Objective To summarize the clinical diagnosis and treatments of 55 reflux laryngitis (RL) pa-tients, and to study the relationship between gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and RL. Methods The pa-tients went through the following diagnostic process consisting of the collection of medical history, laryngoscopy, gastroscope, X-ray barium meal examination, vocal evaluation, therapy of anti-acid and anti-reflux. Results The laryngeal manifestations of RL mainly consisted of laryngeal discomfort or foreign body sensation (89. 1%), chronic cough (36.4 % ), hoarseness (20 % ), laryngeal pain (18. 2 %), even severe aspiration or laryngismus (10.9%) and so on. With the laryngoscopy we could see congestion in arytenoids area (67.3%), swelling or pachynsis of a mucosal fold in interarytenoid area (43.6%), edema of true or false vocal cord(40%), a little dropsy staying in piriform sinus (32.70% ), contact ulcer or granuloma on posterior extremity of a vocal cord (20 % ), artificial sulcus under vocal cords (16.4 %). RL patients might have mild voice disorder, among whom 65.5 percent displayed ten-sion dysphonia. Fundamental frequency (F0), jitter, shimmer and normalized noise energy (NNE) of RL patients increased. Compared with the controls, there were significant differences (P<0. 05) except for the F0 of female pa-tients. The manifestation and physical symptoms were improved or disappeared after the treatment with proton pump inhibitor (PPI). Conclusion RL is one of the important manifestations of GERD out of digestive tract. Typi-cal RL manifestation is mainly a pathological process in the postero-glottis. Clinically, PPI can be used as not only a treatment but also a tentative diagnosis of RL.

Objective To investigate plasma pharmacokinetics profiles of compound betameth in guinea pig after postaurieal and systemic administrations,and to explore the possible pathway for postaurical injection. Methods 1 ml compound-betameth was injected postaurieally and intramuscularly into the guinea pig. Blood were samples obtained 0. 5,1,1.5,2,3,5,7 h and 1,2,4 w after the administration of contralateral sigmoid sinus blood and circulatory blood respectively. High performance liquid chromatography was used to dectet compound betameth in the samlowing postaurieal administration. The Cmax(peak concentration) in sigmoid sinus of postaurieal group was 2.56 and 3.03 higher than those in the contralateral and the systemic group. The AUC((area under the ct curve) was 2.41 postaurieal administration. The Cmax and AUC in postaurieal group were 0. 13 and 0. 32 higher than systemic group. Conclusion The postaurieal injection reached a higher concentration of drugs in the sigmoid sinus blood, and remained a lower concentration in circulatory blood.

Objective The light and electron-microscopic examination was utilized to study the tissue from middle ears diagnosed as having tympanosclerosis. The main purpose of this article is to understand the clinicopathologic and electron-microscopic characteristics of 68 patients with tympanosclerosis. Methods The material for histopathologic and electron-microscopic studies were taken from the tympanic mucosa in various localities, especially from the whitish sclerotic masses in the tympanum of the patients with tympanosclerosis, during middle ear surgeries between 2006 and 2008. Specimens were divided into two groups: one group of 68 specimens was fixed and stained for light microscopic study with hematoxylin-eosin; the second group of 12 specimens was viewed in the electron microscope. Results The specimens from tympanic mucosa showed granulation tissue with infiltration of chronic inflammatory cells, and slight fibrosis in the submucosal layer. The histopathology of the plaques after haemaoxylin and eosin staining revealed dense bundles of collagen with hyaline degeneration and scattered areas of calcification. An ultrastructural examination of these specimens revealed fibrocytes that were irregularly shaped, elongated, and degenerating. The osmiophilic cytoplasm contained vesicles and collagen bundles. There were clusters of mitochondria in perinuclear cytoplasm and lots of electron dense calcareous deposits within lysosomes and degenerated mitochondria in fibrocyte cells. Conclusion The histopathologic examinations of tympanosclerosis revealed dense fibrous and collagenous connective tissues, poor in cell, with hyaline degeneration and occasional calcification in the tympanic mucosa. Electron-microscopic studies further revealed marked proliferation of collagen fibers and electron dense calcareous deposits within lysosomes and degenerated mitochondria in fibrocyte cells.

