Long‐Term Binaural Hearing Improvements for Cochlear Implant Users with Asymmetric Hearing Loss

alexandrossfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Long‐Term Binaural Hearing Improvements for Cochlear Implant Users with Asymmetric Hearing Loss via The Laryngoscope Cochlear implant (CI) recipients with unilateral hearing loss reached early asymptote for binaural hearing abilities, and CI recipients with asymmetric hearing loss continued to improve out to 5-years post-activation for spatial release from masking when the masker was presented toward the better hearing ear. There was a significant correlation with improvement and age at implantation and contralateral hearing thresholds which may influence these differences. Objective To assess long-term binaural hearing abilities for cochlear implant (CI) users with unilateral hearing loss (UHL) or asymmetric hearing loss (AHL). Methods A prospective, longitudinal, repeated measures study was completed at a tertiary referral center evaluating adults with UHL or AHL undergoing cochlear implantation. Binaural hearing abilities were assessed with masked speech recognition tasks using AzBio sentences in a 10-talker masker. Performance was evaluated as the ability to benefit from spatial release from masking (SRM). SRM was calculated as the difference in scores when the masker was presented toward the CI-ear (SRMci) or the contralateral ear (SRMcontra) relative to the co-located condition (0°). Assessments were completed pre-operatively and at annual intervals out to 5 years post-activation. Results Twenty UHL and 19 AHL participants were included in the study. Linear Mixed Models showed significant main effects of interval and group for SRMcontra. There was a significant interaction between interval and group, with UHL participants reaching asymptotic performance early and AHL participants demonstrating continued growth in binaural abilities to 5 years post-activation. The improvement in SRM showed a significant positive correlation with contralateral unaided hearing thresholds (p = 0.050) as well as age at implantation (p = 0.031). Conclusions CI recipients with UHL and AHL showed improved SRM with long-term device use. The time course of improvement varied by cohort, with the UHL cohort reaching asymptotic performance early and the AHL cohort continuing to improve beyond 1 year. Differences between cohorts could be driven by differences in age at implantation as well as contralateral unaided hearing thresholds. Level of Evidence Level III Laryngoscope, 2022 View on Web

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Survival Outcomes of Patients with Mycosis Fungoides Involving the External Ear and Ear Canal

alexandrossfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Survival Outcomes of Patients with Mycosis Fungoides Involving the External Ear and Ear Canal via The Laryngoscope This manuscript reports our retrospective review of 40 patients with mycosis fungoides, and it demonstrates a comparison in outcomes of patients with ear involvement with those without ear involvement. Overall survival was shorter when the ear canals were involved. Objectives/Hypothesis Mycosis Fungoides (MF) is the most common subtype of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Disease involvement of specific locations may be more significant than simply the symptoms associated with that site; it is possible that involvement of certain sites could be associated with poor prognosis. We aimed to evaluate the outcomes of patients with MF with documented involvement of the EAC and external ear. Study Design Retrospective analysis. Methods We retrospectively reviewed 40 patients with MF that were treated by otologists between 2012 and 2021. Results We report the largest series of patients with MF involving the external ear and EAC. Of the 40 patients included in this study, 17 presented with Mycosis Fungoides in the otologic region (MFO). Of these 17 MFO patients, 2/17 had involvement of the external ear only, 3/17 of the EAC only, 11/17 of both the external ear and EAC, and 1/17 of the periauricular skin. Of note, 11/14 (79%) patients presenting with EAC disease died compared to11/26 (42%) of patients without involvement. In addition, eight of the 13 (62%) patients with external ear involvement died compared to 14/27 (52%) of patients without involvement. Ear canal involvement was associated with a statistically significant shorter overall survival duration in patients with MF (p = 0.03). Furthermore, disease in the EAC was found to have a hazard ratio value of 2.565 (CI 1.102–5.970). Conclusions Involvement of the EAC by MF portends a poor prognosis. This finding highlights the need for a more in-depth otologic evaluation of patients with MF. Level of Evidence Level 4 Laryngoscope, 2022 View on Web

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