OBJECTIVE: This study aims to determine the association of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and the results of newborn hearing screening(NHS).
METHODS: A nested case-control study was conducted in a cohort of newborns who were born between June 2021 to December 2021 and underwent neonatal hearing screening.GDM was diagnosed according to the 75 g 2 h oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at 24-28 gestational weeks.A total of 369 pregnant women at the same hospital were individually matched in a 1:2 ratio by maternal age (±2 years), gestational age (±3 days) and sex of newborn.Chi-square test was utilized to evaluate associations between GDM and the results of NHS.
RESULTS: Abnormal NHS results in the GDM group was more frequent than non-GDM group.When comparing the two groups (GDM case and contol), we found significant differences (p < 0.05) between them.Whereas the difference was not statistically significant (p > 0.05) by delivery modes in both case and control groups.
CONCLUSIONS: Maternal history of GDM could lead to significantly higher failling rate of NHS.

Traumatic conductive hearing loss (TCHL) is most commonly attributed to tympanic membrane perforations, hemotympanum, or ossicular chain disruption. These complications are generally managed conservatively for up to 6 months with good hearing outcomes. We encountered a case of penetrating facial trauma leading to TCHL because of obstructive Eustachian tube dysfunction (OETD), which is not a previously described etiology for OETD and TCHL. A lysis of scar tissue surrounding the Eustachian tube with balloon dilation was performed in our patient, resulting in resolution of conductive hearing loss. In the absence of traditional signs of TCHL, providers should consider OETD as a potential cause of TCHL. We recommend visualization of the Eustachian tube orifice and balloon dilation if clinically indicated.

OBJECTIVE: Intralabyrinthine schwannomas (ILSs) are an uncommon finding. Diagnosis is challenging and no gold standard treatment exists yet. In this article, we present a two-cases series and review the latest available literature to assess the best diagnostic and therapeutic scheme.
METHODS: We reviewed the latest available literature assessing most frequent and relevant sets of symptoms, clinical features of the disease, diagnostic tests and imaging, possible treatments and after-surgery hearing rehabilitation techniques. We then compared literature data to our own series ones.
RESULTS: ILSs clinical presentation and development may overlap with other, more common otological conditions. Full audiometric battery test, electrophysiological study of VEMPS and MRI with contrast enhancement all appear to be critical to correctly diagnose these tumors. Several treatments exist: radiological follow-up, radiation therapy, full or partial surgical excision. Hearing rehabilitation is mostly accomplished through simultaneous cochlear implantation.
CONCLUSIONS: Our case-series data matches the available literature. ILSs are a rare type of vestibular schwannomas. Diagnosis in challenging and delayed in time as all the diagnostic tests, yet sensitive, are not specific for ILSs. The most suitable treatment seems to be surgical excision of these tumors followed by simultaneous cochlear implantation to restore hearing.

SARS-CoV-2 infection may cause such complications as post-COVID-19 syndrome, which includes chronic fatigue, myalgia, arthralgia, as well as a variety of neurological manifestations, e.g., neuropathy of small fibers, hearing and vestibular dysfunction, and cognitive impairment. This clinical case describes a 41-year-old patient suffering from post-COVID-19 syndrome and chronic fatigue syndrome. A detailed examination was performed, including an in-depth study of peripheral and central hearing and vestibular functions, as well as small nerve fibers length and density in the skin and cornea of the eye. Contrary to expectations, no peripheral nervous system dysfunction was detected, despite the presence of dizziness and gait instability in the patient. Hearing tests (gap detection test and dichotic test) showed central auditory processing disorders. The evaluated lesion in the processing of temporal and verbal auditory information can be a significant factor contributing to additional overload of the neural activity and leading to chronic fatigue when performing daily activities in patients with CFS and post-COVID-19 complications.

