Allergic rhinitis is associated with excess specific immunoglobulin E. Inner ear involvement (via both cellular and humoral immunity) is poorly understood, but appears to arise from the endolymphatic sac and duct.

To assess the otological and audiological status of patients with allergic rhinitis.

Thirty allergic rhinitis patients (14 men, 16 women; age 17–45 years, mean 31 years) and 20 controls (12 men, eight women; age 21–42 years, mean 27 years) underwent audiological investigation.

All study group patients had sensorineural (rather than conductive) hearing loss, worse at high frequencies. All had abnormal transient evoked otoacoustic emissions and 27 had abnormal distortion product otoacoustic emissions. All had a statistically significantly prolonged wave I latency, and shortened absolute wave I–III and I–V interpeak latencies, compared with controls.

Allergic rhinitis patients had a higher prevalence of hearing loss and otoacoustic emission abnormalities than controls. The endolymphatic sac can process antigens and produce its own local antibody response; the resulting inflammatory mediators and toxic products may interfere with hair cell function. Additional research is needed to determine the clinical value of audiometry and otoacoustic emission testing in allergic rhinitis.

To evaluate symptom scores and nasal smear cytology findings in seasonal allergic rhinitis patients, before and after treatment.

Twenty-nine consecutive adult patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis were evaluated prospectively. They received mometasone furoate nasal spray and cetirizine for 21 days. Nasal and ocular symptom scores were recorded before and after treatment. Nasal cytology was also assessed as a means of determining treatment.

The combined use of an intranasal corticosteroid and an oral antihistamine caused a significant improvement in nasal and ocular symptom scores. Cytological evaluation revealed significant reduction in nasal eosinophil, neutrophil and goblet cell counts after three weeks' treatment.

Symptom scoring systems are widely used for the evaluation of drug efficacy in allergic rhinitis treatment. When investigating the disease and evaluating treatment efficacy, objective as well as subjective methods are needed. Nasal cytological assessment is a simple, objective method which provides valuable information about the nasal mucosa.

To investigate microbiological biofilm contamination of retrieved bone-anchored hearing aids.

Nine failed, retrieved bone-anchored hearing aids and 16 internal screws were examined by scanning electron microscopy. A fixture from a failing implant, which had been removed and disassembled under aseptic conditions, was cultured. Finally, an internal screw from a new, unimplanted fixture was examined by scanning electron microscopy.

Debris was seen on the fixture and abutment of all bone-anchored hearing aids, and on the heads of the 16 internal screws. On eight screws, biofilm extended down the shaft to the threads, where it was several micrometres thick. Culture of a failing fixture yielded staphylococcus. The new, unimplanted fixture internal screw showed evidence of scratching and metallic debris on the threads, which may interfere with close fitting of the screw and subsequently facilitate microleakage.

There may be a link between internal microbial contamination and failure of bone-anchored hearing aids.

To assess the influence on speech intelligibility of various signals used in tinnitus sound therapy.

We measured, in normal hearing subjects, the intelligibility of speech in the presence of three different sound therapy signals: wide-band noise, a recording of moving water, and a combination of tones.

For a given level of stimulation, speech intelligibility was worst in the presence of wide-band noise, compared with the other sound therapy signals. When the stimulation level of the three different signals was increased, speech intelligibility deteriorated more rapidly with wide-band noise, compared with the other two signals. The combination of tones had the least influence on speech intelligibility.

The use of different tinnitus sound therapy signals can lead to significantly different effects on the intelligibility of speech. The use of natural sound recordings or combinations of tones may provide the patient with more flexibility to change the stimulation level during treatment.

We report a prospective, randomised study of 51 patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo treated with Epley's manoeuvre alone or Epley's manoeuvre plus labyrinthine sedative, at Sundaram Medical Foundation, Chennai, India.

To compare the efficacy of Epley's manoeuvre versus Epley's manoeuvre plus labyrinthine sedative in the treatment of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.

Consecutive patients were selected based on history and positive Dix–Hallpike test. Patients were randomised to receive either Epley's manoeuvre alone or Epley's manoeuvre plus labyrinthine sedative for one week. Both groups were followed up for four weeks.

Univariate analysis showed that one- and four-week outcomes were influenced by the number of episodes, symptom duration and treatment type. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the one-week outcome was significantly influenced by symptom duration and treatment type, while the four-week outcome was significantly influenced by symptom duration alone. Patients receiving Epley's manoeuvre alone showed better recovery than those receiving both Epley's manoeuvre and labyrinthine sedative.

