HIgh frequency hearing loss from low frequency noise

It has long been believed that the spectrum of hearing loss closely matches that of the presenting noise. An antiquated study by Mill et al showed that this is not always true.

Human subjects were exposed to an octave-band noise for 24 hours. Temporary threshold shifts increased for the first eight hours of exposure and then were asymptotic. While threshold shifts were largest at about one-half octave above the center frequency of the noise, a second maximum was observed at higher test frequencies. The exact frequency of this second maximum decreased from 7.0 kHz, for a noise centered at 2.0 kHz, to 5.5 kHz for a noise centered at 0.5 kHz. This result could be caused by the travelling wave pattern along the cochlear partition or to the production of distortion products.

PubMed

Effects of gastroesophageal reflux disease in laryngeal carcinoma

GERD as a contributory factor to laryngeal carcinoma is much appreciated in the ORL community, but just how strong is it as a risk? Should it be aggresively investigated and treated if the risk is high?

An Italian retrospective investigates the association with 36 consecutive non-smoking and non-drinking patients with histologically confirmed SCC of the larynx vs a control, a group of 125 lifetime non-smoking and non-drinking cancer-free subjects. Patients with laryngeal cancer had a higher prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease than the control subjects (P < 0.0001).

PubMed

New centre for deafness research

'A new centre is to open in London in the new year, bringing together the previously disparate fields of research into deafness and communication.

The Deafness, Cognition and Language Research Centre (DCAL) will be based at University College London and will be funded by a 4.5m grant from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), it was announced yesterday.

The aim of the centre is to create "a world-class hub of excellence" that will connect research into neuroscience and linguistics to issues affecting deaf individuals in their communities. It will also seek to challenge the perceptions of deafness and study sign language and communication techniques. All the centre's researchers will be expected to become fluent in British Sign Language.'

EducationGuardian.co.uk