BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Impacted cerumen is a common condition in adults. It is commonly believed that wearing hearing aids may increase the cerumen impaction, although no empirical evidence exist. The current study was aimed at studying if the use of hearing aids increase the likelihood of impaction of cerumen. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study used retrospective design. The study sample included 164 consecutive patients who were referred to cerumen clinic from Royal Glamorgan Hospital, Wales. Audiologist classified the cerumen impaction into four categories (i.e., no cerumen; non-occluding cerumen; occluding cerumen; and fully non-occluding cerumen and debris). Chi-square analysis was performed to study the association between hearing aid use and cerumen impaction. RESULTS: The current study results showed no association between hearing aid use and cerumen impaction. Also, there was no association between right/left ear and cerumen impaction. CONCLUSIONS: These results interesting and contrary to our assumption that hearing aid use increases the likelihood of cerumen impaction. More well-controlled studies with prospective designs are needed to confirm if these results are accurate.
Adult ; Cerumen* ; Ear ; Hearing Aids* ; Hearing Loss ; Hearing* ; Humans ; Prospective Studies ; Retrospective Studies ; Wales

Background: and Purpose Outcomes following mechanical thrombectomy (MT) are strongly correlated with successful recanalization, traditionally defined as modified Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction (mTICI) ≥2b. This retrospective cohort study aimed to compare the outcomes of patients with low Alberta Stroke Program Early Computed Tomography Score (ASPECTS; 2–5) who achieved mTICI 2b versus those who achieved mTICI 2c/3 after MT. Methods: This study utilized data from the Stroke Thrombectomy and Aneurysm Registry (STAR), which combined databases from 32 thrombectomy-capable stroke centers between 2013 and 2023. The study included only patients with low ASPECTS who achieved mTICI 2b, 2c, or 3 after MT for internal carotid artery or middle cerebral artery (M1) stroke. Results: Of the 10,229 patients who underwent MT, 234 met the inclusion criteria. Of those, 98 (41.9%) achieved mTICI 2b, and 136 (58.1%) achieved mTICI 2c/3. There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics between the two groups. The 90-day favorable outcome (modified Rankin Scale score: 0–3) was significantly better in the mTICI 2c/3 group than in the mTICI 2b group (adjusted odds ratio 2.35; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.18–4.81; P=0.02). Binomial logistic regression revealed that achieving mTICI 2c/3 was significantly associated with higher odds of a favorable 90-day outcome (odds ratio 2.14; 95% CI 1.07–4.41; P=0.04). Conclusion In patients with low ASPECTS, achieving an mTICI 2c/3 score after MT is associated with a more favorable 90-day outcome. These findings suggest that mTICI 2c/3 is a better target for MT than mTICI 2b in patients with low ASPECTS.