Evaluation of hearing impairment in leprosy patients taking multidrug therapy.

Present descriptive study was carried out for the assessment of hearing capability in leprosy patients. After getting approval from Institutional ethical committee, the present descriptive study was carried out on 60 subjects. All the patients were indoor-patients at the Leprosy Rehabilitation Center Maharogi Sewa Samiti Anandvan Warora, and were on multidrug therapy described by World Health Organization from an average period of 6 months. Study Group I consisted of 30 diagnosed Leprosy patients taking multidrug therapy from an average period of 6 months. Group II (Control group) consisted of 30 normal healthy individuals of same age. Patients suffering from acute or chronic ear discharge, Presence of wax in external auditory canal, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, impaired renal function and patients having history of trauma were excluded from the study. All the subjects underwent Pure tone audiometry, Tuning Fork test to check the level of hearing loss and type of hearing loss and detailed clinical examination for cranial nerve function was done in all the patients of study group and control group. Audiometry findings in study group patients showed that 23 patients (76.66%; 45 ears) of the leprosy patients had sensory neural hearing impairment and 7 patients (23.33%) showed normal hearing. Out of these affected patients, 10 patients (43.47%; 19 ears) had mild sensory neural hearing impairment, 10 patients (43.47%; 20 ears) had moderate sensory neural hearing impairment. 2 patients (8.69%; 04 ears) had moderate to severe hearing impairment, 1 patient (4.34%; 02 ears) showed severe sensory neural hearing impairment. In the absence of any local or systemic disease or drugs likely to have side effects on the cochleovestibular function, leprosy affects the cochleovestibular system, and effect on cochlear function is seen more often than effect on the vestibular system. Thus hearing loss which is seen in patients suffering from Hansen's disease is of cochlear origin.

Study of intratemporal course of facial nerve and its variations - 25 temporal bones dissection.

INTRODUCTION: Facial nerve is the longest nerve in a bony canal. Three dimensional anatomical knowledge provides the foundation for safe and skillful dissection of the very complex temporal bone and tortuous facial nerve. OBJECTIVE: A small surgical area and a fair incidence of anatomical variations makes the facial nerve prone to injury. Inspite of the problems presented, the nerve serves as an excellent landmark and guide to the competent otological surgeon who studies it deligently, the neophyte on the other hand lives in constant fear of finding the nerve inadvertently. The present study was undertaken to explore the microanatomy of tympano-mastoid segment of facial nerve. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The current study was conducted at Dept of E.N.T, temporal bone lab, J.N.M.C Sawangi, Wardha. 25 temporal bones were dissected to study the various parameters of the tympano-mastoid segments of the facial nerve, its relations with the important middle ear structures and their anomalies. RESULTS: Mean length of tympanic segment was 9.28mm and that of the mastoid segment was 13.7mm. Mean depth of second genu from the cortex was 19.72mm. Amongst the variations noted commonest were the variations in the tympanic segment of about 12 %. An overhang in the region of oval window and a hump at the second genu was noted in one specimen each. CONCLUSION: The variations in the tympanomastoid segment occur with sufficient frequency showing not much racial and geographical variance.