Brazilian Society of Otology task force - Vestibular Schwannoma - evaluation and treatment

Abstract Objective: To review the literature on the diagnosis and treatment of vestibular schwannoma. Methods: Task force members were educated on knowledge synthesis methods, including electronic database search, review and selection of relevant citations, and critical appraisal of selected studies. Articles written in English or Portuguese on vestibular schwannoma were eligible for inclusion. The American College of Physicians' guideline grading system and the American Thyroid Association's guideline criteria were used for critical appraisal of evidence and recommendations for therapeutic interventions. Results: The topics were divided into 2 parts: (1) Diagnosis - audiologic, electrophysiologic tests, and imaging; (2) Treatment - wait and scan protocols, surgery, radiosurgery/radiotherapy, and systemic therapy. Conclusions: Decision making in VS treatment has become more challenging. MRI can diagnose increasingly smaller tumors, which has disastrous consequences for the patients and their families. It is important to develop an individualized approach for each case, which highly depends on the experience of each surgical team.

Hipoacusia sensorioneural unilateral: Revisión de los manejos posibles en nuestra realidad nacional / Unilateral sensorineural hearing loss: Review of possible management in our national reality

La hipoacusia unilateral (HUL) definida como la pérdida auditiva de cualquier grado en un solo oído tiene prevalencias en edad escolar de 3% a 6%. La etiología es desconocida en la mayoría de los casos, pero destacan las anormalidades anatómicas severas a diferencia de las hipoacusias bilaterales, lo que le otorga importancia al estudio de imágenes. También se recomienda realizar evaluación oftalmológica. El impacto de la HUL se observa en la localización sonora, reconocimiento del habla, desarrollo del lenguaje, desempeño social y conducta, pero por sobre todo en el rendimiento académico. En este sentido es relevante mencionar que además de existir mayor probabilidad de repitencia de curso, es necesario mayor apoyo educacional individualizado para evitar dicha repitencia o lograr mismo éxito académico que un normoyente. En relación al diagnóstico aún faltan normas o protocolos, siendo éste un desafío en las zonas donde no hay screening universal. Se discute la importancia de las encuestas para realizar evaluaciones y seguimiento en estos casos. Finalmente se abordan las estrategias de intervención disponibles, además de un plan individualizado considerando al niño, su familia y sus expectativas, particularmente se discuten las características o factores a tomar en cuenta en el momento de la adaptación, para así lograr un tratamiento tendiente al éxito.

Unilateral hearing loss (UHL) defined as hearing loss of any degree in only one ear has a school-age prevalence of 3% to 6%. The etiology is unknown in most cases, but severe anatomical abnormalities stand out as opposed to bilateral hearing loss, which gives importance to the study of images. Ophthalmological evaluation is also recommended. The impact of UHL is observed in sound localization, speech recognition, language development, social performance and behavior, but above all in academic performance. In this sense, it is relevant to mention that in addition to having a higher probability of repeating the course, it is necessary to have more individualized educational support to avoid this repetition or achieve the same academic success as a normal listener. Regarding the diagnosis, there are still missing norms or protocols, this being a challenge in areas where there is no universal screening. The importance of surveys to carry out evaluations and follow-up in these cases is discussed. Finally, the available intervention strategies are discussed, in addition to an individualized plan considering the child, his family and his expectations, particularly, the factors to be taken into account at the time of adaptation, in order to achieve a success treatment.

Speech Perception and Gap Detection Performance of Single-Sided Deafness under Noisy Conditions

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Many studies have reported no benefit of sound localization, but improved speech understanding in noise after treating patients with single-sided deafness (SSD). Furthermore, their performances provided a large individual difference. The present study aimed to measure the ability of speech perception and gap detection in noise for the SSD patients to better understand their hearing nature.

Audiological Outcomes of Sophonotron Bone Conduction Hearing Aid from a Multicenter Investigation / 听力学及言语疾病杂志

Objective The aim of the study was to evaluate the hearing performance of a new transcutaneous bone conduction hearing aid.Methods One hundred and nine patients with conductive or mix hearing loss and eleven patients with single sided sensorineural hearing loss from four tertiary referral centers were tested under unaided and aided conditions with the sound processors on testbands.Free field test was performed to obtain the hearing thresholds and speech recognition thresholds in quiet.Adverse events were also documented by a self-reported questionnaire.Results ①Conductive or mixed hearing loss patients:for aged≥6 yrs subgroup,the bone conduction PTA average of aided sides was 18.55±8.99 dB HL.For aged<6 yrs subgroup, the bone conduction ABR hearing threshold average was 18.33±8.36 dB HL.②Statistically significant improvements in free field hearing thresholds were seen when compared aided hearing with unaided outcomes.The average PTA (pure tone average in free field) was measured at 32.21±10.00, 37.33±14.15, and 34.38±10.76 dB HL respectively in conductive or mixed hearing loss aged≥6 yrs subgroup;aged<6 yrs subgroup and SSD subgroup.③In aided situations;speech recognition thresholds in quiet were significantly better compared to unaided situation in patients aged≥6yrs.④None of patients presented adverse events related to the devices.Conclusion The Sophono bone conduction hearing aid has satisfactory hearing performance and can be considered an alternative device for patients with conductive or mix hearing loss or with SSD.

