Extended high frequency audiometry can diagnose sub-clinic involvement in a seemingly normal hearing systemic lupus erythematosus population.

CONCLUSIONS: Sensorineural hearing loss must be considered within the clinical picture of systemic lupus erythematosus. The results confirm the usefulness of extended high-frequency audiometry in the audiologic testing of these patients, enabling the possibility of modifying or applying a preventive treatment for a possible hearing loss. OBJECTIVES: Hearing involvement is usually under-diagnosed with routine auditory examination. This study proposes the use of extended high-frequency audiometry to achieve a correct detection of a possible asymptomatic hypoacusis in early stages of the disease. The aim of this study is to analyze the hearing levels in extended high-frequencies in these patients and to correlate the hearing loss with the severity of the disease and the immunological parameters. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was performed. Fifty-five patients with systemic lupus erythematosus were included in the study. The control group consisted of 71 patients paired by age and sex with the study population. Both a pure tone audiometry and an extended high-frequency audiometry (8-18 KHz) were performed. RESULTS: In total, 70% were diagnosed with sensorineural hearing loss with extended high-frequency audiometry, overcoming the results obtained with pure tone audiometry (30.9%). Statistically significant correlations were found within the patients regarding sensorineural hearing loss related with age, disease activity and cryoglobulinemia.

Examination of Hearing in a Rheumatoid Arthritis Population: Role of Extended-High-Frequency Audiometry in the Diagnosis of Subclinical Involvement.

Objective. The aim of this study is to analyze the high-frequency hearing levels in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and to determine the relationship between hearing loss, disease duration, and immunological parameters. Materials and Methods. A descriptive cross-sectional study including fifty-three patients with rheumatoid arthritis was performed. The control group consisted of 71 age- and sex-matched patients from the study population (consecutively recruited in Madrid "Area 9," from January 2010 to February 2011). Both a pure tone audiometry and an extended-high-frequency audiometry were performed. Results. Extended-high-frequency audiometry diagnosed sensorineural hearing loss in 69.8% of the patients which exceeded the results obtained with pure tone audiometry (43% of the patients). This study found significant correlations in patients with sensorineural hearing loss related to age, sex, and serum anti-cardiolipin (aCL) antibody levels. Conclusion. Sensorineural hearing loss must be considered within the clinical context of rheumatoid arthritis. Our results demonstrated that an extended-high-frequency audiometry is a useful audiological test that must be performed within the diagnostic and follow-up testing of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, providing further insight into a disease-modifying treatment or a hearing loss preventive treatment.

Cochlear microphonic audiometry: a new hearing test for objective diagnosis of deafness.

CONCLUSIONS: Objective audiometric tests could constitute a valuable tool for detection of deafness. This could be especially useful in children (universal newborn hearing screening) and non-collaborative patients, who are especially difficult candidates for classic audiometry. The cochlear microphonic audiometry (CMA) technique offers the possibility of obtaining objective audiometric profiles, highly correlated with those obtained by pure tone audiometry (PTA). Therefore, CMA could be used as an alternative test to obtain the audiometric profile of these patients. OBJECTIVE: The main purpose of the present study was to demonstrate that CMA provides objective audiometric profiles by avoiding active participation by the patient. Subjects and methods. CMA specific equipment, improved for non-invasive recording of cochlear microphonic potentials, was used. This tool plots the recordings obtained as the classic audiogram. Verification of the method was carried out in adult patients by comparing the PTA with the CMA audiometric profiles obtained for each patient. RESULTS: Our findings showed that audiometric profiles obtained from CMA are highly correlated, without statistical differences, to those obtained with PTA. More than 81% of patients explored (91.67% at 250 Hz) exhibited differences below 10 dB(HL) between tests at all exploration frequencies, while a low number of cases showed differences over 20 dB(HL).

[Fracture of thyroid cartilage after a sneezing episode]. / Fractura tiroidea tras estornudo: a propósito de un caso.

We present a case report of a thyroid fracture after a sneezing episode, with odynophagia, dysphonia, and neck pain. The examination showed oedema at the right vocal cord and haematoma at the right false vocal cord. An anterior thyroid fracture without displacement, and a subcutaneous emphysema could be seen on the CT. Thyroid fracture because of this aetiology is most exceptional; only 1 similar case report has been described in the literature.