Labyrinthine sedatives do not aid recovery from benign paroxysmal positional vertigo when used in addition to Epley's manoeuvre.

To evaluate the correlation between caloric and vestibular evoked myogenic potential test results, initial audiogram data, and early hearing recovery, in patients with idiopathic sudden hearing loss.

One hundred and four patients with unilateral idiopathic sudden hearing loss underwent complete neurotological evaluation. Results for vestibular evoked myogenic potential and caloric testing were compared with patients' initial and final audiograms.

Overall, abnormal vestibular evoked myogenic potential responses occurred in 28.8 per cent of patients, whereas abnormal caloric test results occurred in 50 per cent. A statistically significant relationship was found between the type of inner ear lesion and the incidence of profound hearing loss. Moreover, a negative correlation was found between the extent of the inner ear lesion and the likelihood of early recovery.

In patients with idiopathic sudden hearing loss, the extent of the inner ear lesion tends to correlate with the severity of cochlear damage. Vestibular assessment may be valuable in predicting the final outcome.

Transtympanic administration of gentamicin may be suitable to achieve unilateral vestibular ablation, in order to control unilateral Ménière's disease. In low doses, gentamicin appears to affect selectively the vestibular system, with relative sparing of the cochlea. An experimental study on guinea pigs was conducted to determine what single dose of gentamicin would produce a unilateral vestibular organ lesion when applied to the middle ear.

Experimental and prospective.

Four groups of guinea pigs received different gentamicin doses (1, 5, 10 and 25 mg) administered to the middle ear. The animals' vestibular organs were then assessed by scanning electron microscopy, in order to quantify the level of vestibular damage.

Study of the utricular macula and the ampullar crista of the lateral semicircular canal revealed vestibular neuroepithelial lesions in all infused ears.

The severity of the vestibular neuroepithelial lesions was dose-dependent. Lower gentamicin doses were observed to damage vestibular structures more than cochlear structures.

To compare anatomical and audiological outcomes of ring versus ‘Mercedes-Benz’ cartilage-perichondrium graft tympanoplasty in patients with pars tensa cholesteatoma.

Prospective clinical study.

Otolaryngology department, Tanta University Hospital, Egypt.

Patients and methods: Over three years, 60 ears in 60 patients underwent surgery for either sinus or tensa retraction cholesteatoma, reconstructed using either a ring-shaped (30 ears) or Mercedes-Benz symbol shaped (30 ears) cartilage-perichondrium graft, with at least two years' follow up. Post-operative drum perforation and retraction, cholesteatoma residue and recurrence, middle-ear effusion, and hearing acuity were monitored.

Anatomical outcomes were equivalent in both groups, but slightly better in the Mercedes group. Hearing improved significantly in both groups (pre- vs post-operative results), but significantly more so in the ring group. Within-group hearing outcomes were unaffected by cholesteatoma type or tympanoplasty type.

The Mercedes-Benz technique may be superior to the ring technique in preventing neodrum retraction. However, the ring graft technique had better hearing outcomes, perhaps due to its more physiological design.

Stapedotomy produces the best hearing results of any otological operation. However, in a small number of cases the air–bone gap is not successfully closed, or conductive hearing loss recurs.

To investigate the proportion of cases in the senior author's series which required revision surgery and to determine the medium to long term success rate of surgery, taking into account the results of revision surgery.

Review of a series of 233 primary stapedotomy operations and 100 revision procedures carried out by one surgeon over a 20-year period.

Closure of the air–bone gap to within 10 dB was achieved in 80 per cent of cases following the primary procedure. Fifteen per cent of patients developed a recurrence of conductive hearing loss. When the results of revision surgery were taken into account, the proportion of ears with a mean air–bone gap of less than 10 dB was 86 per cent. However, of the patients undergoing revision surgery, air–bone gap closure to within 10 dB was only achieved in 52 per cent of cases.

The best chance of obtaining a successful outcome in stapedotomy is to achieve this for the first procedure. However, revision surgery does increase the medium to long term success rate.

To determine the frequency of cholesteatoma in a population of patients with chronic suppurative otitis media, and to determine whether this frequency is affected by ethnicity.

The study included 6005 patients with chronic suppurative otitis media seen during the course of 30 charitable surgical ‘ear camps’ in Nepal.

Proportion of patients with each subtype of disease, and their ethnicity. A secondary outcome measure was concordance of surname with Nepalese ethnic affiliation.

