To investigate the association between Healthy Eating Index 2015 scores and hearing loss.

This study used cross-sectional data from individuals aged over 20 years (n = 5171) who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1999 to 2012 and from 2015 to 2018. Information was collected on their hearing, Healthy Eating Index 2015 scores, and several other important covariates using multivariate regression analyses.

After adjusting for potential confounders, when hearing loss was defined as ≥20 dB, the odds ratios for low-frequency and high-frequency hearing loss were 0.99 (95 per cent confidence interval (CI) = 0.98−0.99, p < 0.001) and 0.99 (95 per cent CI = 0.98−1, p = 0.006), respectively. When hearing loss was defined as >25 dB, the odds ratios for low-frequency hearing loss and speech-frequency band hearing loss were 0.98 (95 per cent CI = 0.98−0.99, p < 0.001) and 0.99 (95 per cent CI = 0.98−1, p = 0.008), respectively.

In U.S. adults, the Healthy Eating Index 2015 is associated with hearing loss.

To analyse the evolution of the vertigo index and its relationship with perceived disability in unilateral and bilateral Ménière’s disease, assessing differences based on disease progression and clinical subtypes.

A longitudinal descriptive study was conducted on unilateral and bilateral Ménière’s disease patients, with data collected between 1977 and 2023 from two referral centres. Clinical and functional data were retrospectively reviewed to ensure compliance with updated diagnostic criteria. The vertigo index, integrating episode duration and frequency, quantified vertigo burden. Functional impact was assessed using the six-item American Academy of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery disability scale, categorising patients into mild or moderate/severe disability groups.

Bilateral Ménière’s disease patients had a higher proportion of moderate/severe episodes (31.4 per cent) than unilateral Ménière’s disease patients (11 per cent). In unilateral Ménière’s disease patients, disability perception increased after 20 years of disease evolution. The vertigo index declined over time, except in later stages, where episodes were more disabling.

These findings underscore the need for long-term follow up, particularly in bilateral Ménière’s disease, where greater disability was observed. Disease management should adapt over time, addressing both vertigo burden and psycho-affective consequences.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the external auditory canal is rare, with bilateral cases even rarer. We report the management of a patient with bilateral external auditory canal squamous cell carcinoma related to radiotherapy and immunosuppression.

A 47-year-old woman with a history of radiotherapy 14 years prior and renal transplantation 6 years prior presented with bilateral external auditory canal squamous cell carcinoma. Squamous cell carcinoma was excised with a purely surgical approach. The two operations included a tympanic membrane graft to preserve hearing on the left side. The patient remains disease-free six months post-op. She uses a bone-conduction hearing aid to good effect on the right side and has mild hearing loss on the left. The operative areas have healed well.

The patient’s previous radiotherapy and immunosuppression may have contributed to her bilateral external auditory canal squamous cell carcinoma. Preventative positron emission tomography scans have the potential to identify second malignancies early, allowing more conservative treatment plans.

To compare the sound localisation abilities of bimodal cochlear implant and bilateral cochlear implant users.

A horizontal sound source discrimination task was conducted with 44 and 20 bimodal and bilateral cochlear implant users, respectively. Paired and two-sample t-tests were performed for paired and unpaired data, respectively.

The root mean square error scores of the bimodal cochlear implant and bilateral cochlear implant users were 75.77 ± 10.49° and 54.39 ± 19.82°, respectively. The bilateral cochlear implant users’ root mean square error score was significantly better than that of the bimodal cochlear implant users (t = 5.65, p < 0.001). The root mean square error scores of bimodal cochlear implant users with good and poor low-frequency hearing were 75.45 ± 11.07° and 76.10 ± 10.14°, respectively, with no significant intergroup difference (t = 0.20, p = 0.84).

Bilateral cochlear implantation may be more helpful for sound localisation in patients with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. The better low-frequency hearing threshold of the non-implanted ears did not result in better sound localisation ability in bimodal cochlear implant users.

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the Healthy Eating Index 2015 scores and hearing loss.

This study utilized cross-sectional data from individuals aged over 20 years (n = 5171) who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1999 to 2012 and 2015 to 2018. We collected information on their hearing, Healthy Eating Index 2015 scores and several other important covariates using multivariate regression analyses.

After adjusting for potential confounders, when hearing loss was defined as greater than or equal to 20 dB, the odds ratio for low-frequency hearing loss and high-frequency hearing loss was 0.99 (95 per cent confidence interval: 0.98–0.99; p < 0.001) and 0.99 (95 per cent confidence interval: 0.98–1; p = 0.006), respectively. When hearing loss was defined as greater than 25 dB, the odds ratio for low-frequency hearing loss and speech-frequency band hearing loss was 0.98 (95 per cent confidence interval: 0.98–0.99; p < 0.001) and 0.99 (95 per cent confidence interval: 0.98–1; p = 0.008), respectively.

