Recovery from idiopathic sudden hearing loss depends on many factors, some as yet unknown. This study found tinnitus to be a favorable prognostic sign, based on an analysis of symptoms and recovery rates in a series of 60 patients. Hearing improved in 80 per cent of the patients studied. Tinnitus was one of the complaints in 71 per cent of the patients who recovered, whereas it was present in only 39 per cent of those who did not recover. A possible explanation of the association between tinnitus and recovery from sudden hearing loss is suggested and discussed.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Extraction of a large tracheal foreign body through a tracheotomy.

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Child, Preschool↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The effects of noise on the vestibular system.

PURPOSE: Subjects with noise-induced hearing loss sometimes also complain about balance disorders, but reports of clinical series that give contradictory results are highly controversial. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of intense noise on the vestibular labyrinth, both in subjects with symmetrical hearing loss and in subjects with asymmetrical loss, and to examine the correlation between the subjects' complaints and the results of the vestibular function tests. METHODS: A total of 258 male military personnel, heavily exposed to various intense noises, were included in the study. They were divided into 2 groups according to their hearing; 134 had a symmetrical high-tone hearing loss, and 124 had asymmetrical losses. Each group was divided into 2 subgroups according to the presence or absence of vestibular complaints. All of the subjects underwent a complete audiological and electronystagmographic evaluation. RESULTS: We found that vestibular damage caused by intense noise exposure might be expressed clinically in subjects with asymmetrical hearing loss. There was a strong correlation between the subjects' complaints and the results of the vestibular function tests. There was no correlation between the severity of the hearing loss and the vestibular symptomatology and pathology. CONCLUSIONS: Subjects exposed to intense noise may have evidence of vestibular pathology only when there is an asymmetrical hearing loss. Whenever hearing loss is symmetrical, an equal damage to the vestibular system of both ears is most probably responsible for the absence of abnormal findings on the vestibular function tests. The results of this study have important medicolegal implications for individuals exposed to intense noises.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Unilateral pulmonary oedema after bilateral pneumothorax.

A case history of unilateral pulmonary oedema which occurred in a patient who had recently re-expanded bilateral pneumothoraces is presented.

Female↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Coincident Warthin's tumor and intraparotid dermatopathic lymphadenopathy. Report of a case.

A 52-year-old patient underwent excision of a parotid lump which was fond to consist of a Warthin's tumor coexistent with a lymph node involved in dermatopathic lymphadenopathy. A preoperative fine-needle aspiration specimen contained brown pigment-granule-laden macrophages within the background of many lymphocytes. Failure to correctly diagnose the parotid tumor was likely due to a sampling error.

Adenolymphoma↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Otitis media with effusion: a steroid and antibiotic therapeutic trial before surgery.

Eustachian tube dysfunction has been considered the main factor in the etiology of otitis media with effusion (OME). A short-term systemic steroid therapy, with combined chemotherapeutics, yielded 53.1% cure in 160 children in which OME had been diagnosed, whereas only 12.5% of similar 116 children were cured by chemotherapeutic treatment alone. It is postulated that steroids, acting by a mechanism much similar to the one in the newborn lung, increase the level of a tubal surface active agent, thus enhancing Eustachian tube refunctioning. This combined treatment, we believe, deserves its place as a routine conservative trial before surgery.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Cholesteatoma: an epidemiologic study among members of kibbutzim in northern Israel.

In this study 3,056 members (10 years of age and older) of the kibbutzim in the northern part of Israel were examined in order to determine the prevalence of chronic otitis media and cholesteatoma. In addition to demographic factors, the influence of altitude was investigated, but the differences were not found to be significant. The prevalence of chronic otitis media was found to be 0.95% and of cholesteatoma, 0.4%. Of the patients who had chronic otitis media, 41% suffered from cholesteatoma as well. Chronic otitis media was more prevalent in males than females (0.02 greater than p greater than 0.01) in the Ashkenazic than Sephardic populations (0.05 greater than p greater than 0.02), and in industrial and agricultural workers (0.05 greater than p greater than 0.02), as compared to others. Among cholesteatoma patients a family history was found in 64%. In 71% of patients, illness began in infancy. Fifteen percent of the patients did not know of their disease until they were examined in this study. These results suggest a high rate of cholesteatoma among chronic otitis media patients and emphasize the need for performing more extensive studies to determine the rate of cholesteatoma in the general population. The necessity for preventive ear examinations, earlier diagnosis, and treatment of cholesteatoma is emphasized.

Adolescent↗