Cochlear Implantation and Single-sided Deafness: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Introduction Current data show that binaural hearing is superior to unilateral hearing, specifically in the understanding of speech in noisy environments. Furthermore, unilateral hearing reduce oné s ability to localize sound. Objectives This study provides a systematic review of recent studies to evaluate the outcomes of cochlear implantation in patients with single-sided deafness (SSD) with regards to speech discrimination, sound localization and tinnitus suppression. Data Synthesis We performed a search in the PubMed, Cochrane Library and Lilacs databases to assess studies related to cochlear implantation in patients with unilateral deafness. After critical appraisal, eleven studies were selected for data extraction and analysis of demographic, study design and outcome data. Conclusion Although some studies have shown encouraging results on cochlear implantation and SSD, all fail to provide a high level of evidence. Larger studies are necessary to define the tangible benefits of cochlear implantation in patients with SSD.

Active Bone Conduction Prosthesis: BonebridgeTM

Introduction Bone conduction implants are indicated for patients with conductive and mixed hearing loss, as well as for patients with single-sided deafness (SSD). The transcutaneous technology avoids several complications of the percutaneous bone conduction implants including skin reaction, skin growth over the abutment, and wound infection. The Bonebridge (MED-EL, Austria) prosthesis is a semi-implantable hearing system: the BCI (Bone Conduction Implant) is the implantable part that contains the Bone Conduction-Floating Mass Transducer (BC-FMT), which applies the vibrations directly to the bone; the external component is the audio processor Amadé BB (MED-EL, Austria), which digitally processes the sound and sends the information through the coil to the internal part. Bonebridge may be implanted through three different approaches: the transmastoid, the retrosigmoid, or the middle fossa approach. Objective This systematic review aims to describe the world́ s first active bone conduction implant system, Bonebridge, as well as describe the surgical techniques in the three possible approaches, showing results from implant centers in the world in terms of functional gain, speech reception thresholds and word recognition scores. Data Synthesis The authors searched the MEDLINE database using the key term Bonebridge. They selected only five publications to include in this systematic review. The review analyzes 20 patients that received Bonebridge implants with different approaches and pathologies. Conclusion Bonebridge is a solution for patients with conductive/mixed hearing loss and SSD with different surgical approaches, depending on their anatomy. The system imparts fewer complications than percutaneous bone conduction implants and shows proven benefits in speech discrimination and functional gain.(AU)

Hearing Rehabilitation of Single-Sided Deafness: Benefit and Selection Criteria of Bone Anchored Hearing Aid and Contralateral Routing of Signal Hearing Aid / 대한이비인후과학회지

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There are two ways to route sound from a deaf hemifield to a functional ear: the bone anchored hearing aid (BAHA) and the contralateral routing of signal hearing aid (CROS HA). BAHA uses transcranial bone conduction; on the other hand, CROS HA uses air conduction. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the benefit of these auditory rehabilitation devices objectively and subjectively, and to analyze factors that affect daily using time. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 19 patients who selected BAHA and 9 patients who selected CROS HA to undergo rehabilitation of unilateral hearing loss. Preoperative pure tone air and bone conduction thresholds, BAHA-aided thresholds and CROS HA-aided thresholds were measured. Hearing in noise test (HINT) was measured with unaided and aided in signal to noise ratio 10 (signal 75 dB HL, noise 65 dBA). Bern Benefit in Single-Sided Deafness Questionnaire (BBSS) was evaluated for all patients to assess subjective satisfaction and also, daily device using time was investigated. RESULTS: The aided pure tone audiometry was 44.58 dB HL, 42.71 dB HL for in BAHA and CROS HA, respectively, whereas the unaided PTA was 111.29, 103.28 dB HL for BAHA and CROS HA, respectively. The aided HINT was 63.03 and 64.06%, whereas the unaided HINT was 22.13% and 37.44% for BAHA and CROS, respectively. BBSS showed more satisfactory results with BAHA and CROS HA when compared unaided in all items. Daily using time did not correlate with the degree of satisfaction, better ear hearing levels or etiology. CONCLUSION: It was found that not only the preoperative BAHA rod test and HA trials but also the customized and detail counseling were needed for single sided deaf patients to use auditory rehabilitation devices frequently.