ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: Speech recognition on the telephone poses a challenge for patients with cochlear implants (CIs) due to a reduced bandwidth of transmission. This trial evaluates a home-based auditory training with telephone-specific filtered speech material to improve sentence recognition. DESIGN: Randomised controlled parallel double-blind. SETTING: One tertiary referral centre. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 20 postlingually deafened patients with CIs. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary outcome measure was sentence recognition assessed by a modified version of the Oldenburg Sentence Test filtered to the telephone bandwidth of 0.3-3.4 kHz. Additionally, pure tone thresholds, recognition of monosyllables and subjective hearing benefit were acquired at two separate visits before and after a home-based training period of 10-14 weeks. For training, patients received a CD with speech material, either unmodified for the unfiltered training group or filtered to the telephone bandwidth in the filtered group. RESULTS: Patients in the unfiltered training group achieved an average sentence recognition score of 70.0%±13.6% (mean±SD) before and 73.6%±16.5% after training. Patients in the filtered training group achieved 70.7%±13.8% and 78.9%±7.0%, a statistically significant difference (P=.034, t10 =2.292; two-way RM ANOVA/Bonferroni). An increase in the recognition of monosyllabic words was noted in both groups. The subjective benefit was positive for filtered and negative for unfiltered training. CONCLUSIONS: Auditory training with specifically filtered speech material provided an improvement in sentence recognition on the telephone compared to training with unfiltered material.
Subject(s)
Cochlear Implants , Hearing Loss/rehabilitation , Home Care Services , Speech Perception , Telephone , Aged , Audiometry, Pure-Tone , Cochlear Implantation , Double-Blind Method , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Outcome Assessment, Health CareABSTRACT
The Bonebridge is an active bone conduction implant (BCI) that is primarily indicated in patients with conductive and combined hearing loss. However, many of these patients present with a radical cavity as a result of previous surgery. In these cases, the implant should not be introduced into the mastoid region, but rather via a retrosigmoid approach to maintain separation from the pathological alteration. To ensure the best possible acoustic transduction, the Bone Conduction-Floating Mass Transducer (BC-FMT) should be positioned near to the cochlea. This requires precise identification of the sigmoid sinus, which cannot be achieved accurately enough using external anatomical landmarks. We thus report on two patients in whom the Bonebridge was implanted via a retrosigmoid approach using CT-guided navigation.
Subject(s)
Cochlear Implants , Cranial Sinuses/surgery , Hearing Aids , Hearing Loss, Sensorineural/rehabilitation , Prosthesis Implantation/methods , Surgery, Computer-Assisted/methods , Tomography, X-Ray Computed/methods , Cranial Sinuses/diagnostic imaging , Humans , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
We report the case of a 23-year-old man presenting with a cT4 cN1 M0squamous cell carcinoma of the right tongue. After tumor resection and covering of the defect with a microvascular anterolateral thigh (ALT) flap, the patient showed distinct drooling without any substantial regression after anticholinergic therapy. For this reason 75 units of Botox® were injected into the submandibular and parotid glands. After the intraglandular injections, good reduction of saliva secretion was achieved. The treatment improved flap healing, aspiration and patient satisfaction. Injection of botulinum toxin A into the salivary glands is a sufficient therapy for postoperative hypersalivation.