Objective To study the main causes of hearing disability in Beijing residents. Methods The second national sample survey on disability of China was carried out in Beijing on April 1,2006. Muhiphase, stratified, proportional and cluster samplings were adopted to investigate 74 795 residents in Beijing, including 36 753 males and 38 042 females. 55 773 were urban residents while 19 022 from rural areas. The method of descriptive study was used to analyze the data of hearing disabitity in Beijing. Results Top five causes of hearing disability (including multiple disabilities) in Beijing were presbycusis, unknown, systematic diseases, noise induced, and odds media. The prevalence was 1.10%, 0.30%, 0.30%, 0.20% and 0.17%, respectively. Heredity, unknown and others were the main causes of children under 0～14 years. Unknown, ototoxicity, and otitis media were the main causes of people aged 15 ～59 years. Presbycusis, systematic diseases, noise induced and unknown were main causes of people aged 60 years and older. Presbycusis was the top cause of hearing disability for male and female residents as well as people live in urban and rural areas in Beijing. Conclusion Presbyeusis, unknown, systematic diseases, noise induced, and otitis media were main causes of hearing disability (including multiple disabilities) in Beijing.

Objective To know the position and shape of implanted electrode array with plain X-ray after cochlear implantation. Methods According to the Cochlear View developed by Xu plain X-ray was taken postoperatively to obtain the best view of electrode array. Results The Medical imaging of plain X- ray taken before switching on or following the concerning of the performance could assist in the detection of electrode arrays in improper position, partial insertion or bending inside the cochlea. It helped audiologists to make decisions to switch off affected electrodes for the optimization of the program, if functioning electrodes were insufficient and recipients failed. Conclusion It is recommended to conduct post-operative X-ray examination routinely for cochlear implant recipients. Audiologists should be able to use medical imaging to identify the position of intra-cochlear electrodes and apply the information to guide the mapping work.

Objective Event related potentials (ERP), especially mismatch negativity (MMN), as index, was utilized to study the processing of Chinese tones recognized by cochlear implant (CI) users and normal hearing subjects. Methods The auditory materials were Chinese words with four tones consisting of three different oddball blocks. The ERP and MMN of CI users and normal hearing subjects were recorded and analyzed in relation to the discrimination of those tones as tested. Results The ERP and MMN of CI users and normal hearing subjects were presented. The MMN of CI users includes two negative waves: the first negative wave (MMN1) occurred approxi-mately 100 ms, and the second wave (MMN2) at 300 ms. The MMN of normal hearing subjects includes two nega-tive waves too: the first negative wave (MMN1) occurred approximately 150 ms, and the second wave (MMN2) al-so at 300 ms. The MMN1 peak latency of CI users was obviously shorter than that of normal hearing subjects and the MMN2 peak latency of CI users shorter than that of normal hearing subjects too, but the difference of MMN2 peak latency between CI users and normal hearing subjects was not as significant as that of MMN1. Conclusion In the preattentive stage, CI users could process Chinese tones as normal hearing subjects, but compared with the pro-cessing of normal hearing subjects, there are some differences in the processing of CI users.