In American adults, Healthy Eating Index scores are associated with hearing loss.

Sudden onset sensorineural hearing loss has been associated with infection by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2. However, little is known regarding how this differs from sudden onset sensorineural hearing loss of other aetiologies. This systematic review summarises existing literature on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 associated sudden onset sensorineural hearing loss treatment and outcomes.

A literature search using Ovid was performed for studies which evaluated treatments and outcomes of patients with sudden onset sensorineural hearing loss associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 infection.

A total of 99 studies were identified, from which 14 studies were selected for inclusion - collectively including 154 patients. Nine of these studies were single participant case reports and five were larger case series. Corticosteroid treatment varied between studies in terms of administration route, dose, and duration. Only 63/154 patients in this review achieved complete resolution of their symptoms following steroid treatment.

Oral, intravenous, and intratympanic steroids demonstrate a good safety profile. However, the majority of patients are left with unresolved hearing loss.

To describe the prevalence and characteristics of hearing loss in a self-referred adult cohort in low-income South African communities and to evaluate the effectiveness of a cerumen management protocol within a community-based service setting.

Hearing loss affects 1.5 billion people globally, with a disproportionate impact on individuals in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and the elderly, often attributed to age-related factors and cerumen impaction. Despite the high prevalence, access to ear and hearing care remains challenging, particularly in LMICs, such as Africa.

A total of 227 participants aged 43–102 were recruited from two community centres in low-income South African communities for hearing evaluation and cerumen management for those with cerumen impaction. A cross-sectional, predominantly quantitative approach was used.

Video otoscopy of 448 ears revealed normal findings in 57.9%, cerumen impaction in 29.1%, and other abnormalities in 1.3%. The prevalence of confirmed hearing loss was 97.8%, primarily mild (45.8%), and sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) was the most common (55.3%). Cerumen impaction accompanied hearing loss in 28.4% of cases. Post-treatment, 50.9% of participants with cerumen impaction showed normal otoscopy results, with mean hearing improvements of 16.2 dB (±17.9 SD) in the left ears and 15.8 dB (±17.2 SD) in the right ears, though overall significance was limited.

The high prevalence of hearing loss and cerumen impaction in low-income communities emphasizes the importance of ear care in primary healthcare (PHC) settings, especially for the elderly. Effective community-based cerumen management highlights the potential of integrating community resources and task-shifting strategies for cost-effective ear care in resource-limited settings.

This study aims to assess the pure tone auditory thresholds in infantry and artillery personnel to evaluate potential hearing loss and ascertain the effect of military service duration on these thresholds.

A total of 108 participants, comprising 35 infantry, 30 artillery personnel, and 43 healthy volunteers as controls, underwent conventional and high-frequency pure tone audiometry. Thresholds were measured across frequencies of 125–16000 Hz.

Artillery personnel exhibited significantly higher hearing thresholds compared to controls across various frequencies, particularly in the right ear. Infantry personnel showed elevated thresholds at specific frequencies in the left ear. Correlations were observed among age, years of service and number of shots fired.

Repetitive exposure to firearm noise can lead to significant hearing loss across a broad frequency range. Implementing comprehensive ear protection programs for military personnel is crucial to mitigate these risks.

The aim of this study was to compare the internet and social media use of teenagers with hearing loss with that of their normal hearing peers.

The study included 27 hearing-impaired and 27 normal-hearing peers (12–18 years). The Social Media Attitude Scale, the Internet Use Purposes Scale, University of California, Los Angeles Loneliness Scale and the Problematic Internet Use Scale were used to compare hearing-loss and normal-hearing groups.

The social isolation subscale and Social Media Attitude Scale total score differed between groups (p = 0.001 and p = 0.048, respectively). Internet Use Purposes Scale education subscale differences were statistically significant (p = 0.042). Negative consequences (p = 0.007), excessive use (p = 0.021) and Problematic Internet Use Scale total score (p = 0.005) differed significantly. The University of California, Los Angeles Loneliness Scale had a moderate negative connection with the Problematic Internet Use Scale's social benefit/comfort subscale and total score (r = 0.369, p = 0.006 and r = −0.309, p = 0.023, respectively).

While adolescents with hearing loss have limited online educational resources, problematic internet use is a concern. When overused, the internet can reduce loneliness, but it can also have harmful consequences.