A total of 762 patients were grouped as being of Tibeto-Mongolian origin, and 4875 as Indo-Caucasian. The rate of chronic suppurative otitis media with cholesteatoma, expressed as a proportion of the rate of all chronic suppurative otitis media subtypes, was 17.8 per cent in Tibeto-Mongolian patients and 18.6 per cent in Indo-Caucasian patients (p > 0.05). The effect of other risk factors (i.e. age, gender and geographical district) on disease distribution was also non-significant. Analysis of secondary outcome measures indicated that patients' surnames were a reliable predictor of ethnicity in this Nepalese population.

There is almost complete concordance in proportions of patients with significant genetic, cultural, and even geographical heterogeneity, suggesting that, in Nepal, the aetiology of cholesteatoma owes little to these factors.

Structured training in endoscopic sinus surgery is essential, considering the serious potential complications. We have developed a detailed endoscopic endonasal surgery training programme, using a lamb's head model. This study aimed to assess the possibilities of using such a model for endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy training.

Dacryocystography was performed on lamb's head models, which were then meticulously dissected, both macroscopically and endoscopically, to assess the nasolacrimal system.

Dacryocystography showed the absence of a lacrimal sac in all the lamb's heads dissected. This result was confirmed by dissection.

Lamb's heads are excellent models with which to teach endoscopic sinus surgery techniques. However, this study clearly demonstrated the absence of a lacrimal sac in all such models dissected. Thus, this animal model is inappropriate for endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy training.

Silent sinus syndrome is characterised by spontaneous enophthalmos and hypoglobus, in association with chronic atelectasis of the maxillary sinus, and in the absence of signs or symptoms of intrinsic sinonasal inflammatory disease. Traditionally, correction of the enophthalmos involved reconstruction of the orbital floor, which was performed simultaneously with sinus surgery. Recently, there has been increasing evidence to support the performance of uncinectomy and antrostomy alone, then orbital floor reconstruction as a second-stage procedure if needed.

We performed a retrospective review of 23 cases of chronic maxillary atelectasis managed in our unit with endoscopic uncinectomy and antrostomy alone. All patients were operated upon by the same surgeon.

Twenty-two of the 23 patients had either complete or partial resolution. One patient had ongoing enophthalmos, and was considered for an orbital floor reconstruction as a second-stage procedure.

Our case series demonstrates that dynamic changes in orbital floor position can occur after sinus re-ventilation. These findings support the approach of delaying orbital floor reconstruction in cases of silent sinus syndrome treated with sinus re-ventilation, as such reconstruction may prove unnecessary over time.

Deafness is a major problem in developing countries. Rural communities tend to be affected more than urban ones, and chronic otitis media is common. The World Health Organization has proposed primary ear care as a method of providing otological services in developing countries. This study aimed to assess the diagnostic otoscopy skills of community ear assistants in rural Western Nepal.

Community ear assistants undertook the pre-operative evaluation of 92 patients selected for middle-ear surgery in an ‘ear camp’ setting. The otoscopy skills of community ear assistants were also assessed by means of an otoscopy quiz. Consultant otologists and trainee otolaryngologists underwent an identical assessment.

The community ear assistants' selection of patients for middle-ear surgery concurred with the consultant otologists' opinion in 87 of 92 patients (94.5 per cent). The level of community ear assistants' otoscopy skills was between that of junior and senior otolaryngology trainees.

With intensive training, medically unqualified community ear assistants can develop otoscopy skills comparable to those of medically qualified otolaryngology trainees. These results support the development of primary ear care in poorer countries where access to specialist otological services is difficult or impossible.

To investigate the correlation between cochlear processing and brainstem processing.

Transient evoked otoacoustic emissions and speech-evoked auditory brainstem responses were recorded in 40 ears of normal-hearing individuals aged 18 to 23 years. Correlation analyses compared transient evoked otoacoustic emission parameters with speech-evoked auditory brainstem response parameters.

There was a significant correlation between speech-evoked auditory brainstem response wave V latency and transient evoked otoacoustic emission global emission strength; there were no other significant correlations between the two tests.

Tests for transient evoked otoacoustic emissions and speech-evoked auditory brainstem responses provide unique and functionally independent information about the integrity and sensitivity of the auditory system. Therefore, combining both tests will provide a more sensitive clinical battery with which to identify the location of different disorders (e.g. language-based learning impairments and hearing impairments).

To review outcomes following implantation of an 8.5 mm bone-anchored hearing aid abutment, as regards post-operative management of scalp soft tissue overgrowth.

Retrospective chart review of paediatric and adult patients implanted with bone-anchored hearing aids between 2003 and 2008 who subsequently underwent revision surgery for excessive soft tissue growth.

A tertiary referral centre and a private otology and neurotology clinic.

