Acute otitis media (AOM) is a multifactorial disease with a significant socioeconomic impact. The pathogenesis of AOM is attributed to a variety of well-established internal and extrinsic factors. Recent evidence strongly points to bacterial biofilm formation as an important contributor to this disease entity. The nasopharynx is a likely reservoir for infection with subsequent seeding of pathog...

22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (22q11DS) arises from an interstitial chromosomal microdeletion encompassing at least 30 genes. This disorder is one of the most significant known cytogenetic risk factors for schizophrenia, and can also cause heart abnormalities, cognitive deficits, hearing difficulties, and a variety of other medical problems. The Df1/+ hemizygous knockout mouse, a model for human 22...

Reported here is a technique for measuring forward and reverse middle-ear transmission that exploits distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) to drive the middle ear "in reverse" without opening the inner ear. The technique allows measurement of DPOAEs, middle-ear input impedance, and forward and reverse middle-ear transfer functions in the same animal. Intermodulation distortion in th...

Allergic mucin is described as thick, peanut butter-like mucus impacted in the paranasal sinuses of patients with allergic fungal rhinosinusitis. The presence of allergic mucin in the middle ear has never been reported. We encountered a 65-year-old female with allergic mucin found impacted in her left middle ear and mastoid cavity during revised tympanoplasty surgery at our institute. Bilateral...

Cholesteatoma is a serious otolaryngologic condition that to date remains an important problem and poses a challenge to otolaryngologists around the world. To improve the approach pertaining to the diagnosis and management of middle ear cholesteatoma, clear, clinically applicable, and useful definition and classification of cholesteatoma are required. This review aimed to evaluate the current a...

OBJECTIVES To describe middle ear ventilation route blockage, relieved during middle ear endoscopic surgery, and to analyze its association with mastoid hypopneumatization/sclerotization. STUDY DESIGN Prospective case series with intraoperative analyses, and with a case-control computed tomographic scan comparison. METHODS Intraoperative findings during endoscopic middle ear surgery are des...

BACKGROUND Lysozyme is an antimicrobial innate immune molecule degrading peptidoglycan of the bacterial cell wall. Lysozyme shows the ubiquitous expression in wide varieties of species and tissues including the tubotympanum of mammals. We aim to investigate the effects of lysozyme depletion on pneumococcal clearance from the middle ear cavity. METHODS Immunohistochemistry was performed to loc...

BACKGROUND Middle ear infection is common in childhood. Despite its prevalence, there is little longitudinal evidence about the impact of ear infection, particularly its association to hearing loss. By using 6-year prospective data, we investigate the onset and impact over time of ear infection in Australian children. METHODS We analyse 4 waves of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children...