Time flies, and who can believe that we are already in the second part of this year? Three significant events for ENT surgeons and Audiologists will still occur this year. Focussing mainly on otology, neur-otology and hearing issues, I am privileged to be part of the programs and present at all three of them. Whether your patients suffer from hearing loss, vertigo, balance disorders, tinnitus or vestibular schwannoma, these events promise to enrich and empower everyone attending. The aim is to improve and update medical professionals on topics that would likely lead to more effective management of patients and eventually better outcomes. After the COVID pandemic, everyone is motivated to attend live events and interact with others. We, humans, are, after all, social creatures. Also notable is that the events will be hosted on local soil here in South Africa.
SACIG 2022
The first of these events is the annual South African Cochlear Implant Group (SACIG) meeting hosted in Cape Town at the end of August. Preceding the actual congress, I will be presenting at two courses. As part of the program of the Advanced Mapping Course hosted by Southern ENT, I will be giving Vestibular function in Cochlear Implantation: towards a consensus on screening and referral. I will also present at the MEDEL Electric Acoustic Stimulation (EAS) Structure & Hearing Preservation Surgical Workshop on Vestibular preservation surgery, focusing on the latest data. During this talk, I will also give an update on vestibular implants for patients with bilateral vestibulopathy.
The 58th SA ENT and Audiology Congress
The second event is the 58th South African ENT/SAAA Congress, which will take place in Johannesburg from 28 to 30 October. This will be jointly hosted by the South African Society of Head and Neck Surgery and the South African Association of Audiologists. Prof Riaz Seedat of the University of the Free State has done immensely to secure excellent speakers from all over the world to share their experiences with us. It is a fully comprehensive programme with parallel sessions. I will be presenting on the approach to pulsatile tinnitus. This will be followed by Dr Arthur Winter, intervention neuro radiologist and President of the South African Interventional Society, who will present the interventional radiology approach to pulsatile tinnitus. This two-part collaboration will highlight different aspects of diagnosing and managing pulsatile tinnitus and discuss common underdiagnosed conditions.
The International Otology Disorder Academy Congress
The final event of the year is the International Otology Disorder Academy (IODA) congress in Cape Town from 12 to 15 December. This is Paragon World Medical Event. Paragon creates International Conferences around the world and has done so for over three decades. They understand audiences’ needs and, during the global epidemic, shifted their activities to the online world, answering clients’ needs in real-time. Abbott, Allergan, AMI technologies and the European Society of Hypertension, amongst others, are some of the major sponsors. It will be jointly contributed by speakers from France, Israel and South Africa. During this congress, I will present on Vestibular Schwannoma Management: The South African experience, sharing my recent experience managing more than 600 patients, mainly in private practice. I will also chair the Round Table Discussion on How to manage Vestibular Schwannoma in 2022. One of the other key speakers is Dr Avi Shupak from Israel, an expert on vestibular disorders who will be presenting on Motion sickness. There will also be presentations, discussions and round tables on cochlear implants, cholesteatoma, robotics, otosclerosis, imaging and mastoiditis. Audiologists will also benefit from the presentations and are encouraged to register.