OBJECTIVE: Hearing impairment has a great impact on children\'s auditory language development, which causes serious socio-economic burden. Existing data showed the effect of antenatal dexamethasone treatment on hearing of premature infants is controversial, which may be caused by different treatment courses. Therefore, this study explored the effects of different courses of antenatal dexamethasone treatment on hearing of premature infants.
METHODS: All premature infants born in West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University from 2018 to 2020 with abnormal hearing screening were included. We matched premature infants who passed the hearing screening according to the gestational age (±1 week) at a ratio of 1:1. Antenatal dexamethasone information, hearing screening results, and postnatal diagnosis related to hearing were available.
RESULTS: A total of 299 premature infants failed hearing screening. In the final logistic model, antenatal use of 4 doses of dexamethasone reduced the hearing screening failure rate of premature infants (OR 0.39; 95 % CI: 0.22-0.69). Excessive exposure (OR 1.01; 95 % CI: 0.45-2.23) and incomplete exposure (OR 1.03; 95 % CI: 0.59-1.80) had no effect on the hearing screening of premature infants.
CONCLUSIONS: Antenatal dexamethasone therapy has a dose-dependent protective effect on hearing loss in premature infants.

OBJECTIVE: Cochlear fistula (CF) is a rare finding, usually associated with extensive middle ear cholesteatoma. There is agreement on the fact that removing the cholesteatoma matrix on a CF exposes the ear to a high risk of sensorineural hearing loss or dead ear. The aim of the study is to describe the presentation, possible treatment strategies and related outcomes for patients with CF in chronic otitis media (COM).
METHODS: The study considers a retrospective case series of patients with CF diagnosis supported by CT-scan and intraoperative/otoscopic evidence.
RESULTS: Five cases of CF were identified, 4 associated with cholesteatoma and 1 associated with non-cholesteatomatous COM. Two patients presenting with anacusis underwent a subtotal petrosectomy. Two patients with useful hearing underwent a radical mastoidectomy in order to preserve the cholesteatoma matrix on the promontorium. One patient with good hearing and COM was treated conservatively.
CONCLUSIONS: Conservative management should be considered for rare cases of CF in COM with residual hearing. Matrix preservation through radical/modified radical mastoidectomy is strongly advised in the presence of useful preoperative bone conduction. Subtotal petrosectomy should be considered the preferred option in presence of cholesteatoma with preoperative profound hearing loss.
Gestione della fistola cocleare e il ruolo dell’udito: report di 5 casi.
UNASSIGNED: La fistola cocleare (FC) è una rara entità, solitamente associata a colesteatoma dell’orecchio medio. Vi è generale accordo in letteratura sul fatto che la rimozione della matrice colesteatomatosa da una FC determini elevato rischio di ipoacusia neurosensoriale o anacusia. Obiettivo dello studio è descrivere manifestazioni, possibili trattamenti e prognosi per pazienti affetti da FC.
METHODS: Serie retrospettiva di casi clinici di fistola cocleare confermati da TC e da riscontro intraoperatorio o endoscopico.
UNASSIGNED: Di 5 casi identificati, 4 si associavano a colesteatoma. Di questi, 2 pazienti anacusici venivano sottoposti a petrosectomia subtotale, mentre 2 pazienti udenti venivano sottoposti a intervento di radicale con preservazione della matrice sul promontorio. Il solo caso di FC associato a otite cronica non-colesteatomatosa (OMC) e con buon udito residuo veniva trattato conservativamente.
CONCLUSIONS: Per quei rari casi di FC associati a OMC con buon udito residuo dovrebbe essere considerato un trattamento conservativo. In caso di via ossea preoperatoria protesizzabile, è fortemente indicata la preservazione della matrice di colesteatoma mediante mastoidectomia radicale o radicale modificata. In presenza di colesteatoma con perdita uditiva profonda pre-operatoria, una petrosectomia subtotale dovrebbe essere il trattamento di scelta.

Studies have shown that hearing preservation is possible in the context of reimplantation, but residual hearing could not be predicted or expected in these cases. We describe a case in which a patient with mild to profound sensorineural hearing loss who underwent cochlear implantation with a lateral wall array and had hearing preserved postoperatively. She developed facial nerve stimulation which was unresponsive to reprogramming. Using electrocochleography to measure intracochlear trauma during the insertion process, the patient underwent reimplantation with a perimodiolar electrode and hearing was preserved postoperatively. This case demonstrates the potential to use electrocochleography for hearing preservation during reimplantation. Laryngoscope, 131:2348-2351, 2021.