A total of 80 patients underwent bone-anchored hearing aid placement between 2003 and 2008. Of these patients, 14 had significant scalp soft tissue overgrowth unresponsive to first-line, nonsurgical local wound care.

Fourteen patients underwent an average of 2.1 surgical procedures each for soft tissue overgrowth around their bone-anchored hearing aid abutment. The mean time between initial implantation and revision surgery was 13.6 months. Of these 14 patients, 11 were eventually fitted with an 8.5 mm abutment. Following placement of the longer abutment, only one patient required additional surgical reduction of soft tissue overgrowth (mean follow-up time 11.8 months). All patients were able to use their bone-anchored hearing aid.

The 8.5 mm bone-anchored hearing aid abutment is successful in preventing the need for additional surgical intervention in the small but significant number of patients with post-implantation soft tissue overgrowth. Early consideration should be given to this option when first-line soft tissue care is inadequate.

Cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhoea is the abnormal leakage of cerebrospinal fluid into the nasal cavity. The posterior wall of the frontal sinus can be the site of such leakage. Traditionally, these leaks were repaired via external osteoplastic or neurosurgical approaches. Despite advances in instrumentation, it is difficult to manage superiorly or laterally placed defects endoscopically. We present a new technique of endoscopic repair of frontal sinus posterior wall defects, via access holes drilled in the anterior wall of the frontal sinus.

Preliminary study involving patients presenting with frontal sinus cerebrospinal fluid leaks, with defects in the frontal sinus posterior wall, between 2006 and 2010.

Patients were treated in a tertiary referral centre for nose and sinus diseases. Patient records were reviewed and analysed.

Nine patients underwent external frontal sinusotomy under endoscopic vision. Repair was successful in all cases, with no complications. Follow up ranged from three months to three years.

External frontal sinusotomy and endoscopic repair is a simple, precise and cosmetically acceptable alternative to osteoplastic and major neurosurgical techniques for management of frontal sinus posterior wall defects. This new, previously undescribed technique enables otolaryngologists to play a role in managing such defects.

Tumours of nasal skin or mucosa are common, and can usually be treated with limited surgical excision or radiotherapy. This paper highlights a subset of high risk tumours which require rhinectomy for complete oncological clearance.

Retrospective case note review of 14 patients undergoing rhinectomy for nasal tumours. Clinical and histological findings, treatment and outcome are reviewed and discussed.

Forty-three per cent of patients had recurrent disease and underwent rhinectomy as a salvage procedure following previous surgery or radiotherapy. Most tumours (79 per cent) were basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma. After a mean follow up of 30.1 months (range, zero to 96 months), seven patients (50 per cent) were alive and disease-free. Reconstruction was most commonly with a prosthesis.

Rhinectomy is an oncologically sound procedure for the management of high risk nasal malignancies. Prosthetic rehabilitation can be an excellent alternative to surgery, particularly in those patients unsuitable for major reconstruction.

We report an ex vivo and in vivo experimental study of a device designed to measure tympanic membrane movement under normal and pathological conditions, assessed using optical coherence tomography.

We designed two types of flexible, round film patch with integrated strain gauge, to be attached to the tympanic membrane in order to measure tympanic membrane movement. Tympanic membrane attachment was assessed using optical coherence tomography. The devices were tested experimentally using an ex vivo model with varying middle-ear pressure.

Optical coherence tomography reliably assessed attachment of the film patch to the tympanic membrane, before and after middle-ear pressure changes. Strain gauge voltage changes were directly proportional to middle-ear pressure recordings, for low pressure changes. Tympanic membrane perforations smaller than 2 mm could be sealed off with the film patch.

Attachment of the film patch with integrated strain gauge to the tympanic membrane was not ideal. Nevertheless, the strain gauge was able to precisely detect small pressure changes within the middle ear, in this experimental model.

To investigate the long-term survival rate of bone-anchored hearing aid implants, and to assess the number of patients who stop using their bone-anchored hearing aid.

Patients who underwent bone-anchored hearing aid surgery between September 1977 and December 1986 were identified from a prospective database. Data were collected from patient records.

During the study period, 143 patients were fitted with a bone-anchored hearing aid. Records from 132 patients were found, with a mean follow up of nine years. A total of 150 implants were installed in these patients. A total of 41 implants (27 per cent) were lost during follow up: 17 lost osseointegration, 16 were removed and eight were lost due to direct trauma. At the end of follow up, 119/132 (90 per cent) patients were still using their bone-anchored hearing aid.

Despite a high incidence of implant loss over time, a large number of patients still continued to use their bone-anchored hearing aid.