[OTONEUROLOGY- A MULTIFACETED FIELD].

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Otoneurology is a broad, diverse and multidisciplinary field. On the one hand, it includes everything that relates to hearing from complex surgery including life-changing implants to effective medical treatments and habilitation. On the other hand, it includes all that has to do with balance, from novel vestibular tests to complex medical treatments and recently, the development of a vestibular implant for patients suffering from bilateral peripheral vestibular loss. This special issue on otoneurology includes 8 original papers and 3 reviews. The first three articles deal with auditory implants. The first describes a series of children who underwent auditory brainstem implantation, including the first implantation in Israel 6 years ago. The second, presents patients with acoustic schwannomas undergoing cochlear implantation and the third relates to patients with Meniere's disease. Cochlear implants are one of the most significant developments in medicine in recent decades that enable most deaf individuals to hear, and develop normal language, heavily influencing all aspects of personal development and social integration.