Case Report: In this paper, an unusual case of bilateral SSNHL secondary to bilateral CVT with rapid and complete recovery is reported. The patient presented with sudden bilateral hearing loss associated with some neurological symptoms. Initial computed tomography (CT) venography revealed a CVT of bilateral transverse sinuses. The patient was started on an anticoagulant and imaging was repeated after five days, revealing the absence of the thrombosis. Serial pure tone audiometry (PTA) showed complete recovery of bilateral hearing within 10 days.
Conclusion: Early detection and intervention may fasten hearing recovery and improve the quality of life. The immediate restoration of venous blood flow and intracranial pressure may lead to the complete recovery of bilateral hearing loss.
STUDY DESIGN: Prospective, intra-subject repeated measurements of which each subject is his/her own control, from year 2012 to 2016 at two tertiary referral centres.
METHODS: Twenty patients with hearing loss who fulfilled criteria for BB and showed good response to bone conduction hearing aid trial were included. Implantations of BB were carried out under general anaesthesia with preoperative computed tomography (CT) planning. Complications were monitored up to six months postoperatively. Subjects' audiometric thresholds for air conduction, bone conduction and sound field at frequencies of 250Hz to 8kHz were assessed preoperatively and at six months postoperatively. Subjects' satisfaction was evaluated at 6 months post operatively with Hearing Device Satisfaction Scale (HDSS) questionnaire.
RESULTS: There was no major complication reported. Mean aided sound field thresholds showed significant improvement for more than 30dB from 500 to 4000kHz (p<0.05). There was no significant change in mean unaided air conduction and bone conduction thresholds pre and post operatively from 500 to 4000kHz, with a difference of less than 5dB (p>0.05). All the patients were very satisfied (>80%) with the implant, attributing to the promising functional outcome and acceptable cosmetic appearance.
CONCLUSIONS: BB implantation surgery is safe and is effective in restoring hearing deficits among patients aged five and above with conductive or mixed hearing loss and single-sided hearing loss.
OBJECTIVE: To analyze the effectiveness of CIMT with CST in ISSNHL.
METHODS: We performed a systematic search, using specific keywords relevant to our study, in PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and additional sources of published trials till December 2020. We then screened all search results obtained according to our inclusion/exclusion criteria and performed a quality assessment on all studies using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale and using MedCalc, a meta-analysis was performed on suitable studies.
RESULTS: The recovery rates of three included nonrandomized studies were assessed at 1 to 3 months. A total of 229 (CST: 131, CST + CIMT: 98) patients were pooled for meta-analysis. The meta-analysis using the random-effect model found the relative risk of recovery rate within 3 months to be 1.213 (95% confidence interval 0.709-2.074), a result that is not statistically significant.
CONCLUSION: Although our analysis results do not demonstrate the noticeable effect of CIMT in ISSNHL, it can support be a gainful adjunct to CST for better hearing results than CST alone. Therefore, it needs further prospective randomized controlled multicenter trials with a large sample.
STUDY DESIGN: Cost-effectiveness analysis.
SETTING: Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, and Sri Lanka participated in the study.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Costs were obtained from experts in each country with known costs and published data, with estimation when necessary. A disability-adjusted life-years model was applied with 3% discounting and 10-year length of analysis. A sensitivity analysis was performed to evaluate the effect of device cost, professional salaries, annual number of implants, and probability of device failure. Cost-effectiveness was determined with the World Health Organization standard of cost-effectiveness ratio per gross domestic product (CER/GDP) per capita <3.
RESULTS: Deaf education was cost-effective in all countries except Nepal (CER/GDP, 3.59). CI was cost-effective in all countries except Nepal (CER/GDP, 6.38) and Pakistan (CER/GDP, 3.14)-the latter of which reached borderline cost-effectiveness in the sensitivity analysis (minimum, maximum: 2.94, 3.39).
CONCLUSION: Deaf education and CI are largely cost-effective in participating Asian countries. Variation in CI maintenance and education-related costs may contribute to the range of cost-effectiveness ratios observed in this study.
METHODS/DESIGN: The CROSSSD study adopts an international two-round online modified Delphi survey followed by a stakeholder consensus meeting to identify a patient-centred core outcome domain set for SSD based on what is considered critical and important for assessing whether an intervention for SSD has worked.
DISCUSSION: The resulting core outcome domain set will act as a minimum standard for reporting in future clinical trials and could have further applications in guiding the use of outcome measures in clinical practice. Standardisation will facilitate comparison of research findings.
DESIGN: An online survey exploring current practice, skills and confidence of audiologists, and the infrastructure and facilities available in their workplaces, was distributed to audiologists in Malaysia via professional associations and social media.
STUDY SAMPLE: A total of 111 audiologists, 84.7% female and 15.3% male (range = 23-44 years), participated in the study.
RESULTS: Although audiologists in Malaysia reported addressing all of the ICF domains, less than 26% of them assessed the patients' speech perception, carried out real-ear measurements, or used outcome measures routinely. The majority of the audiologists reported feeling confident in managing adult patients. However, 83% of the audiologists indicated they wanted to improve their skills related to management of adult patients, particularly in the areas of counselling and auditory training.
CONCLUSIONS: Inadequate infrastructure, resources and facilities in the workplace may have contributed to the gaps in service provision and influenced the current practice of audiological management for adult patients in Malaysia.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The pure-tone audiometry (PTA) and auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) from 22 patients (44 ears) with diagnosed noise-induced permanent hearing loss were studied. Three indices of PTA were average thresholds of 0.5 kHz/, /1 kHz, and 2 kHz (PTA1); 2 kHz and 4 kHz (PTA2); and 4 kHz (PTA3) were subdivided into 3 thresholds of hearing. Their relationships with ABR results were analysed. The patterns of PTA from various groups of ABR wave patterns were studied.
RESULTS: In this study, the abnormal ABR wave patterns were detected in 72.7% of the ears. The ears with prolonged ABR wave latency, absent early waves, prolong interpeak wave I-V latency was 20.5%, 18.2%, and 21.1%, respectively. Normal ABRs were recorded in 27.3% of the ears despite marked thresholds elevation of the PTA at high frequencies. Other relationships between PTA results and ABR wave results were discussed.
CONCLUSION: There were relationships between severity of noise-induced hearing loss indicated by PTA and the patterns of ABR wave abnormalities among workers with noise-induced permanent hearing loss.
DESIGN: Cross-sectional, randomised, single-blinded study.
STUDY SAMPLE: An Oticon-Dynamo HA manual was translated and revised based on best practice guidelines. Ninety participants aged 55 years and above participated in this study. They were randomly assigned into the control group (received translated manual) and the experimental group (received the revised translated manual). The Hearing Aid Management (HAM) test, which was developed in a previous study, was conducted to evaluate participant's ability to perform HA management tasks using the translated and the revised version of Malay HA manual.
RESULTS: The revised Malay HA manual had a lower reading grade level relative to the initial translated Malay HA manual. The ability to perform HA management tasks was better in the experimental group (mean = 12.2, SD = 1.15) versus the control group (mean = 8.7, SD = 2.11).
CONCLUSION: Further revision of existing HA manuals based on best practice guidelines is recommended to help individuals better manage their HAs.