The known neurotropism of the Zika virus (ZikV) suggests that auditory organs and their neural pathways may be affected by prenatal Zika infections. Among the possible manifestations are audiological and language disorders, but so far, the data in the literature are inconclusive.
To describe early and late hearing disorders in children with Congenital Zika Virus Infection (CZVI) and evaluate the language development of this population between 14 and 47 months of age and its possible correlation with the alterations found in auditory exams.
Longitudinal, prospective, observational study of newborns born in Juiz de Fora and its macroregion with confirmed diagnosis of ZikV infection during pregnancy. Participants were examined from one to four years of age for hearing using the transient otoacoustic emissions (TOAE) test, immittance testing and brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP), and language using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-Third Edition (Bayley III).
15 participants were included; eight (53.33%) presented alterations in at least one of the hearing tests, one had an early loss (6%) of sensorineural origin, and seven (46.67%) had a poor language performance. In the three (20%) participants whose audiological exams were altered, there was language impairment, and two (13.33%) participants had extensive malformations in the central nervous system (CNS), presented language delay, and hearing exams were within normality.
Infants and preschoolers with CZVI may present early neurosensory loss and late hearing loss with fluctuating character. Even if there were no significant association between the audiological exams results and the Bayley III performance, in the present sample, language development was below expectations for the age in the participants who had alterations in the three audiological exams, when there is early hearing loss or extensive lesions to the CNS. The results reinforce the importance of audiological examinations, especially the BAEP morphological and auditory threshold, in monitoring cases of CZVI until at least three years of age.

Preservation of endolymphatic fluids, maintenance of a fluid-filled vestibule, and preservation of the cochlear nerve and its vasculature are believed to be necessary to retaining hearing after an inner-ear operation. However, some studies have reported no hearing loss despite the violation of the vestibule, questioning the importance of maintaining a fluid-filled vestibule in preserving hearing.
To report on the preservation of hearing after a complete labyrinthectomy for Meniere disease and after disruption of the vestibule.
This systematic review adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) reporting guidelines. A search of PubMed, Scopus, Ovid, and Cochrane Library databases was conducted to identify English-language articles on hearing preservation after labyrinthectomy, published from 1947 through December 11, 2019. The search strategy used a combination of boolean operators and included the following Medical Subject Heading terms and keywords: hearing preservation, labyrinth surgery, labyrinthectomy, vestibule violation, vestibule disruption, translabyrinthine approach, schwannoma removal, and semicircular canal ablation. Studies that included disruption of the vestibule and hearing preservation were included.
This systematic review identified 10 studies with 10 patients who underwent surgical removal of cholesteatoma or vestibular schwannoma and displayed postoperative hearing preservation. This study also reported on 1 patient with Meniere disease who retained hearing after undergoing a complete labyrinthectomy. Among these 11 patients, the mean (range) age was 45.1 (27-55) years, and 8 patients (73%) were women. Multiple theories exist that explain the mechanism behind hearing preservation, such as sealing of the ductus reuniens or closure of the remaining vestibule.
This systematic review describes a set of patients who did not experience hearing loss after a labyrinthectomy or surgical violation of the vestibule, which seems to contradict prevailing principles for retaining hearing after inner-ear surgical procedures. This finding suggests that hearing preservation is possible after labyrinthine destruction despite the absence of a fluid-filled vestibule and that other mechanisms, such as occlusion of the ductus reuniens with granulation tissue or bone dust, may be sufficient to achieve that outcome.

Purpose: We aimed at evaluating the feasibility of using MicroRNA (miR)-34a and miR-29b to detect inner ear damage in patients with mitochondrial disease (MD) and sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL).Material and Methods: Three patients with MD and SNHL and seven healthy control subjects were included in this case series. MD patients underwent pure tone audiometry (PTA), distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) and auditory brain response tests to investigate the specific cochlear and retrocochlear functions; control patients underwent PTA. MiR-34a and miR-29b were extracted from blood in all subjects included in the study. The expression of miR-34a and miR-29b in MD patients and healthy controls were statistically compared, then the expression of these two miRs was compared with DPOAE values.Results: In MD patients, miR-34a was significantly up-regulated compared to healthy controls; miR-34a and DPOAEs were negatively correlated. Conversely, miR-29b was up-regulated only in the youngest patient who suffered from the mildest forms of MD and SNHL, and negatively correlated with DPOAEs.Conclusion: In MD patients, miR-34a and miR-29b might be a marker of inner ear damage and early damage, respectively. Additional studies on larger samples are necessary to confirm these preliminary results.