Objective The purpose of this paper is to study the variations of the bone conduction hearing in the patients with chronic suppurative otitis media complicated by bone conduction deterioration after tympanoplasty and to analyze the relative factors. Methods In 54 cases (61 ears) of decreased bone conduction thresholds associat-ed with chronic suppurative otitis media, reviewed retrospectively were the data before the operation and during the follow-ups from 3 to 27 months. The bone conduction thresholds at 0. 5,1, 2 and 4 kHz were studied in relation to the courses of disease, the complications of cholesteatoma, the operation procedures and the reconstructions of os-sicular chains before and after surgeries. Results Before operation the most obvious hearing loss of bone conduction was found at 4 kHz in 61 ears, while after operation the average bone conduction hearing at the 4 frequencies was improved at different degrees with the most at 2 k Hz. Thirty-two of 61 cases (52.50%) were found to have their hearing improved at least by more than 10 dE at two frequencies without any deterioration at the 4 frequencies. Con-clusion The factors of the duration of disease and complications of cholesteatoma are obviously not related to the improvement of hearing after operation. A patient with reconstruction of ossicular chain is markedly superior to one without the reconstruction in improvement of hearing. When the auditory ossicular chains and functions of the oval and/or round windows are damaged, the bone conduction hearing can be affected accordingly. However the hearing of some cases will be improved after tympanoplasty. Also, the possible improvement is also related to different sur-geries in treating patients with middle ear infections.

Objective This paper is to explore the relationship between the placement of the bone oscillator and bone-conducted thresholds to ASSR stimuli in adults with normal hearing and to investigate the amplitude and the threshold differences to bone-conducted auditory steady-state responses (BC-ASSR) stimuli between single - and multiple-stimulus conditions. Methods Two groups of subjects were selected with 0. 5, 1, 2 and 4 kHz brief tones repeated at the rate of 77, 87, 93 and 101 Hz using a B-71 bone oscillator either in single- or multiple ted no significant differences between mastoid and behind-the-ear placements. The mean and standard deviations of bone-conducted behavioral thresholds to ASSR stimuli at 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 kHz were 62.6±4.8,47.1±4.8,46.8cant difference between the two conditions while the mean and standard deviations of BC-ASSR thresholds at 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 kHz were 96.7±9.7,70.3±11.6,60.6±7.4,52.8±7.2 dB re: 1μN (ppe), respectively. Conclusion The behavioral bone-conducted thresholds to ASSR stimuli with mastoid and behind-the-ear placemen yielded no significant differences. When the stimuli intensity was 50 dB nHL, the amplitudes in single-stimulus condition were significantly higher than those to multiple-stimulus condition. There were no significant differences for BC-ASSR thresholds between single- and multiple-stimulus condition.

Objective To assess the feasibility of adenoviral vectors mediate cochlear gene transfer by postau-ricular microinjection through the round window membrane in mouse. Methods Twelve 5-week old C57BL/6J mice were selected for the study: 8 were implanted with Ad-EGFP by postauricular microinjection through the round window membrane, and 4 with artificial perilymphatic fluid. On postoperative days 5 and 14, the animals were sac-rificed and the surface preparation of cochleae was observed. Results Two animals died after operation. Bright green fluorescence in the cochleae was observed in Ad- EGFP groups. Gene expression on day 14 after operation was higher than that on day 5. However, the control group was free of fluorescence. Oonclusion The postauricular route of the cochlear gene transfer in mice is simple to operate with little side-effect. The technique of transgenic delivery into the inner ear through RWM by mieroinjection is feasible and effective.

Objective The purpose of this study is to compare the most comfortable levels and neural re-sponse imaging threshold between children of cochlear implants with large vestibular aqueduct syndrome and normal inner ears. Methods Thirty-eight implanted children participated in this study and were divided into two groups. Group A consisted of 32 patients with normal inner ears and group B 6 patients with radiographically proven large vestibular aqueduct syndrome. All of the patients were the recipients of the cochlear implants by Advanced Bionics. The initial time for the first programming session was approximately one month after surgery. The psychophysical tests included M- level tests. Programming techniques used in the test were suitable for the age of patients. Sound-Wave 1.4 software was used to test tNRI. Results Using the rank sum test, M-level and tNRI of electrode 3,7,11 and 15 did not differ significantly between group A and B(P>0. 05). Conclusion The parameters of mapping are not significantly different between the implanted children with large vestibular aqueduct syndrome and normal inner ear. The management and procedures of mapping used to the subjects with normal inner ear can be applied to the children with large vestibular aqueduct syndrome.