OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS OtoTrain is a Web-based otoscopy simulator that has previously been shown to have face and content validity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of this Web-based otoscopy simulator in teaching diagnostic otoscopy to novice learners STUDY DESIGN: Prospective, blinded randomized control trial. METHODS Second-year medical students were invited to ...

OBJECTIVE Medial olivocochlear efferent (MOCE) neurons innervate outer hair cells (OHCs) of the cochlea, which in turn leads to basilar membrane motion. We hypothesized that MOCE-induced alterations in basilar membrane motion, independent of traveling waves, is responsible for the cochlear frequency discrimination of sound. MATERIALS AND METHODS Eleven guinea pigs underwent bilateral otoscopi...

BACKGROUND Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHC) is the gold standard toward early hearing detection and intervention, hence the importance of its deliberation within the South African context. AIM To determine the feasibility of screening in low-risk neonates, using Otoacoustic Emissions (OAEs), within the Midwife Obstetric Unit (MOU) three-day assessment clinic at a Community Health Ce...

Dear Sir, There is considerable evidence suggesting a relation ship between autoimmune diseases and hearing impairment. As a specific entity, autoimmune sensorineural hearing loss (ASHL) has been reported to occur in association with autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We wanted to draw attention to this relationship by a case with RA presented sudden hearing loss. Our case w...

OBJECTIVE To determine (1) the prevalence of external auditory exostoses in a population of surfers and (2) the relationship between the length of time spent surfing and the prevalence, severity, and location of the exostoses. DESIGN Cross-sectional epidemiological study. SETTING General community. PATIENTS Three hundred seven avid surfers (93.5% males and 6.5% females; age distributions:...

OBJECTIVE Pendred syndrome (PS) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterised by sensorineural hearing loss and thyroid dyshormonogenesis. It is caused by biallelic mutations in the SLC26A4 gene encoding for pendrin. Hypothyroidism in PS can be present from birth and therefore diagnosed by neonatal screening. The aim of this study was to examine the SLC26A4 mutation spectrum and prevalence a...

OBJECTIVES To establish normative data required for recording Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) using monaural stimulations in children with normal hearing. METHODS This study was conducted on 40 apparently healthy children. Database was collected after assessing with otological questionnaire, otoscopic examination and audiometric evaluation. Brainstem Evoked Response Audiometry (BERA) was us...

BACKGROUND A number of studies have documented the influence of cigarette smoking on hearing. However, the association between sex and hearing impairment in smokers as measured by otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) has not been clearly established. The aim of this study was to analyze sex-specific effects of smoking on hearing via conventional and ultra-high-frequency pure tone audiometry (PTA), and ...

Gout is a common metabolic disease and is characterized by episodic acute and chronic arthritis caused by the deposition of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals in joints and connective tissues. The most commonly involved joint is the first metatarsophalangeal joint. It may also present with nonspecific complaints caused by gouty tophi in unusual sites of the body such as the spine, bone, and middle...

OBJECTIVES Combined mastoidectomy is generally preferred to tympanoplasty alone when treating patients with chronic otitis media (COM), particularly when temporal bone computed tomography (TBCT) shows that the mastoid cavity contains opacification of soft tissue density. However, in cases with Eustachian tube dysfunction, a mastoid cavity volume may be a burden to its function. We hypothesized ...