the MEDLINE database, Scopus, and Google scholar. The inclusion criteria were studies of patients with T2N0 glottic tumor, treated with either primary CO TOLMS, definitive curative RT, or primary OPL, and with reported oncological outcome at 5 years calculated with a Kaplan-Meier or Cox regression method.

Alcohol binge-drinking damage on the vestibulo-oculomotor reflex.

Purpose: Binge drinking is associated with several adverse effects in multiple organs. This study aimed at evaluating the effects of a binge-like-drinking on the vestibulo-oculomotor reflex (VOR) using the video Head Impulse Test (vHIT) and the functional Head Impulse Test (fHIT).

Methods: Eleven healthy men (age range 32-35 years) with moderate drinking habits and no history of vestibular dysfunction were enrolled.

Hyperacusis in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Preliminary Study.

The association between hyperacusis and developmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorders has been extensively reported in the literature; however, the specific prevalence of hyperacusis in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has never been investigated. In this preliminary study, we evaluated the presence of hyperacusis in a small sample of children affected by ADHD compared to a control group of healthy children. Thirty normal hearing children with a diagnosis of ADHD and 30 children matched for sex and age were enrolled in the study.

Dynamic Changes in Synaptic Plasticity Genes in Ipsilateral and Contralateral Inferior Colliculus Following Unilateral Noise-induced Hearing Loss.

Unilateral noise-induced hearing loss reduces the input to the central auditory pathway disrupting the excitatory and inhibitory inputs to the inferior colliculus (IC), an important binaural processing center. Little is known about the compensatory synaptic changes that occur in the IC as a consequence of unilateral noise-induced hearing loss. To address this issue, Sprague-Dawley rats underwent unilateral noise exposure resulting in severe unilateral hearing loss.

Isolated auditory neuropathy at birth in congenital cytomegalovirus infection.

Background: Congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection is the most frequent non-genetic cause of sensorineural hearing-loss (SNHL) (i.e., hearing loss due to a cochlear and/or auditory nerve damage).

Systemic Amyloidosis: a Contemporary Overview.

Amyloidosis constitutes a large spectrum of diseases characterized by an extracellular deposition of a fibrillar aggregate, generating insoluble and toxic amasses that may be deposited in tissues in bundles with an abnormal cross-β-sheet conformation, known as amyloid. Amyloid may lead to a cell damage and an impairment of organ function. Several different proteins are recognized as able to produce amyloid fibrils with a different tissue tropism related to the molecular structure.

Autoimmune vertigo: an update on vestibular disorders associated with autoimmune mechanisms.

The role of the immune system in mediating cochleovestibular pathologies has received increasing attention in recent years. Autoimmune vertigo may be an invalidating condition and may worsen the quality of life of affected patients, especially in the cases of delayed diagnosis. Since the etiopathogenesis is still not clear, also the treatment is not yet completely delineated.

Universal newborn hearing screening in the Lazio region, Italy.

Background: The introduction of Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS) programs has drastically contributed to the early diagnosis of hearing loss in children, allowing prompt intervention with significant results on speech and language development in affected children. UNHS in the Lazio region has been initially deliberated in 2012; however, the program has been performed on a universal basis only from 2015. The aim of this retrospective study is to present and discuss the preliminary results of the UNHS program in the Lazio region for the year 2016, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the program.

Fluctuating Hearing Loss in the Only Hearing Ear: Cochlear Implantation in the Contralateral Deaf Side.

Objective To investigate the hearing performance of adult patients presenting unilateral deafness with contralateral fluctuating hearing loss who received a cochlear implant on the deaf side. Study Design Case series with chart review. Setting University tertiary referral center.