Mahmut Tayyar Kalcioglu

Effects of the Electromagnetic Field of Mobile Telephones on Hearing

The widespread use of mobile telephones has given rise to concern about the potential influences of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) on human health. Anatomically, the ear is in close proximity to the mobile telephone during use. Hearing loss due to mobile telephone use has not been described in the medical literature; however, if there is a subtle cochlear involvement, it might be detected by means of changes in evoked otoacoustic emissions (OAEs). Thirty volunteers with normal hearing were exposed to mobile telephone EMFs for 10 min and evoked OAEs were measured before and after exposure. No measurable change in evoked OAEs was detected and none of the subjects reported a deterioration in hearing level. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study on the effects of EMFs emitted by mobile telephones on hearing. It was concluded that a 10-min exposure to the EMF emitted from a mobile telephone had no effect on hearing, at least at outer ear, middle ear and cochlear levels.

Cervical subcutaneous emphysema : an unusual complication of adenotonsillectomy

Removal of the tonsils and adenoid tissue because of recurrent infection and/or respiratory obstruction is one of the most commonly performed operations. A rare complication during this intervention is subcutaneous surgical emphysema. The awareness of anaesthesiologists and otolaryngological surgeons will protect the patient from serious consequences. We report our experience with this complication and provide a review of the literature.

Prevalence of Group A Streptococcal Carriers in Asymptomatic Children and Clonal Relatedness among Isolates in Malatya, Turkey

ABSTRACT In our study, the prevalence of nasopharyngeal Streptococcus pyogenes was 130 (14.3%) of 909 healthy children. Isolates were found to be susceptible to all antibiotics tested. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and arbitrarily primed PCR revealed that 34 (32.4%) of the 105 isolates and 41 (40.6%) of the 101 isolates typed, respectively, were clonally indistinguishable.

Contralateral Normal Ear after Mastoid Surgery: Evaluation by Otoacoustic Emissions (Mastoid Drilling and Hearing Loss)

Mastoid drilling can cause transient hearing loss in the contralateral normal hearing ear. A study was designed to evaluate hearing in the contralateral normal ear before and after the mastoid surgery in a longitudinal manner and find out the duration of this temporary hearing loss. Twenty-two patients requiring mastoid surgery in their diseased ears, having contralateral normal ear were included. Pure tone audiometry and otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) were utilized for baseline evaluation. OAEs were repeated during the immediate postoperative period and daily up to the 6th postoperative day. The amplitudes of the OAEs of contralateral normal ears were found affected immediately after surgery and progressive improvement was detected with full recovery at 72–96 h. None of the patients had permanent deterioration in OAE amplitudes. The burs used during mastoid surgery can cause temporary hearing threshold changes in the contralateral ears. This adverse effect recovers spontaneously within 72–96 h postoperatively.

Clinical PhotographGlomus jugulare

A 62-year-old woman presented with a 1-year history of a mass extruding from the external ear canal of the right ear. She also noted a bloody discharge, earache, hearing loss, and vertigo that had been present for the past 3 years. She had been treated for chronic polypoid otitis media at another institution several times without any success in relieving the symptoms. The physical examination revealed a right ear mass that was 4 2 cm, firm, and nontender (Fig 1). The portion of the mass outside of the canal was dry, but there was a blood-stained mucopurulent discharge in the external auditory canal that was present around the mass. No cervical adenopathy or any cranial neuropathies were present. The remainder of the head and neck examination was unremarkable. Further testing with audiography was remarkable for complete sensorineural hearing loss on that side. An axial computed tomography (CT) scan demonstrated a mass in the external ear canal that extended into the middle ear, showing nonhomogeneous contrast enhancement. It was found that this mass was in continuity with a strongly enhancing mass along internal jugular vein, which extended up to the right jugular foramen. Histopathologic examination of an incisional biopsy specimen with hematoxylin-eosin stain revealed a dense population of round or oval cells with dense nuclei and an evenly dispersed chromatin pattern, as well as eosinophilic cytoplasm in a vascular stroma, which led to the diagnosis of a glomus tumor. Other studies included an angiographic study that demonstrated the mass in the right temporal bone received blood from the external carotid artery. Axial precontrast T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was obtained after excisional biopsy of the mass from the external ear canal and showed an isointense mass in the right jugular foramen.

Publication rates of otolaryngology theses from Turkey in peer-reviewed journals.

OBJECTIVES This study aims to examine the publication or presentation rates of theses in scientific journals and scientific meetings in the field of otorhinolaryngology in Turkey. PATIENTS AND METHODS We randomly surveyed 2,705 specialists in the field of otorhinolaryngology in Turkey as of April 2014. Of these, 245 were applied a questionnaire on the continuation of their academic education, qualifications of the institutions where they were graduated from and worked and the status of their theses in terms of whether their theses were converted into a scientific article or presentation. RESULTS Overall, 47.8% of the participants were still continuing their academic education, while 52.2% were not. The rate of the presentation of the theses at a national meeting was 58.4% and at an international meeting was 10.6%. The rates of publication in a national and international journal were 26.1% and 36.3%, respectively. CONCLUSION As the physical and economic opportunities for experimental researches have increased, students have been encouraged to conduct researches and supportive solutions for the publication of theses have been created.

Our experiences on intratympanic dexamethasone usage to vertigo control in ménière disease

Objective: Meniere disease is a disorder defined with vertigo and disequilibrium attacks and followed by a considerable normal equilibrium until to the next vertigo attack. The frequency of these attacks changes not only patient to patient but also in particular patient himself/herself in varying degree. Although there are studies about intratympanic corticosteroid injection treatment for the disease in the literature, the long-term efficacy of this minimally invasive treatment modality is obscure regarding with this issue. In this study, we aimed to verify long-term results in the use of intratympanic dexamethasone in patients with Meniere disease. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective study that was performed in a tertiary referral center in which eleven patients with vertigo due to Meniere disease were evaluated. Intratympanic dexamethasone was infiltrated to diseased ear of these patients. The ratio between the number of vertigo episodes in the 6 months prior to treatment and the number of episodes in the six months between the 18th and 24th month after treatment (according to the norms of the American committee for the hearing and the equilibrium, 1995) were examined. Results: All patients improved significantly. Treatment was repeated after one year in one of the patients. Conclusion: Similarly with the published literature, the use of intratympanic dexamethasone may be useful to control vertigo due to Meniere disease to avoid or to be a prior step to other more invasive treatments.

Congenital Aplasia of the External Ear Canal and Total Dehiscence of Mastoid-Tympanic Segment of the Facial Nerve as a Cause of Recurrent Facial Paralysis

Facial nerve (FN) macrodehiscence, in contrast to microdehiscence, generally occurs as a result of chronic otitis media and is rarely seen congenitally. A patient with normal hearing who had no history of ear disease or ear operation came to the clinic with recurrent facial paralysis (FP) and frequent blockage of the external ear canal with epithelial debris complaints. In the explorative ear surgery, we observed that the posterior wall of the external ear canal or tympanic ring was absent, a large external ear cavity was covered with a thin skin, the FN was under the skin, and the tympanic-mastoid segment of the FN and chorda tympani extending to the stylomastoid foramen was completely open. FP episodes were associated with the unprotected FN.To prevent an attack of FP, and to self-clean the external ears, mastoid obliteration surgery was performed, and the mastoid segment of the FN was covered with a conchal cartilage graft. This case was diagnosed as congenital aplasia of the external ear canal due to the tympanic bone aplasia-mastoid bone hypoplasia, and the dehiscence of the mastoid-tympanic segment of the FN, and as a cause of recurrent FP, has never to date been identified.