To compare long-term impedance and functional outcomes between the round window and cochleostomy approaches in cochlear implantation patients.

Ninety prelingually deafened children who underwent unilateral cochlear implantation participated in this prospective observational study. Participants were divided into round window and cochleostomy groups. Impedance and speech perception were assessed at switch-on, and at 6, 12, and 24 months.

Impedance was similar between groups except at switch-on, where the cochleostomy group had higher basal turn impedance (2.41 vs 1.32 kΩ). At 24 months, speech outcomes were as follows: word recognition in quiet (round window 96.2 per cent, cochleostomy 95.3 per cent), word recognition in noise (round window 88.8 per cent, cochleostomy 87.4 per cent), sentence recognition (round window 78.2 per cent, cochleostomy 77.3 per cent), and vowel recognition (round window 91.2 per cent, cochleostomy 90.1 per cent).

No significant differences in impedance or speech outcomes were found between the round window and cochleostomy groups, except for higher basal-turn impedance at switch-on in the cochleostomy group, indicating more fibrosis.

Deafness is a leading cause of disability worldwide. This prospective cohort study investigates the impact of cochlear implants on self-reported quality of life in post-lingually deaf adults.

The self-administered 36-item World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 and the Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale questionnaires were prospectively used to investigate the impact of cochlear implants in 98 post-lingually deaf adults aged more than or equal to 50 years.

Quality of life improved post-cochlear implant in the cumulative scores and scores for all domains of the Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale (p < 0.05). QoL improved post-cochlear implant in the sub-domains related to cognition and participation in society of the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (p < 0.05), but there was no significant difference in the cumulative score. Subgroup analysis showed improvement in the participation in society domain only and only in males and participants aged younger than 75 years (p < 0.05).

Cochlear implant improves quality of life in post-lingually deaf adults.

In this study, the presence of dizziness in the late period was investigated in patients working in the Armed Forces who were exposed to blast trauma with a test battery consisting of cervical and ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials and the Dizziness Handicap Inventory.

Twenty-two healthy adult volunteers (44 healthy ears) and 25 military personnel (43 patient ears) who had blast trauma were included in the study. The cervical and ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potential tests were applied to the control and patient groups. The patient group also filled in the Dizziness Handicap Inventory.

The mean score of the Dizziness Handicap Inventory of the patient group was 14.80 ± 23.38. In cervical and ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potential tests there was no significant difference in the comparison of P1 latency, N1 latency and P1N1 amplitude between control and patient groups.

It was observed that the functions of otolith organs were not affected in the late period after blast trauma.

This study aimed to describe outcomes of paediatric stapes surgery at an academic tertiary care centre.

Electronic medical records of patients younger than 21 years who underwent stapedotomy between September 2013 and July 2020 were reviewed.

A total of 17 patients (7 male, 10 female) were included in our study; 14 underwent surgery on one ear while 3 underwent surgery on both ears (20 ears total). Mean pre-operative air-bone gap was 34.5 dB (standard deviation, 11). At three months, the mean post-operative air-bone gap was 20.6 dB (standard deviation, 10.2), with a mean improvement of 17 dB (standard deviation, 12.1). Sixty-four per cent of patients had closure of their air-bone gap to 20 dB or less. A negative correlation between pre-operative body-mass index and post-operative air-bone gap was statistically significant (n = 14, p = 0.03, r = -0.57 [95% confidence interval -0.85, -0.04]).

Paediatric stapedotomy can be effective and safe. In this cohort, age was not correlated with improvement in air-bone gap; pre-operative body mass index was significantly correlated with post-operative air-bone gap.

Congenital hearing loss is a chronic condition which occurs worldwide. In the past, investigations focused on testing the most common genes associated with hearing loss (such as Connexin 26-related hearing loss). Targeted testing of specific genes was requested only when a particular syndrome was suspected. Recent advances have led to the development of a large gene panel which utilises next-generation sequencing to simultaneously test for pathogenic variants in many genes associated with hearing loss.

This review article aims to highlight the changes in the approach to congenital hearing loss in the context of the R67 gene panel, and how its use may increase the efficiency of the diagnosis and management of this condition.

The use of this large gene panel has revolutionised the approach to hearing loss. Uptake of this large gene panel has resulted in prompter diagnosis and therefore more appropriate clinical management.

This study aimed to translate and validate the Attitude towards Loss of Hearing Questionnaire into the Arabic language and explore attitudes of working-age adults towards their hearing loss and hearing aids.

A cross-sectional investigation was conducted of 237 middle-aged Jordanians (18-65 years old) who have hearing loss using an online questionnaire during the period of October to December 2023.

