Does concomitant mastoidectomy improve outcomes for patients undergoing repair of tympanic membrane perforations? Background: Controversy currently exists regarding the appropriate treatment of tympanic membrane perforations resulting from chronic suppurative otitis media […]
A Review of Contemporary Management of Vestibular Schwannomas
What are important parameters that should be considered in the treatment decisions for vestibular schwannomas? Background: The advent of stereotactic radiosurgery and its widespread use during the past decade have led […]
Increasing Evidence that PDE-5 Inhibitors Can Cause Hearing Loss
While recent reports show that phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) inhibitors can cause sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL), what is the global experience of this phenomenon? Background: SSHL has been reported after the ingestion […]
VR Simulator Training Improves Cadaveric Temporal Bone Dissection
Can supervised training with a virtual reality (VR) simulator improve performance in cadaver temporal bone dissection? Background: Cadaveric temporal bone dissection exercises are the cornerstones of otologic surgical training, but there […]
Socioeconomic Disparity Seen in Families of Hearing-Impaired Children
What are the disparities in socioeconomic status and health care utilization in hearing-impaired children? Background: Multiple barriers potentially contribute to health disparities experienced by children with hearing loss. These can include […]
Patients Report Long-Term Benefits with Bone-Anchored Hearing Device
For the long-term use of a bone-anchored hearing device for single-sided deafness or profound unilateral sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), what are the perceived benefits, complications and device malfunction rate? Background: For […]
High-Resolution CT and Diffusion-Weighted MRI Combo Improves Pediatric Cholesteatoma Detection
Does the technique of fusing MRI images with high-resolution CT images improve the efficiency of detecting recurrent cholesteatoma in children, in particular for small cholesteatomas? Background: Radiographic documentation of small recurrent […]
Hearing Conservation Program Helps Elementary School Children
What is the efficacy of a hearing conservation program in changing acoustic risk taking and hearing conservation behaviors in elementary school children? Background: Approximately 30 million North Americans have speech-frequency hearing […]
Disposable Sterile Sheaths Effective Against Cross-Contamination
What is the efficacy of sterile sheath use to prevent cross-contamination when using a fiberoptic nasopharyngolaryngoscope (FNPL) in an otolaryngology clinic? Background: After each use of FNPL, the endoscope must be […]
Babbling Is Necessary for Speech and Language Development
What is the importance of pre-linguistic vocalization? Background: The characterization and significance of pre-linguistic vocalization has long been the subject of research and debate. Pre-linguistic vocalization can generally be classified into […]