role of dyslipidemia in sensorineural hearing loss in children

The relationship between dyslipidemia and hearing is controversial, especially in children as data are scarce and limited to case reports. We sought to determine whether dyslipidemia is associated with sensorineural hearing loss [SNHL] in a group of 5-18 year old children and adolescents. Records of all 5 to 18 year old children who attended the pediatric endocrinology clinic of Loghman Hospital in Tehran, Iran, between April 2007 and April 2009, were reviewed. Records with a lipid profile were obtaimed and following confirmation of their; lipid profiles, they were enrolled if the results were the same as before [normal or dyslipidemic]. Pure tone thresholds, speech discrimination score and lipid profiles were analyzed. When controlled for age and sex, no associations between dyslipidemia and SNHL were found. There was also no statistically significant relationship between dyslipidemia and SNHL in different age groups. No association was found between dyslipidemia and SNHL in children and adolescents aged 5 to 18 years

[Knowledge of general practitioners about acute otitis media]

Acute otitis media [AOM] is one of the most common disease during childhood, therefore, every physician must be oriented about its diagnosis and treatment. This study was conducted to assess efficiency and performance of our medical educational system. This descriptive study was performed on 100 general practitioners requesting them to fill a questionnaire composed of questions dealing with diagnosis, treatment and follow up of AOM. Totally, 100 general practitioners with the mean age of 28.6+/-2 years wee enrolled. Averagely, 30.5% of questions had been answered correctly. Our general practitioners' knowledge about AOM was poor, thus, we should revise our medical educational system

[Association between playing musical instruments and hearing loss]

Sound pollution has unwarranted effects on hearing loss. Despite numerous prior studies on sound pollution and its effects in industrial environments, scanty studies are available among musicians. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the association between musical instruments noise and hearing loss. For this prospective study, 50 professional players of string, windy, and percussion instruments as well as 30 matched controls were selected. All subjects were programmed for pure tone audiometery [PTA] and classic tempanometery. The study population included 19 females and 31 males aged 20 to 55 years and history of playing musical instruments of 3-44 years. Hearing threshold of 88% players was within the normal range, however, 6% revealed to have slight and the remaining 6% had mild hearing loss. In frequency of 8000Hz, 30% of players had hearing loss of 25.3db in their left and 24% had hearing loss of 28db in their right ear. Meanwhile, in frequency of 4000Hz, 16%of players had hearing loss of 25.5db in their left and 10% had hearing loss of 27db in their right ear. Those who had a history of at least 15 years of playing musical instruments were shown to have a sensorineural hearing loss in all frequencies. Since hearing loss is a major health concern among musicians, periodic audiometric examinations and use of protective means are strictly recommended for professional musicians