The specialized experts in the field had an 88 per cent acceptance rate on all items of the Attitude towards Loss of Hearing Questionnaire. Five factors were loaded and explained a total of 58.37 per cent, confirming the validity of the Attitude towards Loss of Hearing Questionnaire Arabic version. All subscales of the Attitude towards Loss of Hearing Questionnaire surpass the normal values of Cronbach alpha. Several predictors of attitude towards loss of hearing were noted, including educational level, age, family members, income and marital status.

Addressing barriers to hearing aid use, such as psychosocial and economic, can improve hearing support and increase healthcare focus and collaboration among clinicians and stakeholders globally.

This study aimed to evaluate clinical characteristics, treatments and outcomes of paediatric temporal bone fractures at our institute.

A retrospective study of paediatric skull fractures confirmed by imaging from January 2010 to December 2022. Data on demographics, clinical presentations, injury mechanisms and complications were analysed, and fractures were categorised into otic capsule sparing (OCS) and violating (OCV).

Of 369 skull fracture cases, 88 (24 per cent) involved temporal bones, predominantly caused by falls and vehicle accidents. Common symptoms were loss of consciousness, hematoma, and hemotympanum, with complications like facial nerve injury and cerebrospinal fluid leaks in 3.4 per cent of cases. OCV fractures led to more severe complications, including hearing loss. Audiology showed 65 per cent without hearing impairment, while others had various degrees of loss.

Paediatric temporal bone fractures, particularly OCV types, pose significant challenges. Early detection and thorough management are vital, underscoring the need for consistent data collection and regular audiometric monitoring.

To compare the diagnostic accuracy of angled otoendoscopy with pure tone audiometry in predicting ossicular discontinuity in patients of mucosal chronic otitis media.

Ninety-four patients were included in this prospective study. A 2.7-mm 30° otoendoscope was used to examine ossicular status preoperatively. Hearing thresholds were recorded by pure tone audiometry. Intraoperative ossicular status was recorded as the gold standard. Otoendoscopic findings were recorded as per the criteria has been devised by the authors of this manuscript.

Otoendoscopy was conclusive in 56 (59.6 per cent) patients, with 100 per cent sensitivity, 95.56 per cent specificity, 84.62 per cent positive predictive value, and 100 per cent negative predictive value in the conclusive group. Overall (in 94 patients), diagnostic test values of otoendoscopy were 73.33 per cent sensitivity, 97.47 per cent specificity, 84.62 per cent positive predictive value, and 95.06 per cent negative predictive value. As per the ROC curve, air–bone gap > 38.12dB had the optimal diagnostic test values, with 73 per cent sensitivity, 72 per cent specificity, 33.3 per cent positive predictive value, and 93.4 per cent negative predictive value.

Angled otoendoscopy has better diagnostic accuracy (93.6 per cent) than pure tone audiometry (72.3 per cent; p < 0.001) for preoperative ossicular discontinuity prediction in patients of mucosal chronic otitis media.

This study aimed to compare the peripheral-to-central auditory systems of people with coronavirus disease 2019 to a well-matched control group and examine the long-term effects of coronavirus disease 2019 on the auditory system.

Participants who were outpatients of coronavirus disease 2019 (n = 30) were compared with a well-matched control group (n = 30). Behavioural and electrophysiological tests were performed, and tests were repeated at six months in the coronavirus disease 2019 group.

Statistically significant differences were observed in the right ear at 10 kHz (p = 0.007) and 12.5 kHz (p = 0.028), and in the left ear at 10 kHz (p = 0.040) and 12.5 kHz (p = 0.040) between groups. The groups had no difference regarding the other audiological test results (p > 0.05).

Extended high-frequency thresholds were affected in the coronavirus disease 2019 patients. No other findings indicated that the peripheral-to-central auditory system was affected. The effect on extended high-frequency thresholds appeared permanent, but no clinically significant new, late-onset auditory system effects were observed.

Bone conduction hearing implants are a well-established method of hearing rehabilitation in children and adults. This study aimed to review any changes in provision in England.

The total number of bone conduction hearing implantations performed was analysed from 2012 to 2021 utilising Hospital Episode Statistics data for England.

The total number of procedures has increased by 58 per cent. One-stage bone conduction hearing implantations in adults accounts for the largest proportion of this increase (93 per cent of the total). The number performed in children has remained stable and accounts for 73 per cent (n = 433) of all two-stage procedures.

The data show that bone conduction hearing implant surgery is becoming increasingly popular, particularly in adults. This has correlated with the increase in availability, national recommendations and choice of devices.