A range of chronic ear complaints may be attributed to Eustachian tube dysfunction. Eustachian tube dysfunction secondary to a deviated nasal septum has been described in several clinical studies, with symptomatic improvement demonstrated following septoplasty. However, uncertainty exists as to the size of the effect and consistency between studies.

Electronic searches were carried out of Pubmed, Embase and the Cochrane Library for adult patients with complaints of nasal obstruction and/or impairment and/or complaints of ear fullness undergoing nasal surgery.

Seven studies met the inclusion criteria. Studies evaluated the effect of nasal surgery on Eustachian tube dysfunction using a variety of outcomes, including Eustachian tube function tests, the Eustachian Tube Dysfunction Questionnaire-7, tympanometry and Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation scores. The results demonstrated the positive impact of nasal surgery on various outcomes related to Eustachian tube dysfunction.

Nasal surgery has been demonstrated to have promising results as a therapeutic option for patients with Eustachian tube dysfunction and a deviated nasal septum, offering significant symptom relief and improved quality of life. Through the integration of the treatment of nasal symptoms in the management of Eustachian tube dysfunction, clinicians can adopt a comprehensive approach to addressing the underlying pathologies contributing to Eustachian tube dysfunction.

Temporal bone osteoradionecrosis is a rare but significant complication of radiation for head and neck malignancies. Various management techniques have been described, but no clear protocol exists.

A retrospective case review of patients with temporal bone osteoradionecrosis managed over 15 years was carried out to highlight multidisciplinary team (MDT) management. The review findings were compared with the published literature and a protocol was derived for the management of future cases.

A total of 20 patients were included. The sites of osteoradionecrosis included the external auditory canal, the middle ear and the lateral skull base, presenting with features including recalcitrant pain, infection, neuropathies and intracranial sepsis. Treatments included hyperbaric oxygen, antibiotics, debridement and, in advanced cases, lateral temporal bone resection with vascularised tissue transfer. Post-operative and long-term outcomes were discussed.

Early temporal bone osteoradionecrosis may be managed conservatively. Refractory osteoradionecrosis can be life-threatening because of intracranial complications and sepsis. Such cases need an MDT approach with radical skull-base surgery for removal of necrotic foci and reconstruction using vascularised tissue transfer.

To establish outcomes following photobiomodulation therapy for tinnitus in humans and animal studies.

A systematic review and narrative synthesis was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. The databases searched were: Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (‘Central’), ClinicalTrials.gov and Web of Science including the Web of Science Core collection. There were no limits on language or year of publication.

The searches identified 194 abstracts and 61 full texts. Twenty-eight studies met the inclusion criteria, reporting outcomes in 1483 humans (26 studies) and 34 animals (2 studies). Photobiomodulation therapy parameters included 10 different wavelengths, and duration ranged from 9 seconds to 30 minutes per session. Follow up ranged from 7 days to 6 months.

Tinnitus outcomes following photobiomodulation therapy are generally positive and superior to no photobiomodulation therapy; however, evidence of long-term therapeutic benefit is deficient. Photobiomodulation therapy enables concentrated, focused delivery of light therapy to the inner ear through a non-invasive manner, with minimal side effects.