简介：Whereasmuchhasbeenlearnedaboutage-relatedauditorychangesintheinnerear,relativelylittleisknownabouttheagingeffectsonthevestibularpartoftheinnerear-theperipheralvestibularsystem.Herewereviewrelevantliteraturewithregardtotheprevalenceofvestibulardysfunction,vestibularfunctionalandstructuralchangesintheelderly.Theprevalenceofvestibulardysfunctionincreaseswithage.Functionally,asageincreases,VEMPamplitudesdecrease,VEMPthresholdsincrease,VORgainofHITdecreases.Duetothecomplexityofthevestibularsystem,variationsinsubjectageandmeasurementtechniques,findingsinVEMPlatencyandcalorictestsareconflicting.Toaddressthis,adirectmeasureoftheperipheralvestibularsystemshouldbeapplied.Structurally,age-relatedlossinvestibularganglionandotoconiahavebeennoted;haircellchangesarenotwelldefined;whilesubcellularchangesremaintobeexplored.Defininghowtheonsetofvestibulardysfunctioncorrelateswithstructuraldegenerationwillofferinsightsintothemechanismsunderlyingvestibularaging.

简介：Theacousticstartleresponsehasbeenusedtoevaluatetinnitusandhyperacusisinanimalmodels.Gapinducedprepulseinhibitionoftheacousticstartlereflex(gap-PPI)isaffectedbytinnitusandloudnesschanges.Sincetinnitusandreducedsoundtolerancearecommonlyseeninelderly,wemeasuredgap-PPIinFischer344rats,anagingrelatedhearinglossmodel,atdifferentages:3-5months,9-12months,and15-17months.Thestartleresponsewasinducedbythreedifferentintensityofsound:105,95and85dBSPL.Gap-PPIwasinducedbydifferentdurationofsilentgapsfrom1to100ms.Whenthestartlewasinducedby105dBSPLsoundintensity,thegap-PPIinducedby50mssilentgapwassignificantlylowerthanthoseinducedby25or100msduration,showinga"notch"inthegap-PPIfunction.The"notch"disappearedwiththereductionofstartlesound,suggestingthe"notch"mayberelatedwithhyper-sensitivitytoloudsound.Astheintensityofthestimulusdecreased,theappearanceofthehyperacusis-likeeffectdecreasedmorequicklyfortheyoungestgroupofrats.Wealsotestedscopolamine,amuscarinicacetylcholinereceptorantagonist,andmecamylamine,anicotinicacetylcholinereceptorantagonist,ontheeffectofgap-PPI.Whenscopolaminewasadministered,theresultsindicatednoadditioneffectonthehyperacusis-likephenomenoninthetwooldergroups.Mecamylamine,thenicotinicantagonistalsoshowedeffectsontheappearanceofhyperacusisonratsindifferentages.Theinformationderivedfromthestudywillbefundamentalforthefurtherresearchindeterminingthecauseandtreatmentforhyperacusis.

简介：Objective:Toreportacaseofintractableskinreactionscausedbybone-anchoredhearingaid(BAHA)implantationtoimproveourunderstandingandtreatmentofBAHAimplantation-causedskinreactions.Methods:WereportedacaseofsevereskinreactionscausedbyBAHAimplantation.Relatedliteraturewerealsoreviewed.Results:WefoundgradeIVskinreactions,includinghyperplasiaaroundtheimplant,whichledtotheremovaloftheBAHAimplant10monthsafterimplantation.Thefindingsindicatedpoorskinhygiene,allergytotitaniumandinadequatesurgicalsskillsasthepossiblecausesoftheskinreaction.Conclusion:Skinadversereactions,usuallyrareinBAHAimplantationpatients,maycauseimplantremovalandimplantationfailure.Wesuggesttofurtherinvestigatethemechanismsunderlyingtitaniumallergy.