In April 2018 I had the privilege to partake in four cochlear implantations in Namibia. We implanted four patients, three adults and a child. It was again great to team up with my fellow ear nose and throat surgeon, Dr Stephan van der Westhuizen. The team that performed the cochlear implants in Namibia [...]
Hearing preservation is possible in vestibular schwannoma surgery. A vestibular schwannoma (also called an acoustic neuroma) is a non-cancerous growth on the nerve of the inner ear. Hearing preservation surgery for vestibular schwannoma is possible with the transtemporal supralabyrinthine approach The transtemporal supralabyrinthine (middle cranial fossa) approach offers surgeons the possibility to remove [...]
The ADHEAR adhesive bone vibrating hearing device is internationally used as a treatment modality for some types of hearing loss. The ADHEAR hearing device The ADHEAR System from MEDEL is a revolutionary adhesive, non-surgical bone conduction hearing system that vibrates the skull, therefore bypassing the middle ear pathology and conductive hearing loss. This [...]
Can what I eat cause vertigo is probably the second most common question I am asked. The most common is… can stress cause my vertigo? Salt contains sodium that may contribute towards Meniere's disease. Now, trying to answer that is like opening a can of worms! We all have stress, but not all [...]
Vestibular schwannoma and quality of life are interlinked when it comes to the management of patients. Quality of life (QOL), when referring to health related matters, is the way in which a patient interprets his own quality of living in daily life, related to disease or disability. It is a measure of well- being [...]
Stem cell therapy for the treatment of hearing and vestibular loss. What an existing possibility? But wat is the current situation and is this an option in 2018? Stem cells can restore inner ear structures. (Modified from Wikepedia image) A stem cell is a non-differentiated living cell that has the potential to differentiate [...]
Listeria may cause hearing loss and vertigo. With the recent outbreak of Listeriosis in South Africa (SA) it is important that the public be made aware off the potential complications of hearing loss, vertigo, disequilibrium and facial nerve palsy. The bacterium Listeria In SA more that 60 patients have recently died from Listeria, [...]
Patients with a vestibular schwannoma and good hearing are often advised to observe the tumour. A strategy of watchful waiting with follow-up magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is then suggested. A vestibular schwannoma may present with normal hearing This option is considered in the light that a number of vestibular schwannomas, when discovered, may [...]
I was recently privileged to attend a most prestigious window approach workshop cochlear implantation course in Poland. Window in this context refers to the round window membrane of the inner ear although it can also be seen in a philosophical way as a window of opportunity to preserve residual hearing. This 30th workshop was again [...]
Meniere's disease (MD) may well be caused by middle ear muscles behaving badly. This debilitating inner ear disease is characterized by episodes of vertigo, hearing loss, tinnitus and ear fullness of which the trigger is still unknown. The concept of endolymphatic hydrops (raise in the fluid pressure of the inner ear) is commonly accepted to be [...]