Although eustachian tuboplasty is in its infancy and specific criteria and indications for its use have not yet been established, researchers hope that it might provide a viable alternative to using pressure equalization tubes or tympanostomy for chronic eustachian tube dysfunction.
As spring spreads across the country, the change in temperature and slanting of the sun promises that summer is soon on its heels. For many primary care physicians and otolaryngologists, particularly those living in northern climes, that means an upsurge in people presenting with acute otitis externa, a condition that is estimated to afflict from 1 in 100 to 1 in 250 persons in the general population.
While Paul Kileny, MD, PhD, of the University of Michigan Medical Schoo, was treating patients with superior semicircular canal dehiscence (SSCD), he noticed something a bit strange: The patients had abnormal readings on electrocochleographic tests. And not just some of them-all of them did.
In a prospective study, researchers have found that most otitis media infections are associated with rhinovirus upper respiratory infections-making the prospect of a vaccine to prevent the ear infections remote.
As this article is being written, the presidential campaign is in the final heat, and all eyes are turning toward the finish line.
As of October 1, all audiologists who provide services to Medicare patients must use their own National Provider Identifier (NPI) on claims submitted to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
In September, the American Association of Otolaryngologists-Head and Neck Surgeons (AAO-HNS) published the first clinical practice guidelines on the removal of impacted cerumen (Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2008;139:S1-S21).